Kroger's Kentucky High School Football Rundown - Week 1

High school football in the state of Kentucky is back! The 2023 season began on Friday and continued on Saturday with thrilling contests spread all over the Commonwealth.

KSR had boots on the ground in various locations, headlined by our first Kroger KSR Game of the Week this season. On Saturday, our crew traveled west down to Western Kentucky University to check out UK football commit Cutter Boley and his No. 13-ranked Lexington Christian Academy Eagles, which snuck out with a high-scoring 56-52 win over the No. 7 Bowling Green Purples. Intern Piper McCoun has an in-depth recap of the exciting matchup that you can read here.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ was in northern Kentucky to watch Covington Catholic and future Wildcat TE Willie Rodgriguez while intern Daniel Hager traveled to Louisville where he saw Trinity light up Bryan Station. On Saturday, intern Brady Byrdwell made the short trip to Mercer County to cover Bullitt East’s big win over Woodford County. There were plenty of big-time matchups this weekend, and it’s only going to get crazier the rest of the year.

Check out Brady’s recap of Bullitt East’s 41-28 win below, along with a full scoreboard rundown of every game that took place throughout the weekend, presented by Kroger.

We are proud to support local schools through Kroger Community Rewards. This includes up to 3.5 million in quarterly gifts to the non-profit of your choice. Sign up using your Kroger loyalty card at Kroger.com/communityrewards

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Bullitt East Surges in 41-28 Victory over Woodford County

BY: Brady Byrdwell

The court of opinion surrounding Class 6A Kentucky high school football has been loud this offseason. Which teams would surprise, which would dominate, and which would fall off? Bullitt East fell into that final category by most fans. Opinions came despite the Chargers being the reigning 6A champions and returning the same coaching staff. However, everybody could agree Bullitt East was a giant question mark on everyone’s schedule. The Chargers lost reigning Kentucky Mr. Football and Louisville Cardinals quarterback Travis Egan.

On Saturday night, that question mark became a bit scarier to the rest of 6A. The #14 ranked Chargers defeated the #21 ranked Woodford County Yellow Jackets in a confident 41-28 victory.

After the game, Coach Keegan Kendrick spoke on how the Chargers see themselves this season. “I think a lot of people are interested to see what our offense is like, with losing all of these seniors,” he said. “But to come out tonight and show what we can do again, a really good 5A team shows promise.”

Most of the promise came from junior running back Michael West, who exploded for five touchdowns in the matchup.

With even the deepest research it would have been impossible to predict the performance from West. He rushed for a total of 17 yards all of last season with no touchdowns. Less than half a year removed from that season, he had a performance most could only dream about.

Back and forth first half

From the first whistle, it was obvious what Bullitt East’s plan of attack was on the Woodford County defense. Senior quarterback Jack Zwernemann controlled the offense with a mix of QB runs, quick hitters to his receivers, and deceiving option keeps. West was able to work off of Zwernemann’s runs by powering through the A gap. Coach Kendrick’s formula paid off early as Bullitt East ran out to an early 13-0 lead behind a goal-line surge from West and a 40-yard monster run from, well, Michael West.

TOUCHDOWN! 🚨 Bullitt East @BE_Chargers. Michael West bursts through the line for a 40-yard TD after Woodford turns the ball over on downs at midfield. His 2nd. Chargers lead 13-0 0:36.5 1Q pic.twitter.com/CsTyBq0qC0

— Jared Peck (@HLpreps) August 19, 2023

At this point, it seemed that the Chargers arrived at Mercer County with a blowout in mind. However, Dennis Johnson’s Yellow Jackets started to show signs of life after their triple option finally broke free.

Quarterback Andrew Nason took the ball for an easy 70-yard score as he outran every Bullitt East defender. Then, the Yellow Jackets followed that play with another monster drive in the following series. Freshman running back and track athlete Leland Taylor broke off another touchdown from the option formation. Just like that Woodford County led the game 14-13.

TOUCHDOWN WOODFORD COUNTY
Leland Taylor breaks off a 50 yard option touchdown… woodford leads 14-13 pic.twitter.com/F3OfPVUTaV

— Brady Byrdwell (@BByrdwellKSR) August 19, 2023

In the following possessions, the defenses began to swarm. The Chargers and Yellow Jackets traded drives that ended in turnovers on downs. Then, with less than three minutes left in the half, Michael West scored his third touchdown on a beautiful counterplay. When the offense lined up, Coach Kendrick yelled for an audible, which ended up being one of the calls of the game.

When asked about the success of the counterplays, Kendrick said, “That’s a big play for us. I’m really just looking at what the defense is giving us, sometimes it’s a different play. It seemed like that play tonight was what was working so we stuck with it.”

