HEADLINES
🏈 Kentucky’s 48 District Champs: Part 2
🏈 Three Points with Ballard Memorial head coach Jon Hedges
🏃 XC Region Champs
Thursday’s schedule
🔗 Links
🏈 OUR 48 CHAMPS: PART 2
Almost every district champion in Kentucky has been crowned (there’s a small situation left to be decided out in western Kentucky — more on that tomorrow). Here’s part two of our spotlight on every single one heading into the final week of the regular season.
Today: Class 3A, Class 4A
Yesterday: Class A, Class 2A
Friday: Class 5A, Class 6A
Class 3A
District 1: Murray (8-1, 3-0)
District games: 69-0 vs. Webster County; 49-14 vs. Union County; 64-18 at Hopkins County Central
You should know: Murray’s only loss was 48-42 vs. McCracken County, a likely district champ in Class 6A’s edition of this district
Player to know: Gage Chapman has 634 rushing yards and 14 TDs; he averages 1 TD every 5 carries.
District 2: LaRue County (9-0, 5-0)
District games: 41-14 at Butler County; 50-10 at Adair County; 41-0 vs. Edmonson County; 33-28 vs. Glasgow; 50-6 vs. Hart County
You should know: Only CAL and Glasgow have thrown for more yards this season in Class 3A than the Hawks
Player to know: Senior Brady Abell has set single-season school records for passing TDs (27) and passing yardage (1,992)
District 3: Christian Academy of Louisville (9-0, 3-0)
District games: 42-0 vs. DeSales; 49-7 vs. Central; 42-0 at Western
You should know: The Centurions can become the first team out of Louisville to win five straight championships
Player to know: Jackson Burke, who’s committed to play baseball at Louisville, has completed a ridiculous 88.1% of his passes. Even more ridiculous: he has 53 TDs and zero interceptions.
District 4: Lexington Catholic (7-2, 4-0)
District games: 49-0 vs. Garrard County; 45-0 at Mercer County; 35-15 vs. Bardstown; 47-6 at Casey County
You should know: Knights haven’t lost a district game since dropping into 3A (2024)
Player to know: Ben Schlarman, son of the late John Schlarman, leads the Knights in rushing (485 yards, 7 TDs)
District 5: Bourbon County (7-1, 4-0)
District games: 33-0 at Henry County; 41-34 vs. Lloyd Memorial; 48-7 at Carroll County; 59-13 vs. Pendleton County
You should know: The Colonels’ scoring margin (33.6 ppg) is the best in Class 3A after CAL (47.4)
Player to know: Madi Bell has scored 20 total TDs (16 rushing, 3 receiving, 1 fumble return)
District 6: Russell (7-2, 4-0)
District games: 41-6 vs. Fleming County; 60-6 at Lewis County; 53-16 vs. Bath County; 35-14 vs. East Carter
You should know: The Red Devils have reached the region final each of the last two seasons
Player to know: Kaiden Benge (998 yards, 16 TDs, 3 2-point conversion runs) has nearly doubled his yardage total from last season
District 7: Rockcastle County (9-0, 4-0)
District games: 42-0 at Clay County; 42-0 vs. Bell County; 44-8 at McCreary Central; 42-13 vs. Knox Central
You should know: Rockets have won 10 games each of the last three seasons.
Player to know: Xavier Leger, who effectively averages a first down per rush (976 yards and 13 TDs on 99 carries)
District 8: Lawrence County (8-1, 4-0)
District games: 42-13 vs. Letcher County Central; 41-0 vs. Powell County; 35-14 at Estill County; 41-16 at Magoffin County
You should know: The Bulldogs added an additional win to their resume on Tuesday; they completed a 35-14 win at North Laurel on Tuesday (play had been suspended with Lawrence County leading 13-7 on Sept. 18). They’ll host Boyd County this week.
Player to know: Kaden Johnson does a little bit of everything: he’s got 5 interceptions and 60 tackles (23 solo) on defense and 1,163 total offensive yards and 17 TDs
Class 4A
District 1: Paducah Tilghman (9-0, 5-0)
District games: 70-28 at Franklin-Simpson; 56-0 at Allen County-Scottsville; 37-7 at Logan County; 39-0 vs. Warren East; 49-14 vs. Calloway County
You should know: Tilghman has beaten four teams ranked top 10 in their respective RPIs (Logan County, Mayfield, Madisonville, McCracken County) by an average margin of 30 points.
Player to know: Xavier Isable is one of four players in the state — and the only one in Class 4A — who’s thrown at least 30 TDs this season. He’s delivered 32. (CAL’s Jackson Burke has 53, Collins’ Kade Goodin has 49 and Owensboro Catholic’s Dre’Mail Carothers has 39).
