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Friday Football Roundup: Newport, Holmes get paybacks against last year’s playoff opponents


By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

Holmes and Newport won home games Friday against district opponents that knocked them out of last year’s high school football playoffs.

Newport defeated Lloyd, 21-14, in overtime in a Class 2A district seeding game and Holmes came from behind in the second half to beat Boyd County, 24-13, in a rematch between Class 4A district rivals.

Newport quarterback Ethan Jefferson had a combined total of 204 passing and rushing yards in his team’s overtime win against Lloyd. (File photo by Dale Dawn)

In the first round of the last year’s playoffs, Lloyd got past Newport, 20-13, and Boyd County routed Holmes, 55-14, so the outcomes of Friday’s games were paybacks for both winning teams.

Newport (3-5) scored twice in the fourth quarter to tie the score, 14-14, against Lloyd and send the game into overtime. On the first possession, the Wildcats took a 21-14 lead on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Jefferson to Quincy Barber.

Lloyd (2-5) wasn’t able to get the ball into the end zone on its overtime possession. On a fourth-down play from the 3-yard line, Barber tackled Lloyd running back Kaiden Zulager behind the line of scrimmage to end it.

Zulager scored both of Lloyd’s touchdowns and was the game’s leading rusher with 145 yards on 30 carries. Newport’s fourth-quarter touchdowns came on a 16-yard run by McKel King and a 3-yard pass from Jefferson to Barber.

The Wildcats got a two-point conversion after King’s touchdown and tied the score on the Jefferson-to-Barber pass  with 27 seconds left on the clock. Julian Maxwell had a chance to win the game with an extra-point kick, but it missed the mark.

Holmes running back Tayquan Calloway

Newport had a 231-198 advantage in total yards. Jefferson connected on 14 of 28 passes for 162 yards and rushed for 42 yards to account for most of the Wildcats’ total.

Holmes trailed, 7-6, going into the second half of its home game against Boyd County. The Bulldogs took the lead with a 99-yard scoring drive that included a 51-yard breakaway by Tayquan Calloway and 2-yard touchdown run by Emauryon Arnold.

After recovering a Boyd County (3-5) fumble, Calloway broke loose once again on a 70-yard touchdown run that gave the Bulldogs an 18-7 lead. But the Lions answered with a touchdown of their own to make it 18-13 with 6:07 left on the clock.

Holmes (5-2) secured the win when junior quarterback Miguel Garcia got his second touchdown on a 30-yard run with 3:54 remaining. Garcia started in place of senior quarterback Quantez Calloway, who was sidelined by an injury.

The Bulldogs now have a 1-1 record in the Class 4A district standings with seeding games against Harrison County and Scott remaining. Newport and Lloyd both played their first Class 2A district game on Friday and face Holy Cross and Beechwood over the next two weeks.

Dixie Heights 33, Simon Kenton 20

Dixie Heights senior quarterback Logan Landers passed for a season-high 242 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Colonels (4-3) to victory in the first Class 6A district seeding game for both teams.

Devin Holbert caught both touchdown passes from Landers and scored on a 4-yard run. Holbert finished with six receptions for 142 yards. The Colonels also rushed for 175 yards to surpass the 400 mark in total yards for the third time this season. The team leader was Pierce Rohlman with 72 yards on 17 carries, followed by Landers with 45 yards on six carries.

Simon Kenton (1-6) had 292 total yards on offense. Junior quarterback Chase Crone provided most of it by completing 15 of 31 passes for 172 yards and rushing for 60 yards on 25 attempts. But the Pioneers’ leading scorer was Andrew Petty, who kicked two fields and two extra-points.

Beechwood 56, Holy Cross 7

Beechwood scored touchdowns on its first five possessions to take a 35-0 lead early in the second quarter and the rest of the Class 2A district seeding game was played with a running clock.

Senior quarterback Cameron Hergott sparked the fast start for the Tigers (7-0) by completing 14 of 19 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns in the first half. He threw a fifth TD pass in the third quarter and ended up going 16-of 24 for 318 yards.

Holy Cross (1-6) was limited to 138 total yards. The Indians’ only touchdown came on a 38-yard pass from Landyn Phillips with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Brossart 36, Bracken County 0

The undefeated Brossart Mustangs set a team record with their eighth straight win in the Class 1A district seeding game at Bracken County (4-4).

Jed Martin, David Govan and Jacob Leicht scored rushing touchdowns in the first quarter to give Brossart a 21-0 lead before a 30-minute lightning delay broke the team’s momentum. The Mustangs got back in the groove with a scoring drive on their first possession of the third quarter that ended with Evan Orth’s 10-yard run into the end zone.

Brossart’s defense posted its fifth shutout in the victory that keeps the Mustangs on top in the district standings with a 2-0 record. If they win next week at Paris, they will open the post-season district playoffs with a home game.

High school football scoreboard

THURSDAY
Cooper 43, Conner 7
Newport Central Catholic 69, Ludlow 28
Walton-Verona 42, Owen County 12
FRIDAY
Highlands 47, Boone County 0
Brossart 36, Bracken County 0
Ryle 44, Campbell County 11
Dayton 44, Bellevue 7
Holmes 24, Boyd County 13
Beechwood 56, Holy Cross 7
Newport 21, Lloyd 14 OT
Dixie Heights 33, Simon Kenton 20


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