Freddie Maggard's notes from a busy weekend of football in Kentucky

Happy Monday. This weekend was a busy and fun stretch of football that was followed by a newsworthy Monday morning. I’m still pretty tired from a marathon at Kroger Field, so let’s just jump into it, shall we? 

KHSAA State Football Championships

What a weekend. The Kroger KSR Game of the Week took us all over Kentucky and familiarized us with eight of the 12 teams that competed for a title. I had the honor of being on the call for all six games and I had a blast as you can imagine. 

Pikeville beat Raceland 41-9 to start the festivities in the 1A championship game on Friday afternoon. Chris McNamee’s team rolled the 1A competition on their way to the school’s seventh state championship. RB Blake Birchfield rushed for over 200 yards in the win and made a strong statement in his quest for Mr. Football.  

Class A: Pikeville Defeated Raceland 41-9

Beechwood repeated in Class 2A with a close 14-13 victory over Mayfield. Beechwood has won several titles in recent years by a narrow margin. Now with 17 championships, the Tigers continue to be a dominant program from northern Kentucky.

Class 2A: Beechwood Defeated Mayfield 14-13

Christian Academy of Louisville and Bardstown featured the only title game with two undefeated teams. CAL led 14-0 at halftime before opening the game up in the second half to capture the 3A title with a 38-0 win over the Tigers. 

Class 3A: Christian Academy Louisville Defeated Bardstown 38-0

The 4A championship was the most anticipated matchup of the weekend. 14-0 Corbin took on defending champ Boyle County in Friday’s nightcap. Boyle County squeaked out 32-26 in an instant classic. At times, games with as much buildup as this one rarely live up to the hype. This game was the exception. Both Corbin and Boyle County were championship-level programs and deserved the trophy. The Rebels’ two, fourth-quarter defensive stops were the difference. UK commit Tommy Ziesmer took over the game in the second half at the defensive lineman spot, and even scored a touchdown as a tight end. His last high school performance may be enough to help him secure Mr. Football. 

Class 4A: Boyle County Defeated Corbin 32-26

5A Frederick Douglass faced off with Bowling Green in Saturday’s finale. The first half ended with a 7-7 tie before the Broncos pulled away late to defeat the Purples 28-7. Frederick Douglass was the best team in Kentucky regardless of classification from the season’s start to finish. Future Wildcat Ty Bryant won MVP honors and made his statement case for Mr. Football.

Class 5A: Frederick Douglass Defeated Bowling Green 28-7

The 6A championship game was dramatic. Louisville Male scored two touchdowns in 52 seconds to start the contest. Bullitt East battled back to tie the game at the half but fell behind late. The Chargers scored the game’s final touchdown with 52 seconds left in the fourth quarter and converted a successful two-point conversion to win the Trophy. Bullitt East quarterback Travis Egan finished the game with 352 total yards and accounted for four touchdowns. Egan’s late-game dramatics may have solidified his case for Mr. Football.

Class 6A: Bullitt East Defeated Male 28-27

Kentucky vs. Iowa in the Music City Bowl 

Rematch. The ‘Cats and Hawkeyes played a year ago in the Citrus Bowl. UK won its fourth consecutive bowl game after heroic game-ending efforts from Will Levis, Wan’Dale Robinson, and the injured DeAndre Square. Iowa and Kentucky have both been strangers to the end zone in 2022. The Wildcats are averaging a mere 22 points per game. That number, along with other inefficiencies, led Mark Stoops to make a change at offensive coordinator. Iowa was actually worse after posting a lowly 17 points per contest. A couple of offensive woes with a plethora of outgoing transfers and this one could be an ugly, low-scoring affair. 

Defense is another matter. Both teams excel in that phase of the game. Kentucky finished the regular season giving up just 19 points and 320 yards per game. Both numbers rank third in the SEC. Iowa is giving up a lowly 14 points and 277 yards per contest. Again, this bowl could be a defensive standoff between two programs that should be very familiar with each other. Projecting personnel for this matchup is difficult due to recent transfer portal transactions. KSR will have lots and lots of good stuff on this bowl before kickoff.

I may be in the minority here, but I’m not worked up about the Louisville basketball game being played at the same time. It is what it is. There’s plenty of BBN to go around and the western Kentucky folks will be close to Nashville which may result in more supporters than anticipated. I’m not a fan of the repeat opponent from last year’s bowl. Prognosticators favor Iowa as a 1.5-point favorite. This line will bounce around like a ping-pong ball before kickoff. 

Offensive Coordinator Watch and the Portal 

KSR’s Matt Jones tweeted Sunday night that Mark Stoops could name Rich Scangarello’s replacement as early as Monday or Tuesday. Much of the speculation and hope surround former OC Liam Coen. The BBN has made its case for bringing back the Rams’ assistant coach. Coen led the ‘Cats to one of the best offensive outputs of the Stoops era in 2021. UK averaged 32 points and 441 yards per game in Coen’s lone season in Lexington. The ‘Cats suffered quite the drop-off on that side of the ball following his return to LA. 

Will Coen come home? There’s quite a bit of buzz about that happening. We’ll see. Regardless of who Stoops names to the position, the transfer portal will focus on bringing a quarterback, running back, and multiple offensive linemen to into the fold. The portal has been active. Kentucky has already lost receivers Chauncey Magwood, Chris Lewis, Tae Tae Crumes, Rahsaan Lewis, and DeMarcus Harris. Tight end Keaton Upshaw and running back Kavosiey Smoke are also exiting the program. Expect more ingoing and outgoing transfers to be announced this week. Stay tuned for updates from KSR’s Adam Luckett and Nick Roush. 

What the Heck, Louisville? 

Scott Satterfield doesn’t like “L’s Down” so much that he’s leaving the Cardinals to become the head coach at Cincinnati. Satterfield’s teams haven’t been competitive in the Governor’s Cup. This move surprises me more from the UC standpoint than UL. The Bearcats are going from Luke Fickell to Scott Satterfield. That’s quite the backward step. I don’t see it, but best of luck to all involved. So, who will be the next Louisville head coach? Purdue’s Jeff Brohm has been rumored to come home for years now. Full disclosure, I really like Jeff. Will this finally be the year? We’ll see. The Satterfield to Cincinnati move was somewhat shocking for many reasons. 

What Does All This Mean? 

What a weekend and start to the week. I thoroughly enjoyed calling the state football championship games. The most difficult part of the job is discussing the runners-up. Winning a title is exciting for the players, coaches, and communities. Losing at Kroger Field brings heartbreak. I always feel sorry for the losing teams. Overall, the two days of championship-level football were highly encouraging from an overall football perspective. KHSAA football is in its Golden Era. Teams, coaches, and players are at their highest level that I’ve seen in 40 years and improve on an annual basis. Many deserve credit for this. 

College football is a 365-day season. This is especially true in terms of the transfer portal. Bowl games are going to be a mess. Projecting two-deeps and winners/losers will be guesswork at best. I’ve always felt that non-playoff bowls were exhibition games. This year emphatically supports that theory. Regardless, football will be played. 

Football state.