Walton-Verona need not worry about the 2025 football postseason.
The Bearcats secured their Class 2A berth Friday with a 28-7 win over Owen County at the Walton-Verona Athletic Complex thanks to Avery Howe’s 226 passing yards and two touchdowns and a score on the ground.
But oh, there was much more for Walton-Verona to celebrate.
Not only did the Bearcats clinch the 4-seed in Class 2A, District 5 and could take third with a win next week at St. Henry – they gave second-year coach Gary Pence his first home-game win.
“We’ve had some close losses since I’ve been here,” Pence said. “We’ve been doing great on the road … so to get the monkey off our back (Friday) was very nice.”
The Bearcats gained 302 yards. Drew Lynn had 109 scrimmage yards (53 rushing, 56 receiving), and Michael Oldfield had five catches for 87.
Lynn said the “catching yards” were nicer – especially the 15-yard touchdown late in the second quarter.
“I feel like towards the half it was more crucial on us to come down here and score,” Lynn said.
And Walton-Verona’s defense? It was stout – Owen County gained just 141 yards with just eight on the ground, and the Bearcats’ Shawn Sinkhorn had 2 ½ sacks.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a couple times,” Owen County coach TJ Wesselman said. “We had opportunities, we got some first downs in the first half – and then had some silly penalties that really pushed us behind the (yardage) sticks.”
Statistics, however, never account for emotions.
Oldfield’s receiving yards included a 30-yard touchdown late in the first quarter, his second of the season – not bad for someone who suffered a posterior cruciate ligament knee injury so severe playing basketball in April, doctors told him he’d never play football again.
“I knew (the injury) was bad,” Oldfield said. “Me personally, whenever the doctor told me I wasn’t going to play for the rest of the season, I was in a dark place.”
Oldfield credits the comeback to working hard to rehab the knee and his Christian faith. “I believe it is a miracle,” he said.
Sinkhorn moved to Northern Kentucky last year from Pineville, a Bell County town of around 1,700 in Eastern Kentucky Appalachia.
“I didn’t think I was going to start because I came from a little school,” Sinkhorn said. “So I knew when I moved up here, I’d work as hard as I could to keep my spot.”
Walton-Verona (3-5, 2-2 in district) needed a little more than two minutes to open the scoring. One play after Howe ran for 21 yards, AJ Yutze scored from a yard out.
Owen County (2-6, 0-4) avoided the shutout when Brayden Lynch hit Austin Young with a 25-yard pass with 3:05 left. Lynch’s 50-yard pass to Trip Allnutt set up the score.
BEARCATS 28, REBELS 7
OWEN COUNTY— 0-0-0-7 — 0
WALTON-VERONA — 7-13-8-0 — 0
Scoring Plays
First quarter
WV-AJ Yutze 2 run (Lucas Engel kick), 9:39
WV-Michael Oldfield 30 pass from Avery Howe (Engel kick), 0:32
Second quarter
WV-Drew Lynn 15 pass from Howe (kick blocked), 0:32
Third quarter
WV-Howe 1 run (Oldfield pass from Howe), 5:27
OC-Austin Young 25 pass from Brayden Lynch (Lynch kick), 3:05
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Owen Co. 133 (Lynch 10-19-133-1 TD-0 INT); Walton-Verona 226 (Howe 16-27-226-2 TD-0 INT)
Rushing yards: Owen Co. 88 (Young 12-34, Allnutt 1-(minus-3), Lynch 8-(minus-13), Towles 1-0, Unknown 1-(minus-8); Walton-Verona 76 (Tilley 1-(minus-2), Donato 1-(minus-3), Lynn 14-53, Howe 8-7, Simpson 2-4, Burch 2-15, AJ Yutze 1-2).
Receiving yards: Owen Co. 133 (Allnutt 5-101, Williams 1-(minus-6, Towles 4-38); Walton-Verona 226 (Messer 1-20, Donato 5-45, Lynn 4-56, Oldfield 5-87, Hammond 1-18).
First downs: Owen Co. 5, Walton-Verona 17.
Turnovers: Owen Co. 0, Walton-Verona 0.
Records: Owen County 2-6 (0-4 in Class 2A, District 5), Walton-Verona 3-5, (2-2).