Editor’s Note: The Ashland Daily Independent contributed to this report.
Months ago when the Highlands Bluebirds football team (2-2 overall) scheduled the Raceland Rams (3-1), Head Coach Bob Sphire expressed concern about the Bluebirds listening to outsiders.
Weeks ago on Facebook, a poster even said there is nothing special about a Class 5A team beating a Class 1A team after Covington Catholic ventured to Pikeville and won 27-19. But the Bluebirds did not listen, scoring 24 straight points on their way to a 24-14 victory over Raceland.
“We’re settling into what we’re doing offensively,” said Hayden Sphire, Highlands Offensive Coordinator. “(Highlands junior) Brody (Benke) has eight practices in as the quarterback so he’s getting better every single day and he made some plays for us early in that game when it felt like Raceland had a ton of momentum. (Raceland) loaded the box (determined) to shut down the run. We hit on a few big plays to open it up.”
Benke completed 14 of 23 passes for 196 yards and one interception. Junior wide receiver Davis Hinegardner led the Bluebirds catching four passes for 109 yards.
Raceland outgained Highlands, 343-277 in total offense including 162-81 on the ground. But the Bluebirds had some big plays. Senior standout Charlie Noon returned a punt 46 yards for a touchdown.
Highlands travels to Ryle (3-1) on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Football
For our coverage of the following game, click the links:
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Ryle 23, Daviess County 7
The Raiders (3-1) won their third straight knocking off the Panthers (2-2) from Owensboro.
“It was a big win because Daviess County was ranked ahead of us coming in,” said Mike Engler, Ryle Head Coach. “Their only other loss came to Owensboro. That’s a pretty good football team. It’s a great for RPI (Ratings Percentage Index). They’re well-coached. Our defense stepped up and played well.”
Ryle outgained Daviess County, 342-104 in total offense including 240-45 on the ground. Junior quarterback Logan Verax rushed for 143 yards on 19 carries and completed 8 of 16 passes for 102 yards and senior Kaden Gardner had four catches for 86 yards. Senior Lukas Colemire and freshman Jacob Savage had rushing touchdowns for the Raiders.
Ryle plays host to Highlands (2-2) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Cooper 28, Campbell County 26
The Jaguars (2-2) outlasted the host Camels (1-3) in a tight game.
“With a young team, I think any win is a good win,” said Randy Borchers, Cooper Head Coach. “It was a hard-fought game. They did some good things. I thought their kids played extremely hard. They’re well-coached so we’re happy to come away with a win. They came out and smacked us in the face. We didn’t respond well in the first half. I think our kids were challenged and they came out and played really well in the second half.”
Cooper outgained Campbell County, 457-330 in total offense. Freshman quarterback Cam O’Hara completed 17 of 24 passes for 353 yards and three touchdowns including seven to sophomore tight end Austin Alexander for 127 yards and a touchdown.
“Cam made the reads and showed that he could swing the ball,” Alexander said. “Being able to do that and Coach (Borchers) trusting him is how we’re going to be able to progress our offense. We’re a really good family. We’re all friends so when something goes wrong or someone gets tired, we have someone there to pick them up. We started out not doing well on defense. At halftime, we had guys saying, ‘We’re good. It’s not over.’ We grew and came back in the second half.”
Campbell County played without injured junior quarterback Nathan Smith, but still took a 20-14 lead with 57 seconds left at halftime missing the extra-point kick that loomed large late in the game. Campbell County senior running back Ayden Bauwens caught two passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns and rushed the ball four times for 36 yards. Senior Keegan Hill stepped in at quarterback for the Camels.
Campbell County scored the last touchdown with 4:16 remaining. But the Jaguars stopped the two-point conversion holding on for the win.
Cooper has its bye week before traveling to Covington Catholic (3-1) to open Class 5A, District 5 action Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. The Camels play host to Conner (1-3) on Friday at 7 p.m.
Conner 21, Scott 20
The Cougars won their first game of the season outrushing the Eagles, 219-129. Scott put up 125 yards passing to 24 for Conner.
Senior running back Daven Kurtz led Conner with 17 carries for 101 yards and one touchdown. Senior quarterback Brennan Kahle added 94 yards rushing on 16 carries and a touchdown behind the improving Conner offensive line that starts three sophomores.
“A lot of it is communication and wanting to get after somebody,” Conner senior lineman Grant Reece said of winning battles in the trenches. “We said this entire week it was going to come down to us what happened whether it was 3rd-and-8 or 4th-and-1. We moved (Scott) off the ball. That’s how you win games.”
Conner had some big plays on special teams. Junior wide receiver/defensive back Elian Ruzindana had a big punt return setting up a Cougars score.
“They said left return. I got great blocking from my teammates,” Ruzindana said. “They are able to accommodate my speed. I was able to run down the field and get good field position for my team.”