Closing time

With seemingly the second half over, Woodford QB Andrew Nason took a few shots downfield, with none being successful. As most were preparing for halftime festivities, Coach Johnson had one more play up his sleeve. Nason broke off another huge play from the triple option and Woodford County took a 21-20 lead into the half.

TOUCHDOWN! 🚨 @WoodfordFBall. On a series that looked dead in the water with time winding down, @AndrewNason21 finds a seam and goes 64 yards for a TD. Yellow Jackets lead 21-20 with 0:16 left 2Q. Quite a ballgame pic.twitter.com/2wfWlToRfF

— Jared Peck (@HLpreps) August 19, 2023

In the second half, Bullitt East began to flex its muscles. West broke away for another two touchdowns while Woodford’s Nason had to leave the game after a hard sack in which he fumbled. It was a tough-looking hit, but Nason seemed to be okay after the game. Bullitt East then held their lead throughout the fourth, despite letting up a garbage-time touchdown from the Yellow Jackets. In the end, it was a 41-28 win for the No. 14-ranked Chargers.

Kentucky target doesn’t play

Woodford County ATH Makhi Smith was out of the game with a leg injury. However, Smith was walking around fine and looks to be back next week with Woodford’s matchup with Simon Kenton. Smith is an electrifying two-sport athlete that is heavily involved with Kentucky. Check out KSR’s article on his recruitment.

Kroger’s Scores From Around The State

Kroger is a staple in your hometown community just like high school football. There’s nothing quite like Friday nights in the Bluegrass. We are honored to share this journey with Kroger and you for the fourth consecutive season. Check out all of the scores from throughout the weekend below.

