Playoff primer: NKY Class 5A

CINCINNATI - The playoffs kick off on Friday night in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and there are few brackets in the entire state that will feature as many great matchups as what we will see in the 5A action locally.

South Oldham was pegged district champs in a three-way tiebreaker. Conner and Cooper finished second and third respectively and have teams primed for playoff pushes. All three of them will be trying to keep pace with the high-powered attack of the favorites to win the region, Franklin County.

Here is a look at Week 11’s first-round action:

KENTUCKY CLASS 5A
(All games played Friday, November 2nd)

#4 West Jessamine (3-7) at #1 South Oldham (7-3) – Senior quarterback Jack Sherry is coming off a stellar regular-season performance which he accounted for 1,678 yards at 21 TD’s through the air and rushed for 292 yards and seven scores. His favorite target is Kyle Young, who enters this contest with 743 yards and 10 touchdowns on 35 receptions. Steven Jones has been a playmaker of defense with three fumble recoveries, two interceptions and 65 total tackles. West Jessamine has had problems keeping opponents out of the end zone, allowing 38.3 points per outing.

#3 Montgomery County (7-3) at #2 Conner (8-2) – The Cougars are capable of scoring with any team in the state, but how far they advance in this year’s playoffs is going to come down to how well the defense can fare. In the two games they lost this year Conner gave up 33 points to a young Dixie Heights’ team and an astounding 63 to South Oldham. There is reason for optimism though as they held CovCath to just 12 points to close out the regular season with a win. Quarterback Drew Barker and running back Cameron Fogle are as good as 1-2 punch on offense as any team in Northern Kentucky possesses. The Indians are not built to come from behind, but quarterback Matt Tuttle is capable of making plays in the both the passing and running game.

#3 Cooper (9-1) at #2 Anderson County (8-2) – The worst part for Cooper in losing the tiebreaker inside the district was that it meant they would have to hit the road in November. This week’s trip to Anderson County will not be an easy one for the Jaguars. Cooper finished strong after a mid-October bye week by outscoring their opponents by a combined 78-19 as they picked up a pair of victories to further add to their newly establish school record for regular-season wins. The Bearcats only losses came in shootouts to Franklin County and Bryan Station, two high-powered attacks. Cooper’s road to victory will need to start with tenacious defense and a good running attack with AJ Collins leading the way. If the Jaguars fall behind early on the road it will spell trouble.

#4 Scott (5-5) at #1 Franklin County (10-0) – Franklin County has scored more points (599) than any other team in the state of Kentucky at any level. They are just one of three Class 5A teams statewide that enter the postseason with an unblemished record. Quarterback Logan Woodside has thrown for 2,262 yards and 33 touchdowns while running back Ryan Timmons has tallied 1,831 yards of offense with 37 total touchdowns. The visiting Eagles have their hands full in this one. Scott hung in with Conner and South Oldham in their last two district matchups, but will need that effort and more this time around against a highly-favorite Flyers’ team. Running back Josh Castleman will need to keep the chains moving for the Eagles to keep Franklin County’s offense on the sidelines as much as possible.