Campbellsville scored a 27-7 win over a short-manned Ballard Memorial team on Friday. Shaiden Calhoun rushed for 169 yards and a TD in that one and Jalen Embry also hit an even 100 on the dirt.

Bethlehem routed Russellville 53-0, getting punt return TDs from Evan Arms and Michael Crigler in addition to five offensive TDs from four different players; Nate Hedgespeth had 2 himself.

One group of Eagles gets its wings clipped this week in Bardstown. The home team won 52-7 on Sept. 25. Bethlehem gets it done again.

Holy Cross was the highest ranked team by RPI, in any division, that went on the road in round one. The Cougars traveled nearly 300 miles for a 43-8 rout of Fulton County.

KCD was off last week due to a withdrawal.

The Bearcats won at Holy Cross 35-7 on Oct. 9, which also followed a bye week. Holy Cross may very well be a top-five team in Class A, but it doesn’t make the top-eight cut.

Vander Hundemer ran all over Trimble County in a 35-0 round-one win. He had 210 yards and 2 TDs on 22 carries. He also chipped in a TFL on defense.

Brossart took out in-season darling and NewCath district mate Dayton 35-14 in round one.

The Thoroughbreds have won five straight this season and all six games in this series, including lopsided second-round decisions each of the last two playoffs. Class A RPI prefers the Mustangs but it’s negligible; they’re No. 12 vs. NewCath’s No. 13.

Newport won its fourth straight behind huge nights from Damarco Jackson, who went for 205 yards, 4 TDs and a 2-point conversion on 22 carries, and Aiden Miller (122 yds, 1 TD on 4 receptions — 99 of those yards came on a single catch). The Wildcats beat Ludlow 44-22 win.

The Indians knocked out Bellevue 41-7, winning playoff games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2015-2016.

Holy Cross’ last win in the series came in 2022; they’re 0-5 since a 26-22 win on Oct. 15 of that year. Indians were 11-0 last season before running into Newport and an 18-3 loss. There are plenty of players left from that run who should be highly motivated.

Blue Jackets didn’t play last week due to a withdrawal. They put up 58 points in a win over Bath County their last time out on Oct. 30. Jayden Watkins rushed for 193 yards, 2 TDs and 3 2-point conversion on just 15 carries that night.

Spartans running-clocked Paris 49-0 in round one, their second straight shutout (Middlesboro 31-0 the week before).

Sayre rolls against a team that lost four of five before the aforementioned rout. One of those losses was in-district to Paris 21-20, the Greyhounds’ only win this season.

Raiden Reed had 122 yards and 3 TDs on just 7 carries in a 57-6 win over Fairview in the Warriors’ opener. Eminence got to 9 wins for the first time since 2019.

Raceland didn’t play in the first round due to a withdrawal.

Rams, a perennial contender, haven’t played a competitive game since losing to Pikeville 37-30 on Sept. 4. Eminence is headed in the right direction but not ready yet.

Deakon Partin threw just three passes, completing ’em all for 121 yards and 3 TDs — one each to Ayden Allen, Amari Houston and Kordell Partin — in the Yellow Jackets’ 44-0 win over Lynn Camp on Thursday.

Tigers, whose only loss was to No. 1 Pikeville on Oct. 16, handled business last week against Harlan 48-20.

This is a tough game to get a bead on. They’re not separated much by RPI — Middlesboro is No. 6, Paintsville No. 8 — and my gut was to go with the home Jackets. But the Tigers have the best two wins, in my mind, between the two of them (22-7 vs. Newport Central Catholic on Aug. 28 and 13-7 vs. Russell on Sept. 11).

Panthers handled Pineville 46-0 for their 25th straight first-round win. Their last first-round loss was on Nov. 2, 2001, a 56-41 defeat at Middlesboro.

Williamsburg got out of the first round a fourth straight year with its 26-14 win over Hazard.

Cougars got in the playoff win column for the first time since 2022 after beating Crittenden County 34-14.

Mayfield was off last week after Fort Knox forfeited.

