Each week, throughout the season, make sure to come here on Monday’s (outside of Labor Day) to check out the weekly standouts and 10 takeaways from Friday night.
We’ll highlight the 200-yard passers, 100-yard rushers, 100-yard receivers, defensive standouts and kicking standouts.
The criteria has changed for the defensive standout list. The minimum is at least 10 tackles or multiple tackles for loss. As always, if a turnover is recorded, then you make the list, to me that’s the ultimate goal of a defense. Kicking standouts will include at least four successful extra-points and or any field goals made.
First and 10 (10 takeaways from Friday night)
— Biggest win in the Bob Sphire era? The Highlands head coach wouldn’t go that far after the game Friday night, but I’m leaning that way after the Bluebirds demolished No. 1 in 4A Boyle County. Obvioulsy a state championship trumps any of this talk and that’s the standard in Fort Thomas, but in Sphire’s sixth season, they’ve come short of that and this one is it to me. Yes, they beat CovCath last year in a dramatic closing seconds win, Sphire getting to 3-3 all-time against their rivals, but this was a Boyle team that has won five of the last six state titles in 4A. Boyle is currently the standard in 4A and Highlands let them know they’re here.
— Beechwood has allowed three points in its first three games. Fitting for Noel Rash and win No. 200 with the Tigers to be a shutout. They have a big test Friday at Covington Catholic, after that, they may not get tested until Thanksgiving week in the Class 2A playoff state semis.
— Brady Boruske gets a game ball and a couple helmet stickers for his game against Bracken County. He caught nine passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns in the Mustangs 27-7 win over Bracken County. He also picked off two passes. Through four games, Boruske has 29 receptions for 532 yards and three touchdowns. He also has four interceptions.
— Covington Catholic sophomore running back Kiyan Miller has nine rushing touchdowns through four games after adding three on Friday against Dixie Heights. He’s ran the ball 53 times for 397 yards and the nine touchdowns. You’ll have to deal with him for two more years…
— In Cooper’s 21-14 overtime victory over Campbell County, Corey Freihofer ran for three touchdowns, including the game-winning eight-yard touchdown run in overtime. He also was the punter, punting six times for an average of 40 yards per punt, completed a pass for 10 yards, caught three passes for 25 yards, had a punt return for 29 yards and recorded four tackles, one of them for a loss. Talk about doing it all.
— Beechwood’s Emmett Queen has completed 37-of-48 passes for 652 yards and six touchdowns in his first three games this season. That’s good for a 77% completion percentage. According to the KHSAA record book that was last updated in Sept. 2021, the highest completion percentage in a season is 79.9%, set by Trinty’s Nick Bohn in 2017 at 79.9%. Queen’s 77% would be second all-time, according to the record book. Certainly a lot of season left, but something to monitor if Queen keeps this high rate of efficiency up.
— Congrats to Conner coach Chase Floyd and Scott coach Dustin Trimnell picking up their first varsity wins in their coaching careers. Floyd got his via a 41-14 victory over NewCath while Trimnell got his in a 40-6 win over Grant County. Of the seven new head coaches in NKY, six of them have recorded that memorable first win. Holmes’ Emanuel Golsby the lone one left, but the Bulldogs will have a great chance this week as they travel to Jackson County, a team they beat last year.
— Two Pate’s are better than one. In St. Henry’s 49-14 victory over Bellevue, Lucas and Owen Pate combined to rush for 272 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, they added six tackles, three tackles for loss and five pass deflections. The Crusaders are now 2-2 and have already matched last season’s win total in their first year of varsity football. With district play starting next week, the question begs now can they earn themselves a home playoff game. Beechwood is the top dog in the district, but with Gallatin County, Owen County, Bracken County and Walton-Verona, it’s certainly there for the taking.
— What an amazing weekend for NKY football alumni. CovCath grad Michael Mayer got a contract extension with the Las Vegas Raiders for three years, $45 million, $30 million of it guaranteed. He went out and caught six passes for 32 yards on Sunday in the Raiders 27-13 win over the Dolphins. Holy Cross grad Derrick Barnes had six tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, two pass deflections, a quarterback hit and an interception in the Lions 31-30 overtime victory over the Saints. Then on the college scene, Ryle grad Dillon Smith recovered a fumble in Louisville’s 59-13 victory over Villanova. Another Ryle grad, Jacob Savage, had three tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss in the 55-0 victory over Howard. Cooper grad Austin Alexander had six tackles and a fumble recovery in Western Michigan’s 49-14 victory over Monmouth and CovCath grad Willie Rodriguez led Kentucky in receiving with eight receptions for 49 yards in the Wildcats 45-17 loss to Alabama.
— Game of the week is obvious as Beechwood heads down the street to Covington Catholic in the neighborhood rivalry. Both have looked impressive early on, combining for a 7-1 record and outscoring the opponent 272-23 in the seven victories. The Colonels come in having won the last four meetings. See you there!
