The NKyTribune is featuring each of the 21 high school football teams in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties leading up to the first games of the 2017 season on Aug. 18. We will then provide focused coverage of our local teams throughout the regular season and into the playoffs.
By Evan Merrill
NKyTribune contributor
The Newport Central Catholic football team found itself in an unusual situation in 2016. After making it to the state championship game four consecutive years, the Thoroughbreds were ousted by district foe Holy Cross in last year’s Class 2A state quarterfinals.
The top returning player for NewCath is senior Jason Decker, a two-way starter at running back and linebacker.
The Thoroughbreds hope to make it back into contention for the state title this year, but the road to that point won’t be easy. Several key players on last year’s team graduated, including quarterback Patrick Henschen. He had a combined total of more than 2,000 yards in passing and rushing last season.
NewCath plans to rely on two veteran running backs — senior Jason Decker and junior Kyle Kelly — early on while the team’s new quarterback settles into his position. Kelly rushed for 821 yards and 14 touchdowns last season while Decker picked up 371 yards and scored seven TDs.
“(Coach) is expecting us to get everyone focused and get everyone to come together and be one team,” Decker said. “He’s expecting that if something’s going wrong to tell him. He wants us to do good.”
Decker will also play linebacker and defensive back for NewCath. He made 103 tackles last season and the coach expects him to surpass that this year.
Kelly is still nursing a shoulder injury that will prevent him from playing defense right away. But Wagner knows he’ll be a good addition to the lineup once it’s set.
“He’s going to be awful good,” Wagner said. “He had a shoulder issue as a freshman so he didn’t play a whole lot. Last year, we were very careful with him. We didn’t play him on defense. We just played him on offense. It’s not because he couldn’t play. That was just to protect the shoulder. The kid’s a football player. If he stays healthy, he’s going to have some (college recruiters) after him.”
The quarterback position is still up for grabs with junior Hunter Cain and sophomore Paul Kremer battling it out to see who will run the offense.
“They’re both good athletes on top of being good quarterbacks and there’s a lot both can do outside of quarterback,” Wagner said. “I don’t know who’s going to win it, maybe we’ll go with both, but as the season goes on we’ll see.”
NewCath faces a challenging schedule that includes three reigning state champions — Beechwood (Class 1A), Christian Academy of Louisville (Class 2A) and Belfry (Class 3A) — but there was a reason behind scheduling those teams.
“If you’re going to get where you need to get and where we want to be, you’ve got to play good competition,” Wagner said. “That’s the only way you’re going to get better. Do we go into it thinking we’re going to get beat? There’s not a team on that schedule that I don’t think we can beat.”
When pre-season practice began, Wagner posted two scores in the locker room to remind the Thoroughbreds of how close they came to claiming a state title the last two years. NewCath lost to Mayfield, 17-7, in the 2015 state final and lost to Holy Cross, 26-21, in the third round of last year’s playoffs.
“We’ve talked about that over and over,” Wagner said. “We have to take care of the little things. We have to take care of each other. It’s coach-speak, but it’s what you have to do. Little things add up to big things.”
NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC THOROUGHBREDS
2016 SEASON: 7-6 record, lost in third round of Class 2A playoffs.
DISTRICT: Class 2A, District 6 with Holy Cross, Lloyd and Newport.
HEAD COACH: Dan Wagner (35-23 in four seasons at NewCath).
2017 SCHEDULE
Aug. 18 – at Scott, 7 p.m.
Aug. 25 – COOPER, 7 p.m.
Sept. 1 – at Campbell County, 7 p.m.
Sept. 8 – BELFRY, 7 p.m.
Sept. 15 – CHRISTIAN ACADEMY OF LOUISVILLE, 7 p.m.
Sept. 22 – at Conner, 7 p.m.
Oct. 7 – at Holy Cross, 1 p.m.
Oct. 13 – LLOYD, 7 p.m.
Oct. 20 – at Newport, 7 p.m.
Oct. 27 – at Beechwood, 7 p.m.
Other NKyTribune prep football previews:
DAYTON GREENDEVILS
COVINGTON CATHOLIC COLONELS
BISHOP BROSSART MUSTANGS
WALTON-VERONA BEARCATS
COOPER JAGUARS
SCOTT EAGLES
LUDLOW PANTHERS
HIGHLANDS BLUEBIRDS
LLOYD JUGGERNAUTS