Cardinals haven’t dropped a second-round game in more than two decades. Hard to think this’ll be the year.

Dre’Mail Carothers threw six TD passes in the Aces’ 54-6 win over Trigg County. That gave the U of L commit 49 on the season and 112 for his career, two years of which overlapped with the Brady Atwell, who threw 153 in his career.

Caldwell County reached nine wins for the first time since 2017 with its 45-6 win over Hancock County. The Tigers finished 10-3 that season.

Aces took the last meeting, a 61-14 game in the first round of the 2023 playoffs. Tigers faltered in their two biggest tests, Mayfield and Murray, during the regular season.

Briar Jumpers moved past Washington County 42-6, winning their fifth straight first-round game.

The Dragons kept W.E.B. DuBois at bay in the opening round 31-29. Deacon James rushed 24 times for 146 yards and 3 TDs while Peyton James added 104 yards and a TD on 16 runs. Emma Eastes, who was the first Green County player named to the girls soccer All-5th Region team, made a 30-yard field goal.

Nash Whelan was 8-for-9 for 89 yards and 4 TD passes in the defending 2A champs’ 50-0 rout of Metcalfe County.

LCA hasn’t lost in the second round since 2019.

The Crusaders went on the road to win their program’s first playoff game 25-22 against West Carter, stopping a two-game slide in the progress.

Beechwood was off due to a withdrawal.

The Tigers roll in a district rematch. They held St. Henry to 79 total yards in a 62-0 decision on Oct. 9.

The Bearcats earned their fifth shutout of the season with a 45-0 win over Jackson County 45-0 in roun one.

Breathitt got a 57-22 win over Bracken County on Friday, knocking the Polar Bears out of the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

This match-up occurred in the 2024 first round with Breathitt winning handily.

Jonah Bartley rushed for 232 yards and 2 TDs for the Wildcats in a 35-34 barnburner against Leslie County in round one. Tanner Maynard added 2 TDs and 91 yards on 13 rushes.

Prestonsburg racked up almost 300 first-half yards in its 51-6 over Pike County Central in the first round.

Shelby Valley had won six straight in this series before falling 44-7 last year.

Jaguars fended won 28-20 against East Ridge, which was vying for its first playoff win.

Pirates plundered Martin County 56-8 in the playoffs’ first round.

Dante Davis and J.B. Woolum have combined for more than 1,500 rushing yards on a team that’s approaching 3,000 on the season.

Seven different players — Gage Chapman, Kenyon Cunningham, Owen Howell, Zaye Richardson, James King Williams Jr., Kolten Winsett and Colin Winters — scored TDs for the Tigers in their 50-14 win over Hart County in the first round.

Scotties scurried past Hopkins County Central 47-0 for their second straight round-one victory and third in the last four seasons.

The Tigers in their season-opener outpaced a potent Apollo team that gave Bowling Green fits in the first round. They also beat first-round winners Caldwell County and Union County in recent weeks. Glasgow in the regular season also routed that Hart County team and made quick work of Butler County right after. The Scotties also beat Barren County, a round-one winner, and their only loss was a nailbiter against unbeaten Larue County (33-29). The two are barely separated in RPI: Glasgow’s No. 6 at .68043 while Murray’s 0.67415 sits at No. 8. Has a shot to be the best game of the second round

Braves scored a mild upset in winning 15-12 vs. Butler County (they were the home team but ranked six spots lower in RPI).

Hawks extended their best start since 2002 (12-1) with a 49-12 win over Webster County.

Union’s a proud program just two years removed from a state championship game. These Braves haven’t been as offensively productive as recent iterations, else I’d feel inclined to pick them over a team they beat 42-0 in last year’s first round. Part of me still wants to, but I’ll look for the Hawks to go at least one more round.

Colts won for the third time in four games, going on the road for an impressive 42-18 win at Bardstown.

CAL recorded its seventh shutout of the season in a 58-0 win vs. Mercer County. Ja’Hyde Brown caught six passes for 97 yards and 2 TDs, extending his state-record single-season total to 33.

