2022 high school football season kicks off with several blockbuster top-10 showdowns

Here’s a look at some of the best high school football games of Week 1. All games are on Friday unless noted and all times are local to the home team.

Games of the week

▪ Mingua Beef Jerky Bowl: Bryan Station at Frederick Douglass, 6:30 p.m. Does Bryan Station have what it takes to break Frederick Douglass’s 24-0 win streak over its fellow Lexington schools?

Defenders’ third-year coach Phillip Hawkins believes he might have his best team yet on the northside and that’s coming off back-to-back 10-win seasons.

Ranked No. 6 in the Herald-Leader Class 6A preseason poll, the Defenders travel to Class 5A No. 1 Frederick Douglass for a city matchup that should have fans elbow-to-elbow at The Farm.

Bryan Station played Douglass tough for a half last year, but second-half turnovers doomed their chances in a 27-14 loss.

“Last year, our kids made a lot of mistakes in that Douglass game and it still ended up being a lot closer than it probably had been in the history between those two teams,” Hawkins said. “So, we’re just hoping we cut down on mistakes and that we’re a little more mature, and we do our best in that game.”

Bryan Station and the team the Defenders’ PA announcer playfully calls “The Team On Winchester Road” have played four times, none closer than last year and including two 40-some point blowouts where Douglass also held Bryan Station scoreless.

Douglass Coach Nathan McPeek doesn’t expect anything of that sort Friday night.

“I think they’re going to have the best team they’ve had in quite some time,” McPeek said. “They’ve got a lot of guys back and they’re going to be really good defensively. They’re fast, they’re physical and Coach Hawkins has done a great job over there. So we’ll have to play well.”

▪ Restoration 1 Roy Kidd Bowl: Lexington Christian Academy at Madison Central, 7:30 p.m. The storylines for the LCA-Madison Central game in Richmond go far beyond the typical small-school vs. big school drama.

Indians Coach Mike Holcomb will be going for his 300th win over a career that includes three schools and the three state titles he won at Breathitt County.

Sophomore quarterback sensation Cutter Boley will make his Lexington Christian debut in a spread offense that should suit the 6-foot-6, 200-pound transfer from LaRue County well as he looks to build on an already impressive recruiting profile that includes an offer from Alabama. And, of course, Kentucky would like to have him as well.

Kentucky commit Malachi Wood, a 6-8, 300-pound offensive tackle, lines up for Madison Central and will be opening holes for junior running back Brady Hensley, one of the state’s leading rushers in 2021.

The revenge factor also plays into this game since the Class 2A LCA Eagles came into Richmond and defeated the Class 6A Indians 21-12 last season. LCA went on to the Class 2A state finals, while Madison Central advanced to the 6A state semifinals and had eventual champion St. Xavier on the ropes for a half.

While those notes are interesting, Madison Central’s Holcomb has only one focus on Friday.

“We’re just trying to get better,” Holcomb said. “We just ask our players to work hard, play hard and focus on their assignments. We never talk about winning these things. Just go out and play your hardest and whatever happens, happens.”

As for Boley, Holcomb has some experience playing against the next big thing at quarterback. His Breathitt County Bobcats played against Leslie County’s Tim Couch back in the day.

“We just have to worry about what we do,” Holcomb said. “You can’t get caught up in what other people do.”

But Boley has impressed Holcomb in the scrimmages and film that he’s seen this preseason.

“He looks very comfortable back there and throws the ball great,” Holcomb said. “Now, he’s in the spread offense and he’s got all kinds of weapons around him. We’ve got our hands full.”

▪ Battle of Elkhorn Creek: Franklin County at Scott County, 8:30 p.m. Franklin County running back Kaden Moorman, a Kentucky commit, rushed for 96 yards and three touchdowns in this matchup last season in a 43-14 Flyers win.

Scott County Coach Jim McKee summed up last year’s game in his own unique way as quoted by the Georgetown News-Graphic this week.

“If there had been a battle at halftime between the mascots, the Flyer would have KO’d the Cardinal in five seconds,” McKee said.

Expect a much closer contest this time around.

Great Crossing will play Western Hills in the first half of the doubleheader at 6 p.m.

▪ Cumberland Falls Pigskin Classic: Pikeville at Corbin, 8 p.m. Class A No. 1 Pikeville, the defending small-school state champions, and the state’s top returning rusher, Blake Birchfield, head south to take on Class 4A No. 4 Corbin. The Panthers will only face one team outside the Herald-Leader’s preseason top 10s all season.

Rivalries of the week

▪ Tobacco Stick Bowl: Edmonson County at Grayson County, 7 p.m. Grayson County has held Kentucky high school football’s most unique trophy for three straight seasons after a dominating 43-0 shutout over Edmonson last year. Since 1998, neither team has won four straight games.

▪ Hometown Showdown: Collins at Shelby County, 7:30 p.m. Construction delays at Shelby County’s Robert Doyle Stadium (where new turf is being installed) mean this game will be played at Kentucky State’s Alumni Stadium in Frankfort.

Other games involving Lexington teams

▪ Conner vs. Henry Clay (at Lafayette), 6 p.m.

▪ Ryle at Lexington Catholic, 7:30 p.m.

▪ Eminence at Sayre, 7:30 p.m.

▪ Johnson Central at Lafayette, 8:30 p.m.

▪ East Jessamine vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar (at West Jessamine), 8:30 p.m.

▪ Tates Creek at Mercer County, 8 p.m. Saturday.

Should be a good one

▪ Bourbon County at West Jessamine, 6 p.m.

▪ Caverna at Hart County, 7 p.m.

▪ Mayfield at Graves County, 7 p.m.

▪ Pulaski County at Belfry, 7:30 p.m.

▪ Powell County at Estill County, 7:30 p.m.

▪ South Warren vs. Highlands (at Western Kentucky University), 5 p.m. Saturday.

▪ Bowling Green vs. North Hardin (at WKU), 8 p.m. Saturday.

▪ McCracken County at Paducah Tilghman, 7 p.m. Saturday.

Check Kentucky.com on Friday for the latest audio and video streaming information for your favorite team.