KHSAA Football Week Seven Preview: 10 Games to Look For

KHSAA has some interesting matchups this week throughout Western and Central Kentucky. Some of the top teams in those areas are set to do battle as we inch closer to the playoffs.

Here are some matchups to take into account while keeping an eye on scores this Friday:

No. 5 Beechwood (5-0) at Dixie Heights (3-2)

Coming off their BYE week, Beechwood is still riding the momentum of defeating Covington Catholic 27-7 two weeks ago in the Kroger KSR Game of the Week. This week, they take on yet another Northern Kentucky foe in Dixie Heights.

While the Tigers were at home last Friday, the Colonels were busy knocking Highlands out of the rankings, 28-21, in their most impressive victory of the season thus far.

The biggest question is can Dixie Heights stop Cameron Hergott? If so, they have a shot at pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the 2021 KHSAA football season.

Hancock County (4-2) at Butler County (4-1)

The Hornets started their season 4-0, outscoring their opponents 159-23 — but have completely fallen off in the two weeks since.

Coming off a 47-0 blowout loss to 1-5 Owensboro Catholic, the typical starting quarterback Cole Dixon was nowhere to be seen on the offensive end, although he amassed two tackles in the loss. Not that it mattered, however, as Hancock County rushes the ball the majority of the time.

Butler County, on the other hand, has won four straight after dropping their season opener to Russellville 45-0, where they were held to 31 total offensive yards.

No. 14 Mayfield (6-0) at Caldwell County (4-2)

Can KHSAA’s 2A division get any better? The top three are No. 2 LCA, No. 5 Beechwood and No. 14 Mayfield — and honestly, any of those three could end up taking home the state title at the end of the year.

Mayfield is led by quarterback Zane Cartwright and running back Kylan Galbreath. If Galbreath can’t get going, Cartwright will find his favorite receiver in Daniel Coles to get the job done. If the opposite is true, Galbreath will hit the line of scrimmage hard and become a problem for any defense that’s in front of him.

The Tigers of Caldwell County will look to pull off the major upset against Mayfield to secure their fourth-straight victory as they move up the 2A rankings slowly but surely.

Bullitt East (4-1) at Danville (4-2)

Danville’s only losses this season have come via COVID cancellation (Boyle County and Mercer County). While technically being undefeated this year, their toughest matchups were the ones that have been canceled — they don’t blow out teams either, winning their first three games by an average of four points before they defeated Hazard last Friday 23-7.

Bullit East has a high-powered offense that has been prone to finding the endzone. Danville, who isn’t a prolific point-scoring team, will need to find a way to stop quarterback Travis Egan and running back Mason Gauthier as both teams try to stake their claim in the top five of their respective divisions.

Gauthier ranks second in KHSAA’s 6A rushing category with 835 yards and 13 touchdowns through five games this season. Egan ranked second in passing yards as well with 1,279 and 14 scores. His top two receivers Camron Brogan and Nolan Davenport are ranked No. 1 and 2 in 6A’s receiving yard category with 566 and 523 yards, respectively.

Great Crossing (5-0) at Scott County (2-3)

Great Crossing is 0-2 all-time against their Georgetown rivals since their inception in 2019. This season, as the Warhawks will tell you, is different because they’re off to the best start in their three-year history while Scott County has dipped below .500.

The Warhawks haven’t had the toughest schedule (the main reason they have yet to crack KSR’s top-25), but they’ve outscored their opponents 161-35 this season and have only given up seven points per game on average.

Scott County’s two victories this season have both been shutouts where the Cardinals have gone on to defeat Lafayette and Dunbar by a combined score of 96-0. They will look to get their season back on track with a victory here after getting blown out 35-0 by No. 4 Frederick Douglass last Friday.

No. 12 Pikeville (5-1) at No. 21 Madison Central (4-1)

What could Pikeville and Madison Central possibly have in common?

Their only losses on the season have come to KHSAA’s No. 2 team — the LCA Eagles. Madison Central is the only team to hold the Eagles to just three scores this season. Pikeville lost to them last week 31-14 in the Kroger KSR Game of the Week.

Since their loss, the Indians have won four straight, including wins against South Laurel (69-6) and Lafayette (49-0). Pikeville has yet to defeat a team in 2021 that averages more points per win than Madison Central (51).

No. 3 St. Xavier (4-1) at No. 19 Ryle (4-1)

Jack Sivori might be the most lethal dual-threat quarterback in KHSAA coming into week seven. Last week at Cardinal Stadium, Sivori put up 153 yards and three touchdowns on 27 rushing attempts. Sivori is the fourth-ranked rusher in 6A this season with 665 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Ryle’s four straight wins prior to last week’s BYE have skyrocketed the program to a consistent top-25 ranking for the majority of this season. Logan Verax’s 818 passing yards on 75-125 completions and nine touchdowns have helped lead the way. The Raiders also feature a two-headed backfield in Nathan Yowan and Jayce Harden 405 combined rushing yards — the duo average 7.9 and 5.4 yards per rush, respectively.

Bowling Green (3-3) at No. 9 South Warren (4-1)

Bowling Green, the reigning 3A State Champions, are off to their worst start in over 20 years, while South Warren is undefeated in KHSAA play (3-0).

Last week, Spartans linebacker Luke Burton returned an interception to the house in their 20-6 victory over No. 16 Central on Friday. 33 rushes for South Warren only gained them 90 yards and they were held to just 135 passing yards against the 3-3 Yellow Jackets — which is music to Bowling Green’s ears.

Through the Purples first four games, they only allowed 187 total rushing yards. In the last two weeks, they’ve allowed 372 yards on the ground — nearly double their previous mark. The question that may decide the game is how will Bowling Green’s defense matchup and contain the Spartans the same way Central did — but with a more favorable final score?

North Laurel (5-0) at Southwestern (4-1)

North Laurel hasn’t received the attention and recognition they’ve deserved as one of 15 KHSAA schools that have remained undefeated heading into week seven.

The Jaguars decimated rival South Laurel 61-8 in the 2021 First Priority Bowl last week. Aside from their season-opening overtime win against Bell County (30-22), no other team has come to within three scores of defeating North Laurel, as they’ve won by an average of 34 points since.

Southwestern ran the ball for 337 yards last week in their 35-14 victory over Lincoln County as Tanner Wright and Giddeon Brainard combined for 217 rushing yards on the night while holding the Patriots to only 32 rushing yards.

Even more impressive — North Laurel held the Cardinals to 18 total rushing yards. The question is, which team can break off a huge run first?

No. 10 Trinity (0-6) at No. 1 (Ohio, MaxPreps) St. Xavier (Cincinnati), OH (6-0)

Trinity’s schedule keeps getting harder and harder and Ohio’s St. Xavier is their toughest test yet. Ranked No. 10 nationally by MaxPreps and the No. 1 team in Ohio, Trinity has to play the best football of any team in the country Friday night if they expect to win.

The best thing for the Shamrocks to do is hope for the best and prepare for Ballard as soon as possible as KHSAA’s 2020 6A state champions continue to search for win number one nearly two months into the 2021 season.