What transpired Friday night at David Cecil Memorial Stadium in Fort Thomas is something Highlands’ fans couldn’t even have fathomed.
Boyle County rarely loses.
The Rebels had done it just twice in their previous 51 games entering Friday night. Since Justin Haddix took over the program in 2020, Boyle had lost only five times.
So when the Rebels made the 120-mile trip north to Fort Thomas in their black-and-gold charter buses, they arrived with a 15-game winning streak and the confidence that comes with being the No. 1 team in Class 4A.
Highlands had other plans.
The Bluebirds hit Boyle County in the mouth before the Rebels could even figure out what hit them, racing to a 28-0 lead before cruising to a convincing 41-21 victory.
“We played the best football we’ve ever played since I’ve been in high school tonight,” Bluebirds senior Tayden Lorenzen said.
At the center of it was a sophomore quarterback continuing to grow before everyone’s eyes. Bryce Armstrong made his fourth career start Friday night and looked completely in control, delivering the kind of performance that shows just how far he has come since Week 1.
The sophomore completed the throws he needed to make, finishing with 95 passing yards and a touchdown, but it was his ability to make plays with his legs that gave the Boyle County defense fits.
Armstrong rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns, repeatedly making the right decision with the football and showing a level of command that would be impressive for a veteran quarterback, let alone a player making just his fourth career start.
“I thought he had full command of the offense,” Sphire said. “As we’ve gone through these four weeks, we’ve expanded it for him more and more. You saw him more with some design quarterback runs tonight. He made great decisions. He really had great command of the offense, and I thought it was a big boy performance by him.”
His second touchdown was perhaps his most memorable.
Already with a 33-yard touchdown run under his belt, Highlands was facing a fourth-and-four from the Boyle County 5-yard line, Armstrong kept the ball on a bootleg, turned the corner and ran directly through a Boyle defender before crossing the goal line.
“I didn’t know if I wanted to go around the kid or just run him over,” Armstrong said. “I just felt like I can’t go around the kid, so I might as well just run him over and I did it and it worked.”
Highlands 28, Boyle County 0.
The Bluebirds were well on their way to one of the biggest wins of the Bob Sphire era.
Armstrong wasn’t alone in making big plays.
Tayden Lorenzen announced his return to full strength in a big way.
Limited during Highlands’ first three games because of an offseason injury, Lorenzen showed Friday night that those restrictions are no longer a concern.
His versatility was on full display on both sides of the ball as he helped Highlands dominate the line of scrimmage during a first half in which the Bluebirds completely controlled the game.
And he gave Highlands the game’s first score.
Lorenzen hauled in a 27-yard touchdown to put the Bluebirds ahead and set the tone for what was to come.
“We really kept them off balance,” Sphire said. “I thought on those first couple of drives it wasn’t a one-dimensional thing.”
Then came the patented Lorenzen leap.
In the second quarter, Lorenzen took off toward the end zone, hurdling a diving Boyle defender before landing in the end zone to make it 21-0. It was the kind of play that has familiarity with Lorenzen, having done so last year against Cooper, and a reminder of what Highlands has been missing as he worked his way back from injury.
“I try and jump when I can because you know the high school rule (can’t hurdle a defender), but yeah, whatever works works if it’s legal,” Lorenzen said.
With Armstrong making plays and Lorenzen finally operating at full capacity, Highlands overwhelmed a Boyle County team that had spent much of the past several years overwhelming everyone else.
The Rebels did eventually find their footing.
Boyle opened the second half with a 16-play, 76-yard drive that consumed more than eight minutes and ended with 4:02 left in the third quarter when the Rebels finally got on the scoreboard, cutting the deficit to 28-7.
“I loved what they did in the second half,” Sphire said. “I knew they’d play 48 minutes, and I loved what Justin did. He put his team out there just to get better in that second half, and he challenged our manhood. And we had to play physical football, and I think that got us better.”
But Highlands answered.
The Bluebirds traded scores with Boyle the rest of the way, with Colt Kremer adding touchdown runs of five and nine yards.
Boyle’s Kain Logan added his second and third score in the second half, catching a 36-yard touchdown pass from Jhet Raleigh and adding a three-yard touchdown run, but the damage had already been done.
The Rebels’ 15-game winning streak was over.
Boyle was also without Seneca Driver, the top-ranked recruit in the state committed to Oklahoma, who served a one-game suspension after receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in Boyle’s previous game against Lexington Catholic.
Driver’s absence was certainly notable. Through Boyle’s first three games, the do-it-all standout had six carries for 244 yards and four touchdowns while adding 10 receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
“I know the big boy didn’t play tonight, but they were Boyle before he came into the program, and they’ll be Boyle after he leaves the program,” Sphire said. “I know what you get into when you play Boyle County. And for years, years and years, I was at Lexington Catholic and we had head knockers with them. Anytime you can get off the field and you you can get them out, they’re a tough out.”
But even without Driver, Highlands’ performance was impossible to overlook.
The Bluebirds entered the night ranked No. 4 in Class 4A.
Come Monday, pollsters will have a decision to make.
Should Highlands be No. 1?
Friday night certainly provided plenty of evidence.
For Sphire, the victory was significant, especially considering what it says about the direction of his program.
But the veteran coach also knows there is little time to celebrate.
“It’s a big win, but it ain’t CovCath,” Sphire said.
Highlands faces Ryle next week, followed by Harrison County, before the game circled on the calendar arrives Oct. 2 against Covington Catholic.
For now, the Bluebirds can enjoy a night that will be remembered for a long time. They welcomed the No. 1 team in Kentucky Class 4A to Fort Thomas. They sent it home with its first loss in 16 games and they did it behind the emergence of a sophomore quarterback and the return of a dynamic playmaker who showed he is once again ready to make big plays.
Friday night, Highlands wasn’t just knocking on the door. The Bluebirds kicked it down.
PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton
BLUEBIRDS 41, REBELS 21
BOYLE COUNTY — 0-0-7-14 — 21
HIGHLANDS — 14-14-6-7 — 41
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(H) Armstrong 27-yard pass to Lorenzen (8:59) Anderson kick
(H) Armstrong 33-yard run (2:14) Anderson kick
2nd Quarter
(H) Lorenzen 12-yard run (9:47) Anderson kick
(H) Armstrong 5-yard run (4:33) Anderson kick
3rd Quarter
(BC) Logan 13-yard run (4:02) Klosterman kick
(H) Kremer 5-yard run (1:19) kick failed
4th Quarter
(BC) Raleigh 36-yard pass to Logan (11:06) Klosterman kick
(H) Kremer 9-yard run (6:58) Anderson kick
(BC) Logan 3-yard run (2:41) Klosterman kick
Records: Boyle County 3-1, Highlands 3-1