Louisa, Ky. — In the first round of the Class 3A playoffs on Friday Night the 9-1 Lawrence County Bulldogs will host the 4-6 McCreary Co. Central Raiders at Luke Varney Jr. Memorial Stadium.
The Dawgs will open the playoffs as the #1 seed out of District 8 and welcome in the #4 seed out of District 7 the Raiders of McCreary Central.
#5 Kaden Johnson has been doing it on both sides of the football for the Bulldogs.
Lawrence County enters the Class 3A playoffs with a rushing attack averaging almost 290 yards per game.
Lawrence County has rushed for 2,881 yards and 38 touchdowns this season, with Senior Kaden Johnson leading the way.
Johnson has piled up 1,116 yards and 18 touchdowns while averaging 12.3 yards per carry. Senior Caven Williams has added 794 yards and 10 scores, averaging 10.4 yards per attempt.
The Bulldogs have generated nearly 80 percent of their total offense on the ground, averaging 363 yards and 35.5 points per game.
Lawrence County’s defense has been particularly effective at keeping opponents off the scoreboard, allowing just 103 points through 10 games.
The Bulldogs have also recorded 99 tackles for loss and 12 sacks.
#21 Carlo Chicko has been on quite a tear defensively all season long.
Senior Carlo Chicko is the leading tackler for the Dawgs and is top eight in the state with 130.
Junior Chandler Preece leads the team with 16 tackles for loss, followed by Seniors Ty Brooks with 11 and Cameron Castle with nine.
The Raiders feature a productive rushing combination of Sophomore Treyven Calhoun and Senior Simeon Cordell.
Calhoun has rushed for 896 yards, while Cordell has added 793. Freshman Chris Perry has contributed another 378 yards, giving McCreary Central three backs with significant production.
Raider Quarterback Knox Wilson who is a Freshman adds another dimension, completing 61 passes for 1,091 yards and 11 touchdowns.
That combination of rushing production and passing yardage gives the Raiders multiple ways to move the football.
McCreary Central has allowed 32 points per game, creating a notable difference between the teams’ regular-season defensive numbers.
McCreary Central will make the 3-hour and 30-minute drive to Louisa looking to spoil the state title hopes of the Bulldogs.
The two teams have one common opponent this season in Boyd Co. who the Bulldogs beat last week 42-14. The Raiders played the Lions on October 23rd at home and lost 56-17.
The winner of Friday night’s matchup will play the winner of Knox Central and Letcher Co. Central next week.