District 2: Elizabethtown (7-2, 4-0)
District games: 35-27 at Nelson County; 34-21 at Taylor County; 51-16 vs. Marion County; 46-0 vs. John Hardin
You should know: D
Player to know: Junior RB/LB Antonio Kinzer has 1,229 yards and 19 TDs on the ground and is just as active on defense (4.5 TFL, 1 sack, 2 interceptions returned for TDs).
District 3: North Oldham (8-1, 4-0)
District games: 49-0 at Doss; 49-8 vs. Breckinridge County; 49-6 at Valley; 36-6 at Waggener
You should know: Mustangs haven’t dropped a game since a 28-14 decision at Lafayette in their season-opener. They’ve averaged 42 ppg since then.
Player to know: Brody Pfeiffer (6-foot-4, 212 pounds) delivers through the air (1,515 yards, 23 TD passes) and on the turf (314 yards, 7 TD rushes).
District 4: Spencer County (7-2, 4-0)
District games: 52-21 at Western Hills; 55-35 vs. Franklin County; 42-7 vs. Shelby County; 42-0 at Grant County
You should know: Its win over Franklin County was the first since the two became district companions again in 2023. Spencer’s last win in the series came in 2015.
Player to know: Junior Jake Greene (1,621 rushing yards 23 TDs, 7 2-point rushes) also led the the Bears in rushing last year — with just 986 yards and 12 TDs.
District 5: Highlands (8-2, 3-0)
District games: 78-6 vs. Harrison County; 38-20 at Covington Catholic; 61-0 vs. Mason County
You should know: The Bluebirds’ two losses came at Frederick Douglass (41-20) and vs. Cincinnati Elder (30-27).
Player to know: Tayden Lorenzen, son of the late Jared Lorenzen, is a Miami (Ohio) commit who’s rushed for 425 yards and 6 TDs and has 10 receptions for 150 yards and 2 TDs.
District 6: Ashland Blazer (9-0, 4-0)
District games: 35-21 at Greenup County; 57-22 at Rowan County; 42-7 vs. Boyd County; 48-28 vs. Johnson Central
You should know: The Tomcats lost four regular season games in 2025 and flipped the script on Raceland, Lawrence County and Johnson Central in 2026. Last stop on the revenge tour: at Lexington Catholic this Friday.
Player to know: Brody Simpkins is just outside the statewide top 10 with 106 total tackles, 10 of which gave been for a loss. He’s also recovered two fumbles and rushed for three TDs.
District 7: Boyle County (8-1, 3-0)
District games: 49-0 vs. Russell County; 41-7 at Lincoln County; 42-7 at Wayne County
You should know: The Rebels have won 16 straight games against opponents from their district dating back to 2022, the same year they last lost to a district foe (Lexington Catholic, avenged in the postseason en route to a state title).
Player to know: Seneca Driver, a 6-foot-7 tight end who’s scored 13 total TDs and was suspended for the only loss on Boyle’s resume (41-21 at Highlands).
District 8: Corbin (7-2, 3-0)
District games: 55-8 vs. Harlan County; 42-0 at Whitley County; 42-0 at Perry County Central
You should know: The Redhounds are hunting for their first state title this century; they’re 3-10 overall in championship games (0-4 since 2001), the last victory coming in 1982.
Player to know: Malachi Brown (6-4, 265 pounds) is a noticeable presence on the d-line (36 tackles, 9 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries). He’s headed to UK.
🏈 THREE POINTS …
… with Ballard Memorial’s Jon Hedges!
The Bombers (5-3) swept their Class A, District 1 this season. For many programs, that’s typical, but this tiny program in Barlow, Ky., had never done it before. In fact, they’d never even won their district outright before this season (they once shared a district title in 1982). I spoke with their head coach before their final game of the season against Muhlenberg County (5-4).
Questions and answers lightly edited for clarity and flow.
KHSD: Walk me through your history as a head coach. How long have you been at Ballard? Where else have you coached?
Jon Hedges: This is my third year as a head coach here, I was an assistant for one. In the past I was the head coach at Reidland High School and Lone Oak High School, then I was the defensive coordinator at McCracken County the first year they consolidated. Then I went to (Paducah) Tilghman and then here at Ballard.
So what changed this year? If I recall, y’all were 0-10 last season and you didn’t soften the schedule up this season.
Hedges: Sir, we were 0-10 and I think every game was a running clock, to be honest with you. We didn’t change the schedule or anything. Since January, the kids have just bought into the weight room. We work out four days a week, even during the season, and we actually lift before games. To me that’s one of the most important things. We’re healthy this year and I think a lot of that has to do with our conditioning and weightlifting work.
