Kroger's Kentucky High School Football Rundown - Week 7

It was a relatively quiet night of high school football across the Bluegrass on Friday. With district play in full swing, high-profile matchups were few and far between. That doesn’t mean there weren’t significant storylines playing out throughout the state though.

For starters, the Kroger KSR Game of the Week went to Paris, KY for the first time ever to watch the Greyhounds route Bishop Brossart 41-3. KSR’s Daniel Hager was on location in Bourbon County to take in the action, but the story of this game was more about what happened off the field rather than on it. Make sure to check out Daniel’s full recap here.

Elsewhere, KSR’s Brady Byrdwell made the short trip to Versailles where he witnessed an undermanned Woodford County squad overcome injuries and absences to beat South Oldham. A full recap of that contest can be found below. Other notable outcomes include a 17-3 win for No. 7 Trinity over St. Xavier (OH) and a 56-35 victory by the Louisville-based No. 9 St. Xavier over Ryle.

Before you dive into Brady’s recap and the full scoreboard rundown below, let’s shout out our good friends at Kroger.

We are proud to support local schools through Kroger Community Rewards. This includes up to 3.5 million in quarterly gifts to the non-profit of your choice. Sign up using your Kroger loyalty card at Kroger.com/communityrewards.

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Woodford County Defies Odds with Win Over South Oldham

BY: Brady Byrdwell

The night started with uncertainty. Woodford County entered Friday’s matchup against South Oldham riding a four-game win streak. With spirits high and a packed crowd, most assumed it would continue. That was until Woodford County ran out of the tunnel without their star quarterback, junior Andrew Nason. The home side of the historic Community stadium was filled with shocked looks.

The looks got worse when star junior cornerback (and Kentucky target) Makhi Smith trotted out in a knee brace and no pads. However, no team is made up of one man or even two. And Woodford County showed that Friday night in their 30-14 win at home.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS@WoodfordFBall has proved themselves tonight
SO 6
WC 23
1:48 3Q pic.twitter.com/3wZQrS9SII

— Brady Byrdwell (@BByrdwellKSR) September 30, 2023

Head coach Dennis Johnson spoke on the challenge, “Tough day for our guys. I’m an honest person, and I said some things in our team meeting. We didn’t have the best week of practice; we had some guys injured, but our team performed. Nobody is going to feel sorry about us; we have to go out and perform.”

Junior wide receiver/cornerback Justus Wertzler started the game behind center, only his second time doing so this season. What followed left jaws on the floor. Werzler went ballistic in the first half, leading Woodford County to a 23-6 lead. Wertzler electrified with runs outside the pocket, delivering dimes on the move. It seemed as though Wertzler was acting on pure athletic instinct. Throughout the entire game, Wertzler dazzled and made almost every play imaginable. 

Big first down run from @JWertzler pic.twitter.com/KU3w5ATWjU

— Brady Byrdwell (@BByrdwellKSR) September 30, 2023

Woodford County Pushes Through Adversity

Werzler wasn’t the only Yellow Jacket that flexed their talent. Touchdowns from senior Dayvion Preston, senior DJ Dumas, junior Leland Taylor, and freshman Darrian Tomlin led the Yellow Jackets to victory. However, the stars of the show were not on the offensive side of the ball.

The Woodford County defense faced questions entering Friday. A performance where you give up a touchdown in each half is one to build off. This allows their talented offense and playmakers to get after it, with their defense keeping them rested. Woodford County forced multiple turnovers on downs in the second half. Tomlin even ripped the ball in the first half to give procession back to the Yellow Jackets.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS. Great response from @WoodfordFBall defense pic.twitter.com/JDjZD7oHyt

— Brady Byrdwell (@BByrdwellKSR) September 30, 2023

Coach Johnson spoke on the defensive effort after the game, “We preach a lot of fundamentals. We can shut down what people want to do and make them do what we want. I thought we played physical defense, we hit, we ran, we got to our assignments. That was probably one of our better defensive jobs.”

From there, it was cruise control for Woodford County. Both teams scored a lone touchdown in the second half, but the damage was done. The Yellow Jackets impress against all odds. 

My oh my. @WoodfordFBall defense took the questions personally, 4th down incoming pic.twitter.com/IXAgOFiehM

— Brady Byrdwell (@BByrdwellKSR) September 30, 2023

Question Marks Ahead

Throughout the rest of the season, the question of Andrew Nason’s absence will continue to plague. After speculation throughout the game, Coach Dennis Johnson set the record straight. Aden Nelson left the team Friday morning. Their star quarterback has decided to move on from Woodford County and pursue other options. Coach Johnson will make a statement in the following days. One thing is for sure, Nelson will not suit up for Woodford County again, leaving Wertzler with the keys to the castle.

“We didn’t know who would start yesterday; we were going to play them both. But we told Wertzler today it’s time to go to work; he is a gamer. He makes plays.”

Welcome to the @JWertzler experience pic.twitter.com/NF0rs9sIDF

— Brady Byrdwell (@BByrdwellKSR) September 30, 2023

If Woodford County plays how it did on Friday the rest of the season, the Yellow Jackets may find themselves at Kroger Field again.

