Thoroughbreds aim for more success

G. Michael Graham Photo. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds return linemen like seniors Colin Hoover (60) and Logan Neff (54) from last year's Class 2A state runner-up squad.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Royal Blue and Gold have been a model for consistency in Class 2A football for the past 14 years.

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds football team has made it to at least the region quarterfinals every year since 2000 including nine appearances in the state championship game. NewCath has brought four state championships back to The Hill and five runner-up finishes including last year in a 34-26 defeat to the Louisville DeSales Colts. The Thoroughbreds are 157-43 during that time including a 10-5 mark last year.

That came with a good mixture of seniors, juniors and sophomores. The Thoroughbreds hope that pays off and they are able to make another deep postseason run.

“That should pay off from an experience standpoint,” said Dan Wagner, second-year Newport Central Catholic Head Coach. “These kids have a pretty good idea what we’re doing. It still remains to be seen if we’ve improved. These kids work hard. They’re self-motivated.”

NewCath graduated 12 seniors from that team including quarterback Mac Franzen, wide receivers Tommy Donnelly, Kole Zenni, Tyler Lyon, Wyatt Boberg, linemen Stephen Brooks, Nate Kling, Matt Lenz and linebackers Jack Sutkamp and Kalvin Moore. Sutkamp broke the school record for most tackles in a season with 133. Sutkamp took his talents to Georgetown College.

The Thoroughbreds return a deep team with 62 players listed on the roster. They have 16 seniors, 15 juniors, 13 sophomores and 18 freshmen on a team that has had success passed down through the years.

“These kids have cousins, moms, dads or somebody else that went here,” Wagner said. “They hear it all along. I am friends with a lot of those guys from the 1980s. They’ll pull out their (1984) state championship jackets and let their kids see them.”

The biggest question mark coming into the season is at quarterback in NewCath’s spread offense. Three players are battling for that position in senior Grant Schilling, junior Erik Anderson and sophomore Patrick Henschen. Anderson and Henschen saw limited action at quarterback last year. The Thoroughbreds outscored opponents, 472-311 last year.

The quarterback has a solid running back returning in junior Jacob Smith. Smith, who also started in the defensive secondary, rushed for 1,020 yards on 190 carries and 13 touchdowns.

The coaching staff moved senior Logan Neff into a slotback role from the offensive line. Senior Brent Moore could also get some carries back there. The two play linebackers on defense.

Senior wide receivers Nate Enslen and Brandon Gray return from last year. Wagner said senior Clint Bartels decided to come out this year and could help there. Seniors Ben Barbara, Josh Boyle, Kyle Sampson and Thomas Owen could also have catches this year. Gray had 37 catches for 532 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Griffin McHugh could also make an impact at wide receiver for the Thoroughbreds.

“We’re just trying to get open and help make for an easier throw for the quarterback,” Enslen said. “We need to run crisp routes. The head fakes can throw them off.”

NewCath has been strong on the offensive line for years. Seniors Colin Hoover, Jacob Raleigh and Jacob Wieland return there along with juniors Konner Carmack, Maleek Lawrence and Kameron Winter.

“Over the offseason, we focused on getting better overall,” Raleigh said. “It’s about trying to get the sophomores and freshmen involved and trying to continue that good line play. We don’t have all the size we would want. But we’re quick and real aggressive getting off the ball.”

A number of juniors with experience also return along the defensive front. Winter, Carmack and junior Luke Kues anchor that side of the line and junior Kobe Tallon returns with significant experience at linebacker. Enslen and Gray anchor the secondary in the NewCath 4-4 scheme. Seniors Michael Terry, Matt Frey and Maurice Hehman also could see action on the offensive and defensive lines.

“The main goal is to know what we’re doing and be in the right spot,” Wagner said. “You take care of your own little area and go from there. Last year, we had a little problem with communication. We’re working hard on making sure that’s not an issue this year.”

The Thoroughbreds have a brutal schedule again with Ashland, Dixie Heights, Cooper, Simon Kenton, Campbell County and Beechwood in non-district play. NewCath has not lost to a regular season opponent since Kentucky expanded to six classes in 2007. But Wagner said not to expect District 6 opponents to hand over another crown.

“There are no gimmies,” Wagner said. “There’s a lot of familiarity with them. We know what they’re doing and they know what we’re doing. Lloyd and Newport are getting better. Holy Cross will be better than last year. We have to work our tails off. Any one of those three can beat us.”

NewCath takes on Holmes at 7 p.m. in a scrimmage on Aug. 15. The season opener is at Ashland on Aug. 22 at 7:30 p.m.