The Campbell County Camels found themselves on the wrong end of the final play in Class 6A, District 6 losses the previous two weeks.
But the Camels made sure that did not happen in a third straight game, taking care of the visiting Great Crossing Warhawks, 28-22 to earn their first district win this season. Campbell County outgained Great Crossing, 393-213 in total offense.
“We’ve worked hard the last couple weeks on all the little things,” said Brian Weinrich, Campbell County head coach. “We’ve been emphasizing getting better how we stretch or doing all of our drills in practice, making sure we’re paying attention to all those little details and you could see it the last couple weeks. We just weren’t able to finish. So this week in practice, everything was about finishing. We finished (Friday).”
Wide receiver Garyn Jackson caught eight passes for 118 yards, rushed four times for 53 yards and threw two passes for a touchdown and a two-point conversion to lead the Camels (3-6). Quarterback Nathan Smith completed 13-of-19 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 39 yards on 12 carries.
Campbell County travels to Covington Catholic on Friday for a 7 p.m. game. The win secured a No. 3 seed for the postseason, as they’ll travel to Bullitt East on Nov. 3 to open up postseason play.
Class 5A, District 6
Conner 38, Boone County 13
The Cougars nabbed the district’s final playoff spot with the road win over the county rival Rebels.
Conner outgained Boone County, 270-222 in total offense with all 270 yards coming on the ground. Senior Emmanuel Ekpe led the Cougars (5-5) with 10 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns including a 69-yard run. Quarterback Wyatt Hatfield rushed for two touchdowns and Cordian Abernathy ran for another one.
Brayton Haaser led Conner on defense with seven tackles. Cordell Abernathy recovered a Boone County fumble for the game’s lone turnover. The Cougars have a bye before they travel to Scott County for the first round of the playoffs.
Boone County (1-8) has lost eight in a row since opening the season with a 31-0 lead. The loss eliminates them from postseason contention. The Rebels travel to Walton-Verona on Friday for their season finale.
Class 4A, District 5
Harrison County 45, Holmes 0
Holmes continued to struggle on the road in Cynthiana in the final district game this season. The loss eliminates them from the postseason.
The Bulldogs will conclude their season at home against Newport Central Catholic on Friday at 7 p.m.
Class 3A, District 5
Lloyd Memorial 47, Bourbon County 6
The Juggernauts earned a home playoff game with the sound district home win.
Seth Moran and Avander Abrams scored two touchdowns for the Juggernauts (8-1). Avery Conrad and Tyler Copeland added one each.
Lloyd Memorial travels to Scott on Friday for a 7 p.m. to conclude the regular season. They’ll open up with Fleming County in the first round of the postseason.
Class 2A, District 5
Beechwood 41, Bracken County 0
The Tigers concluded the regular season 9-1 and ran roughshod through district play, outscoring opponents 273-3 in five games.
Quarterback Clay Hayden threw touchdown passes to Tyler Fryman, Talon Linder and Shawn Sowder. Chase Flaherty rushed for two touchdowns with Zander Riegler running in for another one.
The Tigers get a bye week before they host Danville in the first round of the playoffs.
Walton-Verona 24, Owen County 0
The Bearcats kept their postseason hopes alive with the shutout win.
Walton-Verona outgained Owen County, 323-182 in total offense. Quarterback Avery Howe threw for 190 yards and Trace Dalton caught three passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns.
Jonathon Strunk recorded six tackles defensively for Walton-Verona (4-5) and Dalton had an interception.
Walton-Verona plays host to Boone County (1-8) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Their postseason picture is still not clear. They’re in a three-way tie with Owen County and Bracken County for the No. 3 and No. 4 seed in the Class 2A, 5th District. The seeds won’t be determined until the final regular season game concludes next week. The three-way tiebreaker is decided by RPI, where the Bearcats are currently ahead of the two and would be the No. 3 seed.
Class 1A, District 4
Bishop Brossart 57, Trimble County 28
The Mustangs hit the road and recorded a solid victory to earn a home playoff game.
Brossart outgained Trimble County, 465-256 in total offense. Cameron Mandel led the Mustangs (4-5) with 93 yards rushing on 10 carries and two touchdowns with quarterback Tyler Holtz completing 12-of-20 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 45 yards and a touchdown. Luke Schroeder led the Mustangs with six catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns with Alex Amin, Mandel and Eli Davis hauling in one touchdown each.
Brossart plays host to winless Pendleton County on Friday at 7 p.m. The Mustangs will host Dayton in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 3.
Class 1A, District 3
Newport 38, Dayton 7
The Wildcats outgained the Greendevils, 357-241 in total offense on their way to earning a home playoff game in the first round.
Newport (6-3) displayed balance rushing for 207 yards led by Rodzion Thompson’s 13 carries for 136 yards and a touchdown in addition to six catches for 103 yards. Quarterback Kyle Lee completed 12-of-27 passes for 150 yards and one touchdown.
Sean Hurry led the Wildcats on defense with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery. Kayveion Sharp and Kendall Buck-Barber had one interception each with Khalil Buck-Barber recovering the other fumble.
The Greendevils (3-6) put up 216 yards rushing led by D’Angelo Jimenez’ 108 yards on 15 carries.
Newport travels to Holy Cross on Friday at 7 p.m. Dayton plays host to Trimble County at 7:30 p.m. The Wildcats will then turn around and play Holy Cross again in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 3. Dayton will play at Bishop Brossart to start the Class 1A playoffs on Nov. 3.