Talented Rosters Will Make Class 2A, District 6 a Dogfight

Going to watch Class 2A, District 6 football in 2016 will be quite enjoyable. The District is has several teams that feel they are talented enough to bring home the hardware from Bowling Green in December. Newport Central Catholic, Lloyd Memorial and Holy Cross have enough gifted players that they should never be out of ball games. These are going to be a battles of attrition which will see the final rounds come in the postseason.

NewCath QB Patrick Henschen (photo by Mike Noyes/TriStateFootball.com)

Don’t be surprised if the regular season District 6 champion and the squad who emerges as the best in the playoffs are different. Many of these affairs are going to be too close to call but you can bet the cream is going to rise to the top by the time the dust settles. Look for the stars to take matters into their own hands.

Here is a look at Class 2A, District 6 and its top players.

NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC THOROUGHBREDS
2015 RECORD: 9-6 Class 2A State runner-up, 3-0 Class 2A, District 6
COACH: Dan Wagner (27-17 at NewCath, three years; 27-17 overall)

Overview: Quarterback Patrick Henschen has been the starter under center on back-to-back state runner-up teams at NewCath. The 6-foot-6 Henschen along with his classmates and returning starters.LB Kurt Sutkamp, DL Austin Neff, LB Job Freppon and WR/DB/P Trent Wrobleski now what the grind is like. They just have to grit their teeth a little bit harder first weekend in December.

Sutkamp led the Thoroughbreds with more than 120 tackles last season. Neff was in on more than 70 take downs to go along with five takeaways (three fumble recoveries, one interception). Henschen has been a model of consistency throwing for more than 1,400 yards with 12 touchdown tosses the last two years.

The Elusive Big One
Coach Wagner is 12-3 all-time in the playoffs with all three defeats coming in the state championship game. NewCath has played in five of the last six Class 2A finals. The Thoroughbreds won the crown in 2010 & ’12.

LLOYD MEMORIAL JUGGERNAUTS
2015 Record: 9-4, 2-1
Head Coach: Eric Turner (23-12 at Lloyd, three years; 23-12 overall)

Lloyd RB Justin Durham (photo by Mike Noyes/TriStateFootball.com)

Overview: Lloyd thinks the have they pieces to be something special in ’16. The Juggernauts offense is loaded with playmakers. Back are QB Jordan Fann who threw for 1,360 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore. At the skill positions Lloyd cranks it out on the ground behind RB Justin Durham who has run for more than 1,000 yards the last two seasons. He has 2,462 yards and 37 touchdowns rushing at the varsity level. Those numbers are tops among all active Northern Kentucky players heading into ’16.

One of the most electric small school talents in the entire Bluegrass state WR/DB/RS LaShunn Townsend can turn the momentum of the game on any play in any phase of the game. A balanced offensive threat Towsend has more than 800 yards rushing and receiving and 23 touchdowns (11 rushing, 12 receiving) in his career.

On defense, Lloyd is led by LB Jesse Hatton who registered 94 tackles and three sacks a year ago.

Laying the Foundation
Lloyd has had four consecutive winning seasons with at least eight victories in three of those campaigns. Prior to this run of success the last time Lloyd finished above .500 was back in 2004 when the Juggernauts went 6-5.

HOLY CROSS INDIANS
2015 Record: 6-6, 1-2
Head Coach: Bruce Kozerski (64-79 @ Holy Cross, 12 years, 64-79 overall)

Overview: Things had been just been abysmal for Holy Cross since winning the state title back in 2011. The Indians followed up the crown with a 4-8 campaign then a pair of 1-10 flops before rebounding to go 6-6 last fall. The winning should continue this season with a confident clan of accomplished returnees.

Holy Cross RB Xavier Abernathy (photo by Carla Martin/TriStateFootball.com)

Coach Kozerski will have his options on offense. Holy Cross is loaded at the skill positions. Returning are RB Xavier Abernathy and RB Derrick Barnes who combined for 1,540 yards and 23 touchdowns as juniors. The Indians have WR/DB Jaylin Williams, ATH Christian Current and RB/LB Dominick Finnell who will contribute to some big nights on the scoreboard. Barnes was also a beast on defense with 129 tackles and a pick six. Behind Barnes with 110 tackles was LB Owen Finke.

Back on Track
After winning a school record 12 games in ’11 Holy cross has managed just a dozen victories in the four years since.

NEWPORT WILDCATS
2015 Record: 1-10, 0-3
Head Coach: Tim Viox (1-10 at Newport, one year)

Overview: The stabilization has begun off the field but the damage done before last season began will still see it trials and tribulations played out on Friday nights. The Wildcats are not deep with athletes and the ones they do have are young. Good news is coach Viox has a great piece to build around in QB Tyler Porter. As a freshman last fall Porter amassed 872 yards of total offense (519 rushing, 353 passing) and accounted for six of the teams 10 offensive touchdowns (three passing, three rushing).

Reversal of Fortunes
Before falling to 1-10 last season Newport had gone 13-7 in its previous 20 contests. The Wildcats averaged 33.5 points per game during that span before falling to just 6.9 points per outing in ’15.

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