Jim Mashek

JACOB SAVAGE, RYLE’s RUNNING GAME COULD DICTATE BOTH TEAMS’ STRATEGIES ON FRIDAY EVENING

The stakes are on the rise at South Warren High School.

The unbeaten Spartans, looking for the school’s fourth KHSAA state championship, have gone back to the basics to get ready for their next opponent, the Ryle High School Raiders.

And the South Warren defense figures to be tested on Friday evening, when the Spartans (13-0 overall) play host to Ryle (10-3) in what promises to be a tough, physical football game likely determined by the guys up front.

The big guys. The linemen. The lunchpail crew.

A winter blast has encompassed the Commonwealth, and Ryle will make a 4.5-hour bus ride to Bowling Green to scrap with the Spartans in the KHSAA Class 6A semifinals. The winner will face the semifinal survival test between two traditional KHSAA power brokers, the St. Xavier Tigers and their crosstown rivals in Louisville, the Trinity Shamrocks.

To accommodate Ryle’s travel plans, the game will kick off at 6 p.m. CST.

Look for both teams to try to establish the run, although South Warren’s offense is clearly better in the passing game. That strategy could be compromised by the wintry weather, with temperatures plunging into the 30s with brisk winds, to boot.

“Ryle’s gonna look good in warmups,” South Warren coach Brandon Smith said. “They’ll be bigger than us. There’s definitely some college prospects on that team. They run a 4-2-5 scheme, defensively, and they get after it. Their secondary guys cover a lot of ground.

“On offense, they’re a running team.”

South Warren is no shrinking violet, either, not with big men such as JaQuise Smith, a 6-foot-3, 320-pound force at defensive tackle, along with Chrishaun Woods, a 6-foot-2, 300-pound senior transfer from Russellville High School, and the Spartans’ veteran in the trenches, 6-foot-4, 280-pound senior Malik Butler, who began his high school career at Franklin-Simpson.

Butler, senior wideout/cornerback Jake Carter and senior running back/safety Jake Carter are taking more frequent snaps, on defense, after establishing themselves on the offensive side of the football. All of South Warren’s victories have come by double digits this season, including last week’s 49-21 rout of Henderson County High School in the KHSAA 6A quarterfinals.

“We’ve just got to come out, execute, play together,” Butler said after a two-hour practice in brutal conditions on Thanksgiving morning at South Warren. “Leadership, definitely. Just win.”

Ryle advanced to the KHSAA Class 6A semifinals with a dramatic victory over Lexington’s Frederick Douglass High School in the regional championship round. Frederick Douglass scored first, in overtime, before the Raiders answered on Dameyn Anness’ 2-yard touchdown run, followed by the subsequent two-point conversion.

Ryle quarterback Nathan Verex took the snap on the play that decided the game, beating Frederick Douglass’ pursuit to the right corner of the end zone. Verex’s two-point conversion lifted Ryle to a 28-27 victory over the Broncos, who finished their season at 8-5 overall.

“They’re definitely battle tested,” South Warren coach Brandon Smith said. “It’s going to come down to which team executes the best … At this point, there aren’t a lot of secrets out there.”

South Warren, which opened its doors in 2010, is aiming for its first KHSAA state championship since the 2021 season. That year, former South Warren/WKU quarterback Caden Veltkamp completed 17 of 22 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns, sending the Spartans to a 38-26 victory over Frederick Douglass High School in the KHSAA Class 5A state championship game.

The Spartans are in their first season in the 6A ranks.

“I feel like we’re definitely ready,” South Warren quarterback Camden Page said after Thursday’s practice. “We’re eager to get out there. Just keep your nose down, keep working …

“Our offensive line, they’ve come a long way since summer camp. They’ve worked their tails off, in practice, and it’s translated to the games, too.”

Ryle has a player to watch in senior running back/linebacker Jacob Savage.

Savage, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound bruiser, leads the Raiders with 1,222 yards rushing in 13 games. He’s scored 29 touchdowns, 24 of them on the ground. He appeared to have sustained an injury in last week’s quarterfinal matchup against Frederick Douglass, finishing the game with just eight carries. But he’s also the Raiders’ leading tackler, with 112 tackles, including 15.5 for losses.

Savage is headed to the Big Ten, after making his verbal commitment to Indiana University over the summer. He’s rated as a three-star recruit, and he’s going to be a big part of what the Ryle coaches have in mind for the Spartans’ defense.

“(Savage) is really, really good,” South Warren coach Brandon Smith said. “He’s a ballplayer. He won the Paul Hornung Award, which goes to the top high school football player in the state … He’s going to get the football.”

The Spartans’ senior class set its sights on the KHSAA’s Championship Weekend at this time last year, when Bowling Green High School slipped past Smith’s South Warren squad, 31-28, in the KHSAA Class 5A semifinals.

South Warren opened the season with a 56-35 drubbing of Lexington’s Bryan Station High School in the Ecampus.com Bowl at Lexington Christian Academy. The next week, the Spartans traveled to Louisville before knocking off DuPont Manual, 27-17, and they haven’t looked back since.

It’s the last chance for a state title for South seniors such as Malik Bell, Jake Carter and Kayden York, and Smith said his senior class has a firm grasp on the task at hand.

“They know what’s at stake,” Smith said. “They’ve done everything, and more, on the practice field. They’ve mentored the young guys. I know they’re ready to get out there and play.”