Highlands Boys Soccer Defeats Holy Cross

Bluebirds Move to 4-0 in Region Play

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. The Highlands boys soccer team knocked off Holy Cross, 5-3 on Tuesday at Tower Park.

The Highlands Bluebirds boys soccer team (5-2-1 overall) stayed undefeated in 9th Region action with a 5-3 win over the Covington Holy Cross Indians (4-4) on Tuesday.

Highlands is 4-0 in region play and also moved to 5-0 in games not played on Saturdays. The Bluebirds had 14 shots to nine for the Indians. Highlands also had 14 fouls and four corner kicks.

"In the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes of the first half, we just weren't doing the little things right. We were getting outworked and all that," said Chad Niedert, Highlands Head Coach. "Then we had this run in the middle of the first half where we scored our stretch of four goals. We did some things sharper like set pieces. They were very nice goals. We played how we should have been playing the whole game in that second half. Now we have to come with that same physicality and energy game in and game out."

Junior goalkeeper Connor Mathis and sophomore Jack Wilson again split halves for the Bluebirds. Mathis had two saves and Wilson had four.

Highlands led 4-3 at halftime. Senior Joel Kendall played one to sophomore Chad Gesenhues for an insurance goal for the lone goal of the second half for the Bluebirds. Gesenhues has four goals and Kendall two assists on the season. Gesenhues added his first assist of the season for three points.

Senior Jordan Frisk led Highlands with two goals and an assist for five points. Frisk has a team-high three goals and four assists on the season for 10 points.

Junior Caden Schroeder had one goal and one assist for three points. Schroeder has two goals and two assists on the season for six points.

"I believe as a team our passing greatly developed in that game and I hope we can keep improving as a team," Schroeder said. "If we can keep on improving, I think we will have a very good run this season."

Senior Sam Jones had the other Highlands goal and junior Colin Pieper had an assist. That marked the first goal for Jones and Pieper first assist. Pieper has a team-highs of five goals and 11 points.

Highlands travels to Cooper on Thursday. Game time is 8 p.m.

Highlands Grabs Three Wins in Three Days

Bluebird Winning Streak Reaches Eight

Highlands junior forward Rory O'Hara (35) scored 10 points and had three steals against Covington Holy Cross on Saturday. Highlands moved to 12-6 on the season with its eighth straight win.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team (12-6 overall) won its third game in three days with a 51-37 victory on the 9th Region road Saturday.

Highlands played a make-up game against the Covington Holy Cross Indians and won 51-37. The Bluebirds have won eight in a row and moved to 6-0 in region play.

"It's just the mental aspect - being able to execute plays when you're legs are tired," said Jaime Walz-Richey, Highlands Head Coach. "That's one of the keys. We told them before the game we felt our bench was deeper. Sure enough, we had great play off the bench coming in and giving us points."

Highlands Run-Rules Holy Cross

Bluebirds Move to 2-0 in Region Play

Twitter Photo. The Highlands baseball players run after competing the win Monday over Holy Cross.

The Highlands Bluebirds baseball team (5-2 overall) moved to 2-0 in 9th Region play with an 11-1 run-ruling of the Covington Holy Cross Indians (2-8) on Monday at Highland Park.

Highlands Basketball Teams Record Victories

Highlands Girls Win 25th of Season

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands junior Maggie Hinegardner (13) slides over on defense against Simon Kenton's Maggie Jones (left). Highlands won its 25th game this season with a 48-38 non-region victory.

The game is normally hard-fought to the end.

That was the case in this one even though the Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team (25-4 overall) led from the first basket just 14 seconds in until the very end in a 48-38 non-region victory over the Simon Kenton Lady Pioneers (17-10). Highlands reached 25 victories in a season for the first time since going 30-4 during the 2014-15 season.

Win for Highlands Tennis

Bluebirds defeat Covington Holy Cross

Contributed Photo. The Highlands boys tennis team defeated Covington Holy Cross, 4-1 on Thursday to move to 3-1 on the season.

The Highlands boys tennis team defeated Covington Holy Cross on Thursday, 4-1 to improve to 3-1 on the season.

