KSR Game of the Week: No. 15 Bowling Green hosts Madisonville-North Hopkins

It’s officially playoff season. This week features tons of good matchups across the state that will only get better as we move toward December. KSR’s Game of the Week is headed to Bowling Green, where the No. 15 ranked Bowling Green Purples will host the Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons on Friday night.

Bowling Green (8-2) is riding off of a big 26-9 win against a then-top 10 ranked St. Xavier team in Louisville. Although the Purples’ season hasn’t been picture-perfect, they’ve taken good losses to Top 25 teams such as No. 9 Fredrick Douglass and No. 11 South Warren. Bowling Green’s offensive prowess has given them even more good wins.

Madisonville-North Hopkins (7-3) is a good football team, having been ranked at one point during the regular season. After holding Murray to just a field goal in a 41-3 win last week, the Maroons come into this week ready to fight.

On3’s Massey Ratings predicts a 47-14 win in the Purples’ favor. Here is what and who we’ll be watching for in this matchup. Kickoff on Friday is set for 7:00 p.m. CT.

Bowling Green Purples

You already know his name. Three-star quarterback Deuce Bailey is the heart of this Bowling Green offense. Bailey, who was just named the KFCA 5A District 2 Player of the Year, totals 2,305 yards passing with a 66% pass completion rate. The QB1 is comfortable in the pocket, and he has tons of options on the pass.

Junior receiver Trevy Barber totals 896 yards receiving and 15 touchdown receptions. Barber is a dynamic route runner and will likely be heavily tagged in Friday’s matchup. Jaxen Smith and Christopher Sweeney are going to be big to-do’s for the Maroons’ defense as well. The pair combines for 873 yards receiving and 11 touchdown receptions.

Bowling Green’s defense is sound. A lot of their stops are generated by guys such as Montez Trussell. The junior linebacker totals 76 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks. If he finds a gap, he is sure to disrupt the Madisonville offense. Malik Corbin and Ryan Watt are huge for the Purples’ defense as well. The two combine for 108 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks.

Madisonville-North Hopkins

We saw the Maroons in action against a very talented Owensboro team in a previous KSR Game of the Week. Although Madisonville didn’t come away with the win, they solidified themselves as a team to watch for.

The Maroons offense is led by Kanyon Johnson. The senior quarterback totals 817 yards passing and eight passing touchdowns, but he’s even better on his feet. Totaling 1,052 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns, the quarterback is likely to keep snaps to get first downs.

Markezz Hightower is another huge Madisonville athlete. The running back totals 1,405 yards rushing and 19 rushing touchdowns. Hightower is an extremely athletic runner and can put the Maroons in a great position no matter where they are on the field.

Defensively, the Purples will need to prepare for Skylar Minton. The senior totals 105 tackles, three tackles for loss, and 11 defensive sacks. Travion Stafford follows that with 67 tackles and two tackles for loss.

If the Maroons can keep up with Bowling Green offensively, we could witness a pretty interesting KSR Game of the Week to open up the 2024 postseason.