Both had their chances, but both came up empty in their respecive Class 1A region championship games.
Newport Central Catholic came up short to Campbellsville, 27-24, while Newport dropped a tight one to Kentucky Country Day, 14-12.
Here’s how they went down:
Campbellsville 27, Newport Central Catholic 24
Trailing 24-14, Campbellsville scored 13 points in the final 2:17 to pull off a furious comeback in Campbellsville Friday night.
After a Kace Eastridge rushing touchdown to make it 24-21 NewCath, the Eagles tried an onside kick, but were unsuccessful.
Needing one first down to run the clock out, NewCath was stuffed on a 4th and 1 with 1:45 remaining.
Campbellsville then converted two fourth down attempts on the game-winning drive, the last on a 4th and 10 at the Throughbreds 16-yard line to the 2-yard line with less than 20 seconds to play. Two plays later they were able to pump it in the end zone with 12 seconds to play.
NewCath trailed 7-0 after one and knottted things up at 14 with 41 seconds left before halftime.
They took advantage of two Eagles turnovers in the third quarter for a 21-14 lead headed into the fourth. A field goal made it 24-14 with 5:58 left in the game.
Campbellsville muffed their second kickoff of the game and the ‘Breds were in prime position to make it a three-possession game. After a couple of penalties, NewCath was driven back and out of field goal range, eventually turning it over on downs.
With three minutes, left Campbellsville’s magic started to come to fruition, converting on a 4th and 2 near midfield. Eastridge later scored on a 26-yard touchdown run.
It’s a tough loss for a NewCath team that had 10 seniors on the roster and finish 9-4. They were searching for their second state semifinal appearance in the last three years, but come up short in Campbellsville for the second straight year.
Kentucky Country Day 14, Newport 12
Despite outgaining KCD 359-216, the Wildcats came up short in Louisville on Friday.
The difference was extra points, the Bearcats converting both of theirs while Newport was unable to convert on two different two-point conversion attempts.
Kyle Lee threw for 213 yards and a touchdown while Rodzion Thompson ran for 104 yards and threw for a touchdown, also adding six catches for 61 yards. Kendall Buck-Barber and Keegan Farrell were on the receiving end of the passing touchdowns. Buck-Barber had four catches for 51 yards, Farrell with six catches for 39 yards.
Newport was playing in their first region championship game since 2014 and in search of their first region title this century. The nine wins they finished with were the most in a season for the program since 2005.
Other playoff scores (full coverage of these games will be online later)
Class 6A
Ryle 43, Central Hardin 14
Class 5A
Highlands 42, Pulaski County 18
Cooper 56, Southwestern 15
Class 4A
Covington Catholic 31, Boyle County 28
Class 2A
Beechwood 4, Martin County 7