Monday Highlands Basketball Notes

Highlands Girls Record Huge Road Win

PHOTO: Allen Ramsey, DWCPhoto.com. Highlands junior Hanna Buecker sets up for a shot in a recent game. Buecker scored 10 points in the big Bluebird 66-63 road win at Simon Kenton on Monday.

These two girls basketball programs have veteran head coaches and assistants that hold the players to high standards.

With everyone from the players at the lower levels to the administrators buying into those philosophies equaling solid alignments, it has led to a lot of success. So when they come together on the same court, it often makes for a great game and Monday's edition in Independence brought just that.

But the Highlands Bluebirds (21-7 overall) did enough to beat the Simon Kenton Lady Pioneers, 66-63 in non-region action. Highlands has won 10 of its last 11 games and beat Simon Kenton (15-9) for the first time in Independence since a 48-45 victory on Feb. 19, 2010 when Katie Allen, Bekah Towles and Hope Cutter were seniors. The home team proceeded to win the next six meetings until Simon Kenton came to Fort Thomas and recorded a 73-30 win.

Bluebirds Snap Losing Streak

Highlands pounds Holy Cross in 9th Region Action

PHOTO: Allen Ramsey, DWCPhoto.com. Highlands senior Brady Gosney takes a swing in a recent game.

It took one great afternoon to end the six-game losing streak.

The Highlands Bluebirds baseball team (5-6 overall) scored 10 runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back on the way to a 13-4 9th Region victory Wednesday over the Covington Holy Cross Indians (6-7). Highlands moved to 2-1 in region play with the second game against 35th District competition in as many days.

Bad Night for Highlands Hoops

Ladybirds, Bluebirds drop contests

PHOTO: Allen Ramsey, DWCPhoto.com. Highlands senior Jenna Martin puts up a free throw in a recent game. Martin scored 12 points in the losing effort against Simon Kenton on Monday.

Facing size concerned the supporters of the Highlands Ladybirds basketball team entering the season with its tallest players standing at 5-foot-8-inches.

Weekend Sports Briefs

Highlands soccer, JV football, middle school golf teams win over weekend

PHOTO: Allen Ramsey, DWCPhoto.com. Highlands senior Ethan Mills (16) heads the ball in a recent win over Newport Central Catholic. Mills recorded his sixth assist of the season in a 3-0 win over Covington Holy Cross on Saturday. The Bluebirds have won nine in a row.

Both Highlands soccer teams sought their 12th wins of the season Saturday in 9th Region play against 35th District opponents and did just that Saturday.

The Bluebirds took down the Covington Holy Cross Indians, 3-0 for their ninth straight win at Eva G. Farris Park. They moved to 12-1-2 on the season and 8-0-1 in region action with their 11th shut-out of the season. Highlands has outscored the opposition, 50-11 on the year. Holy Cross fell to 4-7-1

How can NewCath even its record tonight?

Allen Ramsey Photo. Newport Central Catholic running back Jacob Smith looks for room in the recent win against Newport.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

They took care of things quickly a week ago against one overmatched opponent.

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds football team (3-4 overall, 3-0 District 6-2A) would not mind doing it again Thursday at Covington Holmes against another struggling district opponent. The Thoroughbreds face the Covington Holy Cross Indians (1-7, 1-2) at 7 p.m.

Ladybirds move to 19-5; Bluebirds fall to Holy Cross

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Highlands Ladybirds basketball team it is hitting postseason form with a big win Tuesday.

Highlands ventured to Alexandria and beat the Bishop Brossart Lady Mustangs, 51-45. Highlands (19-5) has won five in a row and has come a long way since losing to Brossart, 51-36 in the Conner State Farm Classic on Dec. 27.

NC boys dominate Holy Cross

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds boys basketball team crossed the Licking River and brought back a convincing victory Friday.

The Thoroughbreds (9-3) pounded the Covington Holy Cross Indians (3-9), 72-36 in 9th Region action. NewCath moved to 4-0 in region play with the win.

NewCath finishes another undefeated district run

G. Michael Graham Photo. Newport Central Catholic wide receiver Brandon Gray (2) comes down with a reception in NewCath's recent win over Bishop Brossart. Gray had four catches for 67 yards in Friday's 48-0 Thoroughbred win over Covington Holy Cross.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The score surprised no one.

