One of the heavier bye weeks for Northern Kentucky took place on Friday with six teams out of action to rest up, heal and get ready for the final four weeks of the regular season.
Meanwhile, it was a ho-hum week for the teams at the top of the list of the top 10 as Covington Catholic, Highlands and Beechwood all got their games to running clocks.
These next three weeks will really tell the story when it comes to district play and determining seeding for the playoffs.
This week’s shout out goes to the Holy Cross football team. The Indians won their fourth game of the season on Friday, edging out Morgan County for a 14-8 victory. The fourth win doubles up last year’s win total and another victory would be their most since 2016 when they went 10-4 and made it all the way to the Class 2A semifinals. Holy Cross opens up district play at Bishop Brossart on Friday and in a district where a standout team hasn’t come forward yet, the Class 1A, 4th District race with the Indians, Mustangs, Ludlow and Trimble County should be an interesting one.
Here goes…
- Covington Catholic (7-0, Previous Week: 1) — Just three wins separate Covington Catholic from a perfect 10-0 regular season. With a bye week and then Harrison County, Mason County and Campbell County on the docket, the Colonels have to be feeling pretty good about their chances. The question now begs, at No. 2 in the KHSAA Class 4A RPI ratings, will the Colonels have to leave Park Hills other than a trip to Maysville to play Mason County on Oct. 20? The path to Kroger Field could go through Colonel territory if they can jump Franklin County.
2. Highlands (6-1, Previous Week: 2) — Make that 268 points for the Bluebirds during their five-game winning streak, surpassing the 50-point mark in four of them. The top scoring team in Class 5A is now averaging 46.1 points per game this season, good for seventh in the state. Boone County, Conner and Scott to close out the regular season as they look to secure the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A, 6th District.
3. Beechwood (6-1, Previous Week: 3) — Time to gripe about the KHSAA RPI for a minute. Despite playing “up” in class their first five weeks of the season with a tough Archbishop McNicholas team mixed in, the Tigers still find themselves fourth in the RPI ratings for Class 2A, behind Owensboro Catholic, Lexington Christian Academy and Mayfield. What does that mean? The Tigers are looking at a long bus ride if they make the state semifinals. There’s not really a path for them to improve much if all the teams mentioned win out, the Tigers set to face the 10th (Carroll County), 22nd (Bracken County) and 24th (Owen County) rated RPI teams in Class 2A the rest of the way. The RPI doesn’t calculate out of state wins and despite playing “up” in class, if you lose those games, you don’t get much credit for them. The ratings really need to be revisited because border teams get punished if they play out of state despite the convenience of the matchup.
4. Lloyd Memorial (6-0, Previous Week: 4) — Bye week for the Juggernauts as they have a tune-up Thursday with Pendleton County before Lexington Catholic comes to Erlanger next week. Check this out for Lloyd’s ranks on defense in the state: third allowed in points per game (7.3), fifth in rushing yards allowed per game (43), first in sacks (34).
5. Ryle (2-4, Previous Week: 5) — The Raiders get out of the six-week gauntlet at 2-4. In those first six games they’ve taken on five top ten teams in their respective classes. Three turnovers proved costly on Friday against St. Xavier. The positive in the 56-35 loss? Throwing for 420 yards against a team that had allowed 744 in their first five games.
6. Simon Kenton (3-2, Previous Week: 6) — Bye week with Great Crossing on deck to start off district play. Can they keep their potent rushing attack going?
7. Cooper (5-2, Previous Week: 8) — The Keagan Maher game on Friday night as he ran for 162 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-7 rout of Conner. If the Jags can show that kind of balance with a lethal passing attack moving forward, they’ll be even more of a dangerous team. Scott and Boone County the next two weeks before a big showdown with Dixie Heights on Oct. 20 in what will most likely decide who gets a home playoff game. Also, if you haven’t already seen it, search the Austin Alexander catch from Friday night. Pretty sure he leads NKY in one-handed catches this season.
8. Dixie Heights (2-4, Previous Week: 7) — After letting chances slip away against Simon Kenton, Beechwood and Covington Catholic, Dixie Heights was soundly defeated on Friday against Highlands. Struggled to stop the run and four three-and-outs proved costly in the 51-21 defeat. All is not lost however, three straight district wins and they get a home playoff game. That run can start on Thursday with a road victory at Conner.
9. Conner (4-3, Previous Week: 9) — It was a rough Friday night for the Cougars. They sold out to stop the pass against Cooper and understandably so, but the Jaguars gashed them on the ground for 268 yards and four touchdowns. More notably, some injuries piled up on the defensive side and here’s hoping they aren’t long term. Either way, they won’t have much time to heal with Dixie Heights coming up on Thursday in Hebron. For two teams playing for a home playoff game, Thursday’s game is a must-win.
10. Campbell County (2-4, Previous Week: 10) — Bye week for the Camels last week as they head into district play, starting with Ryle on Friday. The loss of Jaidan Combs transferring to Cooper hurts, Combs tied for the team lead in receptions (18) and third in receiving yards (240).