And just the whole buy-in, man. It just took time for the kids to realize that it’s a process. And when you’ve been predominantly bad, it’s not going to happen overnight. You’ve got to keep grinding and grinding and we did that. I’m proud of them.
Aside from when Mayfield was in Class A, the small-school division has largely been dominated by areas of the state outside of western Kentucky. How do you feel your region of the state, in general, stacks up in the class?
Hedges: We’re not negotiable in terms of talk about competing for state championships right now, in my opinion. We’ve got to get better: western Kentucky’s got good football but it seems the deeper you get in the playoffs and against those higher caliber teams, it’s just night and day. It really depends a lot of the number of kids. That was our biggest Achilles heel here for a while, we were always shorter on numbers. This year we’ve had the most that Ballard’s probably had in a decade, if not two decades. And we have 35 players. That’s a lot of 1A, but the bigger programs in 1A, if they’re over 40 or 50 players, they’re going to probably be a pretty good football team.
Last year, we finished our season with 15 kids. So it’s been a big turnaround. That’s 1A football for you. If you’re in the 30s to 40s, you can compete deep in the playoffs. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re getting there. We’re really excited about where we’re at, though, to be honest with you.
Ballard’s got about 225 kids, and historically the female athletes have been awesome. It’s been a good volleyball and softball school. Good basketball programs. But football has, truly, never really been anything to look at besides a joke. Not now.
🏃 REGION RESULTS
The Kentucky Beef Council State Cross Country Championships are Saturday, Oct. 30. Here are the results from every region meet in each class.
Class A
Region 1
Boys
Easton Bourland, Dawson Springs, 16:22.37
Graham Conrad, University Heights, 17:20.07
Lee Polsgrove, Hickman County, 18:09.19
Girls
Linden Pickler, Fort Campbell, 18:50.34
Veyda Grinols, Trigg County, 19:05.62
Liliana Ketterl, Fort Cambell, 20:40.49
Region 2
Boys
Grant Greenwell, Bethlehem, 16:33.98
Aidan Meredith, Edmonson County, 17:03.52
Owen Brey, Owensboro Catholic, 17:21.23
Girls
Peyton Reid, Owensboro Catholic, 19:35.88
Riley Coffey, Green County, 20:25.30
Ainsley Sutter, Owensboro Catholic, 20:31.31
Region 3
Boys
Everest Snyder, Collegiate, 15:57.12
Samuel Claunch, Highlands Latin, 16:02.82
Thomas Mathews, Walden, 16:22.35
Girls
Elizabeth Mathews, Walden, 18:26.03
Margaret Dulaney, Collegiate, 19:26.59
Charlotte Burdette, Portland Christian, 21:09.12
Region 4
Boys
Henry Kramer, Bishop Brossart, 16:25.53
Gannon Parke, Beechwood, 16:53.66
Adam Tarvin, Bishop Brossart, 17:00.94
Girls
Jasmine Cozmanciuc, Villa Madonna, 20:01.45
Callie Ochsner, Bishop Brossart, 20:19.26
Norie Baker, Villa Madonna, 20:37.54
Region 5
Boys
Bruce Hayden, Paris, 17:04.66
Tyler Cammack, Owen County, 17:06.55
Banks Bratcher, Danville, 17:24.06
Girls
Molly Chambers, Sayre, 19:26.39
Nora Schweickhardt, Danville, 20:31.84
Addison McKinney, Nicholas County, 21:27.86
Region 6
Boys
Riley Hall, Lee County, 16:58.03
Corey Payne, Barbourville, 17:26.46
Malachi Shannon, Jackson County, 17:46.99
Girls
Kendyl Meadows, Somerset Christian, 20:42.78
Rachel Hardy, Somerset Christian, 21:49.55
Harper Carmical, Harlan, 22:00.64
Region 7
Boys
Patton Trimble, Pikeville, 17:16.25
Blake Smith, Phelps, 18:31.50
Zane Maddix, Raceland, 18:57.21
Girls
Jackie Khater, Pikeville, 20:48.26
Mia Adkins, Raceland, 21:17.72
Chloe Ingles, Raceland, 21:19.82
Class 2A
Region 1
Boys
Thomas Davis, Union County, 16:07.05