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds football team dominated the battle of Class 2A’s last three state champions, 48-0 on Friday in Newport over the Covington Holy Cross Indians. The Thoroughbreds moved to 24-0 in Class 2A, District 6 action since 2007 when the Kentucky High School Athletic Association expanded from four to six classes.

District 6-2A opponents continue to chase Thoroughbreds

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The theme for Class 2A, District 6 may not change much.

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds have dominated district since Kentucky expanded from four to six classes in 2007. They are a perfect 20-0 in district action during that time.

Every team in the district has a new head coach with the exception of Covington Holy Cross. The only difference between new NewCath head coach Dan Wagner and the rest of the district is Wagner received an in-house promotion. That often means teams need to adjust to new philosophies.

Covington Holy Cross Indians (4-8 last year):

The Indians are the lone team in the district to return their head coach in former Cincinnati Bengal Bruce Kozerski.

They hope to put last year in the rear-view mirror quickly. The Indians fell apart after winning the state championship in 2011. Injuries, inconsistency and a seemingly lack of team chemistry contributed to the Holy Cross fall.

But Holy Cross does return senior Jalen Beal. The 5-foot-11-inch, 190-pound wingback returns to lead the Holy Cross shotgun spread offense. Beal rushed for 704 yards on 111 carries and 12 touchdowns last year but did not play in Holy Cross’ second-round 52-0 playoff loss to Newport Central Catholic because of injuries. Beal also caught 18 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns last year.

The Indians have two players battling for the quarterback spot in Senior Matt Stecht and sophomore Hamilton Scott. They will be protected by three offensive linemen who weigh more than 240 pounds in seniors Jake Ketron (6-3, 260), Sean Sullivan (6-1, 240) and Anthony Zimmerman (6-3, 260).

The defense needs significant improvement if the Indians are to challenge for another state championship. Opponents averaged nearly 40 points and 286 yards against the Indians last year.

Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts (8-4):

Josh Stratton seemed to have the program from Erlanger headed in the right direction. Lloyd lost in the second round of the 2A playoffs to Walton-Verona last year finishing second in district action.

But Stratton took the job at New Richmond (Ohio). The school hired former Boone County Offensive Coordinator Eric Turner to take that spot in the offseason.

“Coach Stratton and his staff did a great job the last two years,” Turner said. “My staff and I have inherited a great group of student-athletes. We are excited for the upcoming season. I feel like we can continue where Lloyd left off last year and take it even further with our senior leadership.”

The Juggernauts ran a spread offense last year. Turner said the staff is looking to add a mixture of spread formations and tight sets. He said he want to see balance offensively. Defensively, Lloyd will implement a 3-5 base defense.

Lloyd graduated starting quarterback Dexter Smith and wide receiver Akintomide Mejolagbe. But senior Jared Gabbard could step in at quarterback or running back and safety on defense with senior Kyle Grant manning a wide receiver and defensive back spot. Senior Brian Warren should contribute at running back and linebacker and junior Zach Riddle returns at wide receiver and defensive end.

“My staff and I have been working hard to show the kids we are here for them be it on the field or off the field,” Turner said. “We are also very excited and confident in what we are implementing at practice. The players are buying in and also are getting close to the staff on and off the field. I feel we have a real ‘One Team, One Goal’ attitude.”

Newport Wildcats (3-8):

Matthew Schmitz came up from Tennessee to try to revive this program.

The Wildcats graduated all-purpose back Daylin Garland. But senior Dominic Joseph and junior David Lynam could pick up the slack there and also contribute at linebacker as well. Senior wide receiver/defensive back JaQuan Short returns along with senior running back/linebacker Daryl Youngman.

In their losses last year, Newport allowed at least 30 points. Two of their three wins came against struggling 1A schools Dayton and Ludlow. Their third and only district victory came 54-8 against Bishop Brossart. They lost 42-7 in the first round of the playoffs at Walton-Verona.

Bishop Brossart Mustangs (1-9):

Former Ryle Offensive Coordinator and Pendleton County Head Coach Lee Teegarden takes over a program that has struggled since its first season in 2007.

