The LINK nky Top 10 is back!
Each week throughout the regular season we’ll provide rankings throughout the football season. The first list will be a top 10 of the 21 area football schools in Boone, Campbell and Kenton County with a top five below it for the bigger and smaller schools.
Adding more to it, will be weekly members of the 300-yard passing, 100-yard rushing and 100-yard receiving club along with the defensive standouts.
The key to be able to provide these lists is having stats submitted on KHSAA. Without them, your team or player will not be included.
Here goes for the first week…
- Highlands (1-0) – Brody Benke pulls out his Antwaan Randle-El impersonation with two touchdowns throwing, two running and one receiving in a 34-27 victory over Lexington Catholic. Benke finished with 194 passing yards, 111 rushing yards and 42 receiving yards. The Bluebirds racked up 483 yards of offense in the victory as eight different receivers caught a pass. How about No. 2 Covington Catholic paying a visit Friday?
2. Covington Catholic (1-0) – The amount of weapons the Colonels have was on full display in Friday’s season opening victory over Ryle. Evan Pitzer spread it around to eight different receivers led by Willie Rodriguez’s three reception for 75 yards, including a numerous tackle breaking score on the Colonels fourth play of the season. Pitzer would finish with 271 passing yards while running back Owen Leen averaged six yards per carry and found the end zone three times. The Colonels jumped out to a 21-0 lead before the game got within a score. They responded with two fumble recoveries and breaking the game back open in the second half. No. 1 vs No. 2 in Fort Thomas this week? See you there.
3. Cooper (1-0) – The Jaguars fell down 14-0 early to the 3A state runner-up Bardstown on the road, and then settled in and scored 35 unanswered. Cam O’Hara’s start to what should be a potentially big sophomore season got off to a bang with 315 passing yards and five touchdowns. Austin Alexander and Isaiah Johnson showed off their big play ability with 259 combined receiving yards on 10 touches and four touchdowns. Jack Lonaker’s name will be called a lot defensively, the senior racking up 17 tackles and two sacks. Henry Clay for the home opener this week before they head to rival Ryle the following week.
4. Beechwood (1-0) – The Jay Volker era starts off on a good note with a 31-14 victory over Archbishop McNicholas (Ohio) as they rack up 400 yards of offense and force two turnovers. They showed quite the balance offensively with 26 pass plays and 28 rushing plays. Clay Hayden was an efficient 20-of-26 passing with 264 yards and two touchdowns to go with two rushing touchdowns while Luke Erdman combined for 147 rushing and receiving yards and a score. They’ll head to Claryville for second of three straight games on the road to start the season at an improved Campbell County team Friday.
5. Lloyd Memorial (1-0) – Maybe it was because people were unfamiliar with them in 3A, but I was surprised to not see the Juggernauts in state-wide top 10’s in preseason polls. My guess is they’ll get in there quickly, but ask them and they’re perfectly fine with flying under the radar. How about the defensive performance from Lloyd in the opener? NewCath had negative yards in the second half and the Jugs racked up eight sacks. Isaiah Sebastian slots right in at quarterback and pairs with Yuri Collins Comer to run for 100 yards each. What looks to be an improved Boone County team comes to Erlanger this week.
6. Simon Kenton (1-0) – Backup quarterback Brady Lee comes in and plays hero in the second half after starting quarterback Tucker Ober gets hurt. Lee completed all four of his passes for 83 yards and a touchdown in the second half and ran for 60 yards and a score as the Pioneers rattled off 22 unanswered in the second half over Dixie Heights. Aven Bohms had 18 tackles on defense for the Pioneers. A tough road test at Woodford County this week looms.
7. Ryle (0-1) – Credit to the Raiders for not folding up shop down 21-0 and CovCath scoring on their first three possessions. They battled back to within a score, but a pair of fumbles proved costly. The Logan Verax to Landon Lorms connection showed what it’s capable of with 12 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown. Verax finished with 266 yards passing, completing 81% of his passes and hitting six different receivers. Raiders host Conner Friday.
8. Conner (1-0) – The Cougars racked up 364 rushing yards in a game that wasn’t really indicative of the final score. Conner dominated Dunbar, leading 28-7 at halftime and 45-14 before a late score. Cordion Abernathy and Wyatt Hatfield were the two-headed monster in the backfield as they combined for 283 yards and five touchdowns on 36 carries. The defense recovered three fumbles. An area they’ll definitely want to shore up when they head to Union this week to face Logan Verax is the pass defense, allowing 240 passing yards.
9. Campbell County (1-0) – The Camels manhandled a Scott football team that has had to overcome a ton of adversity over the past few weeks and were dealt another blow when one of their players was stretchered off the field in the fourth. Glad to hear the young man is out of the hospital and doing better. Nathan Smith ran for four touchdowns and spread the ball around in the passing game to six different receivers. How improved are the Camels? We’ll know this week when Beechwood comes to town.
