NewCath wide receiver Trent Wrobleski fights for more yardage after making a catch. The Holy Cross defenders are Owen Finke, No. 29, and Corey Lyons. (Photo by Mary Lynn Lampke)
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
Newport Central Catholic football coach Dan Wagner said he was proud of the way his team played defense in a 21-0 win over Class 2A district rival Holy Cross on Friday at Newport Stadium.
Holy Cross has a pair of big, strong running backs in Derrick Barnes and Xavier Abernathy, but neither of them was able to get much yardage or make big plays like they did in previous games.
NewCath quarterback Patrick Henschen tries to throw a pass before he’s tackled by Holy Cross defensive players. (Photo by Mary Lynn Lampke)
With NewCath defensive tackles Jameel Jones and JP Hughes plugging up the inside running lanes, Barnes was limited to 51 yards on 11 carries and Abernathy had 64 yards on 15 carries.
“I’ll tell you what, our two defensive tackles are so quick that people have a hard time blocking them,” coach Wagner said. “When you don’t let those (running backs) get north and south and make them shuffle their feet a little bit (to find openings) it makes a huge difference.”
Holy Cross had to resort to its passing game, but that wasn’t very successful either. NewCath intercepted three passes, including one in the end zone that stopped the Indians’ best drive of the game in the second quarter.
All in all, it was a good night for the Thoroughbreds’ entire defensive unit.
“We picked off three passes so I know it gave our safeties and defensive backs confidence,” Jones said. “And it gave our defensive line confidence because we stopped two of the biggest running backs in Northern Kentucky.”
NewCath finished with a 251-185 advantage in total yardage. Senior quarterback Patrick Henschen completed 13 of 21 passes for 147 yards and one TD, but he also threw two interceptions. On the ground, the Thoroughbreds picked up 104 yards with sophomore running back Kyle Kelly scoring twice.
“On offense, we’ve got a little work to do,” coach Wagner said. “We had a chance to put that (game) away and be in a lot better shape, but we didn’t do it. I don’t know what it was. We’ll have to figure it out.”
Holy Cross starting quarterback Dylan Couch left the game late in the second quarter after getting shaken up on a tackle and didn’t return. He was replaced by sophomore Ben Borman, who threw two interceptions in the second half. The Indians also turned the ball over on downs three times in the final two quarters.
HOLY CROSS 0 0 0 0 – 0
NEWCATH 7 7 0 7 – 21
NC – Kelly 4 run (Otten kick)
NC – Wrobleski 29 pass from Henschen (Otten kick)
NC – Kelly 25 run (Otten kick)
RECORDS: NewCath 3-4, Holy Cross 4-3
DIXIE HEIGHTS 40, HIGHLANDS 20
Dixie Heights rushed for 545 yards and six touchdowns to win the Class 5A district game and claimed its first victory over Highlands since 2002.
Two seniors led the Colonels’ rushing attack. Jose Torres picked up 241 yards and scored three touchdowns. Cameron Barrett had 178 yards, including a 70-yard scoring run that gave his team a 28-14 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Highlands quarterback Brady Gosney threw his third TD pass of the game to cut the margin to 28-20, but that was the last time the Bluebirds reached the end zone. Dixie Heights scored on short runs by Torres and junior Brandon Baker in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
Gosney passed for 223 of his team’s 276 total yards. The Bluebirds were limited to 53 yards on the ground.
Highlands has lost six straight games after opening the season with a win. According to the team’s website, the last time the Bluebirds finished the season with a losing record was 1955 with a 4-5-1 mark.
The team website has Highlands winning the 2004 Class 3A state title with a 14-1 record. But the Kentucky High School Athletic Association website lists the record as 2-13 that year because 12 games were forfeited due to an ineligible player. Dixie Heights was one of the opponents in those forfeited games.
HIGHLANDS 14 0 6 0 – 20
DIXIE HEIGHTS 14 14 0 12 – 40
H – Veneman 7 pass from Gosney (Bowman kick)
DH – Torres 1 run (Smith kick)
H – Veneman 49 pass from Gosney (Bowman kick)
DH – Barker 3 run (Smith kick)
DH – Torres 24 run (Smith kick)
DH – Barrett 70 run (Smith kick)
H – Posey 24 pass from Gosney (kick failed)
DH – Torres 3 run (kick failed)
DH – Barker 4 run (kick failed)
RECORDS: Dixie Heights 4-3, Highlands 1-6
BROSSART 33, BRACKEN COUNTY 13
After Brossart starting quarterback Chase Keller left the Class 2A district game with a injury, sophomore Tyler MacDonald replaced him and scored on an 11-yard run to give the Mustangs a 20-13 halftime lead.
