(11-1-26) Kentucky’s road to Kroger Field starts this week, and the bracket is loaded at both ends — nine unbeaten teams, five winless ones, and 67 qualifiers at or below .500.

The KHSAA first round is played Nov. 5-7, with the higher seed hosting throughout. The field: 188 teams, 92 first-round games across six classes, four regions per class. Second round is Nov. 13, regional finals Nov. 20, semifinals Nov. 27, and the state finals are Dec. 4-5 at Kroger Field in Lexington. Once the playoffs reach the third round, brackets are reseeded using RPI to determine home field.

The sub-.500 qualifiers

Kentucky takes nearly everybody — every district’s top four — so losing records are everywhere in this field. Sixty-six teams qualified outright below .500, plus one more, Valley (4-5-1) in Class 4A, that sits below .500 by winning percentage after playing to a tie.

By class: 1A has 10, 2A has 13, 3A has 9, 4A has 9 (plus Valley), 5A has 11, and 6A has 14.

The lowest qualifiers: Russellville (1-9) and Lynn Camp (1-9) in 1A; Fort Knox (1-9) in 2A; Webster County (1-9) in 3A; Russell County (1-9) in 4A; and five winless teams — Harrison County (0-10) and Whitley County (0-10) in 4A, Montgomery County (0-10) in 5A, and Central Hardin (0-10) and Henry Clay (0-10) in 6A. All five winless teams draw top seeds on the road: Harrison County at Ashland Blazer (9-1), Whitley County at Boyle County (8-2), Montgomery County at Pulaski County (10-0), Central Hardin at McCracken County (7-3), and Henry Clay at Frederick Douglass (10-0).

The unbeatens

Nine teams finished the regular season perfect: Sayre (1A, 10-0), Beechwood (2A, 10-0), LaRue County (3A, 10-0), Christian Academy-Louisville (3A, 10-0), Rockcastle County (3A, 10-0), Paducah Tilghman (4A, 10-0), West Jessamine (5A, 10-0), Pulaski County (5A, 10-0), and Frederick Douglass (6A, 10-0).

Sayre opens against Paris (2-8). Beechwood has a first-round bye. LaRue County hosts Webster County (1-9), Christian Academy-Louisville hosts Mercer County (2-8), and Rockcastle County hosts Powell County (2-8). Paducah Tilghman hosts Marion County (3-7). West Jessamine hosts Southwestern (2-8), Pulaski County hosts Montgomery County (0-10), and Frederick Douglass hosts Henry Clay (0-10).

The defending champions

All six 2025 champions are back, and none of them draws a scare in the first round:

  • 1A: Kentucky Country Day (8-2) — beat Raceland 20-16 for the school’s first title last December. The Bearcats have a first-round bye after an opponent withdrawal, and will host the winner of Holy Cross-Louisville (7-3) at Fulton County (4-6).
  • 2A: Lexington Christian Academy (8-2) — beat Owensboro Catholic 33-28. Hosts Metcalfe County (2-8).
  • 3A: Christian Academy-Louisville (10-0) — beat Murray 42-7, its fourth straight title. Hosts Mercer County (2-8).
  • 4A: Boyle County (8-2) — beat Franklin County 34-0, its 13th title since 1999. Hosts Whitley County (0-10).
  • 5A: Owensboro (8-2) — beat Pulaski County 35-7, its first title since 1986. Hosts Greenwood (2-8). In a quirk of the draw, runner-up Pulaski County (10-0) hosts Montgomery County (0-10) in a rematch of the 2025 final pairing.
  • 6A: Trinity (9-1) — beat South Warren 28-14, its 30th title and third straight. Hosts Pleasure Ridge Park (2-8). Runner-up South Warren (8-2) has a first-round bye.

The byes

Four teams get the weekend off: Kentucky Country Day and Raceland in 1A, Beechwood in 2A, and South Warren in 6A. The pairings graphic attributes the Kentucky Country Day and Beechwood byes to opponent withdrawals — Caverna (0-9) and Morgan County were listed against them in earlier pairings and do not appear in the final bracket. Raceland’s and South Warren’s byes are shown without a stated reason; Berea (0-10), listed earlier at Raceland, forfeited its regular-season finale and is presumed withdrawn as well.

The best first-round games

The strongest matchup on paper is in 5A, Region 1: Grayson County (8-2) at Madisonville-North Hopkins (8-2), the only first-round game between two 8-2 teams. Also on the list: W.E.B. DuBois Academy (7-3) at Green County (7-3) in 2A; Carroll County (6-3) at Russell (8-2) in 3A; Boyd County (6-4) at Highlands (8-2) in 4A; Eastern (6-4) at DuPont Manual (9-1) in 6A, days after Manual shut out Male 21-0; and South Laurel (7-3) at Madison Southern (6-4) in 5A.

One more curiosity: George Rogers Clark (5-5) at Paul Laurence Dunbar (5-5) in 6A, Region 4 — a .500-versus-.500 game — and Campbell County (4-6) at Male (5-5), where Male hosts despite a .500 record after that shutout loss to Manual.

Class by class

Class 1A (14 games): Sayre (10-0) and Raceland (8-2) headline the top seeds, with Kentucky Country Day’s bye in Region 1. The 1A field has 10 sub-.500 teams, including 1-9 Russellville at 9-1 Bethlehem and 1-9 Lynn Camp at 9-1 Middlesboro.

Class 2A (15 games): Beechwood (10-0) has the bye in Region 3. Mayfield (8-2), Somerset (9-1) and Belfry (9-1) are the other No. 1 seeds. Thirteen sub-.500 teams qualified, the second-most of any class.

Class 3A (16 games): Three unbeatens — LaRue County, Christian Academy-Louisville and Rockcastle County — all host 2-8 or 1-9 teams. Nine sub-.500 teams qualified.

Class 4A (16 games): Paducah Tilghman (10-0) is the only unbeaten. Boyle County (8-2) and Corbin (8-2) are the other headliners. Nine sub-.500 teams plus Valley (4-5-1).

Class 5A (16 games): West Jessamine (10-0) and Pulaski County (10-0) anchor the bracket, with the defending champion Owensboro (8-2) in Region 1. Eleven sub-.500 teams qualified.

Class 6A (15 games): Frederick Douglass (10-0) is the only unbeaten, hosting 0-10 Henry Clay. Trinity (9-1) and DuPont Manual (9-1) are the other top seeds. Fourteen sub-.500 teams qualified — the most of any class — including 4-6 St. Xavier, which hosts 2-8 Ballard in a game between two losing-record teams.

Muse AI assisted in story