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Realignment Wrinkles Coming for NKY

CovCath wide receiver Braylon Miller (Kyle Dressman /TriStateFootball.com)

It has been a few seasons, but the time has come for the KHSAA (Kentucky High School Athletic Association) to reset and realign its football teams in the Bluegrass State. There are some very intriguing changes for Northern Kentucky schools and the TriState Football landscape of coverage.

Drawing one of the short sticks, locally, is Lloyd Memorial. The Juggernauts move up to Class 3A and join District 5 with Bourbon County, Pendleton County and Lexington Catholic (down from Class 4A). Lloyd will have bus rides of and hour-and-a-half to two hours just to face their new foes (none of which are natural rivalries). It is a far cry from the Juggernauts “homier” former district (Class 2A, District 6) which included rivals Beechwood, Holy Cross and Newport.

Holy Cross and Newport also move out of Class 2A, District 5 and down to Class 1A. Holy Cross will be slotted in District 4 with Ludlow, Bishop Brossart and Trimble County. Newport hits the jackpot sliding into the very compact District 5 with adversaries Newport Central Catholic, Dayton and Bellevue. The four schools are separated by less than five miles.

Class 2A, District 5 will evolve into a six-team district with Beechwood, Walton-Verona, Gallatin County, Carroll County, Owen County and Bracken County. With the addition of powerhouse Beechwood, Walton-Verona’s dominance of this district becomes very threatened. The Bearcats are a combined 42-1 in Class 2A, District 5 play over the past 11 campaigns. Walton-Verona has won 32 of those games by 26 points or more. They have gaudy lifetime winning records against district foes Gallatin County (14-1), Carroll County (13-2) and Owen County (11-1).

Also with a mega six-team district is Class 5A, District 6 (comprised mostly of former, Class 5A, District 5 squads) which sheds Covington Catholic but adds Dixie Heights (down from Class 6A, District 6) and Scott (up from Class 4A, District 6). The duo joins Highlands, Cooper, Conner and Boone County in what promises to be a highly competitive fight for a title.

Covington Catholic will become one of the favorites to bring home a state title in Class 4A. They join District 5 which will also be home to Holmes, Grant County (down from Class 5A), Mason County (up from Class 3A) and Harrison County. Mason County is coming off a run to the final four in Class 3A, a year ago.

At the big school level, there is only one change as Great Crossing (up from Class 5A) out Georgetown and Scott County joins Ryle, Simon Kenton and Campbell County in Class 6A, District 6. The Warhawks went 8-3 in 2022 falling to Covington Catholic in the first round of the playoffs.

The next two years TSF will cover a grand total of 30 teams in Kentucky. Here is a look at how it breaks down.

Class 1A, District 4 (4): Ludlow, Bishop Brossart, Holy Cross and Trimble County.
Class 1A, District 5 (4): Bellevue, Dayton, Newport and Newport Central Catholic.
Class 2A, District 5 (6): Beechwood, Walton-Verona, Carroll County, Gallatin County, Owen County and Bracken County.
Class 3A, District 5 (1): Lloyd Memorial (only)
Class 4A, District 5 (5): Covington Catholic, Holmes, Grant County, Mason County and Harrison County.
Class 5A, District 6 (6): Highlands, Conner, Cooper, Dixie Heights, Boone County and Scott.
Class 6A, District 6 (4): Ryle, Simon Kenton, Campbell County and Great Crossing.

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