Landon Higdon, Webster County, 16:44.75
Kyron Wehrmeyer, Paducah Tilghman, 17:12.86
Girls
Paisley Stone, Webster County, 19:42.28
Lexi Hill, Ohio County, 20:35.87
Madeline Rains, Paducah Tilghman, 21:47.70
Region 2
Boys
Daniel Filiatreau, Thomas Nelson, 16:52.17
Luke Albrektson, Adair County, 17:07.29
Nolan Hudnall, Warren East, 17:22.89
Girls
Baili Hoten, Thomas Nelson, 18:34.33
Abby Creason, LaRue County, 19:23.41
Emma Creason, LaRue County, 19:33.32
Region 3
Boys
Oliver Wells, North Oldham, 15:50.73
Olin Inscore Essick, Henry County, 15:51.43
Connor Marx, North Oldham, 16:02.70
Girls
Grace Horan, North Oldham, 18:37.80
Addie Moulton, Shelby County, 19:14.47
Millie Huang, North Oldham, 19:20.13
Region 4
Boys
Logan Vaniglia, St. Henry, 16:10.17
Grant Perraut, Bourbon County, 16:26.62
Mark Reinhart, Lexington Catholic, 16:33.92
Girls
Kennedy Moughamian, Lexington Christian Academy, 18:34.48
Anna Dawahare, Lexington Catholic, 18:52.01
Morgan Ripley, Highlands, 19:06.54
Region 5
Boys
Ryder Bell, Wayne County, 17:19.41
Owen Harris, Wayne County, 17:27.47
Collin Ramsey, Wayne County, 18:09.04
Girls
Tessa Begley, Rockcastle County, 19:55.31
Abigail Heatherly, Wayne County, 20:56.61
Marley Blanton, Lincoln County, 21:59.88
Region 6
Boys
Gatlin Chaffin, Boyd County, 16:54.24
Ian Sarver, Russell, 17:03.51
Eli Ferguson, Russell, 17:05.86
Girls
Addison Coleman, Boyd County, 20:28.63
Rebecca Flaugher, East Carter, 21:07.79
Chloe Ferguson, Russell, 21:24.45
Region 7
Boys
Creed Davies, Corbin, 17:51.16
Isaiah Curry, Corbin, 17:57.58
Kaleb Terrell, Corbin, 18:02.99
Girls
Ema Massengill, Corbin, 20:16.96
Kiera Roberts, Harlan County, 20:43.64
Gracie Roberts, Harlan County, 20:46.80
Class 3A
Region 1
Boys
Judson Redfern, Daviess County, 16:38.60
Jordan Norris, Daviess County, 17:27.80
Landon Thompson, Daviess County, 17:32.97
Girls
Addy Alvey, Apollo, 19:12.79
Claire Ashby, Muhlenberg County, 20:29.84
Reese Willis, Muhlenberg County, 21:03.36
Region 2
Boys
Thomas Cline, Central Hardin, 16:09.35
Jake Ovesen, Central Hardin, 16:29.53
Miles Goodrich, Greenwood, 16:53.31
Girls
Audrey Nuetzman, Barren County, 19:13.40
Eleanor Pendleton, Bowling Green, 19:22.10
Charlotte Johnson, Greenwood, 19:40.80
Region 3
Boys
Amor Amor, Iroquois, 16:39.52
Christofer Espinoza, Iroquois, 16:39.95
Samir Mesinovic, Bullitt Central, 16:45.67
Girls
Adeline Beard, Jeffersontown, 20:44.10
Chloe VanMeter, Mercy Academy, 21:11.81
Jenna Stanton, Bullitt East, 21:36.45
Region 4
Boys
Matthew Frick, St. Xavier, 14:55.34
Christian Stewart, Trinity, 15:07.88
Ayden Taylor, Trinity, 15:15.29
Girls
Lucy Gaunt, Sacred Heart, 17:41.33
Celia Maudlin, Manual, 17:56.93
Faith Foote, Eastern, 18:32.23
Region 5
Boys
Grant Holbrook, Campbell County, 15:43.32
Ethan Mann, Conner, 16:00.94
Asher Edmonson, Covington Catholic, 16:20.89
Girls
Lila Dunlevy, Campbell County, 19:16.38
Aubrey Poore, Ryle, 19:26.50
Sadie Chalfant, Ryle, 19:31.58
Region 6
Boys
Van Weimer, Lafayette, 15:55.97
Kyle Stickel, Lafayette, 16:14.23
Max Anderson, Oldham County, 16:18.45
Girls
Sophia Anderson, Henry Clay, 19:09.34
Macyn Heenan-Menges, Lafayette, 19:18.37
Sadie Parks, Frederick Douglass, 19:49.42
Region 7
Boys
Jay Kosin, East Jessamine, 16:06.71
Gauge Lyons, East Jessamine, 16:09.76
William Morlen, Madison Central, 16:26.77
Girls
Chloe Mastin, South Laurel, 20:30.17
Leila Crisp, East Jessamine, 20:42.70
Lauren McElroy, Southwestern, 20:44.32
🏈 THURSDAY’S GAMES
All times p.m. and local to site
St. Henry at Ludlow, 6:30
Greenwood at Union County, 7
Shelby County vs. Fairdale at Doss, 7:30
Owensboro Catholic at Elizabethtown, 8
🔗 LINKS
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