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.

NewCath concludes season against rival Beechwood

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

It is a tale of two Northern Kentucky football powers with two similar seasons.

Both the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (5-4) and Beechwood Tigers (6-3) struggled early against opponents from bigger schools. But they righted the ship against district competition sweeping through it and are now looking for momentum going into the postseason.

The two teams own a combined 15 state championships. Beechwood’s last state title of 11 overall came in 2008 while NewCath’s last title came in 2010. The Tigers lost to western Kentucky power Mayfield in the last three state semifinals.

The teams meet Friday at 7 p.m. at Newport to conclude the regular season for the sixth straight year. Beechwood has won the last two meetings. The Tigers knocked the Thoroughbreds from the ranks of unbeaten with a 29-20 win last year and won the 2010 meeting, 40-39 in double overtime on a controversial two-point conversion.

“It’s good to challenge ourselves before we get to the playoff run,” said Eddie Eviston, NewCath head coach. “It’s a great game to end with and a good rivalry. We’re going to get their best (effort).”

The Thoroughbreds beat their Class 2A, District 6 opponents by a combined 219-32, including a 49-10 win over defending 2A champion Covington Holy Cross on Thursday at Scott High. The Tigers rolled through their three opponents in Class 1A, District 4 by a combined 164-40, including a 61-0 victory at Ludlow on Friday.

The Tigers started the year at 1-3 with losses to Simon Kenton (21-17), Covington Holmes (33-21) and Covington Catholic (41-6) and a win over Covington Holy Cross (54-21). But they’ve won five straight since then.

The Thoroughbreds also lost to Simon Kenton (28-20) and Holmes (12-7) in a 2-4 start. They’ve won three in a row. Team chemistry has been the key to NewCath turnaround.

“That’s the beauty of football,” Eviston said. “That’s why football is the greatest team sport ever invented. You have multiple personalities sometimes 50-70 kids and 8-12 coaches. They all have to come together and form music together. We’re trying to get things worked out and play some good music.”

The teams have four common opponents. The two hold wins over Dixie Heights. NewCath beat the Colonels, 37-22 to open the season and Beechwood beat them, 33-28 on Sept. 28.

The NewCath 4-4 defense will once again face Beechwood’s power running game. The Tigers run a lot out of the I-formation sets.

Max Nussbaum has taken over as the feature back for the Tigers since returning from injury. Nussbaum has run for 1,009 yards on 94 carries and 14 touchdowns for an average of just more than 10.7 a touch. Teammate Mitch Thomas has 687 yards on 84 attempts and nine touchdowns for an average of about eight a touch.

The Tigers are not afraid to throw the ball when necessary. Quarterback Cameron Lane has completed 28-of-54 passes for 357 yards and five touchdowns. Justin Suchanek leads Beechwood with 13 receptions for 197 yards and a touchdown. Teammate Chris Lightner has eight catches for 292 yards and five scores.

The Thoroughbreds did a good job leveraging the Holy Cross skill position players outside toward the sideline or inside where teammates made tackles. They hope to do that again Friday. Ross Meek leads NewCath with 60 tackles and Mason Myers has 55.

“Max Nussbaum is a heck of a player,” said Quinn Anost, NewCath senior defensive end. “He’s really quick. We need to do what we did against Holy Cross. We need to get 11 guys to the ball and do what we do best – make plays.”

NewCath will counter with its balanced spread offense. The Thoroughbreds have rushed for 1,663 yards and passed for 1,334. Senior Dylan Hayes leads NewCath with 1,059 yards on 131 carries and 17 touchdowns for an average of just more than eight a touch.

But the Thoroughbreds may pass more in this game. Beechwood runs base 4-3 and 3-4 defenses but could throw in some 5-2 to stop Hayes. Quarterback Josh Cain has thrown for 1,333 yards completing 102-of-172 passes with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. His leading target is Mac Franzen with 34 catches for 634 yards and four touchdowns for an average of about 18.6 yards per touch.

NewCath also wants to clean up on the personal foul penalties with another rivalry game. The Thoroughbreds had four against the Indians on Thursday while the Indians committed three.

“That’s not something we like to do,” Eviston said. “We like to play aggressive. But we have to watch ourselves.”

Beechwood leads the all-time series, 12-23. Prior to the last two meetings, the Thoroughbreds beat their former district rivals four straight times.

NewCath faces Lloyd Memorial in key District 6 matchup

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds football team felt like another one got away last week in a 12-7 loss at Covington Holmes.

The Thoroughbreds said part of the reason was a bad week of practice. The Thoroughbreds may be 2-4 overall. But they are still 1-0 in Class 2A, District 6 action and face the Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts on Saturday in a crucial district contest.

“I think our kids understand we need to practice better if we want to play better on Fridays,” said Eddie Eviston, NewCath head coach. “Our kids are responding right now. Obviously, things start to get real in district play. We hope our kids respond on Saturday afternoon.”

The Juggernauts come into the contest at 6-1 overall and 2-0 in district play. Lloyd Memorial has wins over Owen County, Dayton, Walton-Verona and Gallatin County and has lost to Garrard County in non-district action. The Juggernauts edged defending state champion Covington Holy Cross, 36-35 on Sept. 21 before beating Bishop Brossart, 28-0 last week in district action.

Of those seven opponents, only two are not in Class 2A in Dayton (1A) and Garrard County (3A) and only Walton-Verona (4-2 overall) and Gallatin County (5-2) have winning records. Those seven opponents have a combined record of 19-25. Lloyd Memorial has outscored those opponents, 228-145 for an average of about 32.6-20.7.

