Class 6A region title preview: Douglass gets first crack at Male with season on the line
It’s been the nature of Frederick Douglass football over the program’s brief existence that its schedule has been filled with teams that either cannot possibly handle them or with teams who are all the Broncos can handle.
Friday night’s region championship opponent, Male, an eight-time state champion and one of Louisville’s “Big 3” along with Trinity and St. Xavier, figures to be the latter.
No. 9 Douglass travels to No. 1 Male to play for the right to advance in the Class 6A playoffs. It’s the first meeting between these two programs.
“The biggest thing that concerns me is their overall playmaking ability,” Douglass coach Nathan McPeek said. “And defensively, they fly around and make plays.”
Male quarterback Kolter Smith has thrown for 2,326 yards and 33 TDs and has two prime targets — Max Gainey (942 yards, 19 TDs) and Antonio Harris (620 yards 11 TDs).
Like Male, Douglass has one of the stingiest defenses in the state and its offense has a number of ways to hurt opponents with quarterback Jaxon Strautman (1,422 yards, 17 TDs passing) and his primary targets Derion Talbert (547 yards, 6 TDs receiving) and Aveion Chenault (316 yards, 7 TDs). Talbert also leads the Broncos in rushing.
Enrollment numbers pushed Douglass back into Class 6A after the Broncos claimed the Class 5A state title last year. Douglass was a Class 5A state finalist three out of the last four seasons.
The Broncos’ 5-4 regular season record and No. 9 RPI ranking belies the fact they are, undoubtedly, still one of the best teams in the state. Two of their losses came to nationally ranked out-of-state opponents. The others came against two undefeated powerhouses in Class 4A — Boyle County and Corbin.
“Hopefully the opponents that we’ve played help us,” McPeek said. “We’ve had a lot of kids on our team that have played a lot of playoff games and been in big moments.”
Class 6A region championships
All games are Friday with times local to the host site.
EAST REGION FINALS
No. 9 Frederick Douglass (7-4) at No. 1 Male (11-1), 7 p.m.. Time to find out if the Broncos measure up to another of Class 6A’s heavyweights. Douglass won at Trinity earlier this season. Now comes another big road test with the season on the line.
No. 7 Ryle (8-4) at No. 6 Bryan Station (9-3), 7:30 p.m. The Raiders’ Logan Verax has racked up 3,047 yards and 27 TDs passing and Ryle doesn’t run it much. The Defenders have been rolling since their midseason setback against Douglass and have scored 40 or more points in seven of their last eight games.
WEST REGION FINALS
No. 16 Central Hardin (7-5) at No. 5 Ballard (9-3), 7:30 p.m. The battle of the Bruins should favor Louisville’s version after Ballard escaped with a 48-42 double-overtime win against Manual last week. Central Hardin has been beaten soundly by good teams, including a 20-7 loss to Manual back on Aug. 26.
No. 21 McCracken County (6-6) at No. 4 Trinity (9-3), 7 p.m. The Mustangs delivered a stunning 38-23 upset to a Henderson County team that had beaten them 56-28 a month ago. But next comes the 27-time state champion Shamrocks, who are beginning to look like their old selves this season.
@HLpreps predictions for next week’s state semis: Bryan Station at Male; Ballard at Trinity.
Class 5A region title preview: Highlands returns to third round for first time since 2015
Class 4A region title preview: Boyle, Corbin among five unbeatens in football class
Class 3A region title preview: Battle-tested Lexington Catholic takes on Rockcastle County
Class 2A region title preview: LCA gets high-stakes football rematch with Mayfield
Class A region title preview: Can Sayre handle last year’s state football runner-up?
