Friday Football Roundup: Ryle rushes to district title in 42-28 win over Conner

Ryle defensive players Drew Turner, No. 4, and Zach Smith, No. 11, bring down Conner pass receiver Cody Buckler. (Photo by Lisa Smith)

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

After his team fell behind early in the third quarter, Ryle football coach Mike Engler made an offensive adjustment that carried the Raiders to a 42-28 win over Conner on Friday in Hebron.

Ryle ran the ball on 28 of 32 plays in the second half and scored 21 straight points to come out on top. The victory extended the Raiders’ perfect record to 8-0 and clinched the team’s first Class 6A district title since 2010.

Ryle junior running back Jake Chisholm rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns in the second half of the win over Conner. (Photo from Ryle Raiders Football website)

“When (Conner) took the lead, we thought we really needed to wear them down a little bit,” Engler said of resorting to run in the second half. “We issued a challenge to our offensive line and we sped the game up. And when we went faster our linemen seemed to get in a groove and seemed to take over.”

The Raiders’ primary ball carrier was junior running back Jake Chisholm, who rushed for 198 of the team’s 244 yards in the second half and scored two touchdowns.

Chisholm was limited to 25 yards rushing in the first half because Ryle’s passing game was working so well. Senior quarterback Tanner Morgan threw three touchdown passes in first quarter when the Raiders took a 21-8 lead.

When Conner came back to tie the score, 21-21, at halftime, Chisholm knew he had to do more to help his team, and he got the chance in the second half.

“At halftime, I didn’t talk to anybody,” he said. “I just had that death stare and I was like, ‘I’m going to come out and do something the second half.’ And my offensive linemen came up to me and said, ‘We’ve got you in the second half,’ and they definitely had my back.”

Conner took a 28-21 lead when senior running back Armand Jackson scored his second touchdown of the game on an 11-yard run and Jacob Shepherd kicked the extra point with 9:26 remaining in the third quarter.

But Ryle scored rushing touchdowns on its next three offensive possessions to come away with the win. Morgan tied the score with a 4-yard run and Chisholm got the next two TDs on runs of 46 and 17 yards.

“I’m not surprised by anything he does,” coach Engler said of Chisholm, who ended up with 223 yards on 26 carries. “He does a great job and our team rallies around him.”

Ryle had 500 yards of total offense in the game. Morgan completed 14 of 20 passes for 228 yards. Two of his touchdowns passes went to Bryce Ashley, who had 173 yards on seven receptions.

Conner quarterback Walker Buelow completed 18 of 28 for 278 yards to account for most of his team’s 406 total yards. The Cougars’ leading rusher was Jackson with 100 yards and two TDs.

Ryle’s home game against Simon Kenton next Friday will be a showdown between the two undefeated teams in Northern Kentucky.

“I’ll tell you what, people have been asking me about next week for quite some time and I’ve pushed it to the side,” coach Engler said. “It’s going to be an exciting atmosphere.”

RYLE 21 0 14 7 – 42
CONNER 8 13 7 0 – 28

R – Pilyer 12 pass from Morgan (Molique kick)
R – Ashley 54 pass from Morgan (Molique kick)
C – Jackson 5 run (Van Horn pass from Buelow)
R – Ashley 66 pass from Morgan (Molique kick)
C – Simpson 40 pass from Buelow (pass failed)
C – Simpson 45 pass from Buelow (Shepard kick)
C – Jackson 11 run (Shepard kick)
R – Morgan 4 run (Molique kick)
R – Chisholm 46 run (Molique kick)
R – Chisholm 17 run (Molique kick)
RECORDS: Ryle 8-0, Conner 6-2.

NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 28, LLOYD 18

NewCath clinched first place in the Class 2A district with the victory, but Lloyd made it interesting at the end.

After the Thoroughbreds took a 28-0 lead in the fourth quarter, Lloyd scored three touchdowns and recovered an onside kick after each one. The Juggernauts turned the ball over on downs after recovering the third onside kick.

Senior quarterback Patrick Henschen and sophomore running back Kyle Kelly each scored two rushing touchdowns for NewCath. Henschen had 128 yards passing and 77 yards rushing. Kelly had 54 yards rushing and 44 yards in pass receptions.

