[Stardust]

For the 25th time since 1965, Trinity High School’s football team will play for a state championship tonight.

For the first time, the game has national-championship implications.

The Shamrocks (13-0) will seek their ninth state title in 11 years when they face Scott County (14-0) in the Class 6-A final at 8 p.m. EST at Houchens Industries/L.T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green.

Trinity has been No. 1 in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings all season and has established itself as the state’s dominant program over the past decade.

Now that dominance has gone national as the Shamrocks are No. 1 in five national rankings — Rivals High, PrepNation.com, Scout.com, SI.com and Massey computer — and can solidify those spots with a state title.

Don Bosco of Ramsey, N.J., is No. 1 in five other national rankings. Don Bosco will finish its season today against Bergen Catholic in New Jersey’s Non-Public Group IV state final.

Jamie DeMoney of PrepNation.com, which has Don Bosco ranked No. 2, said the race for the national title is a two-team affair.

“Both of them are playing for the ultimate prize on their schedules … but their cases have pretty much been made through the season,” DeMoney said. “If Trinity wins by a field goal in overtime and Don Bosco wins by five touchdowns, maybe we’ll want to look at it again.”

Trinity and Don Bosco also are 1-2 in the Scout.com Top 50.

“I think Trinity has played a harder schedule than Don Bosco,” said Scott Kennedy of Scout.com. “When you look at Trinity’s most impressive wins — Cincinnati St. X (17-7), Moeller (49-14) and Indianapolis Cathedral (36-14) — and see what they did to those teams, it’s pretty impressive.”

Of course, none of those victories will mean anything if Trinity doesn’t take care of Scott County.

The Shamrocks enter with a 24-game winning streak dating to last season and are beating opponents by an average score of 48.8-7.3 this year.

Scott County coach Jim McKee knows his team faces a daunting task.

“They’re the best team in the history of Kentucky high school football, and there’s not a close second,” he said. “I know that’s going to make some people mad … but they have an extremely high talent level.”
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