KHSAA Football: Week Three Preview, Five Ranked Battles

The Kroger KSR Game of the Week heads to Louisville for Male vs. Saint Xavier, but that’s far from the only notable game this weekend. Five different top-25 matchups (including GOTW) are on tap for week three in some KHSAA football action.

No. 6 Franklin Co. (2-0) vs. No. 10 Corbin (2-0):

Franklin County won their first two games by a total score of 104-14 led by their up-tempo, balanced offense. Featuring quarterback Jayden Mattison, running back Kaden Moorman and wide receiver Zach Claudio, the trio has combined for nine touchdowns already in the young season.

Moorman leads the rushing attack with 252 yards and six touchdowns, while Mattison and Claudio have hooked up eight times for 135 yards and two scores. Overall, Mattison has thrown the ball 27 times, completing 18 balls for 324 yards and three touchdowns.

If they want to keep that momentum through Friday, they’ll have to go through the Redhounds’ star linebacker, Mikey Neal. Neal’s 18 total tackles anchored Corbins’ defensive squad in the first two games, cementing him as their defensive leader.

On the offensive side, there’s been some turnover at quarterback. Week one, Cameron Combs was QB1 and had 277 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. Fast forward to the next week, freshman Kade Elam, a Louisville baseball commit, completed 12-14 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns in his varsity debut.

Luckily, they have a couple of weapons in 2022 Kentucky commit Treyveon Longmire, who’s helped both quarterbacks by catching two passes in each game for a total of 93 yards and two touchdowns along with four-star prospect Dakota Patterson who has 10 snags for 108 yards this season.

No. 12 Lexington Catholic (2-0) vs. No. 19 Covington Catholic (1-1):

KSR fans will remember last year’s matchup between the Knights and the Colonels in the Kroger KSR Game of the Week, where Lex. Catholic won 29-28 from a last-second blocked field goal off the hand of Jackson Klein. Klein has since gone on to join the Centre College Football team.

The next time KSR had Lex. Catholic in the Kroger Game of the Week was last week, where the Knights’ K/WR Max DeGraff nailed a 47-yard field goal as regulation expired, giving the Knights the 38-36 victory. The game-winner was the cherry on top for DeGraff who also hauled in two catches for 77 yards and a score.

That performance from DeGraff wouldn’t have been possible without Knights quarterback Jack Gohmann‘s 338 all-purpose yards and four total touchdowns.

Cov. Catholic bounced back last week from a season-opening loss against Cincinnati’s Elder, the No. 3 team in Ohio, according to MaxPreps, 24-3 by defeating perennial 3A powerhouse Belfry 42-13.

The Colonels’ defense will have their work cut out for them from the Knights’ offensive creativity, but the one-two punch of Colin Gastright and David Sullivan’s 29 total tackles could stifle Lex. Catholic’s fiery start to the season. That’s the key to the game for Cov. Catholic as their offense has shown sparks, but has been unable to stay consistent through two games this season.

Cov. Catholic quarterback Adam Holtz has been turnover-prone this season, throwing four picks compared to two touchdowns. His 175 total passing yards this season isn’t enough to upset the Knights — he’ll need to at least double his season stats for a shot at coming away with a victory against Lex. Catholic this Friday.

No. 17 Pulaski Co. (1-1) vs. No. 11 Boyle Co. (1-1):

Both teams played in perhaps the two biggest KHSAA matchups of last week, where Pulaski Co. fell 38-36 to Lex. Catholic and the Rebels lost their first regular-season game since Aug. 31, 2017, to No. 7 LCA last Saturday 35-28.

Boyle Co. may get their money’s worth with Pulaski’s offense. Maroons quarterback Drew Polston leads KHSAA in passing yards through two games with 673 and seven touchdowns. Polston has three weapons in Antonio Palmer, Barek Williams and Brysen Dugger, who have all combined for 455 yards and five touchdowns. They’ll be down one of these three, though.

Maroons head coach John Hines has confirmed Williams will not suit up this Friday due to an ankle injury sustained early in the game against Lex. Catholic.

For the Rebels, Dalton Stone holds the defense down up the middle at linebacker, amassing 20 total tackles and two TFL through the first two games of the season. Stone and the rest of the defense are going to have his hands full with not only the passing game but from Maroons running back Donovan Abbott, whose powerful running style has led him into the end zone once in each game so far.

The Boyle Co. offense hasn’t had the same luck gaining yards and with Pulaski’s seven players at 10+ tackles, it could be a long night for the Rebels as both teams look to bounce back from week two losses.

No. 13 DuPont Manuel (2-0) vs. No. 22 North Hardin (1-1):

Neither team has an offense that will blow you away with their ability to move the ball down the field and on the stat sheet, but both are well-rounded when it comes to versatility and keeping defenses guessing.

185 of North Hardin quarterback Manie Wimberly’s 257 total passing yards have targeted the Trojan duo of Shawn Rose (99 yards) and Queshaun Davis (86 yards) as well as two of Wimberly’s three touchdowns. David Boyd holds down the backfield with a team-high 69 rushing yards and was complemented last week by a rush from Diantae Stills, who took his single rush to the house for 46 yards —- good for Hardin’s one and only rushing touchdown of 2021.

On the other hand, the Crimsons have the edge on the ground. Manuel quarterback Darien Wilson’s 330 all-purpose yardage, along with three touchdowns, have proved he’s one of the most versatile throughout KHSAA. They also have some trickery up their sleeve as running back Jawaun Northington (a Kentucky Football target) threw a pass to Curtis Reardon for a 69-yard touchdown.

The Crimsons offense should be weary with their tricks in week three, as the Trojans have two sure-tacklers that they can count on in Elijah Parker and Jujuan Williams, who’ve combined for 28 tackles this season. Williams also boasts two sacks and a pick-six thus far.

Other KHSAA games to keep an eye on:

• No. 15 Owensboro (1-1) vs. Daviess Co. (2-0) — Two high-powered offenses. Daviess Co. QB Joe Humphreys is coming off 567-yard (seventh all-time in KHSAA history), six-touchdown game against Owensboro Catholic in week two. Four-star Rutgers commit and Owensboro star Gavin Wimsatt is the top-rated QB in the state this year.
• No. 23 Mayfield (2-0) vs. Paducah Tilghman (1-1) — Despite losing 41-34 last Friday against Graves Co., Paducah Tilghman still sits as the No. 1 3A team in KHSAA. With Mayfield heading to the Blue Tornado’s territory, Paducah has a shot to give the 3A division some respect in the early portion of the 2021 season, none of which made the cut in KSR’s top-25.
• St. Rita (Chicago, IL) (0-1) vs. No. 4 Trinity (0-1) — Coming off a week one loss and a week two COVID cancellation, Trinity should be more motivated than ever to grab their first win of the season.
• Butler (1-1) vs. No. 25 Central (0-2) — Central has had a less than impressive start to 2021 and will look to cling onto their spot in KSR’s top-25 with a win on the road this Thursday against Butler.