Week 8 brought some great matchups in Northern Kentucky, including some key district showdowns. We look at a great week of action on the high school gridiron.
No. 13 COVINGTON CATHOLIC 17, CATHEDRAL (IN) 10
A 17-point outburst in the third quarter was enough to put Covington Catholic on top, as the Colonels held off Cathedral of Indianapolis 17-10 Friday night.
The first half was a defensive struggle, as both squads went into halftime knotted at 0-0. It remained that way until the 7:41 mark of the third quarter, when CovCath QB Cash Harney tossed a 29-yard strike to Owen Pitzer for a 6-0 lead.
A 21-yard field goal by Logan Zembrodt on the next Colonels possession made it 9-0, and then with just 26 seconds left in the third quarter, CovCath’s Dylan Gaiser drove it in from one yard out to make it 15-0. The two-point conversion was good, and it was 17-0 CovCath going into the fourth quarter.
But The Fighting Irish of Cathedral would not go quietly, as a field goal with a little over seven minutes left in the game made it 17-3, and a touchdown pass with roughly two minutes left made it a 17-10 score. But CovCath was able to run out the clock and seal the victory.
CovCath’s Harney was 13 of 19 on the night for 164 yards and one TD, while also running 19 times for 118 yards, helping the offense overcome two turnovers on the night.
The Colonels improve to 5-3 on the season, while Cathedral drops to 5-3.
DIXIE HEIGHTS 34, CONNER 7
With both Dixie Heights and Conner battling for the chance to earn a home playoff game, it was the Colonels who kept that goal alive Thursday night with a 34-7 pasting of the Cougars.
Dixie Heights came out firing, led by quarterback Mason Fields, who in addition to a six-yard touchdown run, also hit wideouts Nishawn Golsby and Hudson Morris on 71-, 31- and 30-yard touchdown passes as the Colonels took a 27-7 lead into the half. They were aided by the Dixie Heights defense, which held Conner to a paltry 33 yards on the ground and 121 in the air, snuffing the Cougar offense.
With the victory, Dixie Heights moves to 3-5 on the season, 2-1 in the district, and a win over Boone County next week would seal the second seed in and an opening round home playoff game. Conner drops to 2-6, 1-2 in the district, and with a bye next week.
NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 26, NEWPORT 6
The Thoroughbreds of Newport Central Catholic raced to a 26-0 lead over archrival Newport Friday night for their second straight win, defeating the Wildcats by a tally of 26-6.
The first quarter saw fireworks with an 18-yard touchdown pass from NewCath QB Emmanuel Miles to Jack Stevie to make it 6-0. That would be the halftime tally, as both squads found themselves turnover prone in the first half.
It was a turnover with two minutes left in the third quarter, an interception by Thoroughbred Vander Hundemer which he took in for a 25-yard pick six, which extended NewCath’s lead to 12-0.
Another TD hookup between Miles and Stevie, this one for 24 yards, and a 36-yard TD run by Eddie Bivens, made it 26-0 Thoroughbreds before a late touchdown by Newport made it 26-6.
With the victory, NewCath retains the Firemen’s Bell and improves to 3-4 on the season, while Newport falls to 3-4.
Here are some other scores from Northern Kentucky teams in action:
No. 11 Ryle 54, Campbell County 0
No. 23 Beechwood 70, St. Henry 0
Simon Kenton 35, Grant Crossing 16
Boone County 36, Scott 28 (OT)
Lloyd 41, Henry County 6
Bellevue 18, Dayton 0
Holy Cross 6, Bishop Brossart 3
Walton-Verona 52, Gallatin County 13
Holmes at Ohio County (Saturday)
Get the complete scores from all of this week’s action on the Underground Sports Shop Scoreboard at TriStateFootball.com/scores.
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