Bryan Station Advances to Class 6A Football Championship
Bryan Station Advances to Class 6A Football Championship
![Bryan Station Advances to Class 6A Football Championship]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1699284042/fcpsnet/inbliclf20odgu9g3xae/megaphone.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1699284042/fcpsnet/inbliclf20odgu9g3xae/megaphone.png","width":512}])
Bryan Station High School (11-3) rallied to defeat Ballard 24-21 in the state football semifinals after trailing 14-3 at the half. However, Frederick Douglass closed out its season with a 14-7 overtime loss to Trinity of Louisville. Now the Defenders and the Shamrocks will square off in Kentucky’s Class 6A championship game. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at Kroger Field.
In the four years before Bryan Station hired Phillip Hawkins as coach in 2020, the Defenders had won a total of 10 games, and it had been five years since their last playoff victory. Under Hawkins, Station is 41-11 overall and 10-4 in the postseason. Now his team is playing for a title for the first time since 1999.
Douglass (8-5), coached by Nathan McPeek, moved up to Class 6A after winning last season’s Class 5A state championship. Trinity, which avenged August's 17-14 home loss to the Broncos, deflected a fourth-down pass at the goal line to seal Friday night’s defensive battle.
The previous weekend, Douglass and Station stayed in the playoffs mix with huge victories on Nov. 17. Douglass upset No. 1 Male 21-20 by stuffing a two-point conversion attempt at the goal line and wrapped up its fifth consecutive region championship. Meanwhile, Bryan Station knocked off Ryle 49-12 behind a strong defensive effort and a couple of scores off interceptions as the Defenders claimed a second straight region title.
Source: Herald-Leader