Frederick Douglass-North Hardin matchup to feature plethora of Division I talent
LEXINGTON, Ky. (BVM) — There will be plenty to watch Friday night when North Hardin High School makes its way to Lexington to open the football season against Frederick Douglass High School. The matchup will pit Class 5A runner up Douglass, 14-1 last season, against Class 6A semifinalist North Hardin, also 14-1 last season, for the first time in their histories, something both teams are aware of and excited for.
“We’re definitely excited about it,” North Hardin head football coach Brent Thompson said. “It’s going to be a formidable opponent. We feel it’s going to be one of the bigger games in the state because of their success and our success over the past couple of years and it’s a great measuring stick early on to see where we’re at.”
“They’ve got a great team,” Frederick Douglass head coach Nathan McPeek said. “Coach Thompson does a really good job and they’ve got a lot of good athletes. … It’s going to be very, very hard it’s going to be a hard game and our kids are going to have to play really well to have a chance to win.”
While the game may seem like a dream for Kentucky residents, the game itself almost never happened. Due to COVID-19 postponing the season and causing a schedule change, both schools were left without a Week 1 opponent. That’s when they found the opportunity in each other to see how they would play against one of the state’s best.
“I think it’s cool when you’ve got different matchups,” McPeek said. “It just opened up where he had an opening and I had an opening for the first date. It really happened a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully the next couple of days go well and we can kick it off on Friday night.”
Not only will it put two of the state’s top teams together on the field, but the game will also feature a number of the state’s top recruits as well.
Four players, two from each team, who will play Friday have already committed to University of Kentucky. Douglass is represented by four-star, top-five guard in the country Jager Burton as well as four-star wide receiver Dekel Crowdus. Both members of ESPN’s Top 300 for the Class of 2021, Burton recently caused waves with his commitment to the Wildcats on Aug. 30 while Crowdus has been committed to UK a bit longer having made his decision on May 10.
Though Burton and Crowdus may have the most name recognition, Big Blue Nation will be able to also watch North Hardin running back La’Vell Wright and safety Jordan Lovett. As the No. 6 and No. 7 recruits in the state’s Class of 2021, Wright and Lovett will be looking to knock off their fellow Wildcats during the contest.
“Those four gentlemen going to UK all know each other, they’ve talked so that’s exciting,” Thompson said. “I’m sure there is some good, fun trash talking going on between them. Honestly I think after the game and how that goes on they’ll be on the same team next year, but they will definitely hold it against them over the next three or four when they’re playing at UK so I think it’s all in good fun and something all four of them can look back on and enjoy.”
“They’ve known each other for a while, but it will be interesting to see who kind of gets the better of each other,” McPeek said.
However, Wright and Lovett will have some strong reinforcement in their attempt to upend Douglass as they will be aided by senior linebacker Michael Lunz, the state’s No. 8 recruit in the class and a Tulane commit, as well as senior wide receiver Marcus Harris, the state’s 13th ranked recruit in the class and a Kent State commit. While Wright and Harris will look to put up big plays and points against the Douglass defense, Lovett and Lunz will be charged with trying to slow down Burton, Crowdus and the high-powered Broncos offense.
“We have our hands full as far as trying to stop a legit offense they have over there,” Thompson said. “Jordan and Michael will have to play very well. We’re going to have to play very well on defense to give us a shot to have a chance to win it.”
While Thompson is hoping to slow down the Douglass offense, McPeek hopes to do the same thing to the Trojans offense as he wants his players to get their athletes down.
“I think the running back is possibly the best back we’ve ever played against and we’ve played some good ones,” McPeek said. “We’re going to have to really tackle. … We really got to get a lot of hats to the ball and get their athletes on the ground to have a chance to win.”
While the seniors bring plenty of excitement to the matchup, they are far from the only players with Division I potential in the game. Douglass junior Dane Key is currently ranked as the No. 184 prospect in ESPN’s Jr. 300. As the state’s top Class of 2022 recruit, the four-star Key has received numerous Division I offers including from UK, fellow in-state schools Louisville and Western Kentucky and other Power 5 programs such as Oregon, Penn State and Virginia Tech.
Douglass junior Ty Bryant is another name that has been generating buzz around recruiting circles. Though he may not have as much attention yet as some of the other players on the field, Bryant is currently ranked as the 10th best recruit in the state for the Class of 2022 and has yielded seven offers including ones from UK, University of Tennessee and West Virginia University. Broncos sophomore offensive tackle Trey Alexander is also a player garnering Division I attention, recently receiving an offer from Eastern Kentucky University.
“There are a few other guys on our roster and their roster that are Power 5 worthy guys I think as well — they just got to go prove it,” McPeek said. “I was looking at the rosters yesterday and this doesn’t happen very often in the state of Kentucky but there can be upwards of 10 different guys who have or have the potential to have Power 5 offers.”
While the Division I talent will bring the most eyes to the game come Friday, both coaches brought up their quarterbacks when talking about players who will play important roles on game day. North Hardin junior quarterback Manie Wimberly, who started a few games for the Trojans last season, is someone Thompson expects to have a good game for the team.
“He’s a tremendous kid and he probably got one of the strongest arms I’ve seen,” Thompson said. “I think he is going to step up Friday night and make big plays for us and put his name out there even more than it has been.”
McPeek also feels his quarterback, junior Samuel Cornett, will also be a key to whether the Broncos can come away with a victory.
“I’m excited to see him play,” McPeek said. “I think he’s a guy that could make some plays to be a difference in the game or make some mistakes which we have to live with. This will be the most athletic and fast game that he will be associated with.”
Both coaches know how important a season opening win can be for their teams. With both coaches getting to see how their team will fare against one of the top programs in the state, both hope to use the positive momentum gained from the game as a stepping stone for the season.
“At the end of the day it’s one game, so 1-0 is a lot better than 0-1 but either way we will have a lot to work on,” McPeek said. “Overall it would be nice to try to be 1-0 heading into our district schedule.”
“It would obviously be a big win,” Thompson said. “It will kind of put more of a bullseye on us than probably is out there. … I definitely think it will make more people look at our odds and check us out a bit more.”
Though wins are important to both coaches, just getting their kids out and playing football is enough for them as they know these games can’t be taken for granted given the pandemic.
“I just want to play really hard and honestly follow all the restrictions which is going to be a lot different,” McPeek said. “For me, on the field, it’s playing really hard and competing. … Just be the best version every week, every day.”
“Obviously we want to win the game, but we want to see our kids perform under the lights,” Thompson said. “We got to perform each week and make sure we take it one week at a time so we’re ready for game 11 or 12 when we start the playoffs.”
With plenty of talented players on both sides of the field, football fans in the Bluegrass state should be excited for the season opening matchup between the Broncos and the Trojans. With Division I-caliber athletes oozing from each team’s roster, it will certainly be anybody’s game under the Friday night lights in Lexington.