For South Oldham (5-2), Friday was a step back from where they have been this season. The offense stalled at times, and the defense struggled to contain the Woodford attack. However, South Oldham’s late touchdown showed one thing: the Dragons will never surrender. As this season ticks on, that trait will become even more valuable.

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Kroger’s Scores From Around The State

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 fourth consecutive season. Check out all of the scores from throughout the weekend below.

Thursday, Sept. 28

Bardstown	49	at Breckinridge County	12
No. 18 Bowling Green	55	vs. Christian County	0
Campbellsville	36	at Danville	6
Green County	50	vs. Clinton County	16
Jeffersontown	24	at Western	6
McLean County	28	at Hopkins County Central	27
Monroe County	20	vs. Metcalfe County	14

Friday, Sept. 29

North Laurel	62	vs. South Laurel	0	First Priority Bowl
Mercer County	36	vs. Marion County	0	Horn Home Improvement Homecoming Game
No. 10 Ashland Blazer	48	vs. Rowan County	0
Atherton	20	vs. Butler	6
No. 15 Beechwood	54	vs. Walton-Verona	3
Belfry	14	vs. Lawrence County	6
Bethlehem	45	vs. Butler County	8
Boyd County	48	vs. Greenup County	14
No. 16 Bryan Station	56	vs. Henry Clay	0
Carroll County	48	at Bracken County	47
Caverna	72	at Fulton County	14
Central	60	at Elizabethtown	7
Central Hardin	51	at Warren Central	12
No. 8 Christian Academy-Louisville	49	at LaRue County	0
Cooper	41	at Conner	7
No. 2 Corbin	34	vs. Johnson Central	6
No. 5 Covington Catholic	56	at Grant County	6
Crittenden County	28	vs. Murray	14
DeSales	41	at Waggener	0
Doss	46	vs. Valley	20
East Carter	41	at Bath County	8
Eastern	28	vs. Bullitt Central	21
Fairdale	47	vs. Iroquois	0
Fern Creek	37	vs. WEB DuBois	0
Fleming County	40	at Lewis County	0
Floyd Central	36	at Knott County Central	20
Fort Campbell	37	vs. Edmonson County	8
No. 14 Franklin County	60	vs. North Oldham	13
Franklin-Simpson	27	at Glasgow	14
Garrard County	24	vs. Casey County	13
Graves County	14	at Apollo	7
Grayson County	42	vs. North Bullitt	6
Greenwood	56	vs. Ohio County	7
Hancock County	40	at Webster County	39
Hart County	33	vs. Adair County	22
No. 23 Highlands	51	at Dixie Heights	21
Holy Cross (Covington)	14	vs. Morgan County	8
Holy Cross (Louisville)	14	at Nelson County	10
Hopkinsville	43	vs. Calloway County	0
Jackson County	49	at Jenkins	6
John Hardin	48	vs. Thomas Nelson	0
Knox Central	52	vs. McCreary Central	20
No. 6 Lexington Christian	49	vs. Fort Knox	0
Lincoln County	40	vs. Wayne County	33
Ludlow	56	at Bellevue	14
Madison Central	38	at Pulaski County	28
Madison Southern	36	at East Jessamine	6
Madisonville-North Hopkins	55	at Muhlenberg County	37
Magoffin County	50	vs. Powell County	25
No. 3 Male	43	vs. Roncalli (Indianapolis), IN	0
Martin County	44	vs. Prestonsburg	0
Mason County	52	at Holmes	0
No. 20 Mayfield	63	at Caldwell County	7
Middlesboro	40	at Harlan	24
Moore	10	at Seneca	0
Nicholas County	60	at Fairview	20
North Hardin	29	at Barren County	14
Owen County	27	vs. Gallatin County	21	(overtime)
Owensboro	50	vs. Marshall County	0
No. 11 Owensboro Catholic	57	vs.Todd County Central (at Steele Stadium (Owensboro))	7
No. 17 Paducah Tilghman	63	vs. Logan County	20
Paintsville	28	at East Ridge	16
Paris	41	vs. Bishop Brossart	3
Pleasure Ridge Park	21	at Meade County	20
No. 23 Raceland	43	at Hazard	0
Rockcastle County	40	at Bell County	38
Russell	14	at West Carter	9
Russellville	38	at Ballard Memorial	0
Sayre	50	at Bourbon County	0
Scott	40	at Boone County	34
No. 13 Scott County	51	vs. Anderson County	13
Shelby County	38	at Western Hills	6
Somerset	42	at Breathitt County	21
Southern	6	vs. Frankfort	2
Southwestern	49	vs. Harlan County	12
Spencer County	30	vs. Henry County	21
No. 9 St. Xavier	56	at Ryle	35
Tates Creek	42	at Paul Laurence Dunbar	21
Taylor County	44	vs. Russell County	6
No. 7 Trinity (Louisville)	17	at St. Xavier (Cincinnati), OH	3
Union County	42	at Trigg County	12
Warren East	36	vs. Allen County-Scottsville	14
Washington County	39	vs. Shawnee	8
West Jessamine	20	vs. Montgomery County	14	(overtime)
Whitley County	63	at Scott (Huntsville), TN	14
Williamsburg	58	vs. Pineville	6
Woodford County	30	vs. South Oldham	14