KSR Game of the Week: No. 3 Male vs. No. 8 Frederick Douglass

The KSR Game of the Week will be in central Kentucky for a Top 10 showdown between two powerhouses on Friday.

The seventh KSR Game of the Week of the 2024 season will set up shop in Lexington as the No. 8 Frederick Douglass Broncos (3-2) host the No. 3 Male Bulldogs (4-1) under the lights with a 7:30 p.m. EST kickoff time. This will be the first-ever matchup between these two schools, according to Rieherds. Male has been open since 1856 while Frederick Douglass opened in 2017. Both sides feature multiple future college football players.

Looking at On3’s Massey Ratings score predictions, Frederick Douglass is projected to win 34-27 with a 61 percent chance of pulling off the victory. We’re expecting a close one from start to finish. KSR will have several boots on the ground Friday night to cover all the action. Here’s what you need to know about the primetime showdown.

No. 3 Male Bulldogs (4-1)

Head coach Chris Wolfe has Male looking at another deep Class 6A tournament run. The Bulldogs have been battle-tested halfway through the regular season. Male sits on a 4-1 record, which includes a 35-34 overtime win over No. 4 St. Xavier and a 24-21 loss to No. 6 Trinity.

Wolfe’s squad is coming off a 42-21 win over Pleasure Ridge Park, which was played on Sunday due to weather that delayed the game two days. That’s no small note either — Male will have just five days of rest between games while Frederick Douglass was on a bye and will have had 14 days in between games.

Statistics from Male’s most recent win over PRP have not been made available, so there are only four games worth of numbers available. But we still have a very good idea of who will make an impact on the field for the Bulldogs on Friday.

Male leans heavily on the running game. Junior quarterback Jordan Williams has thrown for 358 yards (21-35 passing) and five touchdowns (in addition to three interceptions), but the offense flows through junior Chayce Burton and senior Antonio Harris, the latter a three-star Louisville commit. Through four games, Burton racked up 631 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 83 carries. Harris has 21 carries for 214 yards and another four touchdowns on the ground along with a team-high seven receptions for 192 yards and three more touchdowns through the air.

On defense, Male has recovered three fumbles and forced five interceptions, two coming from junior Colin Jefferson. Senior Solomon Conley leads the way with 23 tackles (two for loss) while senior Cornelius Williams (16 tackles, five for loss, one sack) and junior Christian White (15 tackles, one for loss, one sack) make regular contributions. Male also has one of the nation’s top centers in senior Isaac Sowells Jr., who plays both offensive and defensive line. Sowells, a three-star prospect committed to NC State, has 10 tackles (two sacks) through three games played on defense and is the anchor on the offensive line.

No. 8 Frederick Douglass (3-2)

Frederick Douglass might have two losses already, but there’s a good reason Nate McPeek’s team is still ranked among the Top 10. The Broncos opened the season with a 35-13 win over No. 10 Bowling Green, which was followed up by back-to-back losses to No. 6 Trinity (23-13) and No. 16 DuPont Manual (35-28 overtime). Frederick Douglass bounced back though with a 50-14 drumming of Tates Creek and most recently a convincing 35-14 win over No. 13 Corbin.

Much like Male, Frederick Douglass will also look to make a deep tournament run in Class 6A. There is a large gap in history here though. The Bulldogs have 15 state championships while the Broncos are still looking for their first after coming up short in the championship in 2019 and 2021 as a member of Class 5A. Frederick Douglass certainly has the talent to make the Class 6A title game this season though.

Frederick Douglass is led at quarterback by junior Jaxon Strautman, who has thrown for 11 touchdowns to four interceptions. He has 482 passing yards and is 35-77 through the air. Sophomore running back Dakari Talbert is the bell cow with 378 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Senior Pharo Watts has added 199 rushing yards and two touchdowns while junior Kenoxie “TayTay” Allen and sophomore Jeremiah Turner have combined for nearly 240 rushing yards and three more touchdowns. Senior WKU commit, IOL Jackson Dialls, holds down the Broncos’ offensive line. We’re likely in for a run-heavy matchup.

But Strautman has a talented go-to wide receiver in senior Western Michigan commit Aveion Chenault, who has 19 receptions (15 more than his next closest teammate) for 237 yards and nine touchdowns. Talbert and Watts are liable to catch out of the backfield, too. They have a combined eight catches for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Strautman can also tuck it and run if he wants with 116 rushing yards and a touchdown of his own.

On defense, four-star senior EDGE Cedric Works, committed to Kentucky, is the one to keep an eye on. The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder is ranked a Top 150 player in the country. He has 14 tackles (seven solo) and two sacks in five games played. Senior Logan Busson leads the way though with team-highs in tackles (23, 16 solo), tackles for loss (five), and sacks (three; tied for the lead). Senior Kaden Clay (19 tackles, 11 solo, one for loss), sophomore Tacori Fields (18 tackles, eight solo), senior Seandre Maxberry (17 tackles, 14 solo), and sophomore Cionne Conn (16 tackles, 13 solo) round out a talented Frederick Douglass defense.