KHSAA Football Playoffs Round One Recap — Presented by Kroger

Week one of KHSAA playoff action went off without many upsets. The teams that were supposed to win, won. That doesn’t mean there weren’t good games throughout the state, though.

Here are a few notable games/stories coming out of Thursday and Friday night:

Bishop Brossart (11-0) def. Paris (4-7) 14-12

The undefeated Bishop Brossart Mustangs were tested during round one.

Quarterback Jacob Leicht only completed four passes on the night, but two of them were enough to find the end zone. Both scoring receptions were caught by Mason Meyers, who finished the night with two catches for 38 yards and two touchdowns.

Jed Martin also contributed to the Mustangs victory, carrying the load with 22 rushes for 107 yards. Leicht was the only other player to rush the ball against Paris, amassing 31 yards on the ground to go with his 114 through the air.

Bishop Brossart now advances to KHSAA’s round two to take on Nicholas County, who they defeated 14-0 in the regular season.

Atherton (6-5) def. North Bullitt (2-9) 21-7

It took 72 years, but at last, Atherton High School football can say that they’ve won a playoff game.

“It was a great time,” Atherton head coach Anthony White said. “Just to see the students come out on the field and celebrate with us, we’re not only doing it for the players but we’re doing it for the student body. I’m not going to call it a party, but we had a great time in the locker room.”

Atherton is 6-5 for the first time since 1976. Their last five KHSAA playoff appearances came between 2007 and 2020, where they were outscored by a total of 249-31 to Valley, Bullitt East, Madison Southern, South Oldham and North Bullitt.

The Ravens now boast a four-game winning streak heading into a tough matchup against South Oldham, which was responsible for Atherton’s last loss of the regular season back on Oct. 1, defeating them 48-14.

“Now we have to go play the king of the castle,” White said. “It will be a big one, but we’re riding a four-game winning streak. We just hope to carry that momentum.”

Franklin-Simpson (5-6) def. Warren East (5-6) 27-26

Franklin-Simpson came up with a big-time stop on a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter to stop Warren East from completing the late comeback.

“They did some different things defensively,” Franklin-Simpson coach Max Chaney said about Warren East’s failed comeback. “They played some kids that didn’t play the last time and that made a little bit of a difference. It was ugly in the second half, shouldn’t have been that ugly, but we didn’t break on the two-point conversion. My guys kept their composure and I was proud of them for that.”

After a missed PAT in the first quarter for the Raiders, Warren East knew that would come back to haunt them—that failed kick would ultimately be the deciding factor on the scoreboard at the end of the night.

“I was extremely proud of our players tonight and the way they fought for four quarters,” Warren East coach Jeff Griffith said. “They essentially come up one yard short on a two-point conversion with a minute to go. It was disappointing, but I really can’t fault our effort.”

The Wildcats survived and will now advance to the second round and are set to take on Allen County-Scottsville. The Patriots have won the last three meetings against Franklin-Simpson, including a 33-21 victory back in September.

West Jessamine (5-5) def. Collins (7-4) 51-39

Home teams on Thursday went 17-1. The lone upset? West Jessamine.

“Honestly, everything was working,” Colts quarterback Jacob Jones said. “Our O-line was blocking great, our running back was running great, I was running good, our receivers were catching balls — I mean, nothing negative on offense.”

Jones finished the game with 271 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. He was complemented by running back Bryce Chestnut’s 148 yards and four scores.

During the KHSAA regular season, Collins defeated the Colts 35-34—something Chestnut was determined not to go through again at this point in the season.

“It was win or go home, so you’ve got to put your all into it,” Chestnut said. “In warm-ups, I was like, ‘This is the game.’ Last game I had quite a few yards, but this game I had to take it up a notch. My linemen helped out a bunch with that.”

West Jessamine will go on to face the undefeated Woodford County Yellow Jackets in a rematch of the week seven Kroger KSR Game of the Week.

Other Notable KHSAA Scores

Hazard (8-4) def. Sayre (8-3) 24-21

Henderson County (7-4) def. Apollo (6-5) 31-26

Rockcastle County (6-5) def. Garrard County (5-7) 36-30

Ashland Blazer (7-4) def. Russell (6-5) 52-42

Fairdale (7-5) def. Doss (5-6) 20-18

Holy Cross (Covington) (4-7) def. Lloyd Memorial (3-7) 35-29

Dunbar (6-5) def. Lafayette (2-9) 21-19

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