Towles, Sheehan to play for new UK head coach next year

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

People saw it coming, especially after Saturday’s 40-0 home loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores.

The University of Kentucky administration relieved Wildcat head football coach Joker Phillips of his duties Sunday. Phillips, 49, has a 12-23 record as head coach in his third season after taking over for Rich Brooks in 2009. Phillips led Kentucky to its school-record fifth straight bowl game in 2010.

But the Wildcats struggled to 5-7 last year and are 1-9 this year and 0-7 in Southeastern Conference action. Kentucky could finish winless in conference play for the first time in school history if it does not win at Tennessee on Nov. 24.

“I have determined that it is in the best interest of our athletics program to make a change in our football coaching staff effective at the conclusion of the season,” said Mitch Barnhart, UK Director of Athletics, in an open letter. “I do so with a heavy heart for a man who has served his alma mater for almost 22 years as a player and a coach. Joker Phillips has carried the banner for the Blue and White with honor and pride. I have enjoyed working alongside him and am thankful for his friendship for the last decade.”

That means 2012 Highlands graduates Patrick Towles and Austin “Ozzie” Sheehan will have new coaches in 2013. Towles has stated on his Twitter account and to the UK press that he wants to stay in Lexington.

Sheehan and Towles were reached via text messages Sunday about the firing. But both responded saying they are not allowed to comment on the situation.

Towles and Sheehan played big roles in leading Highlands to four state championships. Towles was Kentucky Mr. Football in 2011. The duo lost twice in their four years of high school.

“We, as coaches, are measured on results,” Phillips said in a statement. “We didn’t get the results we had worked and hoped for. Therefore, change is needed. In my current 10-year stay at Kentucky, we’ve had some memorable moments as an assistant, coordinator and head coach. We’ve had the opportunity to coach some fine young men and I am grateful to have had the privilege of watching them grow as players, as students and as people.”

But their high school co-head coach Dale Mueller said they’ve faced adversity before. Towles comes from a long line of police officers, including his father Terry. Towles is the grandson of Hall of Fame pitcher and U.S. Senator Jim Bunning. Towles’uncle, Jim Bunning Jr., played football at Indiana University.

“In reality, teams don’t win on average 50 percent of their games,” Mueller said. “If they’ve won 95 percent here, they’re going to go someplace and maybe win five percent. It happens. That’s the reason why we like to play teams on our schedule that are tough. We think battling through adversity helps you. Even though we’ve won a lot of games, it’s challenging being a Highlands football player. I think Patrick and Ozzie were prepared for that.”

Fans in Fort Thomas wanted Towles to see playing time behind center for Kentucky. They received the wish because of quarterback injuries and Towles gave the Wildcats some hope in the game against ranked Mississippi State. He completed 5-of-6 passes for 71 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown pass to La’Rod King in the second quarter before leaving with an injury.

But since returning, Towles has struggled splitting time at quarterback with Jalen Whitlow. Towles has completed 14-of-33 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown. The Wildcats have struggled with injuries and dropped passes this season.

Sheehan walked on as a wide receiver. He dressed on Saturday against Vanderbilt.

They’re not the first Highlands graduates to experience adversity at Kentucky. Former Bluebird great Jared Lorenzen graduated in 1999 and played for three different head coaches in Hal Mumme, Guy Morriss and Brooks. The Wildcats finished 7-5 in 2002, but could not go to a bowl game because of NCAA sanctions.

Kentucky has the week off before finishing out the season at home against Samford on Nov. 17 and at Tennessee on Nov. 24. The Wildcats have a chance to send Phillips out on a high note.

Highlands cross country teams capture Region 4 crowns

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Highlands Bluebirds and Ladybirds cross country teams claimed Class AA, Region 4 crowns Saturday at Ryle.

The Ladybirds expected to win it this year while the Bluebirds hoped to place in the top three facing Covington Catholic and Lexington Catholic. The Ladybirds placed all seven runners in the top 10 out of 47 runners while the Bluebirds saw all six runner place in the top 32.

“I don’t know when the last time was when we won both,” said Brian Alessandro, Highlands head coach. “I would say it’s been several years so we’re pretty pleased about that.”