Conner’s defense held Scott senior running back Bennie Hill to just 78 yards on 18 carries and no touchdowns after Hill exploded for 182 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns in the Eagles win over Holy Cross. The Eagles tried to counter that in the passing game as senior quarterback Dasani Lane completed 13 of 20 passes for 117 yards and one touchdown including eight passes to junior Dylan Giffen for 72 yards and a touchdown.
“We played great defense,” said David Trosper, Conner Head Coach. “We turned the ball over a couple times and they picked one up and ran it in for a touchdown. We gave up 14 points on defense and the other was on offense. Not only have we gotten better. But Scott has gotten better. They have some guys healthy. It was a great game. One thing we did this week I was proud of is we didn’t pay attention to the scoreboard. We did what we needed to do. We played hard.”
Conner travels to Campbell County (1-3) on Friday for a 7 p.m. game. Scott plays host to Grant County (0-4) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Lloyd Memorial 36, Boone County 15
The Juggernauts defended their home field pounding out 447 yards of total offense including 375 yards on the ground. Both teams are 2-2.
Senior running back Kaiden Zulager led the way going for 236 yards on 16 carries including a 90-yard touchdown run. Sophomore Isaiah Sebastian completed 5 of 5 passes for 72 yards to five different Juggernaut receivers and a touchdown and rushed for 64 yards and a score on 11 carries. Senior Amari Riley added two rushing touchdowns.
The Rebels had 269 yards of total offense including 192 on the ground. Senior running back Braden McCarty led the way rushing for 126 yards on six carries and two touchdowns.
Lloyd Memorial plays host to Bishop Brossart (3-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. Boone County plays host to Walton-Verona (3-1) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Bishop Brossart 11, Holy Cross 8
The Mustangs held off the host Indians outgaining Holy Cross, 183-94 in total offense. Senior running back Evan Orth led Brossart rushing for 82 yards on 17 carries. Senior Luke Piscitello returned a fumble for a touchdown and junior Tyler Smith booted a field goal for the difference in the game.
Junior quarterback Landyn Phillips again led the Indians rushing for 61 yards on 21 carries. Freshman Trevin Figgs had a two-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Phillips ran in the two-point conversion to put Holy Cross up 8-0.
Brossart travels to Lloyd Memorial (2-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. Holy Cross plays host to Newport Central Catholic (3-1) at the same time Friday.
Paris 42, Ludlow 8
The Greyhounds (3-1) handed the Panthers (2-1) their first loss in Paris.
Paris had 302 yards of total offense to 230 for Ludlow including a 209-64 advantage through the air. Senior Jaxson Rice rushed for 82 yards and passed for 64 for the Panthers.
Ludlow plays host to Carroll County (1-3) on Friday at 7 p.m.
Estill County 21, Dayton 8
The Engineers (3-1) knocked off the Greendevils (2-2) at home. Dayton takes on Lexington Sayre (2-1) on Friday at home at 7:30 p.m.
Magoffin County 65, Bellevue 20
It may go down as another loss for the Tigers.
But Bellevue (0-4) did take some steps forward scoring the first 20 points of the season after being shut out the first three games in the road loss against the Hornets (2-2) from eastern Kentucky. Head Coach Dave Brausch said the Tigers need to take these kind of steps this year.
Bellevue travels to Gallatin County (0-3) on Friday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Volleyball
The Notre Dame Pandas, St. Henry Crusaders, Ryle Raiders and Cooper Jaguars hit the road for weekend tournaments and all four came away with at least one win on the first day.
Notre Dame (10-2), St. Henry (11-4) and Ryle (8-3) played in pool play in the Louisville Invitational Volleyball Tournament at the KIVA Sports Center that hosts a number of club tournaments.
The Pandas won their pool five games by 2-0 scores. They took down Knoxville Catholic (Tennessee) 25-11, 26-24 and won the rematch against Parma Padua Franciscan (Ohio) less than 24 hours after beating the Bruins in Park Hills by 25-8, 25-19 scores. Notre Dame takes on the 5-0 Mount Notre Dame Cougars (Ohio) from the Girls Greater Catholic League at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Gold Bracket.
St. Henry went 1-1 in pool three action. The Crusaders lost 2-1 (25-19, 19-25, 26-24) to St. Joseph Academy (Ohio) from Cleveland. But St. Henry came back to beat the Maryville Rebels (Tennessee) located just south of Knoxville, 2-1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-23). St. Henry play St. Joseph Academy (Missouri) at 9 a.m. in the Silver Bracket.
Ryle also finished 1-1 in Pool 2 action. Ryle downed Presentation Academy from Louisville, 2-0 (25-16, 25-17) before losing 2-0 (25-15, 25-21) to state power Assumption. The Raiders face Louisville Mercy (9-6) at 9 a.m. in the Silver Bracket.
The Cooper Jaguars (9-2) beat Mercer County, 2-0 (25-11, 25-6) in the first game of the Capital City Classic. They have three games on the schedule on Saturday starting at Noon against Southwestern (9-4).
