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NKY Round-Up: Rivalry close again

With three weeks left in the 2021 regular season in Kentucky, the district title pictures are becoming more clear. This week, district play saw a low-scoring heated rivalry, a 2A blowout, and highway matchup packed with action.

NO. 12 COVINGTON CATHOLIC 8, HIGHLANDS 7
In what is typically a high-scoring, high-energy rivalry game turned into a defensive battle in Fort Thomas that ended with the Covington Catholic Colonels knocking off the Highlands Bluebirds 8-7 on Friday night.

After dominating the rivalry for nearly a decade, the Bluebirds have not beaten the Colonels since 2015. In that year, Highlands won twice, both in the regular season and postseason.

The first score of the game didn’t come until the end of the third quarter when a bad snap by the CovCath offense forced a fumble that was recovered by the Bluebirds in the end zone.

Action finally found its way to Fort Thomas late in the fourth quarter. CovCath found the end zone on an Owen Leen run to pull within one. Instead of going for the tie, the Colonels decided to go for two to take the lead. Brayden Collins ran the ball into the end zone to convert the two points and the lead.

Highlands attempted to respond by taking a long drive down to the Colonels 15-yard line with seconds left. As time expired, a Bluebirds field goal to take the lead was blocked by CovCath, extending the Colonels win streak over the Bluebirds.

Covington Catholic will look to keep the season three-game win streak alive next week when the Colonels hit the road again to take on Conner. Highlands will wrap up its regular reason next week by traveling to Cooper to take on the Jaguars.

NO. 11 BEECHWOOD 62, LLOYD 6
The Tigers continued to breeze by in district action Thursday night as they posted their highest scoring output of the season in a 62-6 victory over the Juggernauts as they moved to 8-0. Beechwood has now won 16 consecutive contests dating back to Oct 2 of last year.

The two teams had to pivot to playing on Thursday night due to a shortage of officials available, but the Tigers didn’t skip a beat. The game went to a running clock with over five minutes left in the first half and was never in question.

Despite playing just one half of action, quarterback Cam Hergott continued his stellar campaign. He completed 8-of-12 passes for 242 yards and five touchdowns. He added 64 yards and an additional TD on six carries. Parker Mason had a big punt return for a score early in the game and Avery Courtney and Brady Moore each made their way into the end zone twice.

The loss was the fifth straight for Lloyd, they’ll look to bounce back and pick up a district win next week when they face off versus Holy Cross. Beechwood will look to grab the district title as they welcome Newport.

NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 23, DAYTON 6
After a disappointing 1-2 start to the season, the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds extended their win streak to five on Friday night after beating the Dayton Greendevils 23-6.

The Thoroughbreds clicked on all sides of the ball, led on offense by quarterback Kolton Smith, who went 11-22 for 179 yards and a touchdown through the air. The NewCath ground game also excelled, led by Demetrick Welch Jr. who rushed 18 times for 179 yards and a touchdown. Luke Runyon also added a rushing score for the Thoroughbreds.

Dayton was only able to muster 131 yards of total offense. The Greendevils’ lone score came in the second quarter on a 33-yard pass from Russell McIntyre to Caden Caroway.

NewCath will travel to the other side of I-471 next week to continue district play against Bellevue. Dayton will look for its fifth win when the Greendevils hit the road to take on Ludlow.

Here are some other scores from Northern Kentucky teams in action:

No. 24 Ryle 13, Dixie Heights 12 (COMPLETE RECAP)
Cooper 34, Boone County 0
Simon Kenton 41, Campbell County 24
Holmes 58, Harrison County 7
Bishop Brossart 15, Paris 6
Gallatin County 42, Trimble County 24
Ludlow 40, Bellevue 0
Holy Cross 47, Newport 14

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