Lloyd junior quarterback Jordan Fann completed 14 of 33 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns. In the fourth quarter, he threw two TD passes to senior LaShunn Townsend, who had nine receptions for 140 yards.

NEWCATH 14 0 7 7 – 28
LLOYD 0 0 0 18 – 18

NC – Henschen 13 run (Otten kick)
NC – Henschen 21 run (Otten kick)
NC – Kelly 4 run (Otten kick)
NC – Kelly 3 run (Otten kick)
L – Townsend 63 pass from Fann (kick failed)
L – Vogt 26 pass from Fann (pass failed)
L – Townsend 2 pass from Fann (run failed)
RECORDS: NewCath 4-4, Lloyd 4-4.

SIMON KENTON 50, CAMPBELL COUNTY 20

Simon Kenton extended its perfect record to 8-0 and finished first in its Class 6A district with the victory.

The Pioneers’ balanced offensive attack had 249 yards passing and 235 yards rushing. Senior quarterback Cam Racke threw two touchdown passes and scored on a 19-yard run. Dylan Hampton rushed for 88 yards had two TDs.

Campbell County quarterback Austin Hoeh completed 12 of 19 passes for 117 yards and Andrew Helton rushed for 122 yards to account for most of their team’s 320 total yards.

SIMON KENTON 15 14 21 0 – 50
CAMPBELL COUNTY 0 7 6 7 – 20

SK – Kreidenweis 55 pass from Racke (Seger kick)
SK – Hampton 1 run (Murray run)
SK – Racke 19 run (Seger kick)
CC – Sandman 7 pass from Hoeh (Greer kick)
SK – Hampton 1 run (Seger kick)
SK – Vance 47 pass from Racke (Seger kick)
SK – Trattles interception return (Seger kick)
SK – Sergent 1 run (Seger kick)
CC – Helton 6 run (kick blocked)
CC – Helton 80 run (Greer kick)
RECORDS: Simon Kenton 8-0, Campbell County 3-5.

IN OTHER GAMES:

MASON COUNTY 35, HOLMES 34 OT — Holmes rallied in the second half to tie the score and send the Class 5A district game into overtime, but the Bulldogs came up one point short.

After Mason County scored a touchdown and kicked an extra point on its overtime possession, Holmes got the ball and Tahj Campbell caught a 9-yard TD pass from Jashaun York.

The Bulldogs decided to go for a two-point conversion to win the game. Their first attempt failed, but a pass interference call moved the ball up to the 1-yard line. York then tried a quarterback sneak, but he was stopped short of the end zone.

Holmes rushed for 295 of its 323 total yards. Seth Hille picked up 194 yards on 24 carries and Salih Abdulah had 87 yards on 16 carries. They each had a touchdown and York scored twice on short runs.

BELLEVUE 7, DAYTON 0 — Bellevue scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to come away with the win in the Class 1A district game.

After defensive back Chase Stephenson intercepted a pass and returned it to the 1-yard line, Eric Atkins took it into end zone and Miquel Garcia kicked the extra point for the Tigers.

Bellevue had five turnovers during the game and still finished with a 106-85 advantage in total yards. Stephenson had 14 tackles and two quarterback sacks along with his pass interception.

HOLY CROSS 56, NEWPORT 0 — Holy Cross finished with a 406-33 advantage in total yards in the Class 2A district game.

Running backs Derrick Barnes and Xavier Abernathy rushed for a combined total of 215 yards and four touchdowns for the Indians. Junior quarterback Ben Borman scored the team’s first touchdown on a 16-yard run and threw an 8-yard TD pass to Christian Current. Borman was starting in place of Dylan Couch, who was injured in last week’s game.

BROSSART 53, PARIS 34 — Brossart quarterback Chase Keller and running backs Nathan Bezold and Jake Sendelbach each scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter when the Mustangs pulled away in the Class 1A district game.

Keller had three rushing touchdowns and threw a 45-yard TD pass to Bryce Donnelly. The Brossart defense scored twice in the second quarter on an interception return by Sendelbach and a fumble return byDonnelly.