Kentucky’s High School Football Playoff Battle
by Steve Byrd
As high school football reaches the halfway point of this 2022 season, the important part begins, at least in Kentucky. It’s district round-robin play that determines which teams get the best playoff positions, as well as whether they make the playoffs in some cases.
Districts that have five or more teams, generally between Classes 2A and 5A, start as soon as this week. More will join next week, with the four-team districts, mostly in 1A and 6A, starting as we head into October.
In the Louisville area, Ballard, Manual, CAL and Seneca have 5-0 records. CAL opens up 3A-District 4 action this Friday at Mercer Co., as the Centurions may well be likely to finish on top.
The last time Seneca won 5 games in a season was in 2014. A win at Atherton this Friday would not only give the surprising Warhawks 6 wins for the first time since ’08, but would also make them favorites on paper to finish first in a 5A-District 4 race that any team could win.
In 6A, Ballard is at Manual this Friday to determine which team stays unbeaten. District play in a couple of weeks sees both teams with big road tests. The Crimsons face defending champs St. Xavier in District 3, while the Bruins take on Trinity in 6A-District 5.
Male, fresh off a last-second Trinity win, could be the favorite to come out atop 6A-District 4, provided they pull off a victory at Bullitt East on October 21.
Another battle of unbeatens opens 5A-District 6 play on Friday, as Frederick Douglass travels to Scott Co. That game, along with the Cardinals’ matchup the week after against nearby Great Crossing, will both likely determine the district’s potential top two.
6A-7 could be another of those “any team can win” districts, considering how Henry Clay, Lafayette, Tates Creek and Paul Laurence Dunbar have fared this season. As for 6A-8, GRC and Madison Central, both currently unbeaten, are favorites to finish on top, with the Cardinals and Indians facing each other in Richmond on October 14th.
Shelby Co. is the only team in 4A-4 that’s doing fine, at 3-2, so they’re a slight favorite to get the top seed. One of our broadcasts this Friday has Waggener at North Oldham, in a 4A-4 game that could see the winner’s chances of getting a playoff spot greatly improve.
And in 5A-7, Woodford Co. and Collins have the best chances of finishing in the top 2. The unbeaten Yellowjackets are off on Friday, while the 3-1 Titans start district action against Madison Southern. The two 5A-7 schools in Nicholasville, East Jessamine and West Jessamine, compete in a rivalry game we’re also covering on Friday. With the Jaguars and Colts both underperforming, the winner there could, at the very least, have the upper hand for 4th place and the district’s last playoff position.
Three other games on GLICOD this Friday are: Male at Butler, Western at PRP, and in Indiana, New Albany traveling to Bloomington North. You can catch all the action live by visiting our website, as well as keep up with other area games on our ticker, all at GLICOD.com.