KHSAA announces change in high school playoff format beginning in 2023

Changes other than district opponents are coming to Kentucky high school football in 2023.

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association announced that the Board of Control voted to return to the pre-2019 playoff format that had teams face sister district opponents in the first two rounds.

KHSAA officials noted that the board voted based upon a survey of the 225 football playing schools.

Of the 167 responses received, 109 supported returning to the previous format.

District one in each class will face district two, district three will face district four, district five will face district six and district seven will face district eight.

If the format had been in place in 2020, Corbin would have played Harlan County in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs, and then faced the winner of Letcher County Central versus Knox Central.

Corbin, whose district includes, Lincoln County, Wayne County and Knox Central, opened the playoffs against Lincoln County, and faced Wayne County, who defeated Knox Central.

The sister district is district eight, which includes: Johnson Central, Harlan County, Letcher County Central and Perry County Central.

In the Class 5A playoffs, Whitley County would have faced Madison Southern in the first round.

Whitley County, whose district includes Pulaski County, North Laurel and Southwestern, lost to Southwestern in the first round.

The sister district is district eight, which includes: Madison Southern, Collins, Woodford County and West Jessamine.

In the Class A playoffs, Williamsburg would have played Phelps in the first round and then the winner of Sayre versus Harlan.

The sister district is district seven, which includes: Pikeville, Hazard, Sayre and Phelps.

In addition to the format change, KHSAA officials noted that the realignment may involve schools moving up or down in class dependent on student enrollment.