Fort
Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
A common trait of the Newport Central
Catholic Thoroughbreds is their ability to pick themselves up after a loss.
The proud football team finds itself in
this situation when it heads to Alexandria on Friday for another non-district
clash with the Campbell County Camels of Class 6A, District 6. Both teams are
1-1 overall.
The Thoroughbreds have not lost
consecutive games since Eddie Eviston took over as head coach in 2010. NewCath
is 25-5 during that time and 137-35 since the start of 2000. The Thoroughbreds
came into 2012 tied for fifth in Kentucky with Louisville St. Xavier with 136
wins since 2000.
The last time they did lose consecutive
games was Sept. 18 and 26, 2009 when Campbell County and Covington Catholic
handed them 21-17 and 28-14 defeats respectively. Campbell County has been on
NewCath’s schedule since 2007 and that was the Camels’ lone win in five games in
the series.
The Thoroughbreds will face a team on the
rise. The Camels finished 4-8 last year, starting off 0-5, but bounced back to
go 3-1 in Class 6A, District 6 action to win their first district championship
in 31 years. They lost at home to Lexington Lafayette, 20-7 in the second round
of the playoffs.
Dual-threat quarterback Tyler Durham is a big
reason for that turnaround. Durham ran for 217 yards and three touchdowns and
threw for 140 yards and one touchdown in Campbell County’s 34-14 win at Milford
(Ohio) on Friday.
The Camels moved Durham to quarterback
from running back last year. The 6-foot-4-inch, 215-pound senior ran for 1,588
yards and 19 touchdowns last year. The Camels employ a shotgun offense with a
running back in the backfield.
“We have to get all 11 players on defense
to the ball,” said Jake Haas, NewCath offensive and defensive lineman. “Our
defensive ends are working hard this week to contain (Durham) on the outside.
We have to wrap him up.”
Newport Central Catholic’s 4-4 defense had
problems with the read-option attack in the 27-24 loss to Cincinnati McNicholas
on Saturday. The Rockets gained 336 yards on 51 plays using one and two running
backs in the backfield.
Quarterback Austin Ernst rushed for 78
yards on 13 carries and completed 13-of-24 passes for 187 yards. Ernst led the
Rockets down the field in six plays 63 yards completing the game-winning
touchdown pass to Matt Curran with 47 seconds left in the game from six yards
out.
NewCath is trying different players at
different positions trying to find the right combinations. Linebacker Pete Collopy
led the Thoroughbreds with five tackles in the loss Saturday.
“It’s still early in the season,” Eviston
said. “We’ve had injuries and other things go on. That’s always going to
continue to happen, especially for a school our size. We have to continue to do
that to put guys in the right spots to make sure we’re successful.”
NewCath does not have to worry about that
at the running back spot. Senior Dylan Hayes has 233 yards on 39 carries for an
average of just less than six per touch to go with five touchdowns. He has six
overall.
The Thoroughbreds would love to get things
going in the passing game, especially in the deep routes, out of their spread
attack. Quarterback Josh Cain threw for 156 yards completing 14-of-21 passes,
including a 23-yard strike to Collopy. Cain has completed 30-of-45 passes for
278 yards on the season.
“Dylan (Hayes) has proven he’s a solid runner,”Eviston
said. “We need to open things up for him in the passing game. Josh (Cain) can
do that. He continues to make good reads and get the ball to our athletes.”
Campbell County employs a 3-3 stacked
defense that allowed an average of 24.2 points per game year. Covington
Catholic standout quarterback Blake Bir 22-of-35 passes for 295 yards and three
touchdowns in the Colonels’ 37-0 win over the Camels on Aug. 17.
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