Centurions won 42-0 on Oct. 2. They held DeSales to 97 total yards in that one, most of that coming on the ground. Hard to pinpoint a reason why this time would go differently.

LexCath was off last week due to a forfeit.

With a 44-7 win over Garrard County, Central won its sixth straight first-round game and got back to .500 for the first time since Sept. 11.

Central’s Halloween Eve win over Mayfield turned my head going into the postseason. By opponents’ win percentage, the Yellow Jackets played the hardest schedule in 3A. Their foes won 67.3% of their games; only four other teams in the division had opponents’ win percentages at or above 60% (Garrard County was next toughest at 64.1% while DeSales, Henry County and Russell all were at 61.6%). While I think the Jackets are better tested, the Knights are just better. They won this matchup in round two last year and do so again here.

Wildcats got a second straight first-round win, and again on the road, 20-12 at Fleming County.

Bourbon County took care of Lewis County 54-6 to also get back-to-back first-rounders.

Colonels are a deserved favorite but could get a tougher assignmentthan the records my suggest in round two. They won at Henry County 33-0 in their Sept. 25 district bout but the Wildcats were able to generate some pressure (3 TFL). Julius Gregory had his best passing performance of the season at Henry, going 13 of 18 for 229 yards and 3 TDs.

Lloyd eliminated East Carter with a 35-6 win last week, earning its fifth straight first-round victory.

Shawn Deskins returned an interception 70 yards for a TD and had six receptions for 60 yards and a TD in the Red Devils’ 29-14 win over Carroll County in round one.

Juggernauts are the No. 4 team in RPI but gotta travel to No. 10 because they finished second in their district. Lloyd never last home en route to the state semifinals last season; how does it respond having to take similar expectations on the road? Russell fell in this matchup in the region finals last year but won it as the home team in round two in 2024. The Red Devils have faced a much tougher schedule; Lloyd’s opponents won 51.7% of their games. They’re very close on paper, each giving up about 150 yards per game and rushing for over 200 each time out. Gimme the home team.

The Tigers defeated Estill County 67-55 to win the Mountain Schoolboy Clas … I mean, their first-round football opener. I’ve tried to track down stats from Clay County, will share later if they come.

Shoutout to Engineers QB Brody Mainous, whose senior season ended with an outrageous stat line: 14 of 27 passing for 242 yards and 3 TDs; 40 carries for 266 yards, 5 TDs and 1 2-point conversion; and 13 tackles (2 TFL) and a 1 forced fumble on defense. It was the second time this season that Mainous was involved with 8 TDs in a single game — he threw one and rushed for seven in a win over Magoffin County on Sept. 25. He finished his career with 107 combined passing and rushing TDs, the most of any Estill County player ever.

Camden Larkey delivered 203 yards and 3 TD passes on a 9-for-10 clip in the Rockets’ 48-0 shutout of Powell County on Thursday. Casen Burdette carried seven times for a TD and 117 yards, the freshman’s first time crossing the century mark in his varsity career.

Rockcastle’s schedule hasn’t been as formidable but its points-per-game allowed ranks second only to CAL in 3A (7.7 ppg). Presuming the Rockets can keep the Tigers from channeling the spirit of Richie Farmer again, they should advance.

The Panthers won round-one games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2017-2018, when they were in 4A. They took down Letcher County Central 48-21.

Lawrence County for the seventh straight season advanced to round two, topping McCreary Central 51-8.

The Bulldogs are giving up 10.1 points per game, fourth best in the class behind CAL, Rockcastle County and LaRue County. Knox is scoring 41.4 ppg, which ranks inside the top 10. But the Panthers have yielded 10 more points per game this season on defense than the Bulldogs, whose own point production sits just outside 3A’s top 10.

The Rockets needed a fifth set to overcome a frisky Mercy Academy in the semifinals earlier Saturday at George Rogers Clark High School. Notre Dame took a 3-1 semifinal match against Whitley County, the first team from eastern Kentucky to reach the season’s last day.