Kroger KSR Game of the Week Preview: South Warren at Bowling Green

DanielHagerKSR

The KSR crew is headed to Bowling Green on Friday night for a playoff rematch from just a year ago between the last two 5A state champions.

Exactly one year from the date of tonight’s matchup, the eventual 5A champion South Warren Spartans ended Bowling Green’s season in devastating fashion. Thanks in part to South Warren senior Kobe Martin’s 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns, the Purples fell 28-3 in the second round of the playoffs.

This Bowling Green team is much improved since that defeat.

The Purples come into Friday night’s matchup ranked 12th in KSR’s latest Kentucky High School Football Rankings, sporting an impressive 9-2 record. After losing just one game all of last season, South Warren entered this year’s playoffs with a 5-5 record, same as Bowling Green just a season ago. Seems like the narrative has been flipped on this matchup.

Purples Looking to Rekindle 2020 Magic

After a down year in 2021, the Purples are back and are looking for revenge in these playoffs. After being blown out by South Warren twice last season, Bowling Green took down the Spartans 28-24 on September 30th and now look to knock them out of the playoffs this year.

Bowling Green is led by stellar sophomore quarterback Deuce Bailey, who comes into this matchup with 2,294 yards passing and a phenomenal 25:5 TD/INT ratio. Bailey has been nothing short of fantastic this season and is in the conversation for the best young quarterback in the entire state of Kentucky.

POTW 🎥@DeuceBailey1 with the dime to @BarberTrevy in the Purples 28-24 victory over South Warren pic.twitter.com/chAKRS0fhs
— Lauren Floyd (@LaurenFloydTV) October 1, 2022

The Purples’ defense sports two players near 100 tackles on the season in seniors Jake Napier (98 tackles) and Davis Fant (92 tackles). Napier and Fant have combined for 26% of the team’s total tackles and 39% of the team’s total TFL. These guys have been absolutely dominant all season and look to cause havoc in the Spartan backfield.

In their first-round playoff matchup last Friday against Ohio County, Bowling Green only allowed 120 total offensive yards en route to a 49-0 blowout.

South Warren in Unfamiliar Territory, Looking to Pull Upset

South Warren comes into Friday night’s matchup sporting their most losses in a season since 2016. After losing 23 seniors from last season’s state championship team, a down year was expected.

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The Spartans are starting a sophomore at quarterback as well. Bryce Button has taken the reigns at the position this season from three-year starter Caden Veltkamp, who graduated after last season and is now at WKU. Veltkamp finished his career with 4,873 yards passing and a 71:14 TD/INT ratio. Big shoes to fill. Button has been promising this season, throwing for 1,969 yards with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

The South Warren defense is anchored by seniors Drew Givens and KJ Hardesty, AKA the “Sack Bros”. Givens and Hardesty have combined for 16 sacks on the season, 59% of the team’s total sacks.

South Warren three-star DB Cristian Conyer made waves this summer when he committed to Tennessee over in-state Kentucky. Conyer had somewhat of an underwhelming senior season, totaling only nine tackles and one interception in nine games played this season. He was also the team’s third-leading receiver, hauling in 26 receptions for 292 yards and three touchdowns.

BREAKING: South Warren’s Cristian Conyer (@ConyerC2) has announced he is committing to @Vol_Football! pic.twitter.com/nVVAkuc1JI
— Brett Alper (@TheRealAlper) July 3, 2022

The Spartans had a rough ending to their regular season, dropping their last two games to Greenwood and Logan County. They bounced back in their first-round matchup against Graves County, the Spartans rushed for 252 yards in a 36-7 gashing of the Eagles.

Who Moves on to the Third Round?

When a 9-2 team faces a 5-5 team, it is expected that the 9-2 team will win almost every time. However, this game may be closer than you think. The Purples only won by four points in their regular season matchup in late September, thanks in part to big games from Bailey (244 yards passing, two touchdowns) and junior running back Javen Huddleston (145 yards rushing, two touchdowns).

Both of these teams still feature championship experience and championship-level coaching, so something has got to give. Will Bowling Green get revenge on South Warren for last year’s playoff defeat and prevent back-to-back titles? Or will South Warren shock the Purples and continue their run to another state title? We’ll find out Friday night.