Jim Mashek

GLASGOW PUTS 10-0 RECORD ON THE LINE AGAINST WEBSTER COUNTY; LOGAN COUNTY, RUSSELLVILLE WILL PLAY AT HOME

Brandon Smith is in his 12th season as South Warren High School’s head football coach, and won three KHSAA state championships in the process, so there’s a better than average chance that he’s pretty much seen it all.

Last week, however, may have offered a new wrinkle.

Christian County High School, which just completed a dismal 1-9 season, decided to bow out of the KHSAA state playoffs BEFORE THEY EVEN STARTED.

Then again, Smith’s third-ranked Spartans were waiting, and major changes are coming in public education in Hopkinsville and all of Christian County, for that matter.

The Colonels took a pass, as in choosing not to participate in postseason play, even before they closed regular-season play with a road trip to scrap with Paducah Tilghman, the defending KHSAA Class 4A state champion with probably more blue-chip recruits than any school in the state.

Tilghman pummeled the Colonels, drubbing Christian County 54-7 at Paducah’s McRight Stadium, and that would be that, as far as CCHS football was concerned.

The rub, however, is that Hopkinsville High School, which will merge with Christian County after the 2025-26 school year, is a potential second-round opponent for the unbeaten Spartans, and that game will take place next week at South Warren High School. Hopkinsville (6-4 overall) will play host to Daviess County High School (5-5) on Friday night at the Stadium of Champions, in Hoptown, with the winner to be paired against the Spartans two weekends into November.

In other words, hurry up and wait.

South Warren coach Brandon Smith had some mixed feelings about it, while the Spartans were wrapping up preparations for a talented Logan County squad.

A few days after that impressive 49-14 victory, however, Smith took a more philosophical approach, using the bye week to do some self scouting, while some Spartans battling nagging injuries could heal for the run for KHSAA’s Championship Weekend at the University of Kentucky’s Kroger Field in Lexington.

“I thought we had a good week of practice,” Smith said. “It was productive. The kids did a good job handling it, and not wasting (practice) days. Hoptown and Christian County are both 6A schools … They will be one of the biggest schools (in Kentucky).”

It’s a different sort of challenge at Bowling Green High School, where the two-time defending KHSAA Class 5A state champions are chomping at the bit.

The Purples had to negotiate a brutal schedule, stacked with one contender after another, and they closed a 4-6 regular season with a road trip to Frankfort, and a matchup against the unbeaten Franklin County Flyers.

On Thursday night, I Franklin County (11-0 overall) was one of SEVENTY-FOUR teams participating in the KHSAA playoffs, in their respective divisions, thus getting a bit of a head start on the tournament. Franklin County took no prisoners in its first-round KHSAA Class 4A, crushing Louisville’s Waggener High School, 65-0, to remain unbeaten in 11 games.

(It was a given, over the summer months, that KHSAA’s Class 4A would be LOADED with teams that could contend for a state championship. More on that later.)

It’s been business as usual, meanwhile, on Rockingham Avenue, as Bowling Green High School begins its pursuit of a 10th KHSAA state championship.

Not to mention a third consecutive state title, after star BGHS quarterback Deuce Bailey, a four-year starter, moved on to Missouri State University.

Eighth-year BGHS coach Mark Spader was seemingly in perpetual motion on Thursday evening, making sure the Purples were on point for their first-round matchup with Graves County.

Bowling Green and Graves County both take 4-6 records into their first-round matchup, but they find themselves ahead of several teams with better records, including Greenwood High School (6-4), Louisville’s Fairdale High School (7-3) and Barren County (5-5).

Barren County and Greenwood are two of the Purples’ rivals in the KHSAA’s Class 5A, 2nd District, and they also have tough first-round matchups on their hands themselves.

Greenwood, buoyed after last week’s 45-23 trouncing of Union County, will return to The Swamp on Friday night to tangle with a stout Madisonville-North Hopkins squad (8-2 overall). Barren County, meanwhile, will be on the road to tangle with Owensboro’s Apollo High School (also 5-5 on the season).

The Purples, meanwhile, are moving full speed ahead, with Graves County making the three-hour road trip to square off with Bowling Green. The Eagles struggled for much of the season, but put together a three-game winning streak — over Marshall County, Muhlenberg County and McCracken County — on their way to the postseason.

BGHS coach Mark Spader anticipates a tough first-round matchup.

“We’ve had a good week of practice, going in,” Spader said. “We’ll see how it goes. (Graves County), they’re solid. They’ll use an odd front, on defense, and they’ve played in a bunch of close games. You can see they’ve gotten better, over the course of the season.

“The quarterback (Jace Houston), he’s gotten better every week. If he gets in the open field, he can make plays.”

The game will feature an intriguing matchup at quarterback, with Houston (56 percent passing, 1,079 yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions) on one sideline, and BGHS freshman left-hander Anthony Davis on the other.