The Ladybirds captured the top three places en route to scoring 20 points. Lloyd Memorial took second with a distant 63 points and Lexington Catholic third with 79 points.

“I was more shocked with how fast they ran than the places they finished in,” Alessandro said. “Everyone ran so well. The training seems to be working. That’s what it comes down to.”

The top five runners make up the points and the top score for the 3.1-mile race is 15.The amazing thing about that feat is five of the Ladybirds are either freshmen, seventh or eighth graders including the top three placers.

Freshman Molly Mearns won the race in 18 minutes, 36.9 seconds. Sisters Lauren Ossege, a freshman, took second in 18:40.4 and Sydney Ossege, an eighth-grader, took third in 19:10.7. Junior Paige Dauer followed in sixth in 20:33.9.

Highlands finished off the race capturing the eighth, ninth and 10th spots. Those runners were junior Alyssa Farley in 20:37.7, seventh-grader Karsen Hunter in 20:40 flat, and eighth-grader Chloe Gastright in 20:42.5.

The Bluebirds did not capture the top individual spot. Nicholas Laureano took that in 16:44. But freshman Ethan Shuley took second in 16:50.3.

The second runners for Covington Catholic and Lexington Catholic finished higher than Highlands’ second runner. But the third, fourth and fifth runners finished higher than the next runners for the Knights and Colonels.

Junior John Michael Griffith and freshman Matt Gray finished right behind each other at seventh in 17:10.1 and eighth in 17:10.9.

Senior Cam Kruse and sophomore James Smith rounded out the scoring for Highlands. Kruse took 14th in 17:39.7 and Smith scored 22 points to score 21 points for Highlands in 17:59. The sixth runner for the Bluebirds in freshman Paul Jackson took 34th in 18:35.5.

Covington Holmes had two runners compete. One finished one place ahead of Smith. But that did not count in the overall points because the Bulldogs did not have a complete team. Five runners are needed for that.

The state meet is Nov. 10 at Horse Park in Lexington. The Ladybirds run at 11:30 a.m. and the Bluebirds run at 12:15 p.m.

The Ladybirds are looking for their seventh state title. They’ve won three in a row twice between 2002 and 2004 with three titles coming from 1978 to 1980.

The Bluebirds have won three titles. They came in 1979, 1983 and 1985.

Highlands reserves have little trouble adjusting to playoff atmosphere

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

It may have been the playoffs.

But it did not feel different for many of the Highlands Bluebirds players that saw their first playoff action. The Bluebirds led the Boyd County Lions, 49-7 at halftime and that allowed many reserves to earn some playing time. Top-ranked Highlands ended up winning the first-round Class 4A playoff game 56-14.

“Playing football is the same every day and games are games,” said Daniel Kremer, Highlands sophomore linebacker. “There’s not really a big difference between the pressure and other things. It’s great (to have fun) because we practice all summer. We all work hard to play. It’s part of the experience.”

Kremer and teammate Jake Parker ended up recovering fumbles for Highlands against Boyd County. Griffin Urlage returned an interception back 18 yards for the Bluebirds. Urlage ranks second on the team with three interceptions behind just four from Quentin Murray.

What the younger guys got experience facing was a Boyd County offense that ran the Double-Slot Wing-T and some Stack-I. Highlands had not faced a Wing-T team since Scott County on Aug. 24. But the Cardinals run a traditional Wing-T with one back in the slot, another behind the quarterback with another back to the side. The Double-Slot Wing-T has two guys in the slot and another behind the quarterback. The backs try to confuse defender by running in different directions.

Highlands still managed to wear down Boyd County on both sides of the ball. Boyd ran 53 plays offensively to 47 for Highlands. But the Bluebirds gained 464 yards for an average of about 9.9 yards a play to 270 for the Lions for an average of about 5.1 a play.

The Bluebirds do not have guys playing both directions with their 91-player roster. The Lions listed 48 players on their roster on maxpreps.com and did have players going both directions.

“Defensively, we just try to get three-and-outs,” said Jake Lester, senior defensive back. “We try to get the offense on the field as fast as we can. Of course, they try to get the defense on the field as fast as they can. It’s great being a two-platoon team because we don’t have to play every play of the game. Most high school teams have players playing both ways. We save a lot of energy.”

