Bowling Green, South Warren meet for first time Friday in highly anticipated contest

Bowling Green and South Warren have both had dominant football clubs for quite a while — and the thought of the two teams playing each other has always been on the minds of many.

With the Purples and Spartans now both in the same class and district, they’ll meet for the first time on Friday night at BG’s El Donaldson Stadium in a highly anticipated showdown — one with bragging rights and a Class 5A, District 2 championship on the line.

Bowling Green (6-2 overall, 3-0 Class 5A District 2), who suffered back-to-back losses in the earlier part of the season to a pair of top Class 6A Louisville clubs in Pleasure Ridge Park and St. Xavier, have since returned to its winning ways and have won five-straight.

The Purples’ last outing was a 56-0 win over Barren County last week.

Against the Trojans, quarterback Beau Buchanan passed for 98 yards and four touchdowns, as Nash Hightower reeled in two TD receptions while Ziyon Kenner and Austin Brown each recorded one. As a junior and in his first season as the starter, Buchanan has led the way for Bowling Green with 1,327 yards and 14 touchdowns — with no interceptions.

South Warren (7-1, 3-0 Class 5A District 2) began its 2017 season 7-0 before falling 31-17 at Ravenwood (Tenn.) back on Oct. 6. It was a game in which the Spartans trailed by just three at 10-7 at halftime, but were ultimately outscored 21-10 in the second to suffer the setback.

In the loss, quarterback Gavin Spurrier threw for 218 yards while Christian Winn and Cody Eblen each ran for a TD each. Similar to BG’s Buchanan, Spurrier is also in his first season as South Warren’s starter and his been dominant thus far, throwing for 1,495 yards and 17 TDs with five interceptions.