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KHSAA Playoffs: Regional titles on the line

The calendar has hit December and the number of teams left standing in the KHSAA playoffs is dwindling. Five Northern Kentucky are still alive. One of those teams, Covington Catholic, has already advanced to next week’s state semifinals after their opponent, Madison Southern, had to forfeit due to COVID-19. That leaves us with four games on tap for this Friday night.

DIXIE HEIGHTS (6-3) AT TRINITY (7-0)
Class 6A – Friday 7:00 PM

After dropping their first two games of the season, Dixie Heights has rolled off wins in six of their last seven contests, including last week’s 41-36 victory of Ryle to clinch the district title. The offense has led the way for the Colonels during this stretch, averaging 29.4 points per game. Quarterback Logan Landers is having quite the campaign. The junior has thrown for 1,819 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing for 359 yards and seven more scores. Classmate Pierce Rohlman leads all rushers with 770 yards and 10 touchdowns. Wide receiver Devin Holbert has pulled in eight TD’s and enters this contest just 77 yards shy of the 1,000-yard mark. The last time the Colonels played a game in December was also the last time they faced Trinity. That came in the 2014 Class 6A state championship, a game in which the Shamrocks rolled to a 47-14 win. These two schools met two other times since the turn of the century with Dixie Heights winning in a major upset in 2004. This year’s edition of the Shamrocks is living up to the program’s prestigious tradition. They’ve scored 40 plus points in each of their seven games and held five of their seven opponents to a touchdown or less. Keep your eyes on Cincinnati commit Jack Dingle. The linebacker is the anchor of the Trinity defense. The unit is going to present the biggest challenge that Dixie Heights has seen all season.

BREATHITT COUNTY (6-1) AT BEECHWOOD (7-2)
Class 2A – Friday 7:00 PM

Beechwood’s only two losses came by a combined 10 points and to two teams still alive in the KHSAA playoff action, CovCath and Dixie Heights. The Tigers picked up a fifth straight win as they rolled past Lloyd a week ago. During their current winning streak Beechwood has outscored their opponents by a 236 to 13 margin. The defending Class 2A champions have been led by senior Cameron Hergott, who is carving out quite a legacy within the program’s rich history. He’s thrown for 1,903 yards and 18 touchdowns and he also leads the team with 645 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns. Sophomore Mitchell Berger is making his mark on both sides of the ball for Tigers, including posting a team-high 32 receptions, 523 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns. The Bobcats also boast some offensive firepower. They’re averaging 44.6 points per game. Unfortunately their defense hasn’t done a great job keeping opponents off of the scoreboard though as they’ve ceded 27 points per contest. Junior Jaylen Turner may be one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks the Tigers have faced this year. Containing him will be key for Beechwood’s hopes to advance.

WALTON-VERONA (7-4) AT WEST CARTER (9-1)
Class 2A – Friday 7:30 PM

Walton-Verona has a shot to win its second regional title in three years when the Bearcats hit the road this Friday to tackle the Comets. While Walton-Verona is no stranger to the postseason, this year’s team has a bit of a different look than some of the past squads under Jeff Barth. The biggest difference is the team’s ability to hurt teams through the air. Junior Trey Hatmaker became the first player in school history to pass for over 1,000 yards in a season in last week’s win over Carroll County. He enters this contest with 1,121 yards and 13 touchdowns on 72-of-136 passing. The Bearcats also boast a solid rushing attack led by Jacob Gaines, who has rushed for 10 scores while averaging 7.1 yards per carry. Walton-Verona will need to figure out a way to slow down a very potent West Carter offense if they are going to move on. The Comets have put more points on the scoreboard than any other Class 2A team in the Bluegrass State. The unit is led by running back Leetavious Cline, who has rushed for 1,735 yards and 25 touchdowns on 186 attempts.

NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC (7-2) AT LOUISVILLE HOLY CROSS (7-1)
Class 1A – Friday 7:00 PM

Newport Central Catholic opened up the playoffs with a bang a week ago in a 45-7 route of Ludlow, but will now face a much stiffer challenge in Louisville Holy Cross. The Cougars and Thoroughbreds shared two common opponents, Walton-Verona and Holmes. Holy Cross lost to the Bearcats in their only loss of the season, 40-28. NCC fared much better versus the Bearcats in the season opener with a 23-7 win. Holy Cross won 19-6 against Holmes in their first game of the season whereas NewCath fell to Holmes in their regular-season finale 20-0. If the ‘Breds are going to win this game they’ll need to win the turnover battle and control the clock. Leaning on its running game will be the path to victory. If senior running back Joey Runyon can turn in another clutch performance NCC will have a strong chance in advancing. He has compiled 671 yard and and nine touchdowns on just 92 attempts. Slowing down Cougars’ quarterback Chaz Geraghty is not going to an easy task for the NewCath defense though. The senior has thrown 1,025 yards and 10 scores and has already broken 1,000 yards rushing to go along with 18 touchdowns on the ground.

Here’s a look at all of the complete KHSAA playoff brackets:

CLASS 6A (Bracket)

CLASS 5A (Bracket)

CLASS 4A (Bracket)

CLASS 3A (Bracket)

CLASS 2A (Bracket)

CLASS 1A (Bracket)

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