At last: Woodford County versus Douglass is happening and a region trophy is on the line.

Last season, an undefeated Woodford County team rolled into the Class 5A playoffs as the No. 1 overall seed.

It exited the postseason with a humbling, mercy-rule-by-halftime loss to eventual champion South Warren in the state semifinals.

“It taught everybody a lesson,” Woodford County Coach Dennis Johnson said. “I think the moment last year was really too big. We’d never been there before. So, when it went bad early on … it just kept going bad and we couldn’t recover.”

This year, Woodford County might be facing just as large a test as the No. 7 Yellow Jackets (11-1) head to The Farm on Friday to take on 2022’s undefeated No. 1, Frederick Douglass (12-0).

Anticipation is high. Woodford and Douglass have been two of the best teams in Central Kentucky the last two years and have yet to face each other.

“Our people are excited. Our kids are excited. Everybody’s been texting me, and on Facebook and Twitter people are saying stuff,” Johnson said. “I think it’s cool.”

Johnson hopes his team has learned last year’s lessons and is ready for this moment, its second straight region title game.

“We can’t start slow. We can’t start with a fumble in the end zone and then the next play give up a 70-yard bomb,” Johnson said, recalling the South Warren stumbles. “We’ve got to make them earn everything. We can’t give them anything.”

Douglass is making its fourth straight region championship appearance. And it has won all three to date, advancing to the state finals in 2019 and 2021 only to eventually come up empty at Kroger Field. That’s a void the Broncos aim to fill.

“We’ve been blessed to do this four years in a row and, you know, that’s a great accomplishment. I know we’ve got one we still want to try to get done,” Douglass Coach Nathan McPeek said.

Both teams ran roughshod over their respective district rivals. Both teams routed Paul Laurence Dunbar and Tates Creek in similar fashion.

But Woodford County suffered a setback on the road with a frustrating 43-34 loss at Class 6A Simon Kenton on Oct. 28 and proved vulnerable against the run in that one and a few other games this season, giving up 783 more yards on the ground than Douglass, the state’s No. 1 ranked scoring defense.

The good news is that teams who have gashed Woodford have had dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks, something Douglass does not possess.

The bad news is the Broncos’ combination of pocket-passer Cole Carpenter and a stable of running backs that includes Ball State commit TJ Horton, Kentucky commit Ty Bryant and a very dangerous Devaun Hart hasn’t had any trouble gashing opponents the conventional way to the tune of 49.7 points per game, the second highest scoring output in the state, regardless of class.

Wideout Cameron Dunn had two TD catches against Covington Catholic last week while Tylon Webb, Tate Johnson and tight end Thomas Howard are also a threat in the pattern.

“We can’t let them be two-dimensional,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to try to take away the run game … It’s going to be hard to do, but that’s what we’ve got to hang our hat on.”

Woodford’s triple-option offense, which features sophomore dual-threat quarterback Andrew Nason, has a lot to hang its hat on, scoring 46.1 points per game, second only to Douglass in Class 5A and rushing for 286 yards per game, which also ranks among the state’s best.

Running back Preston Stacy is on the verge of his third straight 1,000-yard season as the Yellow Jackets’ all-time leading rusher. And Woodford has speed outside with Aden Nelson and Makhi Smith each a threat to break a big play from anywhere.

“They’re very athletic and obviously you have to prepare for an unorthodox offense,” McPeek said. “You’ve got to play assignment football and you’ve got to do exactly what you’re supposed to do or they are going to crease you.”

Linebacker injured in wreck

The Broncos will be without Corey Gamble for the rest of the season after the senior linebacker suffered severe injuries in a car wreck after last week’s game.

“We’re going to miss him. We’re thankful he’s alive. That’s the main thing,” said McPeek, who credited Gamble for being an emotional leader for their defense. “Other guys have to step up.”

Tickets, security measures, streaming

Fayette County Public Schools has announced that tickets for Friday’s games at Frederick Douglass and Bryan Station will be available only via online purchase on the GoFan app.

Additionally, there will be security screening at the gates with no bags or purses allowed.

Ticket links: Bryan Station (https://bit.ly/3EeKXvk); Frederick Douglass (https://bit.ly/3E8Fvu9).

Online broadcast: Both games will be streamed by Glicod.com.

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