Class 6A football state championship preview: Bryan Station vs. Trinity

Jared Peck
·4 min read

It’s championship weekend for the 2023 UK HealthCare Sports Medicine State Football Finals. Here’s a look at Saturday’s Class 6A state title game at Kroger Field.

Bryan Station (11-3) vs. Trinity (11-3)

Kickoff: 4 p.m. Saturday.

RPI Ratings: No. 6 Bryan Station (.60716); No. 4 Trinity (.61780).

Cantrall Ratings: No. 1 Trinity (94); No. 2 Bryan Station (90.9).

Championship game history: Bryan Station — one state title (1971) in three finals appearances, the last coming in 1999. Trinity — 27 state titles (the most among all schools) in 31 finals appearances, the last coming in 2020.

Quick hits

Class 6A offense ranks: No. 2 Bryan Station (35.5 ppg); No. 7 Trinity (32.6 ppg).

Class 6A defense ranks: No. 3 Bryan Station (14.5 ppg); No. 2 Trinity (11.6 ppg).

▪ The last time Bryan Station played for a state championship in 1999, they were led by senior quarterback/defensive back JT Haskins, who later went on to play at the University of Louisville. He’s now the defensive coordinator for the Defenders. Former Louisville and Carolina Panthers running back Eric Shelton was also part of that Station team. They lost a 34-31 heartbreaker in overtime to St. Xavier.

▪ Haskins’ oldest son, JT Haskins Jr. is a three-star recruit and Bryan Station’s leading receiver and defensive back. His younger brother Jordan Haskins is a freshman defensive back. JT Haskins Jr.’s college offers include Louisville.

▪ Bryan Station ousted Trinity from last season’s playoffs with a 10-7 victory on the Northside for the Defenders’ first region championship in 23 years.

▪ Bryan Station returned 17 starters from a year ago. Trinity returned 14.

▪ Trinity opened this season with a 36-3 home win over Bryan Station in which the Shamrocks ran out to a 36-0 mercy-rule margin with the help of five Defenders turnovers. The turnovers included an interception on Bryan Station’s opening possession and a 28-yard scoop and score early in the second quarter.

▪ Trinity quarterback Zane Johnson is a freshman who took over the starting role after the ‘Rocks’ Week 2 loss to Frederick Douglass. He held onto it despite two losses in their next three games and solidified it with 256 yards and four TD passes in a 45-10 win over archrival St. Xavier on Sept. 29.

▪ This is Trinity’s first state finals appearance under head coach Jay Cobb, who succeeded longtime coach Bob Beatty when Beatty retired after their 2020 state championship, his 15th in 21 seasons for the Shamrocks. Cobb had been Trinity’s defensive coordinator since 2014.

▪ This is coach Phillip Hawkins’ fourth season at Bryan Station. He has gone 41-11 with the Defenders with three district titles, two region titles and now a state finals appearance to his credit. The Defenders were 43-69 over the decade before Hawkins arrived. They got to as many as seven wins three times in that span. He previously coached at Apollo and Doss.

Mr. Football Watch: Since the Kentucky Football Coaches Association took up naming the state’s Mr. Football in 2019, the award has never failed to go to a state championship game most valuable player who also had the career stats to back it up. The award is given annually to a player deemed to be the state’s most outstanding senior by the KFCA. Class 6A’s top candidate (with career marks) would be:

▪ Bryan Station quarterback Trenton Cutwright (6,107 yards, 62 TDs passing, 1,733 yards, 22 TDs rushing).

Trinity 1,000-yard rusher Clint Sansbury looked for an opening when the Shamrocks beat Bryan Station 36-3 early this season in Louisville, a game in which the Defenders committed five turnovers. Timothy D. Easley/Special to the/USA TODAY NETWORK
Trinity 1,000-yard rusher Clint Sansbury looked for an opening when the Shamrocks beat Bryan Station 36-3 early this season in Louisville, a game in which the Defenders committed five turnovers. Timothy D. Easley/Special to the/USA TODAY NETWORK

Standing out

Bryan Station: Trenton Cutwright, Sr. QB (1,915 yards, 23 TDs passing; 749 yards, 9 TDs rushing); Kalen “Jaws” Washington, Jr. RB (1,311 yards, 16 TDs rushing; 76 yards, 1 TD receiving); JT Haskins Jr. Sr., WR/DB (878 yards, 10 TDs receiving; 50 tackles, 7 interceptions, 1 pick-six); Jahvon Frazier, Sr. LB (72 tackles, 5 sacks).

Trinity: Zane Johnson, Fr. QB (2,114 yards, 29 TDs passing); Clinton Sansbury, Sr. RB (1,089 yards, 22 TDs rushing); Jeremiah Lynn, Jr. WR (982 yards, 14 TDs receiving). Brady McEnaney, Sr. LB (66 tackles, 9 sacks, 2 interceptions).

@HLpreps pick

Bryan Station 21, Trinity 17.

State championships

At Kroger Field in Lexington

Tickets: Available by advance sale digitally at KHSAAtickets.org. No walk-up paper tickets sold.

Streaming broadcasts: Subscription required for live video stream at KHSAA.tv. Pay-per-view live video at Go.PrepSpin.com. Free audio stream at KHSAA.net.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Class A: Raceland (11-3) vs. Pikeville (11-2), Noon

Class 2A: Owensboro Catholic (14-0) vs. Mayfield (12-1), 4 p.m.

Class 4A: Covington Catholic (14-0) vs. Boyle County (14-0), 8 p.m.

SATURDAY’S GAMES

Class 3A: Christian Academy-Louisville (13-1) vs. Bell County (13-1), Noon

Class 6A: Bryan Station (11-3) vs. Trinity (11-3), 4 p.m.

Class 5A: Cooper (12-2) vs. Bowling Green (11-3), 8 p.m.

Do Kroger Field’s narrow goalposts change game at Kentucky’s football state championships?

Class A football state championship preview: Pikeville vs. Raceland

Class 2A football state championship preview: Owensboro Catholic vs. Mayfield

Class 3A football state championship preview: Bell County vs. Christian Academy-Louisville

Class 4A football state championship preview: Boyle County vs. Covington Catholic

Class 5A football state championship preview: Cooper vs. Bowling Green