NC football wins big; HHS, NC volleyball fall

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The hosts wanted to make short work in this one and that’s exactly what happened.

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds forced the running clock with just 1:27 left in the first quarter, pulled the starters and cruised to another shutout of the Bishop Brossart Mustangs, 36-0 on Thursday at Newport Stadium. NewCath (3-4 overall, 3-0 District 6-2A) clinched its 10th straight district championship with the win and shut out Bishop Brossart (1-6, 0-4) for the fourth straight year. The Thoroughbreds have beaten the Mustangs by a combined 197-0 in those meetings.

This also marked the second shutout of the season for the Thoroughbreds. They blanked Lloyd Memorial, 28-0 a few weeks ago. They also improved to 27-0 in district action since 2007.

“We got onto them about jumping out early and not taking any chances,” said NewCath Head Coach Dan Wagner. “The younger kids deserved to play. The bust their tails every day.”

NewCath outgained Bishop Brossart, 251-130 in total offense. The Thoroughbreds garnered 174 of the yards on the ground. Jacob Smith had four rushes for 62 yards and two touchdowns with Erik Anderson going for a 42-yard touchdown on his lone carry. Sophomore Job Freppon ran for 56 yards on 11 carries.

NewCath senior Nate Enslen had a good all-around game. Enslen had two catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. He also returned a punt 55 yards for a score and returned a kickoff 59 yards.

The Mustangs gained 98 yards on 34 carries. Frank Certrulo led the way going for 48 yards on 14 carries and adding four catches for 35 yards.

Neither team threw the ball much. NewCath quarterback Patrick Henschen completed all three passes for 77 yards and Bishop Brossart quarterback Clay Kremer hit 6-of-10 for 32 yards with an interception.

The Thoroughbreds scored first when Smith had a 17-yard run with 7:13 left in the quarter. He added the two-point run to put NewCath up 8-0.

It didn’t take long for the Thoroughbreds to go up 15-0 after Anderson’s run. Henschen then hit Enslen for a 52-yard bomb with 3:32 left in the quarter.

Smith then recorded his second touchdown with a 37-yard run with 3:12 left. Enslen followed with his punt return to make the final score.

Bishop Brossart did gain seven first downs on 44 offensive plays. NewCath had 29 plays and seven first downs.

NewCath takes on Covington Holy Cross (1-6, 1-1) in the final district game Thursday. Game time is 7 p.m. at Holmes.

Volleyball:

Lexington Lafayette 3, Highlands 0:

The Ladybirds concluded the regular season with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-20) road loss to drop to 16-16 on the season.

Highlands plays in the 36th District semifinals on Tuesday. The Ladybirds take on host Bellevue at 7 p.m.

Ryle 3, Newport Central Catholic 1:

The Thoroughbreds dropped a home decision, 3-1 (23-25, 29-27, 29-27, 25-21).

Rachel McDonald had 30 kills for NewCath. Teammate Mikah Freppon had 37 assists and Amanda Ruwe had 26 digs.

Top-seeded NewCath takes on either Dayton or Newport in the 36th District semifinals on Tuesday. Game time is 6 p.m.