The NKyTribune will be providing focused coverage of NKY high school football throughout the season, thanks to support from St. Elizabeth Healthcare Sports Medicine. See all of our pre-season features on each of NKY’s 21 high school football teams and follow our coverage, including roundups each week at Northern Kentucky High School Football.
By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
The outcome of Friday’s football game between Class 6A district rivals Conner and Ryle is important to both teams. If Ryle wins, the Raiders will clinch their first district title since 2010 and extend their perfect record to 8-0. If Conner wins, the Cougars will establish themselves as serious contenders after going 0-2 in district games last season.
Conner linebacker Peyton VanHorn, left, and quarterback Walker Buelow are the senior team leaders for the 6-1 Cougars. (Photo by Terry Boehmker)
Conner has a 6-1 record and five-game winning streak going into Friday’s game, but coach Dave Trosper said winning the district is what the regular season is all about.
“We’ve flown under the radar for quite a while now,” Trosper said. “I think some people are starting to notice us, but they’re still not noticing us the way they need to. We need some marquee wins, and these next two games we’re playing great opponents so it’s a great opportunity to show what we have.”
Conner needs back-to-back wins over Ryle on Friday and Cooper on Oct. 21 to take the district title. Last year, the Cougars came out on the short end of a 46-34 scoring duel with Ryle and then lost a close game against Cooper, 15-13.
Ryle has a high-octane offense once again this season. With senior quarterback Tanner Morgan and junior running back Jake Chisholm operating behind a good offensive line, the Raiders are averaging 40 points and 427 yards per game.
But Conner’s experienced defensive unit that’s giving up only 12.8 points and 220 yards per game is looking forward to this latest challenge.
“They can talk all they want about us being underdogs and everything, but we prepare for these moments,” said Conner senior linebacker Peyton VanHorn.
“From our perspective, if we do our job, we win the game. If we stop the run and make them pass, I think we have it all in our hands because we’ve got the best secondary in Northern Kentucky. We’ve just got to play to our abilities and do what we know we can do.”
VanHorn is one of several seniors in Conner’s defensive lineup who have been playing on the varsity level since they were sophomores. He’s averaging 10 tackles per game for the Cougars this season. In last week’s 44-0 win over Campbell County, he made nine stops, including a tackle in the end zone for a two-point safety.
“It’s finally coming together,” he said of the team’s defensive unit. “We’ve come a long way, but when we do (put it all together) it’s scary. We didn’t know how good we could be until we played Campbell County last week.”
On offense, Conner started the season with first-year starters in several key positions. One of them was senior quarterback Walker Buelow, who has passed for 1,097 yards and 12 touchdowns in his first seven games.
Buelow spent the last two seasons as an understudy to Conner quarterback Kyler Padgett. He watched and learned how to run the offense well enough to step in as the starter after Padgett graduated last spring.
“Our quarterbacks are our guys. They’re what makes the whole machine run for us,” coach Trosper said. “(Buelow) took control and started getting better at observing what defenses were giving us and taking advantage of it.”
The addition of running back Armand Jackson, a senior transfer student, is another reason behind the success of the Conner offense. He has rushed for 792 yards and 12 touchdowns in seven games.
The Cougars are averaging 38 points and 411 yards per game with Buelow and Jackson leading their balanced offensive attack. But the six teams they’ve beaten this season have a combined record of 15-27 while their next two district opponents are 13-3.
“Some of our past opponents haven’t been all that great, which is why we have the record we have right now, but we’ve still been performing,” Buelow said. “The next couple weeks we have to step up our game and show everybody what we really are.”
Thursday games
Class 1A district game
Beechwood at Ludlow, 7 p.m.
Class 5A district game
Grant County at Dixie Heights, 7 p.m.
Friday games
Boone County at Cooper, 7:30 p.m.
Class 1A district games
Dayton at Bellevue, 7 p.m.
Paris at Brossart, 7:30 p.m.
Class 2A district games
Newport Central Catholic at Lloyd, 7 p.m.
Holy Cross at Newport, 7 p.m.
Trimble County at Walton-Verona, 7:30 p.m.
Class 4A district games
Scott at Bourbon County, 7:30 p.m.
Holmes at Mason County, 7:30 p.m.
Class 5A district game
Covington Catholic at Highlands, 7 p.m.
Class 6A district games
Ryle at Conner, 7 p.m.
Simon Kenton at Campbell County, 7 p.m.
