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Friday Football Roundup: Simon Kenton wins offensive shootout with Highlands, 77-53


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

Simon Kenton needed a big night from its offensive unit to defeat Highlands, 77-53, in one of the highest scoring games in the history of Northern Kentucky high school football on Friday in Ft. Thomas.

cam-racke-throwiing

Simon Kenton quarterback Cam Racke had six passing and three rushing touchdowns in the win over Highlands.

The Pioneers finished with a net total of 752 yards and scored 11 touchdowns behind an impressive performance by senior quarterback Cam Racke. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 273 yards and six touchdowns while also rushing for 130 yards and three TDs.

In the second half, Simon Kenton outscored Highlands, 35-13, to come away with the victory. Racke engineered that decisive run by throwing three touchdown passes and rushing for another.

Highlands senior quarterback Brady Gosney was responsible for most of his team’s 642 yards on offense. He completed 29 of 44 passes for 394 yards and four TDs. The Bluebirds’ leading rusher was Jared Pulsfort with 116 yards and three touchdowns.

Eight of the 19 scoring plays in the game came on runs or passes of 45 yards or more. In the third quarter, Racke threw a 65-yard TD pass and then scored on a 60-yard run to give the Pioneers a 56-41 lead.

Simon Kenton remains undefeated with a 6-0 record. It was the fifth straight loss for Highlands (1-5). Both teams begin district play next week when Simon Kenton faces Boone County in Class 6A and Highlands visits Dixie Heights in Class 5A.

SIMON KENTON   21  21 14 21 – 77
HIGHLANDS          27  14  6   6 – 53

H – Pulsfort 62 run (kick failed)
SK – Racke 10 run (Seger kick)
H – Veneman 58 pass from Gosney (Bowman kick)
SK – Hayden 20 pass from Racke (Seger kick)
H – Gosney 1 run (Bowman kick)
SK – Vance 50 pass from Shearer (Seger kick)
H – Veneman 68 pass from Gosney (Bowman kick)
H – Pulsfort 2 run (Bowman kick)
SK – Vance 56 pass from Racke (Seger kick)
H – Veneman 15 pass from Gosney (Bowman kick)
SK – Racke 5 run (Seger kick)
SK – Murray 48 pass from Racke (Seger kick)
SK – Murray 65 pass from Racke (Seger kick)
SK – Racke 60 run (Seger kick)
H – Wogan 21 pass from Gosney (conversion failed)
SK – Vance 11 pass from Racke (Seger kick)
H – Pulsfort 4 run (conversion failed)
SK – Cottrell 6 pass from Racke (Seger kick)
SK – Shearer run (Seger kick)
RECORDS: Simon Kenton 6-0, Highlands 1-5

Cooper 38, Lexington Catholic 20

Dante Hendrix caught two touchdown passes and scored on an interception return to account for most of Cooper’s points in the victory that lifted the team’s record to 4-2.

Hendrix had eight receptions for 140 yards and two TDs. In the third quarter, he picked off a pass while playing defensive back and it 34 yards for his third score and Mitchell Hollifield converted the extra-point kick to give their team a 31-7 lead.

The Jaguars ended up with 476 yards in total offense. Senior quarterback Jerod Lonaker completed 23 of 37 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Senior running back Jaden Jackson picked up 98 yards on 19 carries.

COOPER     10 7 21 0 – 38
LEXCATH     0 7   0 13 – 20

C — Schlarman 27 pass from Lonaker (Hollifield kick)
C – Hollifield 29 FG
L – Bennington 70 pass from Fagot (Fry kick)
C – Hendrix 18 pass from Lonaker (Hollifield kick)
C – Hendrix 34 pass from Lonaker (Hollifield kick)
C – Hendrix 38 interception return (Hollifield kick)
C – Jackson 17 run (Hollifield kick)
L – Jones 5 run (Fry kick)
L – Jones 16 run (pass failed)
RECORDS: Cooper 4-2, Lexington Catholic 1-5

Nicholas County 35, Brossart 25

Brossart took a 19-7 lead in the second quarter, but Nicholas County came charging back to win the Class 1A district game.

Senior quarterback Chase Keller had another big game for the Mustangs. In addition to completing 19 of 36 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns, he rushed for 91 yards and one TD.