200-yard passers
Landon Spaulding, Bishop Brossart — 16/37, 300 yds, 2 TD
Nash Overholser, Scott — 15/18, 276 yds, 4 TD
Dylan Courtney, Covington Catholic — 10/11, 262 yds, 2 TD, INT
Brian Ferguson, Holy Cross — 11/17, 257 yds, 4 TD
Emmett Queen, Beechwood — 12/17, 222 yds, 2 TD
Ethan Estvanko, Conner — 15/19, 200 yds, 3 TD, INT
100-yard rushers
Garry Rowland, Newport Central Catholic — 11 rushes, 157 yds, 2 TD
Lucas Pate, St. Henry — 20 rushes, 153 yds, 2 TD
Kiyan Miller, Covington Catholic — 11 rushes, 152 yds, 3 TD
Bryce Armstrong, Highlands — 13 rushes, 129 yds, 2 TD
Owen Pate, St. Henry — 14 rushes, 119 yds, 2 TD
Colten Barger, Lloyd Memorial — 9 rushes, 107 yds, TD
100-yard receivers
Brady Boruske, Bishop Brossart — 9 rec, 234 yds, 2 TD
Tyler Fryman, Beechwood — 5 receptions, 143 yds, TD
Peyton Zinser, Scott — 6 rec, 116 yds, 2 TD
Mac Cogswell, Covington Catholic — 2 receptions, 114 yds, TD
Xavier Thornberry, Holy Cross — 4 receptions, 106 yds, 2 TD
David Penick, St. Henry — 4 receptions, 100 yds, TD
Defensive standouts
Lincoln Tomlinson, Lloyd Memorial — 13 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles
Cole Heisler, Campbell County — 13 tackles
Grady Lucas, Campbell County — 11 tackles, sack, 2 tackles for loss
Demareon Peterson, Lloyd Memorial — 11 tackles, .5 sack, tackle for loss
Gage McCann, Bellevue — 10 tackles, sack
Alex Riedinger, Campbell County — 10 tackles
Samuel Ishmael, Scott — 10 tackles
Peyton Testerman, Scott — 10 tackles
Lucas Walton, Bellevue — 9 tackles, forced fumble
Tommy Busby, Bishop Brossart — 9 tackles, forced fumble
Griffin Eaton, Campbell County — 9 tackles, 2 sacks, tackle for loss
Dustin Wilson, Holy Cross — 9 tackles, interception
Brandon Carter, Lloyd Memorial — 9 tackles, .5 sack, 2 tackles for loss, punt block
Malachi Snapp, Scott — 9 tackles, sack, 3 tackles for loss
Landon Mahan, Scott — 9 tackles, sack
Adam Hubbard, Simon Kenton — 9 tackles, tackle for loss
Hunter Rose, Boone County — 9 tackles, tackle for loss
Michael Metcalf, Campbell County — 9 tackles
Brad Roaden, Dixie Heights — 9 tackles
Bosley Lasita, Bellevue — 8 tackles, 2 forced fumbles
Aidyn Fortner, Bellevue — 8 tackles, 2 sacks, interception
Quinten Tischner, Bishop Brossart — 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
Nathan Cottengim, Scott — 8 tackles, sack, 2 tackles for loss
Landon Helton, Scott — 8 tackles
Chase Karl, Scott — 8 tackles
Jake Stewart, Scott — 8 tackles
Colton Turner, Scott — 8 tackles
Everett Clark, Simon Kenton — 8 tackles
Amare Newberry, Boone County — 8 tackles
Blake Fryman, Bellevue — 7 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, forced fumble
Justin Hardy, Scott — 7 tackles, interception
Kyle King, Simon Kenton — 7 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
Aiden Dolan, Lloyd Memorial — 6 tackles, tackle for loss, fumble recovery
Parker Hurtt, Newport Central Catholic — 6 tackles, interception
Antonio Rodriguez, Covington Catholic — 5 tackles, sack, 2 tackles for loss
William Stevie, Newport Central Catholic — 5 tackles, tackle for loss, forced fumble
Kevin Buanga, Cooper — 5 tackles, interception
Shawn Engle, Bellevue — 4 tackles, fumble recovery for TD
Gavin Henson, Dixie Heights — 4 tackles, interception
Liam Horan, Newport Central Catholic — 4 tackles, fumble recovery
Owen Pate, St. Henry — 4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 4 pass deflections
David Penick, St. Henry — 4 tackles, 3 pass deflections
Jacob Yutze, Walton-Verona — 4 tackles, sack, 2 tackles for loss
Luke Rensing, Covington Catholic — 3 tackles, forced fumble
Xavier Thornberry, Holy Cross — 3 tackles, interception
Thomas Twehues, Newport Central Catholic — 3 tackles, forced fumble
Brayden Hughes, St. Henry — 3 tackles, tackle for loss, sack, 2 pass deflections
Tao Mulvaney, Boone County — 3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
Reggie Rolland, Bellevue — 2 tackles, fumble recovery for TD
Jason Fedor, Covington Catholic — fumble recovery for TD
Avery Gramer, Bellevue — 2 tackles, interception
William Timmerding, Covington Catholic — 2 tackles, forced fumble
Jimi Cox, Highlands — 2 tackles for loss, sack
Timmy Strunk, Cooper — 2 tackles, interception
Andrew Lynn, Walton-Verona — 2 tackles for loss
Charlie Rauch, Bishop Brossart — 2 tackles for loss
Xavier Collins, Ryle — 2 tackles, forced fumble, fumble recovery
Kaydenn Marshall, Scott — 2 tackles, interception
Caleb Arrasmith, Beechwood — 2 fumble recoveries
Tyler Fryman, Beechwood — forced fumble
Brady Boruske, Bishop Brossart — 2 interceptions
Jake Atmore, Beechwood — interception
Anderson Durrett, Beechwood — interception
Will Wainscott, Beechwood — interception
Kamare McClendon, Holy Cross — interception
Kingston Brockett, Beechwood — 3 sacks
Griffin Benke, Highlands — 2 sacks
Aiden Seibert, Campbell County — kickoff return for TD
Zaequan Sharp, Newport — kickoff return for TD
Luke Kiely, Covington Catholic — fumble recovery
Kicking standouts
Roco Gillette, Covington Catholic — 7/7 PAT
Nuno Gomes, Lloyd Memorial — 1/1 FG, 3/3 PAT
Missing stats from: Dayton, Holmes, Ludlow