Bryan Station rocks. Douglass rolls. Both football powers know what’s coming next.

Bryan Station football has the biggest game of its regular season coming up next at home against new district rival Frederick Douglass.

But first, both of those top 10 Class 6A teams had to face a potential “trap game” against their other district foes on Friday. And both made quick work of each.

Bryan Station’s Kalen “Jaws” Washington rushed for three first-half touchdowns as the No. 6 Defenders rolled to a 51-6 win over visiting George Rogers Clark.

“We’ve told our kids that we’ve got to treat every game like a state championship game. We’re trying to get our kids in that mode,” Bryan Station coach Phillip Hawkins said. “It didn’t matter who we played this week, our kids were going to get after it. And I think they did that.”

Station quarterback Trenton Cutwright ran for one score and connected with freshman wideout Demond Green on a 74-yard touchdown bomb late in the second quarter that helped the Defenders go up 36-0 and start the mercy rule running clock with 1:33 till the break.

“He’s a big player for us, especially as a freshman,” Cutwright said of Green. “And he’s only going to get better and better.”

Green added an 80-yard kickoff return TD in the fourth quarter, his second of the season.

“His older brother Damin Green was spectacular at returning kickoffs and punts,” Hawkins said. “And we learned three or four weeks ago in the Ballard game that he’s made in that same stone. He ran one back that ended up being the difference in that game.”

Clark (4-3) got a late fourth quarter TD pass from Sam Clements to Camahni John to avoid the shutout.

Douglass routs Madison Central

Meanwhile, across town at The Farm, No. 4 Frederick Douglass defeated Madison Central 44-7 in another contest that hit the mercy-rule margin before halftime.

Broncos junior wideout Darion Talbert racked up 154 yards and two touchdowns receiving to go with a 52-yard touchdown run all in the first half.

“Darion Talbert has been our best player all year,” Douglass coach Nathan McPeek said. “He’s playing really good football.”

Sophomore quarterback Jaxon Strautman hit Talbert on pass plays of 69 and 75 yards and connected with Aveion Chenault for a 15-yard score among his 183 yards passing on just six completions.

Jeremiah Lowe of Douglass got the scoring started just 15 seconds into the game. That’s how long it took Lowe to return the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. Darion Neal followed up with a 1-yard TD run on Douglass’s next possession.

“We executed very well tonight and our starting defense played lights out,” McPeek said.

Madison Central (2-6) scored its only touchdown with one second left in the first half on a 17-yard pass from KJ Wells to Bryant Mathis.

‘The elephant in the room’

Now, Bryan Station (5-2) and Douglass (3-3) must turn their attention toward each other with a district championship trophy probably on the line.

“We know it’s a big game. It’s the elephant in the room for everybody,” Hawkins said. “We’re going to start getting ready.”

Douglass, the 2022 Class 5A state champion, moved up to Class 6A this season and into Bryan Station’s District 8 as part of the regularly scheduled realignment of classes based on enrollment done by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association every few years.

The Broncos have yet to lose to one of their fellow Lexington schools, a streak of 31 games since the school was founded in 2017.

Bryan Station came as close as almost anyone two years ago in a 27-14 loss to the Broncos at home, but suffered an embarrassing 52-7 blowout last year, despite having a team that won a region championship and reached the Class 6A semifinals.

“We respect what Coach Hawkins has built. They’ve got a lot of really good players,” McPeek said. “They kind of match our speed and athleticism, and we don’t see that a ton against a lot of the teams we play. It will be a good game.”

Cutwright has been Bryan Station’s starting quarterback for each of the last two years through the close game against Douglass and the rout. This year’s Defenders are riding a five-game win streak into the showdown.

“I like how we’re playing, especially with who we’ve got next week. We’ve got to come with everything, 110 percent every day,” Cutwright said. “We know what happened last year. Two years ago, it was pretty close. It’s going to be a hard one. We’re just going to come and play and try to make it a good one.”

Bryan Station grandstand not fixed yet

This past spring, a windstorm knocked down one of the light standards at Bryan Station’s football stadium, destroying more than a third of its home bleachers and damaging part of its track.

Months later, the concrete pad where those bleachers stood remains empty with the most highly anticipated regular season football game of the year on its schedule in less than a week.

Each of the last two years, the Bryan Station-Frederick Douglass rivalry has drawn capacity crowds to both schools. This year, Fayette County Public Schools moved the kickoff from a normal Friday night start to noon on Saturday (Oct. 14) to better deal with crowd concerns. But the missing bleachers could be a significant issue.

“We are diligently working to have everything ready in time for this highly anticipated matchup, and we will let the community know something about the stadium repairs or any fan impact no later than midweek” FCPS spokeswoman Dia Davidson-Smith told the Herald-Leader on Thursday.

To make more room for fans during Friday’s game against George Rogers Clark, the Pride of the Northside Band sat in chairs on one end of the field.

Bryan Station coach Hawkins acknowledged the missing bleachers could affect the atmosphere of the game, but he’s more concerned about his team’s opponent.

“We’ve got to play inside these white lines anyway,” Hawkins said. “I know it creates some issues with some crowds, but right now, my job is just figuring out how to score some points and not give up any.”

‘A very, very emotional win.’ Kentucky high school team enjoys ray of light amid tragedy.

Kentucky high school football: View the latest scores and schedules

Battle of the bands: Which Kentucky high school has the best marching band? Vote here.