Highlands again used its hurry-up offense to wear down Boyd County. The Bluebirds like to hike the ball as soon as the official puts it on the line of scrimmage. The Highlands defense has had to defend 70-plus plays at times this year as a result of the quick-strike offense.

Words of encouragement from 1982, 1992 state championship teams:

Members of the Highlands 1982 and 1992 state championship teams celebrated their 30 and 20-year anniversaries last night by wishing the current team luck.

The 1982 team defeated Franklin-Simpson, 6-0 to win the Class AAA state title at KFEC Cardinal Stadium at the University of Louisville. The 1992 team beat Paducah Tilghman, 15-6 in the same class at the same site to win the crown. Bill Hermann served as head coach of the 1982 squad and Tom Duffy led the 1992 team.

“It was really meaningful,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Co-Head Coach. “The guys from those teams were real sincere in how they saw the guys and said positive things.”

Approaching Milestones:

The Bluebirds are just a touchdown and extra-point away from reaching 600 points for the season. They are averaging 53.9 points per game which is a little off last year’s state championship squad that scored a state-record 849 points and averaged 56.6 points. Only the 1930 Ashland Blazer team averaged more points per game at 59.1.

Highlands now has 84 touchdowns for the season. That’s an average of about 7.6 a game. Last year’s team scored a state-record 121 for an average of about 8.1 a contest and the 1998 team scored 113 for an average of about 7.5 a clip.

The Bluebirds have rushed for 2,857 yards and passed for 2,666 for a grand total of 5,523 yards to 3,035 for the opposition. Highlands has outgained opponents by an average of 502.1 yards to 275.9.

Only one team with a minimum of eight games has averaged more than 500 yards of offense per contest. That was Hazard in 2005 with an average of 510.8 a game in 11 games.

No major upsets in 4A:

All the ranked teams in Class 4A won their opening-round playoff games Friday and Saturday.

Like last year, the Bluebirds will most likely have to go through Associated Press ranked opponents to win the state championship. That starts with Ashland Blazer (9-2) on Friday. Blazer received 47 votes to tie rival and District 8 champion Johnson Central (9-2) for eighth. Johson Central slipped from sixth with its 17-12 home loss to Belfry on Oct. 26. Blazer beat Covington Holmes, 41-14 and Johnson Central knocked off Harrison County, 68-14.

Fifth-ranked Covington Catholic (8-3) took care of Rowan County, 67-3 Saturday. The Colonels travel to Johnson Central on Friday.

The Russell County Lakers moved up to second in this week’s poll. The 11-0 District 6 champions handled Marion County, 52-0 in Russell Springs on Friday. They play host to seventh-ranked Boyle County (7-4) on Friday. The Rebels defeated Clay County, 72-20 on Friday in Danville.

On the other side of the bracket, the fourth-ranked and District 5 champion Lexington Catholic Knights (9-2) will play host to the sixth-ranked Knox Central Panthers (10-1). LexCath beat Rockcastle County, 48-0 and Knox Central dispatched Mercer County, 41-20.

The Warren East Raiders are the other undefeated team in 4A outside Russell County. The District 2 champion Raiders (11-0) moved to third in the poll and beat Calloway County, 49-7 to start the playoffs.

Warren East will meet 10th-ranked Lone Oak (8-3) on Friday. Lone Oak tied Owensboro and Madisonville-North Hopkins for the top spot in District 1, but wound up with the second seed in the tiebreaker. Lone Oak beat 2011 4A state runner-up Franklin-Simpson, 53-33 in the playoff opener.

Highlands takes care of business in first round of playoffs

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

Junior Jaylen Hayes epitomized the way the Highlands Bluebirds football team has dominated the competition over the years.

On his first of three touchdowns, Hayes took the ball out of the Highland spread offense and ran left from the Bluebird 30-yard line. Three Boyd County Lion defenders tried to tackle him at about the Bluebird 45. But Hayes lowered his center of gravity, broke free of all three tackles and ran 70 yards for a touchdown.

Three minutes later in the second quarter, Hayes took another handoff left and stiff-armed two Lion defenders for a 35-yard score before adding a 5-yarder 37 seconds after Highlands recovered an onside kick.

