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
Covington Catholic football coach Eddie Eviston wasn’t happy with his team’s performance in the first half of Friday’s home game against Dixie Heights and he let the players know it when they got into the locker room.
CovCath junior Grant Dyer breaks free on a 57-yard touchdown run. (Photo by Steve Dyer)
“We challenged them at half to fight more than what they were fighting and everybody kind of stepped up their game,” Eviston said.
CovCath’s defense kept Dixie Heights out of the end zone during the second half and the home team scored 21 points early in the fourth quarter to post a 35-12 victory that clinched first place in the Class 5A district.
This the first time since 2006 that CovCath has won a district title, but it didn’t come easily. Dixie Heights trailed by only two points, 14-12, coming into the second half and moved the ball deep into CovCath territory on its first possession of the third quarter.
On a fourth-down play at the 18-yard line, however, Dixie Heights quarterback Austin Rice was stopped short of the first-down marker and turned the ball over on downs. That was a crucial play because Dixie Heights didn’t get much done on offense the rest of the night.
“I give credit to our defensive staff for making the proper adjustments that shut them down the second half,” Eviction said. “I’m just glad we did better in the second half than we did in the first first.”
The scored remained 14-12 until the first play of the fourth quarter. That’s when CovCath junior running back Grant Dyer took a pitch in the backfield, got around the right end and raced down the sideline on a 57-yard touchdown run.
CovCath’s defense recovered a fumble a few minutes later and it took the offense only two plays to score again on a 5-yard run by senior Anthony Best that gave his team a 28-12 lead.
Dixie Heights abandoned its running game that was working so well in the first half and tried a couple of passes on its next possession. But the second pass was picked off by CovCath defensive end Kameron Butler and he returned it 20 yards for a touchdown.
That was the third touchdown CovCath scored in less than four minutes and it put the Colonels ahead, 35-12, with 9:11 remaining in the game.
“Whenever we do our job and do what we’re coached to do, that’s when we make plays,” Butler said. “We shut them out in the second half because we did what we’re supposed to do the way that we’re coached.”
Dixie Heights picked up 258 of its 297 total yards on the ground with Rice getting 128 yards on 12 carries. CovCath got most of its 200 rushing yards on TD runs of 57 yards by Dyer and 62 yards by sophomore Casey McGinness.
CovCath quarterback AJ Mayer completed just nine of 20 passes, but they accounted for 193 yards. Sophomore receiver Jack Coldiron caught two passes for 98 yards.
DIXIE HEIGHTS 6 6 0 0 — 12
COVCATH 7 7 0 21 — 35
CC – McGinness 62 run (Kloska kick)
DH – Barrett 2 run (kick failed)
CC – Best 2 run (Kloska kick)
DH – Barker 1 run (run failed)
CC – Dyer 57 run (Kloska kick)
CC – Best 5 run (Kloska kick)
CC – Butler 20 interception return (Kloska kick)
RECORDS: CovCath 7-2, Dixie Heights 5-4
BELLEVUE 20, LUDLOW 15
Bellevue scored a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining and then made a key defensive stop to win the district game and get a home game in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs on Nov. 4.
Bellevue quarterback Eric Atkins threw a 58-yard pass to Tucker Thomas to give the Tigers a 20-15 lead with 1:44 left on the clock. Ludlow got the ball to the 9-yard line on its final possession, but the Panthers weren’t able to score.
Atkins completed 7 of 15 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Ludlow quarterback TC Eads had a rushing touchdown and threw a 32-yard TD pass to Chandler Booker.
Bellevue’s defensive standout was senior linebacker Jason Craig. He had 20 tackles, including two quarterback sacks.
BELLEVUE 7 0 7 6 — 20
LUDLOW 7 0 0 8 — 15
L – Eades 1 run (Eads kick)
B – Hazeres 4 run (Garcia kick)
B – Evers 59 pass from Atkins (Garcia kick)
L – Booker 32 pass from Eads (Stratton pass from Eads)
B – Thomas 58 pass from Atkins (kick failed)
RECORDS: Bellevue 3-6, Ludlow 3-6
IN OTHER GAMES:
SCOTT 9, HOLMES 6 — Scott earned a spot in the Class 4A playoffs with the victory. It was a one-point game until the final two minutes when the Eagles tackled a Holmes player in the end zone for a two-point safety.
Scott scored its only touchdown on a 1-yard run by junior Alex Thurza early in the second quarter and sophomore Seth Rosenhagen kicked the extra point. In the final seconds of the quarter, Holmes scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run, but the kick was blocked.
Scott (2-7) finished fourth in Class 4A, District 7 and will play District 8 winner Johnson Central (9-0) in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 4.
HIGHLANDS 50, GRANT COUNTY 0 — Highlands snapped a seven-game losing streak behind another impressive performance by senior quarterback Brady Gosney, who competed 11 of 20 passes for 239 yards and six touchdowns in the Class 5A district game.
Gosney is among the state’s passing leaders this season with 2,179 passing yards and 23 TDs in nine games.
Highlands finished with 306 total yards and held Grant County to 68. Trent Buchert caught two TD passes for the Bluebirds. The longest scoring play was a 54-yard pass from Gosney to Grant Sommers.
NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 56, NEWPORT 14 — After taking a 42-0 lead in the first half, NewCath used reserve players the rest of the way and won its third consecutive Class 2A district game.
The Thoroughbreds rushed for 372 yards and eight touchdowns. Junior running back Jason Decker scored three of the TDs. Sophomore running back Kyle Kelly had 90 yards on 11 carries and two TDs.
Both of Newport’s touchdowns were scored by sophomore Tyler Porter on an 80-yard kickoff return and 3-yard run.
BROSSART 42, BEREA 20 — Six players scored touchdowns for Brossart in the the Class 1A district game with the last one coming on a 4-yard fumble return by defensive back Jan Nuefelder.
One of the Mustangs’ offensive touchdowns was a 50-yard pass from quarterback Chase Keller to Bryce Donnelly, who has caught 13 of the team’s 19 scoring passes this season.
Brossart finished in a three-way tie for first place in the district with Bracken County and Nicholas County. The top seed will be decided by adding up the victories recorded by the non-district opponents that each team defeated this season.
BEECHWOOD 50, DAYTON 0 — Beechwood took a 42-0 lead in the first half of the Class 1A district game with senior running back Aiden Justice scoring two touchdowns receiving and one rushing.
Junior quarterback Brayden Burch completed 11 of 13 passes for 248 yards to account for most of Beechwood’s 335 yards in total offense. Dayton finished with 28 total yards and had two passes intercepted.
NEW RICHMOND (Ohio) 28, WALTON-VERONA 7 — New Richmond quarterback Josh Anderson passed for 218 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 123 yards and one TD to lead his team to the victory.
Walton-Verona finished with 114 yards of total offense. Hunter Ruber scored the Bearcats’ only touchdown on a 4-yard run in the third quarter.
BOONE COUNTY 20, CAMPBELL COUNTY 14 2-OT — Boone County scored a touchdown on its second possession in overtime to win the Class 6A district game and end a 28-game losing streak that began in 2014.