10. Dixie Heights (0-1) – Missed opportunities. That was the name of the game for the Colonels on opening night against Simon Kenton. Despite forcing five first half turnovers, Dixie Heights was unable to take full advantage and held just a 19-7 halftime lead. Two dropped touchdown passes and 17 penalties for 135 yards eventually did them in. The second half was one to forget, racking up more penalty yards than yards from scrimmage. The first half showed promise in the passing game with Armani Gregg and playmaking ability defensively as Miguel Rodriguez picked off two passes. They can right the ship at Hughes (Ohio) this week.
Next up: Walton-Verona (1-0)
Big School Top 5 (Class 4A-6A)
- Highlands
2. Covington Catholic
3. Cooper
4. Simon Kenton
5. Ryle
Small School Top 5 (Class 1A-3A)
- Beechwood
2. Lloyd Memorial
3. Walton-Verona
4. Newport Central Catholic
5. Ludlow
300-yard passing club
Cam O’Hara, Cooper vs Bardstown (16/20, 315 yards, 5 TD)
100-yard rushing club
Cordion Abernathy, Conner vs Paul Laurence Dunbar (20 rushes, 164 yards, 3 TD)
Breckin Ralston, Ludlow vs Lockland, Ohio (7 rushes, 150 yards, TD)
Ulysses Porter, Holy Cross vs Sayre (12 rushes, 144 yards)
Dameyn Anness, Ludlow vs Lockland, Ohio (12 rushes, 128 yards, 4 TD)
Isaiah Sebastian, Lloyd Memorial vs Newport Central Catholic (14 rushes, 128 yards)
Wyatt Hatfield, Conner vs Paul Laurence Dunbar (16 rushes, 119 yards, 2 TD)
Nathan Smith, Campbell County vs Scott (11 rushes, 116 yards, 4 TD)
Brody Benke, Highlands vs Lexington Catholic (19 rushes, 111 yards, 2 TD)
Yuri Collins Comer, Lloyd Memorial vs Newport Central Catholic (18 rushes, 104 yards, 2 TD)
100-yard receiving club
Austin Alexander, Cooper vs Bardstown (4 receptions, 148 yards, 2 TD)
Landon Lorms, Ryle vs Covington Catholic (12 receptions, 131 yards, TD)
Isaiah Johnson, Cooper vs Bardstown (6 receptions, 111 yards, 2 TD)
Jordan Pendleton, Bellevue vs Eminence (7 receptions, 106 yards, 2 TD)
Davonte Ryan, Holy Cross vs Sayre (5 receptions, 103 yards)
Defensive standouts
Aven Bohms, Simon Kenton vs Dixie Heights (18 tackles, tackle for loss)
Jack Lonaker, Cooper vs Bardstown (17 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss)
Landon Graham, Dayton vs Gallatin County (12 tackles, sack)
Mark Ober, Simon Kenton vs Dixie Heights (12 tackles, 2 tackles for loss)
Ayden Satchel, Newport vs Henry County (11 tackles, 4 tackles for loss)
Lucas Hughes, Cooper vs Bardstown (10 tackles)
Austin Alexander, Cooper vs Bardstown (10 tackles, 2 sacks, tackle for loss)
Sean Hurry, Newport vs Henry County (9 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks)
Henry Goerig, Bishop Brossart vs Walton-Verona (8 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, .5 sack)
Tate Kruer, Covington Catholic vs Ryle (8 tackles, forced fumble)
Carson Evans, Ludlow vs Lockland, Ohio (7 tackles, 4 sacks)
Jake Porter, Newport vs Henry County (7 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack)
Kaleb Bleier, Simon Kenton vs Dixie Heights (7 tackles, forced fumble)
Spencer Brandenburg, Ludlow vs Lockland, Ohio (8 tackles, forced fumble)
Blake Funston, Campbell County vs Scott (6 tackles, interception, tackle for loss)
Ben Fay, Conner vs Paul Laurence Dunbar (6 tackles, fumble forced, tackle for loss)
Evan Leitz, Conner vs Paul Laurence Dunbar (6 tackles, fumble recovery)
Josh Flood, Covington Catholic vs Ryle (6 tackles, fumble recovery)
Luke Scheiber, Simon Kenton vs Dixie Heights (6 tackles, fumble recovery)
Aba Selm, Simon Kenton vs Dixie Heights (6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss)
Adam Duncan, Conner vs Paul Laurence Dunbar (5 tackles, three tackles for loss, sack)
Ryker Campbell, Cooper vs Bardstown (5 tackles, interception)
Seth Moran, Lloyd Memorial vs Newport Central Catholic (5 tackles, interception, sack)
Ben Reeves, Covington Catholic vs Ryle (2 sacks, forced fumble)
Luke Schneider, Highlands vs Lexington Catholic (2 sacks)
Aaron Johnson, Holmes vs Boone County (2 sacks)
Ryshawn Clifford, Holmes vs Boone County (2 sacks)
Jonah Purnell, Lloyd Memorial vs Newport Central Catholic (2 sacks)
TJ Jackson, Lloyd Memorial vs Newport Central Catholic (2 sacks)