Big School Top 5 (4A-6A)
- Covington Catholic
2. Highlands
3. Ryle
4. Simon Kenton
5. Cooper
Small School Top 5 (1A-3A)
- Beechwood
2. Lloyd Memorial
3. Newport Central Catholic
4. Newport
5. Holy Cross
200-Yard Passing Club
Logan Verax, Ryle vs St. Xavier (31/44, 343 yards, 2 TD)
Clay Hayden, Beechwood vs Walton-Verona (7/11, 277 yards, 4 TD)
100-Yard Rushing Club
Cameron Giesler, Highlands vs Dixie Heights (24 rushes, 205 yards, TD)
Brody Benke, Highlands vs Dixie Heights (17 rushes, 166 yards, 5 TD)
Keagan Maher, Cooper vs Conner (20 rushes, 162 yards, 3 TD)
Dameyn Anness, Ludlow vs Bellevue (20 rushes, 146 yards, TD)
Jamarion Hocker, Boone County vs Scott (21 rushes, 120 yards)
Kaymon Coleman, Scott vs Boone County (13 rushes, 104 yards, 3 TD)
100-Yard Receiving Club
Dylan Lee, Ryle vs St. Xavier (8 receptions, 150 yards, 2 TD)
Luke Erdman, Beechwood vs Walton-Verona (2 receptions, 135 yards, 2 TD)
Austin Alexander, Cooper vs Conner (7 receptions, 110 yards, 2 TD)
Defensive standouts
Brach Rice, Dixie Heights vs Highlands (24 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss)
Blake Dodds, Dixie Heights vs Highlands (14 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss)
Carter Schroer, Dixie Heights vs Highlands (12 tackles)
Boomer Klusman, Scott vs Boone County (12 tackles)
Jacob Savage, Ryle vs St. Xavier (11 tackles, tackle for loss)
Grant Johnson, Dixie Heights vs Highlands (10 tackles, 1 tackle for loss)
Grady Reynolds, Ryle vs St. Xavier (10 tackles)
Donovan Ambrocio, Holy Cross vs Morgan County (9 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, interception)
Jack Lonaker, Cooper vs Conner (9 tackles, tackle for loss, sack)
Gavin Lyons, Ryle vs St. Xavier (9 tackles, tackle for loss, interception)
Mason Stanton, Cooper vs Conner (8 tackles, 2 fumbles forced)
Hunter Bradley, Scott vs Boone County (8 tackles, interception return for TD)
Chase Valpreda, Dixie Heights vs Highlands (8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack)
Zack Chalfin, Holy Cross vs Morgan County (7 tackles, 2 tackles for loss)
Malcolm Perrin, Scott vs Boone County (7 tackles, sack)
Aiden Smith Baxley, Ludlow vs Bellevue (6 tackles, tackle for loss, .5 sack)
Drake Meadows, Ryle vs St. Xavier (6 tackles, tackle for loss)
Benjamin Smiddy, Scott vs Boone County (6 tackles, tackle for loss)
Luke Schroeder, Bishop Brossart vs Paris (5 tackles, 2 fumbles forced)
Davonte Ryan, Holy Cross vs Morgan County (5 tackles, interception, fumble forced)
Nathan Heck, Bishop Brossart vs Paris (5 tackles, fumble forced)
LJ Warner, Ryle vs St. Xavier (5 tackles, fumble forced)
Jakare Pouncy, Cooper vs Conner (5 tackles, tackle for loss)
Bryce Sizemore, Dixie Heights vs Highlands (5 tackles, tackle for loss, sack)
Ben Reeves, Covington Catholic vs Grant County (5 tackles, sack)
Ezaiah Tillman, Holmes vs Mason County (5 tackles, tackle for loss)
Aaron Brazzell, Scott vs Boone County (5 tackles, tackle for loss)
Mason Baesel, Cooper vs Conner (4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 fumble recoveries)
Dylan Giffen, Scott vs Boone County (4 tackles, interception)
Bo Gay, Ryle vs St. Xavier (4 tackles, fumble recovery)
Breckin Ralston, Ludlow vs Bellevue (4 tackles, tackle for loss, .5 sack)
Anthony Schuck, Bishop Brossart vs Paris (4 tackles, tackle for loss)
Quinten Tischner, Bishop Brossart vs Paris (3 tackles, fumble recovery)
Nathan Verax, Ryle vs St. Xavier (3 tackles, fumble recovery)
Braxton Graves, Boone County vs Scott (3 tackles, tackle for loss)
Shaun Roberts, Boone County vs Scott (3 tackles, .5 tackle for loss)
Aaron Johnson, Holmes vs Mason County (2 tackles, 2 sacks)
Cameron Mandel, Bishop Brossart vs Paris (2 tackles, fumble recovery)
Mason Hessling, Boone County vs Scott (2 tackles, Interception)
Ulysses Porter, Holy Cross vs Morgan County (2 tackles, tackle for loss)
Andrew Leibfarth, Boone County vs Scott (2 tackles, .5 tackle for loss)
Talon Linder, Beechwood vs Walton-Verona (2 interceptions)
Tyler Fryman, Beechwood vs Walton-Verona (fumble recovery for TD)
James Cusick, Beechwood vs Walton-Verona (Interception)
Isaiah Jones, Boone County vs Scott (Interception)
Jack Meier, Beechwood vs Walton-Verona (fumble recovery)
Carson Shelton, Highlands vs Dixie Heights (fumble recovery)
Leo Fenik, Highlands vs Dixie Heights (fumble recovery)
Braylon Thornsberry, Holy Cross vs Morgan County (fumble recovery)
Luke Schneider, Highlands vs Dixie Heights (sack)
AJ Lowe, Scott vs Boone County (sack)