Brossart scored a touchdown in both the third and fourth quarters with MacDonald running the offense. He got his second TD on a 1-yard run with five minutes remaining to wrap up the victory.
Before he was injured, Keller scored on a 1-yard run and completed 5 of 7 passes for 91 yards. Keller threw a 57-yard scoring pass to Bryce Donnelly, who has eight touchdowns in the last four games. The Mustangs’ other touchdown came on a 16-yard run by Nathan Bezold.
BRACKEN CO. 0 13 0 0 – 13
BROSSART 7 13 7 6 – 33
BB-Keller 1 run (Sendlebach kick)
BC-Teegarden 40 yard pass from Bishop (run failed)
BB-Donnely 57 pass from Keller (kick failed)
BC-Parker 32 run (Teegarden kick)
BB-MacDonald 11 run (Sendlebach kick)
BB-Bezold 16 run (Sendlebach kick)
BB-MacDonald 1 run (kick failed)
RECORDS: Brossart 5-2, Bracken County 5-2.
IN OTHER GAMES:
WALTON-VERONA 21, GALLATIN COUNTY 3 – Walton-Verona senior Hunter Ruber, a two-way starter at fullback and linebacker, scored two touchdowns on offense and one on defense in the Class 1A district game.
After getting his first TD on a 4-yard run, Ruber recovered a fumble in the end zone and Jeremy Moran kicked the extra-point to give the Bearcats a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
In the third quarter, Ruber scored on a 1-yard run and finished with 104 rushing yards on 16 carries. He also made six tackles on defense, two behind team-leader Mason Smith
CONNER 44, CAMPBELL COUNTY 0 – Conner won its fifth straight game in impressive fashion, netting 430 yards on offense while holding Campbell County to 218 on defense to record the shutout.
Senior quarterback Walker Buelow completed 14 of 22 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns. The Cougars also had 205 yards rushing with senior Armand Jackson picking up 164 and scoring twice.
Conner’s defense intercepted two passes, recovered a fumble and stopped Campbell County on three fourth-down plays.
COVINGTON CATHOLIC 56, GRANT COUNTY 7 – CovCath scored 42 points and gained 348 yards in the first half of the Class 5A district game and was able to to use reserve players after the break.
CovCath junior quarterback AJ Mayer passed for 146 yards and three touchdowns before he left the game. The team’s leading rusher was sophomore Casey McGinness with 98 yards and two TDs.
LUDLOW 42, DAYTON 26 – Five players scored touchdowns for Ludlow in the Class 1A district game that the Panthers played without leading rusher Justin Blackburn, who was serving a one-game suspension for being ejected last week.
The Panthers finished with 324 rushing yards. Sophomore running back Sean Stratton scored two touchdowns and teammates TC Eades, Matt Ruesch, Dakota Moore and Chandler Booker each scored once.
LLOYD 58, NEWPORT 0 – In addition to posting its third shutout of the season, Lloyd’s defense scored on an interception return by Jamorrow Dawson and a fumble recovery by Benjamin Hunt in the Class 2A district game.
Lloyd’s standout player on offense was senior running back Justin Durham, who scored on touchdown runs of 42 and 62 yards to account for most of his 200 rushing yards.
BEECHWOOD 55, BELLEVUE 13 – Junior quarterback Brayden Burch completed 19 of 23 passes for 321 yards and five touchdowns to lead Beechwood to the victory in the Class 1A district game.
Beechwood had 249 yards rushing with James Davis picking up 90 and Aiden Justice getting 89. Davis also caught two passes for 49 yards and added another 30 yards on kickoff returns.
SIMON KENTON 52, BOONE COUNTY 0 – Simon Kenton took a 24-0 lead in the Class 6A district game behind the play of senior quarterback Cam Racke, who threw a touchdowns pass and scored on two keepers.
Jon Sargent also scored two rushing touchdowns for the Pioneers, who ended up with 375 total yards compared to Boone County’s 193. The Rebels turned the ball over four times on fumbles.
BOURBON COUNTY 41, HOLMES 7 – Bourbon County scored late in the second quarter to take a 14-7 lead and ran off 27 straight points in the second half to win the Class 5A district game.
Holmes had five turnovers on offense and finished with 222 yards. Salih Abdullah rushed for 110 yards on 10 carries and Seth Hille scored the Bulldogs’ only touchdown on a 2-yard run in the second quarter.
