Score predictions for Week 3 of Kentucky high school football

We’re officially two weeks into the 2024 Kentucky high school football season. It’s been an eventful start so far, with several high-profile matchups taking place across the state in both weeks. The schedule for Week 3 should be no different.

There will be five games this week featuring a pair of KSR’s Top 25 teams, including a top-five showdown in Louisville between No. 5 St. Xavier and No. 3 Male. The KSR Game of the Week is headed to northern Kentucky though as No. 8 Cooper hosts No. 13 Ryle. We have just one Saturday game this weekend, although it’ll take place in Ohio as the state’s top-ranked team, St. Edward, hosts Kentucky’s top-ranked team, Boyle County.

As we gear up for Week 3 action, we’re predicting the score for every major game on the docket for Friday and Saturday. Using the Massey Ratings — a system created in 1999 by statistician Kenneth Massey that was used to help determine the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) until 2013 — we are able to plug every high school team across the state into a tool that will predict the final outcome of any given matchup.

As a quick explanation, the Massey Ratings are computer ratings based on historical trends and current-year stats. With that in mind, it will need a few weeks’ worth of games before the numbers begin to hit their stride. However, you won’t find a more reliable system to use in terms of predicting scores throughout the first couple of weeks of the regular season.

For more information on the Massey Ratings and how it works, click here.

Below, we have included score predictions for all of KSR’s Top 25 teams, along with the additional teams receiving votes from our panel of 10 voters. If your school was not included in the prediction sheet, click the link here to find their team page. There, you’ll be able to see predictive scores for this weekend and the rest of the season, along with updated results.

*RV indicates a team receiving votes in KSR’s Week 2 Top 25 Rankings*

Friday, September 6

TIME (EST)	MATCHUP	MASSEY PREDICTION
7:00 PM	Center Grove (IN) @ No. 2 Trinity	34-21 (Center Grove)
7:00 PM	No. 5 St. Xavier @ No. 3 Male	31-28 (Male)
7:00 PM	No. 4 Paducah Tilghman @ RV Mayfield	35-28 (Paducah Tilghman)
7:30 PM	No. 6 Frederick Douglass @ No. 15 DuPont Manual	36-14 (Frederick Douglass)
7:30 PM	Lexington Catholic @ No. 7 Corbin	36-14 (Corbin)
7:30 PM	No. 13 Ryle @ No. 8 Cooper (KSR Game of the Week)	28-27 (Cooper)
7:30 PM	North Hardin @ No. 9 Christian Academy-Louisville	45-12 (Christian Academy-Louisville)
6:00 PM	No. 10 Bowling Green vs. No. 22 Bryan Station (@ LCA)	34-24 (Bowling Green)
7:00 PM	No. 11 Owensboro Catholic @ Greenwood	41-20 (Owensboro Catholic)
7:00 PM	No. 12 Highlands @ Campbell County	42-14 (Highlands)
7:30 PM	North Laurel @ No. 14 Franklin County	42-14 (Franklin County)
7:30 PM	Harvest Preparatory School (OH) @ No. 16 Ashland Blazer	35-20 (Harvest Preparatory School)
7:30 PM	Dixie Heights @ No. 17 Beechwood	35-28 (Beechwood)
7:00 PM	No. 18 Madison Central @ Madison Southern	38-14 (Madison Central)
7:30 PM	No. 24 George Rogers Clark @ No. 19 Pulaski County	35-28 (Pulaski County)
7:00 PM	Hopkins County Central @ No. 20 Madisonville-North Hopkins	N/A
7:30 PM	Belfry @ No. 21 Johnson Central	42-21 (Johnson Central)
8:45 PM	RV Pikeville @ No. 23 Lexington Christian Academy	35-22 (Lexington Christian Academy)
7:30 PM	Henry Clay @ No. 25 Great Crossing	42-7 (Great Crossing)
7:00 PM	Southwestern @ South Warren	36-14 (South Warren)
7:30 PM	Atherton @ RV Woodford County	42-10 (Woodford County)
7:00 PM	RV Central @ Butler	41-7 (Central)
7:30 PM	Ludlow @ RV Sayre	35-14 (Sayre)
7:30 PM	Metcalfe County @ RV Campbellsville	42-8 (Campbellsville)
7:00 PM	Allen County-Scottsville @ RV Franklin-Simpson	36-20 (Franklin-Simpson)
7:30 PM	RV Paris @ Hazard	28-27 (Hazard)
7:00 PM	RV Hart County @ Green County	39-18 (Hart County)
7:30 PM	North Bullitt @ RV Bullitt East	44-7 (Bullitt East)
7:00 PM	Simon Kenton @ RV Covington Catholic	42-28 (Covington Catholic)
7:30 PM	Boyd County @ RV East Carter	28-26 (Boyd County)

Saturday, September 7

TIME (EST)	MATCHUP	MASSEY PREDICTION
1:00 PM	No. 1 Boyle County @ St. Edward (OH)	40-8 (St. Edward)