Woodford County hosts Dixie Heights in Kroger KSR Game of the Week

The KSR Crew is headed to Falling Springs Park in Versailles, KY on Friday night for the first Kroger KSR Game of the Week of the 2023 postseason. Dixie Heights (4-6) out of northern Kentucky travels to Woodford County (6-3) to kick off the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs.

Both teams have experienced some big wins and heartbreaking losses throughout their respective schedules, but the regular season is behind us. In the playoffs, the good, the bad, and the ugly of whatever happened over the last 10-plus weeks get left behind. From this moment on, surviving and advancing is the only mindset.

The ultimate goal? Winning a Kentucky state championship. Let’s dive into Friday night’s matchup between Dixie Heights and Woodford County.

Woodford County Yellow Jackets

Led by head coach Dennis Johnson, the Woodford County football program has gone from winless seasons to top-four finishes since taking over as head coach in 2015. The Yellowjackets have established themselves as solid contenders in the 5A class over the past few seasons.

Junior Justus Wertzler is QB1 for the Jackets. He totals 798 yards passing and eight touchdowns through the air with just one interception. As a running back, Wertzler has added 243 yards and four touchdowns on the ground

The Jackets share the ball among their QBs, playing whoever is fit for their opponent/play design. Freshman Lemmie Coons has taken quite a few snaps and totals 353 yards passing along with four touchdown receptions and two interceptions.

Junior Leland Taylor is the leading rusher for the Jackets, having contributed 326 yards and four rushing touchdowns. Along with his skills at RB, Taylor leads the team in receiving, tallying 457 yards and a team-high five touchdowns.

Woodford County has some athletes on defense, too. Their roster is stacked with solid linebackers. Junior Graham Hodge leads with 70.5 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. Junior Dayvion Sturgis follows with 65 tackles, six tackles for loss, and two sacks. Freshman Darrian Tomlin has been useful as well, totaling 50 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks. Senior Layton Starks plays at LB and DE for the Jackets, recording 45.5 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and eight sacks.

Dixie Heights Colonels

The Colonels offense is led by junior quarterback Armani Gregg. He’s produced 1,528 yards and 18 touchdowns through the air with five picks. The versatile QB is a huge weapon when rushing too, totaling 711 yards and 12 rushing scores this season. He’ll usually hand it off to junior David Anderson, who’s added 793 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground

Dixie Heights shares the ball among a few different receivers. Senior Tyson Beach leads with 378 yards receiving and three touchdown receptions. Senior Hudson Blank follows with 260 yards total and four more receiving touchdowns. Junior Nolan Goetz is next in line with 228 yards total and an additional four touchdown scores.

Brach Rice is huge for the Colonels’ defense. The senior has totaled 145 tackles, 31 tackles for loss, and 13 sacks in his final season. Fellow senior Blake Dodds follows with 86 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and seven sacks. Senior Carter Schroer has tallied 66 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks. Senior Miguel Rodriguez has been in the mix as well, adding 54 tackles and three interceptions.

The playoff opener kicks off at 7:30 E.T. at Falling Springs Park in Versailles. Brady Byrdwell and I can’t wait to cover the action live and in person. We’ll keep you updated via KSBoard and on X/Twitter.