*KSR High School Top 25 Rankings listed*

Thursday, August 18

Lloyd Memorial

24

vs. Newport Catholic Central

7

Friday, August 19

Franklin County	23	at Great Crossing	21	BGO Battle of Elkhorn Creek
No. 6 Scott County	51	vs. Madison Southern (at Great Crossing)	7	BGO Battle of Elkhorn Creek
Rockcastle County	53	at Anderson County	15	Century Bank Bowl
Betsy Layne	37	vs. Berea (at George Rogers Clark)	0	Clark County Bowl
Central Hardin	42	at George Rogers Clark	22	Clark County Bowl
No. 4 Corbin	47	vs. Hughes (Cincinnati), OH	12	Cumberland Falls Pigskin Classic
No. 16 Pikeville	34	vs. Pulaski County (at Corbin)	12	Cumberland Falls Pigskin Classic
Adair County	40	vs. Russell County	0	Don Franklin Auto Classic
No. 18 Johnson Central	28	vs. Madison Central	21	Hutch Bowl
Franklin-Simpson	40	vs. Christian County (at Warren East)	28	J Allen Builders Bowl
Warren East	24	vs. Daviess County	0	J Allen Builders Bowl
Logan County	57	vs. Warren Central	14	Lewisburg Bank Bowl
Butler County	29	vs. Russellville (at Logan County)	7	Logan County Bowl
Casey County	10	at Lincoln County	6	PBK/WPBK-FM Death Valley Bowl
Green County	34	vs. Garrard County (at Lincoln County)	20	PBK/WPBK-FM Death Valley Bowl
Allen County-Scottsville	19	vs. Marion County	0
Anderson (Cincinnati), OH	44	at South Oldham	15
Ashland Blazer	28	vs. No. 20 Raceland	21
No. 24 Ballard	41	vs. No. 15 Southwestern	34
Barren County	30	at Metcalfe County	0
Bath County	20	at Fairview	6
No. 12 Beechwood	31	at Archbishop McNicholas (Cincinnati), OH	14
Belfry	48	at Breathitt County	14
Bell County	19	at North Laurel	7
Bethlehem	55	vs. Marshall County	13
Boone County	31	vs. Holmes	0
Boyd County	46	at South Point, OH	7
Bracken County	26	vs. Pendleton County	0
Breckinridge County	14	at Fort Knox	7
Campbell County	56	vs. Scott	6
Carroll County	36	vs. Western	12
No. 9 Christian Academy-Louisville	28	vs. No. 22 Owensboro	14
Clay County	58	vs. Pineville	34
Conner	45	vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar	21
Cooper	35	at No. 17 Bardstown	14
No. 8 Covington Catholic	37	vs. Ryle	22
Crittenden County	31	at Webster County	8
Dawson-Bryant (Coal Grove), OH	36	vs. Greenup County	28
DeSales	27	at Seneca	19
No. 23 DuPont Manual	26	vs. Central	0
East Ridge	8	vs. Morgan County	0
Estill County	22	vs. East Carter	21
Fleming County	20	at Henry Clay	18
Floyd Central	28	at Paintsville	22
Fort Campbell	20	at Northwest (Clarksville), TN	17
Gallatin County	21	vs. Dayton	0
Glasgow	35	vs. LaRue County	0
Grayson County	14	at Edmonson County	7
Greenwood	49	vs. Hopkinsville (at Allen County-Scottsville)	14
Hancock County	6	vs. John Hardin	0
Harlan	46	at Hancock County (Sneedville), TN	6
Henderson County	35	vs. Meade County	34
Highlands	34	at Lexington Catholic	27
Holy Cross (Louisville)	23	vs. North Bullitt	7
Hopkins County Central	20	vs. Caldwell County	14
Jackson County (Gainesboro), TN	21	at Clinton County	20
Jeffersontown	46	at Iroquois	0
Jellico, TN	14	at Lynn Camp	8	(overtime)
Kentucky Country Day	31	at Atherton	20
Knott County Central	55	at Jenkins	8
Lawrence County	34	at Rowan County	14
Letcher County Central	36	at Shelby Valley	26
Ludlow	42	vs. Lockland, OH	6
No. 5 Male	48	vs. Butler	0
Martin County	20	vs. Hazard	7
No. 10 Mayfield	42	vs. Graves County	7
McLean County	46	vs. Ohio County	14
Monroe County	34	vs. Todd County Central	7
Moore	52	at Shawnee	6
Muhlenberg County	22	vs. Caverna	6
Nicholas County	32	at Lewis County	30
Oldham County	35	vs. Lafayette	14
No. 25 Owensboro Catholic	42	vs. Apollo	6
Paris	50	at Frankfort	0
Perry County Central	22	vs. Somerset	21
Pike County Central	20	vs. West Carter	10
Prestonsburg	30	vs. Leslie County	21
Russell	28	vs. Mason County	8
Sayre	41	at Holy Cross (Covington)	3
Shelby County	33	at Collins	24
Simon Kenton	29	vs. Dixie Heights	19
South Fulton, TN	40	at Ballard Memorial	0
South Laurel	35	vs. McCreary Central	23
Southern	10	at Doss	0
No. 3 St. Xavier	52	vs. Floyd Central (Floyds Knobs), IN	13
Taft (Cincinnati), OH	40	vs. Pleasure Ridge Park	18
Tates Creek	21	at Eastern	14
Thomas Nelson	14	vs. WEB DuBois	6
Trimble County	8	at Jackson County	6
No. 11 Trinity (Louisville)	36	vs. No. 19 Bryan Station	3
Union County	21	vs. Madisonville-North Hopkins	14
Walton-Verona	27	at Bishop Brossart	14
Washington County	41	vs. Valley	0
Wayne County	35	at East Jessamine	28
West Jessamine	34	vs. Danville	27
Western Hills	32	at Bourbon County	0
Whitley County	49	at Knox Central	26

Saturday, August 20

Hart County	37	vs. Spencer County (at Nelson County)	22	Don Franklin Auto Bowl
Nelson County	37	vs. Bullitt Central	6	Don Franklin Auto Bowl
Grant County	28	vs. Waggener (at Eminence)	7	Eminence Bowl
Campbellsville	54	vs. Owen County	0	Forcht Bank Bowl
South Warren	48	vs. North Hardin (at Campbellsville)	38	Forcht Bank Bowl
Fairdale	14	vs. Elizabethtown	12	King of the Bluegrass Bowl
No. 14 Bullitt East	41	vs. No. 21 Woodford County (at Mercer County)	28	Little Caesars Ft. Harrod Bowl
Mercer County	38	vs. Taylor County	22	Little Caesars Ft. Harrod Bowl
No. 1 Boyle County	36	vs. Gibson Southern (Fort Branch), IN (at Western Kentucky University)	6	Rafferty’s Bowl
No. 13 Lexington Christian	56	vs. No. 7 Bowling Green (at Western Kentucky University)	52	Rafferty’s Bowl
Montgomery County	21	vs. Magoffin County	14	Recreation Bowl
Archbishop Hoban (Akron), OH	45	vs. No. 2 Frederick Douglass	6
Eminence	52	vs. Bellevue	18
Gleason, TN	48	vs. Fulton County	20
Harrison County	40	vs. Calloway County	33
Henry County	28	vs. Newport	12
Middlesboro	14	vs. Harlan County	6
Murray	41	at Trigg County	21
North Oldham	21	vs. Fern Creek	7
Paducah Tilghman	42	at McCracken County	7