21 teams in 21 days: Walton-Verona football preview

Nine consecutive district championships and 10 overall is impressive for any football team, especially one that put out its first varsity team in 2008.

Jeff Barth has been the head coach for all of them but that first season with the Walton-Verona Bearcats. The consistency has shown for the Bearcats, making at least the second round of the Class 2A playoffs 11 years in a row and the third round five times over that span, including one appearance in the state semifinals in 2018.

Walton-Verona has struggled with the traditional Class 2A powers such as Beechwood and Mayfield in terms of depth. So while some may have cringed when the new District 5 pairings came out and saw 17-time state champion Beechwood in that district with Bracken County, Carroll County, Owen County and Gallatin County, the Bearcats welcomed the challenge. Barth pointed out programs such as Highlands, Beechwood, Covington Catholic and Newport Central Catholic that expect to win.

“I think over a period of time, our guys have developed that concept,” Barth said. “But it’s also been one of those things where we’ve been a Top 10 team. We might be sixth or seventh, but we’re a lot closer to 10-12 than one and two. It comes to a full commitment mode to football in the summer workouts. We have a lot of guys playing other sports and I encourage that. But building our offseason weight program to where if you’re not playing another sport, more and more guys are getting involved with that.”

Walton-Verona once again has a competitive non-district schedule to prepare for district action. They Bearcats play NewCath in addition to Kentucky Country Day, who made it to the state semifinals and third round in Class 1A last year, respectively. Holmes, Boone County and Bishop Brossart are the other three non-district opponents.

“For us to get to the level of Beechwood, we have to see them,” Barth said. “We know there’s a gap and we’re certainly working to close that gap for sure. We’re excited about the senior group coming back and one of our better freshmen classes coming in. The present is very promising and the future is very promising as well.”

Walton-Verona graduated 11 seniors from last year’s team that finished 9-3 losing to eventual state semifinalist Lloyd Memorial in the second round of the playoffs. But a good core group of experienced players return.

The versatile senior quarterback Jackson Smith returns to lead the Walton-Verona spread offense. He just missed out on the 1,000/1,000 milestone, running for a team-high 1,024 yards and nine touchdowns in addition to throwing for 988 yards and 13 touchdowns. Smith is also a standout track athlete, helping the Bearcats to the first Class 1A state track and field championship in school history in the spring, winning individual state titles in the 100 and 200-meter dash.

“Clearly you have to tailor your offense every year to who you have. There have been years where we haven’t really had a quarterback so we put a running back back there,” Barth said. “There have been years where we haven’t been able to throw or catch as well. But Jackson’s clearly an advanced quarterback. He can run very well. He can throw very well. But we’re focused on being more balanced. We’ve been a very heavy run-attack over the years.”

The Bearcats rushed for an average of 205 yards and passed for 86 yards per game last year. Senior wide receiver and defensive back and third-year starter Max Montgomery returns after leading the Bearcats with 24 catches for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Barth said to expect to see see seniors Brett Wiethorn, Abe Bowlin and Eli Diop get carries along with senior Ben Teipe in the fullback spot. Diop started at linebacker defensively last year with Wiethorn and Bowlin also hoping to contribute there.

Senior Bryce Corpus returns to the field and hopes to contribute at slot receiver and defensive back along with junior Carter Daniels. Junior Trace Dalton is another promising wide receiver and defensive back.

“I think our offense is going to be super dangerous,” Smith said. “I think we have threats all around the board. Since I ran the ball so much last year, they’re going to be focusing on me more than my passing and I really think that’s going to open up things in the passing game.”

Barth agreed games are won and lost in the trenches. Senior third-year starting offensive lineman Landon Schirmann returns along with two-year starting offensive and defensive lineman junior Luke Hyden. Senior Ayden Hatmaker started on the defensive line. That trio hopes to make impacts on both sides of the ball along with junior Ben Walton.

Senior Johnathon Seibert is another returning starter hoping to make an impact at offensive guard and inside linebacker along with freshman Gavin Gaines. Seibert finished second with 43 tackles for the Bearcats last year.

“We’re still very thin depth-wise. We do have some guys who are experienced,” Barth said. “It’s also a drop-off from varsity-ready guys. We have a good freshman class coming in. But to be able to jump from eighth grade to varsity action is always a big question.”

Walton-Verona outscored opponents 288-205 last year and posted two shutouts, allowing 208 yards per game.

With the multiple looks they can throw at the opponent defensively, it helps build an opportunistic defense that recovered 16 fumbles and picked off seven passes last year.

“It helps a lot because no matter what gets thrown at us, we have a new set we can run out there,” Teipe said. “If we’re going up against a pass-heavy team, we’ll change it up throughout the week so we’re ready for them when it comes game time. It really depends on what team we’re playing.”

The Bearcats season opens on the road Aug. 18 at Bishop Brossart. It will be the first meeting between the two since 2012. They’ll break in their new district with Bracken County on Sept. 22. The following week…Beechwood in Fort Mitchell.

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