By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Most of the 21 high school football teams in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties will have a first-year starter at quarterback in their season openers this weekend and several of the newcomers are expected to be sophomores.
Two of the teams that will have sophomores behind center – Beechwood and Brossart – had a combined record of 27-1 last season with senior veterans operating their highly productive offensive attacks.
Brossart sophomore Keegan Gulley was the team’s starting quarterback in preseason scrimmage games. (Photo by Patty Goering, bmustangs.com)
In Brossart’s final preseason scrimmage game last week, sophomore Keegan Gulley was the starting quarterback. He’s taking over for Jacob Leicht, who led the Mustangs to the region finals in the Class 1A playoffs and a best-ever 12-1 record last season.
A three-year starter, Leicht capped his varsity career with 1,054 yards rushing and 550 yards passing as a senior. Gulley saw limited action as his backup, completing two passes for 12 yards and rushing for 67 yards with one touchdown.
Gulley will be seeing a lot more playing time Friday when Brossart opens the season with a 7 p.m. game at Dayton.
Beechwood’s new quarterback will likely be sophomore Clay Hayden, who saw action in three varsity games last season, completing 7 of 14 passes for 169 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
He’s replacing Cameron Hergott, a four-year starter who led Beechwood teams to back-to-back Class 2A state championships in 2020 and 2021 and the Class 1A state title in 2018.
During last year’s 15-0 championship season, Hergott had a combined total of 4,134 passing and rushing yards to account for 71 percent of the Tigers’ 5,827 total yards. He also played a role in most of the team’s scoring by passing for 2,323 yards and 32 touchdowns while rushing for 1,811 yards and 29 TDs.
Hayden will be making his debut as Beechwood’s starting quarterback at 7 p.m. Saturday in a game at Louisville Fairdale, a team that made it to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs last year.
St. Henry girls soccer wins school’s third All “A” Classic region title
St. Henry won 9th Region All “A” Classic championship trophies in boys and girls golf before school started this week and the girls soccer team added another one on Wednesday with a 10-2 win over Newport Central Catholic in the region final.
Amanda Schlueter
This is the second consecutive year that St. Henry golf teams have swept the region titles to qualify for the small-school state tournament. The last time the Crusaders won the region championship in girls soccer was 2019 and they went on to win the state tournament.
Last year, the St. Henry girls soccer team posted a 2-12-3 record in their first season under head coach Brian Bamberger. The Crusaders have won their first three matches this season and outscored opponents by a 24-4 margin.
In the region final against NewCath, senior midfielder Amanda Schlueter had four goals and one assist. The Ohio State University recruit has scored a team-high 20 points (nine goals, two assists) in the first three games.
The 9th Region All “A” Classic tournaments in boys soccer and volleyball will be played in the next two weeks. The St. Henry volleyball team that won region and state championships last season is not competing this year due to scheduling conflicts.
Notre Dame basketball player makes verbal commitment with NKU
Notre Dame basketball player Noelle Hubert, one of the top 3-point shooters in the state last season, has made a verbal commitment with Northern Kentucky University.
Last season, Hubert made 85 treys in 27 games for a 3.1 average that ranked third in the girls basketball statewide statistics. The 5-foot-11 guard averaged 12.9 points per game, shooting 43.3 percent (126 of 291) from the field overall and 40.5 percent (85 of 210) from behind the 3-point line.
Hubert only took 12 free throws in 27 games last season and she made them all for the Pandas, who made it to the 9th Region semifinals and finished with a 23-4 record.
After the high school season ended, Hubert was selected to the Kentucky Junior All Stars for a game against Indiana and spent the rest of the summer playing in national tournaments with the Next Level club team.
Cooper graduate named co-captain on Indiana State football team
Cooper graduate Dante Hendrix has been named one of four team captains by the Indiana State University football coaching staff for the second consecutive year.
Hendrix is a 6-foot-3, 210-pound wide receiver for the Sycamores. The red-shirt senior played in 29 games over the last three seasons and has career totals of 140 catches for 1,781 yards and nine touchdowns. He also has 179 total yards in punt returns.
Last season, Hendrix missed several games due to an injury and returned to make 37 catches for 395 yards and three touchdowns in the final five games. Indiana State finished the season with a 5-6 record.
Hendrix was a second-team selection at wide receiver on two Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason all-conference teams. Indiana State will open the season Sept. 1 with a home game against North Alabama.
Love your coverage. Just like the “old days”.