Not even the rain could dampen Lloyd Memorial’s performance.
In wet conditions, the Juggernauts overpowered Newport in Erlanger, 39-7, ending the Wildcats (4-1) perfect start to the season.
Lloyd has escaped from a few slow starts this season and the theme continued into Thursday night.
At the seven minute mark of the first quarter, Newport led 7-6.
Yurii Collins-Comer capitalized on a fumble recovery, returning it 15 yards for a touchdown, while Rodzion Thompson provided the Wildcats’ lone highlight of the night with a five-yard touchdown run.
It was all Lloyd (5-1) from there.
The Juggs would go on a 33-0 run, leading 18-7 at halftime, 25-7 at the end of the third quarter, and finishing the game off with two more trips to the endzone.
“We had our opportunities,” Newport coach Paul Wiggins said. “We had a couple stops, we’re driving and then we jump offsides. It pushed us back, deep in their territory, and wo were never able to recover.”
With Lloyd’s long list of stars, it can be unpredictable who may lead way, but T.Y. Copeland took on that role with three rushing touchdowns, 51 rushing yards, and 51 receiving yards.
“It was all in my offensive line,” Copeland said. “They helped me get some holes, then I just had to get downhill.”
Going into the contest, the Juggernauts sat at the top of northern Kentucky in tackles for loss (45), interceptions (10) and weren’t far behind in other categories.
Their defense added on to an already solid season with the fourth game in which they have allowed seven or less points. They also caused six fumbles, recovering two of them.
Jaxon Fann, Camrin O’Donnell, and Lincoln Tomlinson each posted a sack as well.
“All of our secondary returned, they’re seniors, great kids, and they practice hard,” Lloyd Memorial coach Kyle Niederman said. “So we wanted to put the pressure on our secondary by bringing some pressure with our linebackers to try and get the quarterback to run. We felt like if he could sit back there, we were in trouble.”
Newport managed only 61 passing yards and 44 rushing yards, well below of their season averages.
“They do a good job of getting movement up front and that has been our Achilles’ heel,” Wiggins said. “They won the battle of the trenches. We just haven’t been able to stop guys coming straight at us.”
Despite the ball hindering snaps and the grip of the ball for both sides, Juggernaut quarterback Kaleb Evans threw for 141 yards and a touchdown, an eight-yard score to Elijah Collins with just under ten minutes to play, while rushing for a 12-yard touchdown in third quarter.
Lloyd balanced it out with 106 rushing yards.
Four different players scored a touchdown for the Juggs, five had at least one catch, and five with at least one run.
“Every Saturday I go over the stats and all these kids had touches, all these kids had catches,” Niederman said. “I tell them all the time that I can come up with any gameplan to defend one guy but how do you stop four receivers or a running back. That’s what makes our offense go.”
Lloyd Memorial will get a longer rest with a bye week ahead, followed by district play with a home game against Pendleton County on Oct. 10.
Newport (4-1) will go back to the drawing board during their own bye week, before they take on district rival Newport Central Catholic on Oct. 11.
Here are some more photos of Thursday’s contest between the Juggernauts and Wildcats, provided by Charles Bolton:
JUGGERNAUTS 39, WILDCATS 7
LLOYD MEMORIAL — 12-6-7-14— 39
NEWPORT — 7-0-0-0— 7
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(LM) Collins-Comer 15-yard fumble return (10:03) Miller kick failed
(N) Thompson 5-yard run (7:08) Reynoso kick
(LM) Copeland 11-yard run (4:58) Evans pass failed
2nd Quarter
(LM) Copeland 3-yard run (10:24) Miller kick failed
3rd Quarter
(LM) Evans 12-yard run (9:01) Miller kick
4th Quarter
(LM) Evans 8-yard pass to Collins (9:48) Miller kick
(LM) Copeland 4-yard run (4:35) Miller kick
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Lloyd Memorial 141 (Evans 9/16), Newport 61 (Lee 6/13, Lowe 1/1)
Rushing Yards: Lloyd Memorial 108 (Copeland 14-51, Sebastian 6-29, Collins-Comer 6-28, Collins 2-11, Evans 6-(minus)11), Newport 44 (Thompson 7-22, Lee 10-14, Stachel 4-9, Farrell 2-zero, Lowe 1-zero, Roper 1-(minus)1)
Receiving: Lloyd Memorial (Copeland 2-51, Sebastian 2-42, Collins 3-28, Barger 1-11, Collins-Comer 1-9), Newport (Sharp 2-31, Thompson 3-21, Stachel 1-12, Buck-Barber 1-(minus)3)
Turnovers: Lloyd Memorial 0, Newport 2
Penalties: Lloyd Memorial 2-20, Newport 6-28
Records: Lloyd Memorial 5-1, Newport 4-1
