Are the Rebels ready?
There was a time when Lexington Catholic aspired to be where Boyle County was. (It came not long after it aspired to be where Garrard County was, then where Harrodsburg was … but that’s another story.)
The tables have turned, the Knights are on top and Boyle wants to knock them off on its way back to the ranks of Kentucky’s elite teams. The results of the Rebels’ first four games indicate that they’re up to the task, but Catholic has been tested by an even tougher schedule. Sure, the Knights are 2-2, but their only losses have been to St. Xavier, the top-ranked team in Kentucky, and Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, which won Indiana’s Class 3A last year and has done so in seven of the last 11 years.
Almost every measurement rates this game as nearly even, and it should be a good one, one of the very best on the local schedule this season. It has become stylish in the past two or three weeks — at least ever since Boyle County defeated Danville — to pick the Rebels to win their district showdown with Lexington Catholic.
But I am not ready, and I don’t believe Boyle is, either. The Rebels might be better prepared for a second meeting in the postseason if they get that chance, and that’s not to say they won’t be prepared tonight. But this seems like a lot to ask from them at this point in their development. I pick Catholic, 21-14.
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Only one pregame link available this week:
A preview of Mercer County-Greeneville (Tenn.) from this roundup in the Greeneville Sun.
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Now for the picks, where there’s a much better chance of adding to my loss total this week than in the last couple:
- Casey County over Jackson County
- Danville over Fort Knox
- Taylor County over Garrard County
- Mercer County over Greeneville (Tenn.)
- Lexington Catholic over Boyle County
- Southwestern over Lincoln County
Last week: 5-0; season 19-2 (.904).
