Saturday Round-Up

Highlands Soccer Shuts Out South Oldham on Senior Night

PHOTO: Allen Ramsey, DWCPhoto.com. Highlands senior midfielder Max Johncox sets up to make a move with the ball in the 3-0 win over South Oldham on Saturday.

The Highlands Bluebirds made the most of their Senior Night at Tower Park with nothing other than a shut-out 3-0 victory over the South Oldham Dragons. Highlands defeated the three teams in Oldham County.

"South Oldham may not have a great record, but they're coming out a number one seed out of their District (29) a number one seed," said Chad Niedert, Highlands Head Coach. "They're playing real stiff competition and they were on the road a lot. They came prepared hopefully to ruin a Senior Night. They're willing to travel because they want to come and get real good competition - the same reason we invited them out here. Playing some new faces is important for us."

The Bluebirds (16-1-3 overall) out-shot the Dragons (5-9-3), 25-8 including 11-3 on goal. That marked the 12th shut-out of the season for the Bluebirds. Highlands senior goalkeeper Will Burnham had three saves.

"That's what we pride ourselves on," said Will Hochleutner, Highlands senior defender. "We make sure we shut the other team out and score as many goals as possible. Our defense has really stepped up this year. We have to be conditioned because constant runs will come against us and we have to make sure we check those. We've done a lot of running in practice to get ready for that."

Highlands has 16 seniors this year. The Bluebirds used their depth with 25 players to their advantage once again.

"I thought it was priceless giving all the seniors who don't normally get a chance to start the opportunity to start on Senior Night in front of all the fans," said Max Johncox, Highlands senior midfielder. "I thought it was a nice gesture from Coach Niedert. Hopefully, it will continue next season."

Highlands led 1-0 at halftime after South Oldham had an own goal. That came with 14:03 left in the half.

The Bluebirds added one with 34:06 left in the first half. Highlands senior forward Luke Schweitzer scored his ninth goal of the year.

Highlands senior Adrian Mills added his second goal of the year with 14:55 left to make the final score. The Bluebirds had chances to add a fourth goal including a free kick in the box, but could not convert.

"(South) had some strong players, but I think we defended well," Niedert said. "We're starting to get our offensive mojo going a little bit more. Our energy is still really high. When you have 25 guys, it's tough to keep everybody happy. But at the same time, we're able to keep guys fresh. We're going to reap the benefits as the season goes on."

Highlands takes on Newport Central Catholic at 7:30 p.m. in the 36th District championship on Tuesday at Tower Park.

Cross Country:
Highlands Teams Place Fifth in Lexington Catholic Invitational:

The Highlands girls scored 168 points in the varsity small school race and the Bluebird boys scored 211. Bourbon County won the varsity small school girls race with 76 points and Louisville Holy Cross won the small school boys race scoring 80.

The next meet for both teams is the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference Meet at Idlewood Park on Oct. 13.

Football, Junior Varsity:
Highlands 21, Beechwood 14:

The Bluebirds moved to 7-0 with the win at David Cecil Memorial Stadium with their second win over the Tigers this season.

Highlands junior quarterback Collin Hollingsworth threw three touchdown passes in the victory. Two went to sophomore wide receiver Dominic Robinson and another went to sophomore wide receiver Sam Vinson.

The Bluebirds travel to Covington Catholic on Saturday. Game time is 10 a.m.