See who your Northern Kentucky football team will face in the playoffs
The playoff pairings for the Kentucky High School Athletic Association football tournament are mostly set for Northern Kentucky teams.
All district championships are being decided this weekend. Local titlists include Newport Central Catholic, Bishop Brossart, Beechwood, Walton-Verona, Highlands and the winner of Saturday’s showdown between Ryle and Simon Kenton, which kicks off at 5 p.m. at SK’s Menefee Stadium in Independence.
The KHSAA has gone back to a previous playoff format, with each Northern Kentucky district paired with another neighboring district for the first two rounds. Northern Kentucky teams that are in District 4 in their class are paired with District 3, and Districts 5 and 6 are paired together.
In each quadrant of the bracket, the fourth-place team from one district will travel to the top seed from the other district, and the third-place team from one district will travel to the No. 2 seed from the other district.
The winners of the first-round games will play each other, with the top seed hosting.
The pairings and home field for the third and fourth rounds will be determined by the Ratings Percentage Index computer ranking. Those numbers will be final at the end of the regular season, with no changes in the playoffs.
First-round games are Friday, Nov. 4. Here are the pairings for Northern Kentucky teams as projected by the final district seeds posted by the KHSAA Saturday morning. The matchups are grouped by the games in which the winners will meet in the second round. Seeds are listed in parentheses.
Class 1A
(4) Eminence (0-9) at (1) Newport Central Catholic (8-1)
(3) Ludlow (3-6) at (2) Frankfort (5-4)
(3) Berea (3-6) at (2) Dayton (4-5)
(1) Kentucky Country Day (8-1) bye
(4) Fairview (1-8) at (1) Bishop Brossart (7-2)
(3) Bracken County (6-2) at (2) Paintsville (4-5)
Class 2A
(4) Trimble County/Gallatin County/Shawnee at (1) Beechwood (8-1)
(3) Holy Cross (2-7) at (2) Carroll County (6-4)
(4) Newport (3-7) at (1) Walton-Verona (8-2)
(3) Owen County (5-4) at (2) Lloyd Memorial (6-3)
The fourth seed in District 5 will be determined by RPI, which will include next weekend’s games. Trimble County (3-6) leads with .423, Gallatin County (2-7) .354 and Shawnee (2-7) .345.
Class 4A
(4) Anderson County (2-7) at (1) Boyd County (7-3)
(3) Holmes/Scott/Rowan County at (2) Boyle County (8-1)
(4) Holmes/Scott/Rowan County at (1) Lexington Catholic (8-1)
(3) Bourbon County (2-7) at (2) Holmes/Scott/Rowan County
Holmes (6-3), Scott (4-5) and Rowan County (4-5) all tied for second place in District 6 after Holmes’ emphatic 44-6 win over the Eagles Friday night. That tie will be broken by RPI, which will include next weekend’s games. Holmes leads the group at .523 and plays at 2A Lloyd Memorial (6-3), Rowan is second at .485 and plays at 5A Montgomery County (2-7), Scott is third at .437 and hosts 6A Dixie Heights (2-7).
Class 5A
(4) Montgomery County (2-7) at (1) Highlands (8-2)
(3) Cooper (5-4) at (2) Scott County (8-1)
(4) Conner (2-7) at (1) Frederick Douglass (9-0)
(3) Great Crossing (7-2) at (2) Covington Catholic (7-2)
Class 6A
(5) Marshall County (3-6) at (1) Ryle/Simon Kenton winner
(3) Campbell County (4-5) at (2) Louisville Trinity (6-4)
(4) Dixie Heights (2-7) at (1) Ballard (7-2)
(3) Eastern (4-5) at (2) Ryle/Simon Kenton loser
Marshall County, the fifth-place team in District 1, will be slotted to take the open fourth seed slot in District 5.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: See who your Northern Kentucky football team will face in the playoffs
