Dixie Heights (2-4) and Cooper (4-2) will meet Friday, Oct. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in a Class 5A, District 6 game that will leave the winner alone atop the district.
Both teams enter tied atop the district after winning their openers Friday, Sept. 25. Dixie Heights routed Scott 49-12 while Cooper rallied from a 21-6 third-quarter deficit to edge Conner 22-21.
The head-to-head result between the co-leaders will shape the district race heading into the final weeks before the KHSAA playoffs, which begin Nov. 6.
For Dixie Heights, the turnaround has been sharp. The Colonels opened 0-4, and were held to 13 points or fewer in all four losses,. Then senior running back Levi Gilliland caught fire. Over the past two weeks, Gilliland has carried the ball 53 times for 443 yards and five touchdowns, according to Link NKY. He has 628 rushing yards on the season and is in contention for the Northern Kentucky rushing title.
"We started off the season with an extremely tough schedule and had to battle and had to overcome some obstacles and injuries," head coach Pat Burke said after the Scott win Saturday, Sept. 26, as reported by the NKY Tribune. "You know the last couple of weeks our seniors and our leadership have come together."
The defense has matched the offensive surge. In the Scott game, junior Linwood Erney returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown and senior Brad Roaden took one back 41 yards. Roaden, who posted a team-high 80 tackles at outside linebacker last season, had seven tackles in the win. Charles Swendiman added two sacks and Aiden Arana picked off two passes.
Cooper presents a stiffer test. The Jaguars have won 10 consecutive district games over three seasons, and first-year head coach Adam Begley has them at 4-2 after spending 12 years as an assistant in the program. Over the previous two seasons, Cooper went 9-0 in district play with an average margin of victory of 36.5 points in last year's four district games, according to the according to the NKY Tribune's preview of the Conner game.
Senior running back Corey Freihofer is the engine. He leads Cooper in rushing yards, receiving yards and touchdowns. Against Conner, he rushed 25 times for 165 yards and two scores, ran in the go-ahead two-point conversion with 6:01 left, then carried the ball eight consecutive times for 33 yards to run out the clock, according to the NKY Tribune's game recap.
Sophomore quarterback Zach Kostopoulos runs the Cooper offense, which is averaging 260 yards per game.
The first KHSAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings for Class 5A place Cooper ninth and Dixie Heights 27th out of 38 teams. RPI rankings determine home-field advantage in later playoff rounds.
Friday's game will be streamed live on 859SportsRadio.com. After the Cooper game, Dixie Heights travels to Conner on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m., then hosts Boone County on Friday, Oct. 16, and closes with Ryle at home on Friday, Oct. 30.
