Kroger KSR Game of the Week Preview: Frederick Douglass Edition

DanielHagerKSR

After a season of tune-up games, it seems as if the No. 2 Frederick Douglass Broncos may face their first real obstacle of the season Friday night in the final Kroger KSR Game of the Week of the regular season. Undefeated Douglass travels to Danville to take on the No. 7 Boyle County Rebels (8-1), whose lone loss came by one point on the road to the #6 ranked Lexington Catholic Knights earlier this month.

In the eight games the Broncos have played (Lafayette forfeited their game due to illness), they’ve won all eight (against teams with a combined record of 34-38) by a combined score of 427-42. The only ranked team they’ve defeated this season was #11 Scott County, as they put up 447 yards of offense en route to a 41-0 victory a month ago. Safe to say the Broncos have been absolutely dominant.

Ahead of Friday night’s matchup, which is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 PM, KSR is previewing both teams. Below is everything you need to know about the Broncos.

Check out Brady Byrdwell’s preview of Boyle County here.

No Shortage of Talent

It’s a shocker, but once again the Broncos are loaded with Division I talent. Three-stars DL Jamarrion Harkless (Auburn), ATH Ty Bryant (Kentucky), RB T.J. Horton (Ball State), and DL Jalen Hand (Western Kentucky) round out the 2023 class. The 2024 class is led by three-stars CB Jeremiah Lowe (offers from Michigan and Missouri) and IOL Demeco Kennedy (offers from Kentucky, Louisville, and Ole Miss), who have yet to make their college selection. Whether it’s offense or defense, Douglass has next-level guys at almost every position.

X’s and O’s

Junior quarterback Cole Carpenter has been solid for the Broncos this season, but most of their offense has come on the ground. Five different Broncos have rushed for over 100 yards in total this season (TJ Horton, Davaun Hart, Pharo Watts, Ty Bryant, and James Mickey), while three have scored 7+ touchdowns on the ground (Horton, Hart & Bryant). Douglass has gashed opponents for an average of 145 rushing yards a game. They will need a big performance against Boyle County, as the Rebels only allow 63 rushing yards per game. Something will have to give.

The Broncos are coming off their worst defensive effort of the season last week, allowing 169 yards of offense and 13 points against 2-7 Montgomery County. In their eight games this season, the Douglass defense has completely shut down opposing offenses, only allowing an average of 93 yards per game. The defense is led by Auburn commit Harkless and Western Kentucky commit Hand, and is rounded out by junior Darion Neal (brother of former Bronco and current Baylor S Devin Neal), sophomore Latonio Iaveall, and senior Corey Gamble. The Bronco defensive unit has been elite, only allowing an average of five points per game.

Playoff Momentum on The Line

If Boyle County hadn’t blown a 20-0 lead against Lexington Catholic, we could be headed into a monster undefeated matchup right before the playoffs, but this one is still pretty big. It really doesn’t hurt the loser of this game, but the winner will be riding huge momentum into the postseason. Can Kentucky commit Tommy Ziesmer and the Rebels dial up a repeat of last year’s matchup (a 34-7 victory in favor of Boyle), or will the Broncos finish with their third undefeated regular season in six years?

We’ll find out Friday night in Title Town.

Kroger is a staple in your hometown community just like high school football. There’s nothing quite like Friday nights in the Bluegrass. We are honored to share this journey with Kroger and you for the third consecutive season.