Best Bets: N. Kentucky – Week 10

The playoff pairings have been decided in Kentucky, but there are still several good matchups this weekend.

Beechwood and NewCath vie for local small-school bragging rights, and Simon Kenton looks to complete a perfect regular season against an upstart Scott team that is having one of its best years in school history.

TriStateFootball takes a look at the Best Bets for Week 10 in Northern Kentucky:

Beechwood QB Kyle Fieger (Cathy Lachmann/TSF).

Beechwood (8-1) at Newport Central Catholic (5-4), 7 p.m. – Beechwood obliterated its district opponents, outscoring them 180-6, and the Tigers lead all Class A teams in the state with 456 points, an average of 50.5. Kyle Fieger’s video game-esque season continues under center, as he is 87 of 120 for 1,658 yards and 24 touchdowns vs. just one pick. Ethan Stringer has rushed for 1,274 yards and 20 TDs on just 131 carries. NewCath tends to do its NewCath thing this time of year, surging as it heads into the playoffs. The Thoroughbreds won two of their district games by just seven but did earn the No. 1 seed. Jacob Smith has rushed for 1,084 yards in just seven games, but NewCath has struggled at times in the passing game. The Tigers appear to be the favorite in this one.

Covington Catholic (3-6) at Scott County (8-1), 7:30 p.m. – CovCath’s record looks bad, but the Colonels are 3-3 vs. Kentucky teams with losses by seven, one and four points. CovCath hasn’t had a dominant rusher since Ben Darlington went down in Week 0, with three rushers in the 300-400 yard range. QB A.J. Mayer has thrown for 1,260 yards, and five Colonels receivers have 100 or more receiving yards. Scott County has lost just one game – that was to Elder on Sept. 11. The Cardinals average 45.2 points per game and have three 500-yard rushers, including team leader Noah Huges, who has gained 1,196 yards on the ground.

Holmes (3-6) at Newport (1-8), 7 p.m. – It’s a battle of teams with struggling offenses. Holmes is scoring just 18.2 points per game, with half coming in two games. The Bulldogs have put up 20 or fewer points in their other seven games. Andrew Arnold has had a breakout season for Holmes and is just 18 yards away from four figures. He has 15 rushing TDs. Newport has been held to eight points or fewer in all but one game, and the 24 the Wildcats recorded were against Beechwood after that game was out of reach. Tyree Bolden leads Newport in rushing with 555 yards, and Tyler Porter has added 389. They have combined for seven of the team’s 10 touchdowns this season.

Holy Cross (4-5) at Bellevue (3-6), 7 p.m. – Holy Cross looks to get to .500 after losing to Lloyd by just six last weekend, 42-36. The Indians finished 1-2 in their district but fell by just seven to NewCath and again in a close one to the Juggernauts. Hamilton Scott leads Xavier Abernathy by 10 rushing yards, 734-724 heading into the final regular season week. Scott is 63 of 126 for 869 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. After being shut out four straight weeks, Bellevue beat up on Dayton, 41-0 and lost to Ludlow, 34-14. Barring a deep postseason run, it will be the Tigers’ first losing season since 2010. Cameron Chase has been a rare bright spot with his 802 rushing yards and 10 scores.

Simon Kenton (9-0) at Scott (8-1), 7 p.m. – Just one more hurdle for Simon Kenton en route to a perfect regular season. The Pioneers have allowed just 12.3 points per game and 7.4 in their last seven. Dillon Powell is up to 1,325 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, and Cameron Racke is 95-for-154 for 1,263 yards, 12 TDs and five picks. Five Simon Kenton receivers have gained over 100 yards catching passes. Scott’s only loss was by one to Conner. The Pioneers will be the favorites, but the host Eagles will obviously be up for this game. Four Scott rushers have over 400 ground yards, led by Roberto London, who is just 51 short of 1,000. The Eagles have averaged eight pass attempts per game but have had modest success with the passing game and may need to break that out to keep Simon Kenton from stacking the box with its punishing defense.

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