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Holy Cross football coach Bruce Kozerski has a ring from the 1988 AFC Championship Cincinnati Bengals team on which he played and a handful of others from his accomplishments as a collegiate player, but he’s already made up his mind which one he will wear if his team wins the Class 2A state title on Friday.

“If we win that’s the ring I’ll wear it no doubt,” said Kozerski. “It would mean so much, because this school has never won a state championship before other than All ‘A’ (which is not sanctioned by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association) and because my family is so involved in this.”

Holy Cross (11-3) will play Glasgow (13-1) at 3 p.m. CST on Friday at Feix Field/Houchens L.T. Stadium on the campus of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.

One of Kozerski’s sons, Adam, is a standout two-way player for the Indians as a defensive end and tight end, his other son, Matthew, helps coach, his daughter, Amy, serves as a water girl and his wife, Beth, “puts up with all of the stuff a coach’s wife puts up with.”

“I’ll buy them all rings if we win it, because they will have earned them, too,” Kozerski said.

While Kozerski missed out on a Super Bowl ring when that 1988 Bengals team lost to the San Francisco 49ers, he says winning a ring on Friday will make up for it.

“That was a time of my life that was certainly one of the greatest, but this tops it, because it’s all about the kids,” Kozerski said. “I’m fortunate to lead a great group.”

HIGHLANDS IN RECORD BOOKS: The Highlands football team already set two state records on Friday, but it can set two others and tie two more in this Saturday’s Class 4A state championship game against Franklin-Simpson.

In the Bluebirds 42-21 win over Lexington Catholic they set the record for most points and most touchdowns in a season. They now have 807 points, breaking the old record of 801 set by the 1998 Highlands team, and have now scored 115 touchdowns, breaking the old record of 113 set by the 1998 Highlands team.

They need seven extra point kicks to break the single-season state record of 97 set by the 1997 Boyle County and exactly 400 yards total offense to break the single-season state record of 7,409 yards set by both the 1987 and 1991 Pikeville teams.

When Trinity likely wins the Class 6A title on Friday for its 21st all-time, Highlands can tie that record on Saturday and it can also tie Boyle County’s record of five straight state titles set from 1999-2003.

STATE FINAL SCHEDULE: Here is a look at the state championship schedule Dec. 2-3 at Feix Field, Houchens/LT Smith Stadium at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green (all games CST):

Friday’s Games

Class A, 11 a.m.: Mayfield (14-0) vs. Hazard (13-1): A rematch of last year’s state title game, which Mayfield won, 47-6.

Class, 2A 3 p.m.: Holy Cross (11-3) vs. Glasgow (14-0): Glasgow went 5-6 just two years ago, but this season has held 12 opponents to 10 points or less and posted five shutouts.

Class 6A, 7 p.m.: Louisville Trinity (13-0) vs. Scott County (14-0): Trinity is seeking its third straight title and 21st overall and the Shamrocks have outscored their seven Kentucky opponents this season, 366-25.

Saturday’s Games

Class 3A, 11 a.m. - Louisville Central (11-3) vs. Belfry (13-1): Central is seeking its fourth title in the last five years and it beat Belfry twice in the title game in that span, 46-7 last season, and 27-17 in 2007.

Class 4A, 3 p.m.: Highlands (14-0) vs. Franklin-Simpson (13-1): Franklin-Simpson is seeking its first state title since current University of Kentucky coach Joker Phillips quarterbacked it to a 16-0 win over Conner in the 1980 Class AAA state title game.

Class 5A, 7 p.m.: Anderson County (13-1) vs. Bowling Green (14-0): Anderson County narrowly beat Conner, 31-30, in the quarterfinal round.

Source: http://news.cincinnati.com