Bryce Donnelly caught seven of Keller’s passes for 153 yards and two TDs. On the last play of the game, Keller threw a 22-yard TD pass to Kory Quitter.

BROSSART         13  6   0  6 – 25
NICHOLAS CO.   7   7  14  7 – 35

B – Donnelly 47 pass from Keller (kick good)
B – Keller 42 run (kick failed)
NC – Dailey 4 run (kick good)
B – Donnelly 35 pass from Keller (kick failed)
NC – Ferguson 32 run (kick good)
NC – Fryman 3 run (2-point conversion)
NC – Ferguson 1 run (kick failed)
NC – Ferguson 3 run (kick good)
B – Quitter 22 pass from Keller (time expired)
RECORDS: Nicholas County 6-0, Brossart 3-2.

Harrison County 30, Holmes 6

Harrison County scored on its first offensive possession and never trailed in the Class 4A district game at Lloyd.

st-e-football-plug-768x249Holmes was limited to 174 yards on offense and committed two turnovers. The Bulldogs’ only scoring play was a 69-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun York to Tajh Campbell in the second quarter.

Harrison County quarterback Ben Van Hook completed 10 of 19 passes for 182 yards and two TDs. He also scored on a 1-yard keeper.

HARRISON CO. 7 9 0 14 — 30
HOLMES             0   6 0  0 — 6

HC – Walker 36 pass from Van Hook (Jackson kick)
HC – Safety: punter stepped out of end zone
HC – Gilkey 20 pass from Van Hook (Jackson kick)
HOL – Campbell 69 pass from York (pass failed)
HC – Van Hook 1 run (Jackson kick)
HC – Blanton 1 run (Jackson kick)
RECORDS: Harrison County 3-3, Holmes 2-4

In other games

WALTON-VERONA 36, CARROLL COUNTY 0 — Walton-Verona won the Class 2A district game by rushing for 280 yards and five touchdowns with quarterback Scott Pettyjohn and running back Hunter Ruben leading the way.

Pettyjohn picked up 68 yards on 11 carries and scored once. Ruben had 56 yards on four carries and scored twice. Two of the biggest plays for the Bearcats were a 33-yard run by Mason Smith and a 40-yard pass reception by Zach Clink.

ST. FRANCIS DESALES 49, COVINGTON CATHOLIC 17 — DeSales running back Alonzo Booth scored on breakaway runs of 70 and 80 yards in the first half and ended up with five rushing touchdowns to help snap CovCath’s four-game winning streak.

The Colonels pulled to within 21-17 on a 21-yard touchdown pass from AJ Mayer to Josh Newman late in the second quarter. But DeSales defensive back Jared Noble ended the first half with a 102-yard interception return for a touchdown.

BARDSTOWN BETHLEHEM 17, BELLEVUE 10 — A field goal by Miguel Garcia gave Bellevue a 3-0 lead going into the second half, but Bethlehem ran off 17 unanswered points to come out on top. The Tigers’ only touchdown came on an 81-yard kickoff return by Seth Evers.

GARRARD COUNTY 26, LLOYD 25 — After Justin Durham scored Lloyd’s final touchdown on a 28-yard run, quarterback Jordan Fann wasn’t able to get the two-point conversion the Juggernauts needed to take the lead. Lloyd had another chance to win the game, but Luis Oshan missed a 20-yard field goal attempt.

MASON COUNTY 21, SCOTT 15 — Scott took a 15-14 lead on a 5-yard touchdown run by David Patrick in the third quarter, but Mason County regained the lead before the period ended and went on to win the Class 4A district game.

BRACKEN COUNTY 48, DAYTON 0 — Bracken County finished with 428 total yards while limiting Dayton to 72. The Greendevils had four turnovers and were 1 of 11 on third- and fourth-down conversion attempts.

WILLIAMSBURG 29, LUDLOW 12 — Ludlow scored on an 80-yard run by Justin Blackburn and a 73-yard run by TC Eades. Those two plays netted most of the Panthers’ 294 total yards in the game.

Scores from unreported games

Dixie Heights 23, Boone County 12
Campbell County 48, Western Brown (Ohio) 21
Owen County 64, Newport 36


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