Davis, who moved into the starting lineup in the second week of regular-season play, has completed 105 of 167 passes (63 percent) for 1,430 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s been intercepted just twice, and he’s been mentored by BGHS senior Jaxon Strautman, who last season was the l QB at Lexington’s Frederick Douglass High School.

Another perennial contender.

“Don’t worry about us, we’ll be ready to go,” said BGHS wideout Trevy Barber, an all-state performer who missed the bulk of the regular season with an arm injury.

Meanwhile, in Class 4A, Logan County (8-2 overall) will play host to Marion County (7-3) at Cougar Field in Russellville. Across town, an ambitious Russellville squad, coached by former UK defensive back Mikie Benton, will square off against a recent nemesis, Louisville’s Holy Cross Academy, in a first-round KHSAA Class 1A matchup at historic Rhea Stadium.

Both the Russellville and Logan County camps are ready to get started.

“Holy Cross is a team with an athletic quarterback,” Benton said. “And they’ve got some athletic wide receivers, too. They’re a well coached team. Defensively, they’re aggressive. They’ve got a very good program.”

Holy Cross’ Jarek Hoover, the Cougars’ junior QB, has passed for 1,545 yards and 14 touchdowns, while adding 562 yards rushing, with nine TDs. On the opposite sideline, Benton can count on senior Russellville quarterback/free safety Jerius Coleman, who has passed for 1,540 yards and 19 touchdowns, while leading the Panthers’ secondary with five interceptions.

Coleman pretty much does it all for the Panthers.

“Jerius and our other kids in the secondary have made a lot of plays for us,” Benton said.

Across town, at Logan County High School, the Cougars (8-2 overall) are looking to bounce back from last week’s 49-14 loss to unbeaten South Warren. LCHS coach Todd Adler’s team will play host to Marion County. The Knights (7-3), who hail from Lebanon, Kentucky, take a three-game winning streak into the KHSAA Class 4A playoffs.

“This is going to be a tough matchup for us,” Adler said. “They like to ‘ground and pound, from the Wing- T (formation). The weather has started to change, we’re looking at some rain, but it should be OK by game time. We’ve prepared for whatever comes our way … Time to leave it on the field and see what happens.”

That’s what Max Chaney, Franklin-Simpson High School’s hard-nosed but colorful coach, has in mind for the tradition-rich Wildcats.

Franklin-Simpson takes a 6-4 overall record to Elizabethtown for Friday night’s KHSAA Class 4A matchup against John Hardin High School (6-4). The Bulldogs have won three of their last four games, and they have a “Mr. Football” candidate themselves in senior running back Cavalli Pittman. Pittman, a 6-foot, 185-pound bruiser, has rushed for a team-high 1,796 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Franklin-Simpson, on the other hand, likes to share the wealth in its tried-and-true Wing-T offense.

Junior running back Xavier Hampton leads the Wildcats with 993 yards rushing, with 10 touchdowns, but four of his Franklin-Simpson teammates –seniors Blake McPherson and Jerrion Williams, along with junior running back Ayden Jones and senior QB Brady Delk — are productive runners out of the backfield.

Delk, a three-sport star, also lends a significant hand on defense. He has recorded 48 tackles at free safety, including three for losses, while returning an interception for a touchdown.

“John Hardin has a strong running game, with a great back in Cavilli Pittman,” WIldcats coach Max Chaney said. “They’ve got an aggressive, well coached defense. We need to win the turnover battle to win the game …

“Our road, moving forward, doesn’t get any easier. If we can get a win over John Hardin, we would more than likely have to go to Paducah next week.

“Yeah, Class 4A is a juggernaut.”

Paducah Tilghman (9-1 overall), the defending KHSAA Class 4A state champion, is one of the Wildcats’ district rivals. The Blue Tornado knocked off Franklin-Simpson, 35-14, midway through the regular season. They’ve won six straight games since dropping a 25-22 at Madisonville-North Hopkins, in early September.

Meanwhile, in Glasgow, the Scotties are back.

Veteran coach Jackson Arnett has guided Glasgow High School to an unbeaten regular season, capped by last week’s thrilling 27-24 victory over Franklin-Simpson at James Mathews Stadium in Franklin. The Scotties have dominated their 10 opponents to date, racking up 400 points in regular-season play while allowing just 65 points, defensively.

Glasgow quarterback Hudson Gumm has been on point for the Scotties. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior QB has completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,464 yards and 22 touchdowns. He’s been intercepted just twice. Gumm also has rushed for 296 yards and eight touchdowns, and the Scotties have other threats in the backfield, including junior RB Jaylen Bradley (596 yards rushing, nine TDs) and senior Jerrick Martin (556 yards, a team-high 11 touchdowns).

On Thursday night, two South Central Kentucky squads opened postseason play. Hart County HIgh School improved to 9-2 overall, rolling past visiting Hopkins County Central, 42-12. In Lexington, meanwhile, Metcalfe County saw its season come to an end. Lexington County knocked off the Hornets, 35-13.

Metcalfe County finishes the season under veteran coach L.J. Harbison with a 3-8 overall record.