By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
There’s a busy weekend ahead for Highlands football fans and it gets under way at 7 p.m. Friday when the Bluebirds play their homecoming game against Ryle.
This year’s inductees into the Highlands Hall of Fame will be announced at the game. A formal induction ceremony that’s open to the public will be held Sunday afternoon followed by a banquet for the seven men and three women in this year’s class.
Highlands linebacker Mason South, No. 21, makes a tackle during last week’s win over Simon Kenton. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
One of the inductees is Dale Mueller, who won 11 state titles as head football coach of the Bluebirds. He’ll be joining the hall of fame with five of the school’s most celebrated football players — Jared Lorenzen, Derek Smith, John Schlarman, John Bankemper and Milt Walz.
The other inductees are Mark McEntire, Nicole Muhlenkamp Cherry, Debbie Reed Keefe and Megan Arnzen Kreig. The Team of Distinction Award will go to the 1993-94 Highlands girls basketball team.
With all that fanfare going on, the current Highlands football team has an added incentive to play well in Friday’s showdown with Ryle. Both teams have a 3-1 record and want to finish the first half of the regular season on a winning note.
Last week, Ryle won its third straight game behind a strong performance by senior running back Kyle England. He rushed for 148 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-0 win over Boone County.
In the last three games, England has picked up 489 yards and scored 11 touchdowns behind Ryle’s offensive line. Now the Raiders will be facing a Highlands defense that has limited opponents to 170 rushing yards per game.
The Bluebirds also forced 14 turnovers on defense in the first four games. That gave their offensive teammates more scoring opportunities and they’ve capitalized on several of them. Highlands is averaging 382 yards and 36 points per game behind senior quarterback Collin Hollingsworth. The first-year starter has provided 199 yards passing and 42 yards rushing per game.
The other interesting matchups between local teams on Friday’s schedule include Newport at Holmes and Covington Catholic at Beechwood.
Newport (4-0) is off its best start in 10 years behind senior quarterback Kaleal Davis, who is averaging more than 210 yards per game in passing and rushing combined. The Wildcats will be facing another multi-faceted athlete in Holmes junior slotback Tayquan Calloway. He’s averaging more than 150 yards per game in rushing and receiving combined for the 2-2 Bulldogs.
After losing its first two games, Beechwood upset Corbin, 26-10, last week. Now the Tigers will face a 4-0 CovCath team that shut out three of its first four opponents and has a balanced offensive attack that’s averaging 196 yards per game in both passing and rushing.
High school football schedule
Friday’s games
Scott at Boone County, 7 p.m.
Ludlow at Brossart, 7 p.m.
Covington Catholic at Beechwood, 7:30 p.m.
Bellevue at Gallatin County, 7:30 p.m.
Campbell County at Conner, 7 p.m.
Cooper at Louisville DeSales, 7:30 p.m.
Pendleton County at Dayton, 7 p.m.
Ryle at Highlands, 7 p.m.
Newport at Holmes, 7 p.m.
Holy Cross at Newport Central Catholic, 7 p.m.
Mason County at Lloyd, 7:30 p.m.
Taylor County at Simon Kenton, 7:30 p.m.
Walton-Verona at Cincinnati Hills Christian (Ohio), 7:30 p.m.
