The Wayne County Cardinals (KY) varsity football team is set to play a home conference game against Paul Laurence Dunbar Bulldogs (KY) on Saturday, August 23, at 5:30 PM.

Here’s what you need to know:

What: Kentucky High School Football
Who: Wayne County Cardinals (KY) vs Paul Laurence Dunbar Bulldogs (KY)
When: Saturday, August 23, 2025
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Where: Nelson County High School
Live stream: Watch on NFHS Network

Season Preview: Wayne County and Paul Laurence Dunbar Eyeing 2025 Success
As the 2025 high school football season kicks off, two Kentucky programs, Wayne County and Paul Laurence Dunbar, are preparing for a new campaign with a shared slate of challenges. While they are in different classifications—Wayne County in Class 4A and Paul Laurence Dunbar in Class 6A—their schedules show a remarkable amount of overlap, providing a unique lens to compare their seasons as they unfold.

Both teams are starting with a clean slate, holding identical 0-0 overall, home, and away records. Their preseason rankings, however, highlight the difference in their classifications and recent program success. Wayne County enters the season with a strong Kentucky ranking of 66th, placing them 12th in their region and 5,228th nationally. This suggests a team with solid footing within their class, ready to compete for a top spot.

Paul Laurence Dunbar, a Class 6A program, faces a tougher landscape. They are ranked 112th in Kentucky, 28th in their region, and 7,743rd nationally. Despite the lower rankings, their schedule will test them against some of the state’s best, and a strong showing could quickly improve their standing.

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of their 2025 schedules is the list of common opponents. Both teams will face off against West Jessamine, Madison Southern, and Eastern. These shared matchups offer a rare opportunity to directly compare the two teams’ performance against the same competition, providing a key benchmark for their respective seasons.

The outcomes of these three games will be closely watched. A dominant performance by one team against a common opponent could signal a particularly strong season, while a struggle could highlight areas for improvement.

While the two teams are not scheduled to play each other head-to-head this season, their paths are intertwined through these shared opponents. The data available paints a picture of two programs at different stages. Wayne County, with a higher statewide ranking, appears poised to make a strong run in Class 4A, while Paul Laurence Dunbar will be tested by a challenging Class 6A schedule. The “common opponent” record for both teams is currently 0-0, but as the season progresses, these numbers will tell a compelling story of two Kentucky football teams fighting for supremacy on their own terms, and against a shared measuring stick