By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The recent death of long-time Newport Central Catholic football coach Bob Schneider was sad news for everyone who knew him. As a sports reporter, I covered the final years of his successful career and found him to be a gracious gentleman, as well as a fierce competitor.
Schneider took nine teams to the Kentucky state finals and three of them returned with a championship trophy. His last state title came in 2006 when the Thoroughbreds scored three touchdowns in the final seven minutes to come away with a 37-34 win over Danville in the Class 1A state final.
Bob Schneider
It was one of the most stirring comebacks I’ve ever written about in my career, and I nearly missed it.
After NewCath scored a touchdown with 2:58 left on the clock, I headed for the press box elevator near the top floor at Papa John’s Stadium in Louisville to make it down to the field.
I thought Danville would run out the clock and come away with the victory.
While I was in the elevator, I heard a loud roar from the crowd. A few seconds later, the public address announcer said NewCath linebacker John Hellman had recovered a fumble at his team’s 32-yard line.
I made it to the field in time to see the final plays of the winning touchdown drive. It ended with NewCath senior running back Michael Vicars catching a screen pass and racing 52 yards into the end zone.
In a post-game interview, Schneider said it was the most remarkable comeback in all his years as coach of the Thoroughbreds.
“I told the kids we had to win the second half, but I didn’t think they’d do it like that,” he said with a smile.
The championship game was a fitting end to NewCath’s 2006 season. After a disappointing 2-5 start, the Thoroughbreds won eight straight games to capture their second consecutive state title. And they did it against a Danville team that had won 10 previous state championships, including back-to-back wins against NewCath in the 2000 and 2001 state finals.
“We just hung in there and played hard all the way, and by golly we did it again,” Schneider said. “It’s amazing to come back from that deficit against that good of a team.”
I always smile when I recall that remarkable game. Thanks for the special memory, coach Schneider.
State’s top-ranked girls basketball team visits Cooper on Wednesday
The Cooper girls basketball team that’s off to a surprising 4-1 start has a home game against the top-ranked squad in the state on Wednesday when undefeated Anderson County pays a visit.
Whitney Lind
Anderson County (6-0) was the unanimous No. 1 pick in this week’s Associated Press state media poll. The Bearcats have won all of their games by double-digit margins, including a 64-32 win over Franklin County, the state’s top-ranked team going into the season.
Cooper has a young team that’s coming off a 40-27 win over ninth-ranked Notre Dame last Saturday. The leading scorer for the Jaguars is sophomore forward Whitney Lind with a 15.9 average, followed by freshman Logan Luebbers-Palmer (13.9), freshman Liz Freihofer (9.6) and sophomore Kay Freihofer (9.0).
First-year head coach Justin Holthaus has the Jaguars playing good defense. They’ve limited their first five opponents to 165 points for a 33.0 average. On Wednesday, they’ll face an Anderson County team that’s averaging 68.5 points per game with junior Amiya Jenkins scoring 17 per contest.
Anderson County is the defending 8th Region champion. The Bearcats have games at region rivals Walton-Verona and Simon Kenton later this month.
State champion wrestlers keeping undefeated winning streaks alive
Two local wrestlers who were undefeated state champions last year have kept their winning streaks alive through the first two weeks of this season.
Ryle junior Cole Thomas, last year’s 120-pound state champ who finished with a 54-0 record, has won his first seven matches in the 126-pound weight class in dual matches.
Last weekend, Ryle defeated five-time defending state champion Union County, 35-30, in a dual match with Thomas picking up one of the victories. He has already made a college commitment with the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Walton-Verona senior Spencer Moore, who won last year’s 106-pound state champion to cap a 48-0 season, has won his first nine dual matches at 120 pounds.
Moore had enough credit hours to skip his junior year and enroll in Walton-Verona’s senior class. After graduation, he will continue his academic and wrestling career at the University of North Carolina in the fall.
Ryle graduate is starting forward on top team in Conference USA
Ryle graduate Lauren Schwartz has started every game for the Rice women’s basketball teams that’s off to a 10-1 start and has a perfect 6-0 record against Conference USA opponents.
The 5-foot-11 sophomore forward is averaging 9.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the Owls. She ranks second on the team in free-throw percentage (82.6).
Rice won a pair of conference games at Old Dominion last weekend. In those two games, Schwartz had 18 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and made all six of her free throw attempts.
The Owls have been receiving votes in the Associated Press national media poll for several weeks, but they have not made the list of top 25 teams.