Holmes outlasts NewCath, 12-7

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds fell 12-7 to the Covington Holmes Bulldogs on the road Friday.

NewCath (2-4 overall) played well defensively allowing just 210 yards of total offense. But the Thoroughbreds only punched the ball in the end zone once.

It came in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Josh Cain threw a 41-yard score to Mac Franzen.

Holmes moved to 4-2 to match last year’s win total. The Bulldogs finished 4-7 last year losing 66-20 at Johnson Central in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.

Cain completed 15-of-35 passes for 178 yards and three interceptions. Franzen had four catches for 94 yards.

NewCath outgained Holmes, 261-210 in total offense. The Thoroughbreds rushed for just 83 yards on 21 carries. Dylan Hayes had 69 yards on 15 attempts.

The connection of Rashawn Coston to Desean Peterson made the two big touchdowns for the Bulldogs. The first came in the second quarter from 30 yards out. NewCath blocked the point-after touchdown. Holmes led 6-0 at halftime.

The second touchdown came in the third quarter. The two-point pass failed keeping the Holmes lead at 12-0.

Peterson finished with five catches for 107 yards. Coston completed 10-of-20 passes for 134 yards.

NewCath continues Class 2A, District 6 action Saturday at Newport Stadium against Lloyd Memorial. Game time is 7 p.m.

NewCath blasts Brossart in District 6 opener, 58-0

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds football team snapped its three-game winning streak in a big way Friday in Alexandria.

The smashed the host Bishop Brossart Mustangs, 58-0 to open Class 2A, District 6 action. NewCath (2-3 overall, 1-0 district) ran away with 30 points in the second quarter to go up 44-0 at halftime to force the running clock.

The Thoroughbreds outgained the Mustangs (1-4, 0-1), 453-63 in total offense in a balanced attack. NewCath had seven first downs to four for Brossart.

This included 248-37 on the ground. NewCath ran the ball 27 times for an average of about 9.2 per carry. Brossart averaged just more than one yard per rush.

Dylan Hayes led the Thoroughbreds rushing for 90 yards on nine carries with a touchdown. Freshman running back Jacob Smith came in and ran for 84 yards on four carries with a touchdown.

“We just prepared to play sound football,” said Eddie Eviston, NewCath head coach. “We really didn’t look at anything like, ‘We can’t let him run outside or we can’t let him run inside.’ When we do that, we can be pretty good and stop someone. That’s what we did (Friday).”

Defensively, NewCath focused on Brossart senior running back Jacob Elbert. He had seven carries for minus-2 yards and completed just 1-of-3 passes for nine yards before leaving with an injury.

Durham, Camels run past Thoroughbreds

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
ALEXANDRIA - The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds knew they needed to contain Tyler Durham, especially on the outside sweeps.
That did not happen Friday in NewCath's 42-16 loss to the Campbell County Camels. Durham rushed for 194 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns for an average 9.7 per touch and completed 9-of-15 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown in the win.
The Camels ran the spread-option attack like the previous opponent in Cincinnati McNicholas and it presented problems for the Thoroughbreds. The Campbell County running backs constantly ran past the NewCath tacklers to garner 302 yards rushing on 42 carries for an average of just under 7.2 a carry.
"Ït was a great job executing," said Eddie Eviston, NewCath head coach. "They took it to us. Hat's off to them."
Campbell County outgained NewCath, 465-319 in total offense. Camel junior running back Alex Howard added 90 yards rushing on 14 carries and a touchdown.
"This has been a rival for Campbell County for a long time and still is," said Stephen Lickert, second-year Camel head coach. "We wanted to make a statement because we believe that we're a 6A school and we should win these type of football games. We did that (Friday)."
On the other side, The Thoroughbreds could not get their running game going out of their spread offense. NewCath rushed for just 88 yards on 26 carries for an average of just below 3.4 yards a touch.
Campbell County held Thoroughbred senior standout tailback Dylan Hayes to just 57 yards on 13 carries mostly in the fourth quarter. Hayes did still make it into the end zone on a 3-yard run with 2:38 left in the game for his sixth rushing touchdown of the year and seventh overall.
The Thoroughbreds did better in the passing game. Quarterback Josh Cain completed 16-of-27 passes for 231 yards and one touchdown. Seven completions went to Mac Franzen for 138 yards. Noah Freppon and Dan Ruwe hauled in three each for 54 and 27 yards respectively.
"I know we can pass the ball," Eviston said. "We just have to execute. We had one big play and had three bad ones. That's the name of the game."
Cain also did a good job punting the ball. He had four for 176 averaging 44 yards a boot, including a 70-yarder in the first quarter.
Despite the score, NewCath stayed in the game until the fourth quarter. Trailing 21-0, NewCath forced Campbell County to punt and a high snap forced punter Grant Mahoney to step out of the end zone for a safety.
The Thoroughbreds took over at the Camel 45 after the free kick and NewCath scored quickly. Freppon had one-on-one coverage and took the pass from Cain down the right side for a 45-yard score to cut the Camel lead to 21-9 with 1:10 left in the third.
But Campbell County quickly turned the momentum. Durham cut left and back to the middle of the field for a 65-yard score. The Camels added two more touchdowns in the fourth to put the game away.
"We fell asleep for a couple plays,"Lickert said. "But we answered. It was really exciting."
The final six minutes of the first half hurt the Thoroughbreds. Trailing 7-0, NewCath drove to the Camel 31 but fumbled the ball to Cambpell County with 6:53 left in the quarter.
The Camels drove into Thoroughbred territory later in the quarter. On 3rd-and-10, Durham swept right and cut back to the left for a 30-yard score with 1:02 left in the first.