By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
It took three years for the dream to come true, but Covington Catholic is returning to the Kentucky boys high school basketball state tournament at Rupp Arena.
The Colonels (31-4) earned a berth in the “Sweet 16” season finale with an impressive 74-31 win over Dixie Heights in the 9th Region championship game on Monday at BB&T Arena. It was a night of redemption for four CovCath seniors who played on teams that were upset in the regional final the last two years.
Dixie Heights forward Spencer Trimpe, center, tries to pull down a rebound between brothers Michael Mayer, No. 24, and A.J. Mayer, No. 21, of CovCath. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
“This means everything,” said CovCath senior forward C.J. Fredrick. “The amount of work we all put in during the off season was just for this point right here. The past two years we came up short and we were determined not to let it happen again.”
Fredrick scored a game-high 24 points with seven assists and three rebounds in the region final and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
CovCath’s other three-year starters also had good games. Senior guard Aiden Ruthsatz and senior forward A.J. Mayer finished with 14 points and four steals each. Jake Walter, a 7-foot-1 senior center, had eight points, five rebounds and three blocks.
The Colonels also played good defense to win the 9th Region championship game by 43 points, the widest margin since 1954 when Newport defeated Florence by 46 points (84-38) in the title game.
“I’m proud of my guys,” said Dixie Heights coach Roddy Stainforth. “I felt like, even with the score, they fought the entire time. They just ran into a very focused and really good CovCath team. They appear to be on a mission right now and I expect them to bring home some more hardware (from the state tournament).”
Dixie Heights shot just 30 percent (12 of 39) from the field and finished with more turnovers (22) than field goals. The only scorer who reached double figures was senior forward Tyler Schreck with 13 points. CovCath also finished with a 32-15 rebounding advantage.
CovCath senior forward C.J.Fredrick puts up a baseline jumper with Dixie Heights defenders all around him. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
“These past two or three months we’ve really been focusing on locking down (on defense) and getting stops and, like we say, creating chaos,” Fredrick said. “We know if we have a bad offensive game we have to be able to step up on defense so we can put ourselves in position to win.”
Fredrick swished a last-second 3-point shot to give CovCath a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter in the region final. His team dominated the next eight-minute period, going on a 20-6 run that also ended with him hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 34-14 halftime advantage.
At the break, Dixie Heights was shooting 25 percent (3 of 20) from the field compared to CovCath’s 52 percent (13 of 25). CovCath scored 15 of its 34 points off turnovers in the first two quarters.
The Colonels extended their lead to 54-25 in the third quarter. All five starters had a field goal during that period, including a slam dunk by Walter and a pair of treys by Ruthsatz.
“In the second half, our whole demeanor was, ‘Let’s go out and really try to do everything we can to get this thing blown open,’ and they did,” said CovCath coach Scott Ruthsatz.
With six minutes left in the fourth quarter, the coach started taking out his starters. The first one he replaced was Mayer, who was the starting quarterback on CovCath’s state championship football team.
“The past two years we lost in the region final and both of them were just such a heartache,” Mayer said. “I can’t really compare this to football yet, because winning a state championship (in football) was a life-long dream of mine. But getting out of region and going back down to Rupp feels amazing. It’ll be a really cool experience, but we’re not done yet.”
CovCath’s first-round game in the state tournament will be at 8 p.m. on March 15 against the winner of the 3rd Region championship game between Owensboro Catholic and Apollo that’s being played Tuesday night.
The Colonels have been ranked among the top five teams in the state most of the season so there will be a lot of expectations for the team to do well in the state tournament.
“We’re coming in playing really good,” Mayer said. “We’ve got great coaches who put in the time and great players. It’ll be an awesome experience, and I think we’re going to be proud with the result.”
DIXIE HEIGHTS 8 6 11 6 — 31
COVCATH 14 20 20 20 — 74
DIXIE HEIGHTS (18-15): Karim 1 1 3, Trimpe 1 0 2, Schreck 6 1 13, Schumate 3 2 10, Snelling 1 0 3. Totals: 12 4 31.
COVCATH (31-4): Fredrick 9 3 24, Ruthsatz 5 1 14, Mayer 4 6 14, Walter 4 0 8, Nowak 0 1 1, Deere 1 0 2, Collins 1 0 2, Fleek 1 0 2, Davin 1 0 2, Green 1 0 2, Fortner 1 1 3. Totals: 28 12 74.
3-pointers: DH — Schumate 2, Snelling. CC — Fredrick 3, Ruthsatz 3.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
CovCath — C.J.Fredrick (MVP), Aiden Ruthsatz, A.J. Mayer. Dixie Heights — Tyler Schreck, Jabari Karim. Holy Cross — Nolan Schrand, Parker Zimmerman. Cooper — Adam Kunkel, Braydon Runion. NewCath — Brennan Hall. Ryle — Jake Tarvin. St. Henry — Quentin Becker. Newport — Makhi McGuire.