The Mustangs moved up to Class 2A from 1A in 2011 and have yet to win a district contest. Opponents outscored them 199-17 last year.

Bishop Brossart’s leading rusher in Jacob Elbert graduated. He ran for 1,093 yards on 113 carries and eight touchdowns last year.

But Senior Casey Pelgen returns at quarterback and safety for the Mustangs. Senior  running back/linebacker Sean Tieman also returns. Sophomore Logan Schoulthies could play a pivotal role at running back and linebacker with junior guard/defensive tackle Jeff Steffen anchoring the lines.

Highlands downs HC, loses to Beechwood

G. Michael Graham Photo. Highlands pitches Mitch Jones (2) sets up for a pitch in Saturday's game against Covington Holy Cross while center fielder Hector Molina (10) watches. Jones struck out three in the 9-5 Highlands win and Molina went 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs batted in and two runs scored.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Highlands Bluebirds baseball team came through with clutch hits in one game and not the other Saturday at Highland Park.

That resulted in a 2-1 loss to the Beechwood Tigers followed by a 9-5 victory over the Covington Holy Cross Indians. The Bluebirds are 3-3 on the season.

Highlands received 23 at-bats in both games. The Bluebirds recorded four hits in the loss to Beechwood for a team batting average of .174 but came back to record eight hits against Holy Cross for a .348 clip.

“We hit the ball in the air too much in the first game,” said Jeremy Baioni, Highlands head coach. “We want to focus on hitting line drives and up the middle. We did a better job of that in the second game. We hit more balls on the barrel (of the bat), which is what we preach.”

Highlands leadoff hitter Hector Molina continued his amazing start to the season recording two hits in both games. He had half the Bluebird hits in the first game and scored two runs and had two runs batted in against the Indians going 4-for-7 in both games.

“I just swing hard and do my best to get on base,” Molina said. “We just have to hit the fastballs. We have a pretty good offensive team.”

Evan Allen and Quentin Murray added two hits and two RBI each against the Indians. Molina and Allen also scored twice.

The Bluebirds had their chances in the first game. They put runners in scoring position in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but could not score against Beechwood winning pitcher Jason Suchanek.

In the fourth, Gabe Schultz reached on an error before moving to second on a D.J. Mills single. Schultz then moved to third when Jake Whitford reached first on a fielder’s choice forcing Mills out at second. Suchanek then got Luke Henigan to ground out at second to end the threat.

Evan Allen then reached on an error to start the fifth inning and Jake Lester bunted him to second. But Suchanek coxed Molina into flying out to left and Colin “Frog” Seidl into grounding out in front of the plate.

The Bluebirds scored their lone run in the bottom of the sixth. Schultz singled and stole second before he scored when Mills reached on an error.

Schultz took the loss for Highlands. He struck out two before Joey Martin relieved him in the third and finished the game striking out four.

Things started off bleak for Highlands in the second game. Holy Cross jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Bluebirds scored five in the third sending 10 batters to the plate.

Molina walked then reached second and third on two wild pitches before Murray walked and stole second. That’s when Whitford grounded out to score Molina. Murray then scored on a wild pitch.

After Schultz scored on a Joseph Martin single, Trevor Kincaide relieved starting pitcher Blake Tiberi on the mound. Allen hit Kincaide’s first pitch over the right field wall for a two-run home run.

“I knew he wanted to get settled in so he was going to start off with a fastball,” Allen said. “I was sitting on it. I put it on the barrel to see what happened.”

Holy Cross did come back to tie the game in the fifth. But Highlands went ahead for good in the bottom of the inning. Molina singled in Mitch Guesenhues and Allen before Murray doubled home Jac Collinsworth and Molina.

“(Tiberi) throws the ball really hard,” Baioni said. “We don’t need to take hard swings. They need to be short and compact and our guys did that. Our guys were able to catch up to him.”

Mitch Jones picked up the win for Highlands pitching five innings. He struck out three before Jake Liggett threw two shutout innings in relief striking out three.

Kincaide took the loss for the Indians. Tiberi, a Louisville commit, led Holy Cross going 2-for-4 at the plate.

The Bluebirds return to action Wednesday. They travel to Campbell County for a 5 p.m. contest.