Covington Catholic may have lost its starting quarterback in junior Evan Pitzer but senior Zacc Roberts came off the bench helping the blue Colonels (3-1) win the Battle of Dixie Highway, 47-14 over the Dixie Heights red Colonels (2-2). Roberts completed 12 of 14 passes for 179 yards and four touchdowns.
Covington Catholic has won 16 in a row in the series. The last time Dixie Heights beat CovCath came Sept. 7, 2007 by a 44-28 score.
Pitzer led the blue Colonels down the field on the opening drive and finished it with a 22-yard touchdown pass to junior Braylon Miller to put CovCath up 7-0. But Pitzer’s night ended shortly after that. Colonels Head Coach Eddie Eviston said Pitzer suffered a knee injury but did not know any further information at the game’s end.
After Dixie’s 42-yard field goal attempt was blocked by senior linebacker Aiden Jones, CovCath’s second down pass play fell incomplete. Pitzer was unable to get back to his feet after being hit and had to be helped off by trainers.
Roberts’s first pass went to junior running back Owen Leen for a gain of five. Later, Roberts was unable to escape Dixie standout linebacker Xavier Gregg but found Lou Hodge down the field for 26 yards to open the second quarter. Leen found a hole around the left side of the line two plays later for 20 yards and then scored from four yards out after being stuffed for a loss on his previous run to put the blue Colonels up 14-0.
Dixie was unable to sustain any momentum on its next drive, and CovCath’s offense was back on the field, and it suffered another quarterback scare. Roberts had to leave the game for a play but was okay and re-entered the game after sophomore quarterback Jackson Reardon took a second-down snap.
Roberts’ next three attempts fell incomplete, but a pass interference on Dixie gave CovCath a new set of downs. Several plays later, sophomore Ben McEvoy’s 22-yard touchdown reception put the blue Colonels ahead 21-0 with six minutes remaining before halftime.
Then it went from bad to worse for the red Colonels. CovCath linebacker/tight end Willie Rodriguez recovered a Dixie fumble, followed by a big first down reception by Leen to give the blue Colonels good field position inside the Dixie 30-yard line. With frustration building on the defense, senior defensive tackle Luke Roaden’s unsportsmanlike penalty preceded a red Colonels’ assistant coach penalty of the same variety, giving CovCath the ball at the Dixie seven. Then on second-and-goal, Rodriguez’s seven-yard touchdown put the blue Colonels up four scores.
Dixie’s defense would come through as the clock wound down toward the half. Junior linebacker Bryce Sizemore picked up a CovCath fumble near midfield and returned it for the touchdown to get the red Colonels on the board quickly, 28-7.
But after a 10-yard run from Leen on its first play from scrimmage following the ensuing kickoff, Roberts found Rodriguez over the middle for a 73-yard scoring play that stretched the Colonels lead back to 28 points, 35-7, at the half.
Dixie was unable to muster any offense as it possessed the ball to begin the third quarter, punting away after going three-and-out. CovCath’s drive then took five minutes off the clock, culminating in a Leen 19-yard touchdown run and a 41-7 advantage. Early in the final quarter, Rodriguez found the end zone for his third score of the night to cap the win the blue Colonels. Gregg recovered a CovCath fumble as time was ticking down, outracing Colonels’ defenders 90 yards down the sideline for the score and cutting the deficit to 47-14.
CovCath outgained Dixie Heights, 423-163 in total offense including a 223-68 advantage through the air netting 24 first downs to 11 for the red Colonels. Leen rushed for 96 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns averaging just under seven yards per carry and added four catches for 13 yards.
Nine different blue Colonels had carries and five had receptions. Miller led CovCath with five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown and Rodriguez finished with three catches for 83 yards and three touchdowns. McEvoy had three receptions for 30 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore Armani Gregg led the Red Colonels rushing for 65 yards on 18 carries. He also completed 9 of 17 passes for 68 yards.
Now at 3-1, Eviston said his team is growing up from where it began in a week-one loss to Cincinnati Elder, adding that Roberts played well coming off the bench. Dixie (2-2) has an upcoming bye week and will face Highlands (2-2) in Fort Thomas on September 23. CovCath (3-1) returns home to face longtime rival, Beechwood (4-0), which owns Kentucky’s longest winning streak at 27 games after defeating Simon Kenton in Fort Mitchell Friday night.