NewCath puts away Gallatin County in second quarter

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

It may have been the first round of the Class 2A football playoffs Friday at Newport Stadium.

But to the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (7-4), it may have felt a lot like the regular season against teams in their class or lower. The Thoroughbreds handled the Gallatin County Wildcats (6-5), 49-13 to move to 6-0 against teams in Classes 2A and 1A. NewCath has advanced past the second round of the playoffs every year since 1999.

“Our kids were ready to play,” said Eddie Eviston, NewCath head coach. “We talked about this. It doesn’t matter who your opponent is in the meeting. We took care of business right off the bat.”

The fourth-ranked Thoroughbreds also beat the Wildcats, 56-0 last year before falling 24-21 to the eventual state champion Covington Holy Cross Indians, 24-21 on Nov. 18 in the region title game. The Thoroughbreds and Indians (4-7) will meet this Friday in the playoff rematch in a battle of the last two 2A state champions.

Holy Cross won 42-32 at Owen County on Friday to set up the rematch. NewCath dominated Holy Cross, 49-10 on Oct. 18 in the regular season.

In the other Region 3 second-round contest, Lloyd Memorial (8-3) will travel to District 5 champion Walton-Verona (9-2). Lloyd beat Carroll County, 34-20 and Walton-Verona took out Newport, 42-7 to set up the regular season rematch that the Juggernauts won 38-33 on Sept. 7.

The Thoroughbreds outgained the Wildcats, 282-235 in total offense, including 121-94 in the rushing game. Dylan Hayes once again led NewCath with 78 yards rushing on eight carries and two touchdowns for an average of 9.75 a touch. His 90-yard kickoff return to open the game gave the Thoroughbreds the lead for good.

NewCath quarterback Josh Cain also had a good game passing the ball. He completed 6-of-8 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Mac Franzen had two catches for 112 yards.

Defensively, NewCath focused on Gallatin County tailback Nick Brown. He finished with 115 yards rushing on 24 carries and one touchdown for an average of just under 4.8 a touch. He also had two catches for seven yards but just 20 yards on eight carries in the first half.

The Thoroughbreds scored 28 points in the first half and never looked back. After Hayes’ kickoff return, Cain completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dan Ruwe to put NewCath up 14-0.

NewCath scored two more rushing touchdowns in the first quarter. Hayes had a 20-yard run and Pete Collopy had a 3-yard score.

The Thoroughbreds put the game away in the second quarter with 21 more points. Hayes had a 1-yard run and Jacob Smith scored from four yards out. Ruwe capped off the scoring with his second touchdown of the game on a 7-yarder from Cain. That allowed the reserves to play in the second half.

“Right now, we have a lot of young guys that haven’t played together so we’re trying to get these guys experience more than anything,” Eviston said. “There’s a lot of teaching moments. We were trying to get these guys in position to do the right thing in the second half. We keep it simple and get them used to the game speed.”

Neither team scored in the third quarter before Gallatin County scored twice in the third, Brown scored on a 1-yard run and the conversion run failed. Minutes later, Nate McCoy scored on an 18-yard pass from Austin Chapman.

Dan Caudill and Nathan Grosser alternated extra-point attempts for NewCath. They combined to make all seven.

NewCath improved to 31-8 since Eviston took over as head coach in 2010. This year and last year are the only two meetings ever against the Wildcats.

Thoroughbreds open playoffs against Wildcats for second straight year

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The two football squads enter the Class 2A playoffs with identical 6-4 records.

But that’s about the only similarity between the first-round opponents. The District 6 champion Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds play host to the Gallatin County Wildcats at 7 p.m. Friday at Newport Stadium. The Wildcats took the fourth seed out of District 5.

NewCath knocked off Gallatin County, 56-0 at the same location last year. A similar result could occur this year based on the schedules. The Thoroughbreds ended up losing 24-21 to district rival Covington Holy Cross in the regional title game after winning its fourth state championship in 2010.

The Thoroughbreds’ four losses have come to bigger Ohio and Kentucky schools in Covington Holmes, Simon Kenton, Campbell County and Cincinnati McNicholas while Gallatin County’s four losses came to 2A opponents. NewCath went 5-0 against teams in their class or smaller after beating 1A power Beechwood, 34-14 last week to conclude the regular season. The Thoroughbreds enter the playoffs with a four-game winning streak.

“The players have to understand that just because we are playing well right now, we still need to improve as a team,” said Eddie Eviston, NewCath head coach. “We still have to push ourselves to be better practice players. The kids have worked hard over the last month and that is why we are playing better and that needs to continue.”

The only common opponent between the two teams is Lloyd Memorial. The Juggernauts downed the Wildcats, 66-15 on Sept. 14. NewCath dismantled Lloyd Memorial, 66-23 on Oct. 6.

Four of Gallatin County’s wins have come against 1A teams in Ludlow (44-22), Berea (40-6), Bellevue (52-16) and Bardstown Bethlehem (15-14). The other two wins came against 1-9 Louisville Atherton (48-36) of Class 4A and District 5 rival Trimble County (48-0).

Gallatin County lost to Walton-Verona (42-6), Carroll County (57-27) and Owen County (59-22) in district action. That equates to an average margin of defeat of about 34.3 points.

On the season, Gallatin County has rushed for 1,422 yards and passed for 2,082. Opponents have rushed for 1,657 and passed for 1,401.

Senior Nick Brown leads the Wildcats on both sides of the ball. The running back has gained 887 yards on 145 carries and 10 touchdowns for an average of just more than 6.1 yards a carry. Brown has also hauled in 13 catches for 80 yards and a touchdown and leads the team with 102 tackles as a free safety.

“(Brown) is one of their best players who does good things on both sides of the ball,” Eviston said. “We just need to execute our game plan and play our game.”

Wildcat quarterback Austin Chapman has completed 133-of-242 passes for 2,065 yards, 24 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. His top two targets are wide receivers Nate McCoy with 48 catches for 704 yards and six touchdowns and Brady Lawrence with 38 catches for 799 yards and seven touchdowns.

On the flip side of the ball, NewCath has outscored opponents, 195-46 during the winning streak. The Thoroughbreds have gained 1,878 yards rushing and 1,497 passing while allowing 1,436 rushing and 1,317 passing this season.

The NewCath spread offense has thrived lately led by senior running back Dylan Hayes. Hayes has rushed for 1,229 yards on 154 carries and 20 touchdowns for an average of about eight yards a carry.

The Thoroughbreds have been balanced as quarterback Josh Cain has completed 111-of-188 passes for 1,496 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. Mac Franzen leads the NewCath receivers with 37 catches for 670 yards and four touchdowns. Dan Ruwe is second with 21 catches for 262 yards and two touchdowns with Pete Collopy haulding in 20 receptions for 158 yards and two scores.

Ross Meed continues to lead the NewCath defense with 69 tackles. Franzen has three interceptions to lead the Thoroughbreds and Myers has a team-high two fumble recoveries.

“Just like I am sure the majority of every other team does, we just emphasize that the focus and the will to win has to be at an all-time high each and every week from here on out,” Eviston said. “That is what separates the champions from all the others.”

This will mark just the second meeting between the teams all-time. The Thoroughbreds have not lost in the first two rounds of the playoffs since 1999. That also marked the last time NewCath has not advanced past the second round.