It was a competitive Week 2 in Northern Kentucky, a week which featured NKY stalwarts Highlands, Ryle and Beechwood making statements with big wins over their local foes. Our WLWT Blitz 5 Game of the Week tour stopped at Cooper as the Jaguars hosted Highlands.
NO. 9 HIGHLANDS 28, NO. 11 COOPER 14
It was all Highlands in this rivalry contest, with the Bluebirds utilizing a strong offensive attack and a suffocating defense, grinding their way to a massive upset win over the Cooper Jaguars.
For the first time in two years, Highlands found a way to win over the Jaguars, utilizing 192 rushing yards to their own benefit, which included two rushing touchdowns from junior tailback Tayden Lorenzen, adding onto his impressive early-season performance. The junior hit pay dirt three times and running behind the Bluebirds’ mammoth offensive hurt was simply too much for Cooper to handle.
Tayden Lorenzen with the hat trick. His third RuTD (7, 6, 4) of the night puts Highlands up 28-7 with 8:06 to go at Cooper. #nkyfb pic.twitter.com/gUn6s2hfoq
— TriStateFootball.com (@tsfootball) August 30, 2025
Cooper was unable to contain Lorenzen and the Bluebirds rushing attack, and the state runner-up finds themselves 0-2 to start their young season
Highlands will face Campbell County (1-0) at home next week, while Cooper will travel to Ryle (2-0).
NO. 8 RYLE 44, CONNER 0
Ryle continued their early season dominance with another top to bottom performance over the Conner Cougars, easily strolling to a shutout victory.
Senior Raiders tailback Jacob Savage led the way once again for Ryle, dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, further staking his claim for Kentucky’s Mr. Football title.
Raiders senior quarterback Nathan Verax was once again in complete control of the offense, slinging the ball to a plethora of wideouts, including senior WR/DB standout Dylan Lee.
Ryle will look to continue their dominance as they host Cooper (0-2) next week, while Conner will try to rebound at home against Lloyd Memorial (2-0).
NO. 25 BEECHWOOD 56, NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 6
Senior Tigers wideout Tyler Fryman staked his claim in a big performance on Friday night, which included a punt return for a touchdown, 116 receiving yards at just the half, and more.
The Tigers continue to add onto their resume as Northern Kentucky’s most dominant program, this time dismantling their tough foe in Newport Central Catholic.
For the first time since 2016, the Thoroughbreds start 0-2 on their season and will look to rebound and regroup their young season.
Replacing Clay Hayden is no easy task, but Tigers new quarterback Emmitt Queen is more than up to the task, showing off his throwing prowess all night against the NewCath defense.
Next week, Beechwood will travel to Dixie Heights (0-2), while Newport Central Catholic will head to play Conner (0-2).
Here are some other scores from Northern Kentucky teams in action:
No. 6 Elder 28, No. 10 Covington Catholic 20 – FULL RECAP
No. 16 Badin 66, Dixie Heights 21 – PHOTOS
Simon Kenton 43, Western Brown 24
Boone County 40, St. Henry 6
Scott 35, Bullitt County 21
Lloyd 46, Newport 6
Ludlow 42, Holmes 18
Holy Cross 25, Bracken County 24
Dayton 62, Pendleton County 49
Nicholas County 26, Bellevue 6
Sayre 8, Bishop Brossart 5
Campbell County at Southwestern (Saturday)
Get the complete scores from all of Week 2’s action on the Underground Sports Shop Scoreboard.
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