Patrick Blair Report – District Stakes:  District play wraps up this Friday night with major postseason seeding on the line. For Bishop Brossart, the objective is crystal clear: defeat Trimble County to clinch the No. 2 seed in the district and secure a first-round home playoff game at the MAC. For Trimble County, this road trip represents an opportunity to play spoiler, snap a multi-game skid, and avoid the district cellar.

Scouting the Trimble County Raiders (1–7):  The Raiders enter Alexandria coming off a tough 49–6 home loss to Covington Holy Cross in Bedford.

The Ground Attack: Trimble County runs a ground-heavy, run-first attack led by the Sandusky backfield tandem. Against Holy Cross, Moses Sandusky carried 11 times for 61 yards (5.5 YPC, long of 22), while quarterback Noah Sandusky added 34 yards on 12 rushes and accounted for the Raiders’ lone score on a 5-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter. Brody Scroggins also flashed big-play potential with 24 yards on 2 touches (12.0 YPC).

The Passing Game: The Raiders rarely air it out. Against Holy Cross, Noah Sandusky went 3-for-5 through the air for just 6 yards, targeting David Poe (2 rec, 4 yds) and Kane Walls (1 rec, 2 yds).

Defensive Struggles: Stopping explosive plays on the ground has been Trimble’s Achilles’ heel. Holy Cross gashed the Raiders for 315 rushing yards on just 23 carries (13.7 YPC) and scored six touchdowns from scrimmage (plus a jet sweep) in their last outing, falling behind 42–0 by halftime.

Scouting the Bishop Brossart Mustangs (4–4):  The Mustangs head into their regular season home finale riding high following a hard-nosed 26–17 Senior Night victory over the previously 5–2 Ludlow Panthers.

Spaulding Calling His Own Number: Senior quarterback Landon Spaulding put the team on his back in the fourth quarter against Ludlow, finishing with 148 rushing yards on 18 carries (8.2 YPC) and two clutch second-half touchdowns (including a back-breaking 55-yard gallop), alongside 124 passing yards (9-of-14).

Defensive Resurgence in the 3-5: Coach Jake Martin’s shift to a 3-5 defensive front paid huge dividends against Ludlow’s high-octane offense. The Mustangs held a Panther team that averaged 44.0 points per game to just 10 offensive points (17 total). Linebackers Quinten Tischner (8 tackles, sack), Charlie Rauch (5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 3 TFL), and defensive lineman Atticus Prost generated constant penetration, shutting down perimeter option keeps and inside dives.

Keys for Brossart: Clean up early-game special teams coverage and maintain discipline between the tackles. If the defensive front forces Trimble County into obvious passing third-and-longs, Brossart should be in total command.

Schabs Notes  –  On paper, our game with Trimble County Friday night is what I call a formality game.  While we respect each opponent, reality is, in fact, reality.  Every game that we play doesn’t have to be a head-knock, and playing KHSAA assigned district opponents, often provide these opportunities where suprior programs play inferior programs.  This will br our fourth district match-up with Trimble County where we have dominated them by a collective score of 164-28.  Our two most recent encounters beng 65-0 and 42-0 Brossart wins.  Ludlow has defeated them three times by a score of 122-46, and Holy Cross has swept all three district contests 140-6.   We played them three previous tmes, in 2020, 2015,and 2016 where things went no better for them, as we outscored them 126-14.  The Raiders do own a win this season having routed Berea 44-8 back on September 25th.  Berea has not won a game and has forfeited three of their regular seaon conteests and will likely throw in the towel and not particiapte in post-season play. 

Trimble County High School is located in the town of Bedford, Kentucky, about a third of the way between Carrollton and Louisville.  Each bus ride up I-71 the  Trimble County folks must wonder who they upset at the KHSAA to be aligned with a Northern Kentucky district.  They certainly drew the short straw, and must be experiencing something similar to what we did, back in our first go-round in Class 2-A.