Who does NC face in a playoff rematch?

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

It is not necessarily a preferred path.

But the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (5-5) face the task of beating a District 6-2A for the second time this season to move on in the second round of the playoffs. They take on the Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts (8-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Newport Stadium.

NewCath handled the Juggernauts, 28-0 on Sept. 26 on its way to the district championship. The Thoroughbreds have beaten Lloyd Memorial 17 straight times dating back to 1991.

Despite recording its first of three shutouts on the season in September, the Thoroughbreds know the Juggernauts have improved. They took out Carroll County, 54-32 in the first round of the playoffs. The Thoroughbreds beat Trimble County, 43-0 to open the playoffs.

“You rehash what you’re doing,” said Dan Wagner, NewCath Head Coach. “We’ve been doing the same stuff all year and they’ve been doing the same stuff. They’re might be a wrinkle here and there.”

NewCath has consistently dominated the line of scrimmage in recent meetings. That could again be the key in this game.

Junior running back Jacob Smith has found numerous holes in recent games for the Thoroughbreds. He has 151 carries for 956 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season. Smith ran for 146 yards and a touchdown against the Juggernauts in September.

“It’s fantastic,” said Jacob Raleigh, NewCath senior offensive line. “They’ve probably changed some things up but we’ve gotten a whole lot better since then. We’ll see what happens. We’re really starting to lock it in and get in the mindset of the playoffs.”

NewCath has seen the passing game improve as the season has progressed. Sophomore quarterback Patrick Henschen has completed 85-of-129 passes for 1,090 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions on the season. The key for the Thoroughbreds is not turning over the ball.   

“We’ve shown some progress,” said Dave Schneider, NewCath Offensive Coordinator. “We didn’t play our best (the first meeting). We were still coming out of the funk of getting our tails kicked for all those weeks. I’m sure they’re thinking the same thing.”

The Juggernauts play a 3-3-5 stack defense. Jesse Hatton leads Lloyd Memorial with 59 tackles Sergio Guitierez has a team-high four fumble recoveries.

NewCath wants to continue to play its aggressive defense. Junior linebacker Kobe Tallon has gone into triple-digits on the season in tackles. He leads the Throughbreds with 109 tackles and Maleek Lawrence has 70.

Erik Anderson has four interceptions on the season. He will again guard Lloyd Memorial wide receiver Charles Gaines. Gaines has 40 catches for 558 yards and six touchdowns on the season.

“He has a little weight advantage on me,” Anderson said. “I’m just going to play him like I played him the last time. They like to throw the out to him a lot and they like to throw the go (route) to him. They like to throw it up and tell him to go get it. You can’t let him have any room.”

The Thoroughbreds again want to get pressure on quarterback Hayden Molitor. Molitor has completed 90-of-133 passes for 1,431 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions.

“They’re dangerous,” Wagner said. “They have a bunch of kids who can break off at any time so that’s our concern. We have to make sure we’re disciplined and not make mistakes. Don’t blow a coverage here and there and take your gap. We have our work cut out for us.”

Lloyd Memorial running back Justin Durham leads the team in rushing. He has 107 carries for 913 yards and 18 touchdowns.

The winner moves on to the region title game. The opponent will either be Newport or Walton-Verona.