Week 4 brought a shake-up to KSR’s 2026 Kentucky high school football Top 25, with several teams making noise after one of the most entertaining slates of the season so far.
Trinity remains at No. 1 even after a 35-27 loss to nationally ranked Baylor School (TN), but Christian Academy-Louisville is closing in fast. The Centurions moved to No. 2 after a 49-0 shutout of Ryle and picked up three first-place votes in the process.
The biggest climb belonged to Highlands, which surged seven spots after a 41-21 win over Seneca Driver -less Boyle County. Pulaski County also made a big leap into the top five after edging Corbin 21-14, landing at No.
- Frederick Douglass sits at No. 3, while Covington Catholic rounds out the top five.
Owensboro Catholic was the week’s biggest riser, jumping eight spots after a 35-7 win over Owensboro. That result sent Owensboro tumbling 13 spots, the steepest drop in the poll. Corbin also slid after the loss to Pulaski County, falling seven spots.
Elsewhere in the rankings, Boyle County dropped four places, while St. Xavier, Scott County and DuPont Manual each moved up one.
Beechwood slipped one spot, and Madison Central gained one. South Warren, Lexington Christian Academy and Paducah Tilghman each fell one, while Woodford County moved down two and Lexington Catholic climbed two.
Near the bottom, Atherton dropped two spots, Belfry slipped one, and Male stayed put. Bowling Green fell out of the Top 25 entirely, and Murray entered the poll at No. 25 after previously being unranked. Danville again landed just outside the top 25 for the second straight week.
KSR’s Week 4 Top 25: 1.
Trinity [9 first-place votes] 2.
Christian Academy-Louisville [3 first-place votes] 3.
Frederick Douglass (+1) 4.
Pulaski County (+4) 5.
Covington Catholic (+1) 6.
Highlands (+7) 7.
Boyle County (-4) 8.
St. Xavier (+1)
- Scott County (+1)
- DuPont Manual (+1)
- Owensboro Catholic (+8)
- Corbin (-7)
- Beechwood (-1)
- Madison Central (+1)
- South Warren (-1)
- Lexington Christian Academy (-1)
- Paducah Tilghman (-1)
- Woodford County (-2)
- Lexington Catholic (+2)
- Owensboro (-13)
- Ashland Blazer (+2)
- Atherton (-2)
- Belfry (-1)
- Male
- Murray (NR)
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The loss is more than just a bruising scoreline because of what comes next for Kentucky. The schedule still has several ranked opponents ahead, and Stein already knows the margin for error is thin if the offense cannot hold up for four quarters. The early returns have shown enough promise to feed expectations, but also enough inconsistency to make this first reality check feel like a warning sign the Wildcats cannot afford to ignore. [Read more 🡒]