It’s good to be Bowling Green.
No team’s as much a favorite to win a title as Bowling Green is this season. Only one team in the whole state — Trinity in Class 6A — rates better than the Purples in the latest Cantrall Ratings. They’re a decisive favorite to claim a second straight Class 5A title over Southwestern in December if the rankings hold., holding a 15.8-point edge over the Warriors entering the postseason.
Some further perspective: Christian County and Owensboro, No. 3 and No. 4 respectively in the rankings, lost to Bowling Green by a combined score of 89-22 this season (Christian County scored all 22 points). The Purples romped St. Xavier and McCracken County, teams No. 4 and No. 8 in the Class 6A ratings. They allowed seven points during a six-game stretch from Sept. 9 to Oct. 21, capped by a 50-0 smackdown of possible regional opponent Greenwood.
If the Purples were to slip up, it’d probably be at No. 2 Covington Catholic in the state semifinals. The Colonels went 7-3 against a schedule comparable to Bowling Green’s but failed to pull out signature wins at Ryle and at home versus Scott County to end the year. Statistically, CovCath’s offense is about as balanced as it gets — 2,089 rushing yards and 2,040 passing yards — but Bowling Green has proved capable against both facets.
That leaves much of the drama to be played out in the bottom half of the bracket, where Southwestern and Pulaski County are favored to meet in a regional. The Warriors won the first battle of the Somerset siblings, 21-6, in October.
Madison Southern could put together a deep run, too. The No. 10 Eagles would be favored until the regional round, where they would likely face South Oldham.
Josh Moore: 859-231-1307, @HLpreps
Class 5A football playoffs
First round: Nov. 4 (at high seed)
Second round: Nov. 11 (at high seed)
Regionals: Nov. 18 (at high seed)
State semifinals: Nov. 25 (at Region 2 and Region 4 sites)
State finals: Dec. 4 (at Western Kentucky University)
This story was originally published November 02, 2016 11:30 AM.