Hayes finished with an amazing 110 yards on those three touchdown runs for an average of about 36.7 yards a carry. But more importantly, the runs gave Highlands a 42-7 lead with 7:51 left in the half as the Bluebirds put away another opponent in a 56-14 Class 4A first-round playoff victory Friday at David Cecil Memorial Stadium. That again let Highlands play some reserves in the second half and get some of them their first taste of the playoffs (see sidebar).

“I’m just trying as hard as I can to get into the end zone,” Hayes said. “I’ve been practicing squats (to strengthen the upper body) lately and working more on my power than my speed. That’s a big part of the winter weights we do. We started in January and continued through spring football. Even after that, we still lifted weights and continued what we call getting big.”

Top-ranked Highlands (10-1) moved to 83-3 since the start of 2007, including a 78-1 mark against Kentucky competition. The Bluebirds won their 26th consecutive playoff game and 45th in a row against Kentucky opponents at home.

“They just played great,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Co-Head Coach. “They executed so well. Defensively, we executed how we wanted to. It went exactly how we hoped.”

Highlands now faces the Ashland Blazer Tomcats (9-2) in the second round Friday back in Fort Thomas. Blazer downed Covington Holmes, 41-14 Friday in Ashland.

Boyd County finished the season 5-6 for the second consecutive season and will graduate 13 seniors from the team. The Lions came into the game on a three-game winning streak following a four-game losing streak.

The Lions hired a new head coach in Ray Brooks in the offseason. They finished 2-8 two seasons ago and have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since beating McCreary Central, 34-6 in 2008.

“When you play a team like this, all you can do is focus on what you can do,” Brooks said. “You can’t get worried about Highlands is going to do this or Highlands is going to do that. I’m so proud of the kids (overall). All you can do is work hard.”

Highlands outgained Boyd County, 464-270 in total offense. That included 262-105 through the air. Donovan McCoy completed 8-of-9 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns before Drew Houliston took over midway through the second quarter. Houliston completed 8-of-13 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

After Hayes, senior Ryan Donovan added 77 yards rushing on nine carries for an average of just more than 8.5 a touch. The Bluebird offensive linemen, tight ends and wide receivers blocked well again.

“We’re glad we played well,” said Jack Telek, Highlands sophomore tight end. “We had to block (teammates) all week so we’re glad we were able to execute.”

David Christian led Highlands with three catches for 61 yards. He’d been trying to get back all season from an injury. Luke Turner, Brandon Hergott, Beau Hoge and Alex Veneman followed with two catches a piece. Turner and Hergott had 51 and 43 yards receiving respectively.

Some other stats showed how well Highlands executed offensively. The Bluebirds scored on all six trips to the red zone. They also converted on 4-of-7 third-down opportunities compared to 4-of-13 for the Lions.

Boyd County also scored touchdowns on 1-of-2 trips to the red zone. The Lions lost a fumble on the other.

The Bluebirds led 21-0 after the first quarter scoring three quick touchdowns. McCoy scored on a 17-yard touchdown before throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Greene and a 7-yarder to Nick True.

The Lions did have some hope to start the second quarter. Jacob Barnwell leaped over a Highlands defensive back and rambled 50 yards down the right side for a touchdown with 11:51 left in the second quarter.

But Hayes scored his three touchdowns and Hergott hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Houliston to give the Bluebirds a 49-7 halftime lead. Highlands’ final touchdown came with 4:05 left in the third quarter. Hoge hauled in a 21-yard touchdown on 4th-and-goal.

The Lions scored their second touchdown with 10:15 remaining in the final stanza. Reid Dearfield had a 5-yard touchdown score.

Dearfield led the Lions with 70 yards rushing on 16 carries for an average of 4.4 a touch. Boyd County ran the Double Slot Wing-T and often pitched it to him going outside or up the middle with quarterback Billy McCoy or Gaje Ayers. Ayers finished with 53 yards rushing on 12 carries for an average of 4.4 a touch.

Billy McCoy completed 6-of-11 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Barnwell had two receptions for 55 yards.

Highlands moved to 19-0 in first-round playoff games since Mueller took over as head coach. The Bluebirds are 838-225-26 since starting the program in 1915, including an 18-5-1 mark against Blazer.

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.

Highlands opens playoffs against familiar opponent

Photo by G. Michael Graham. The Highlands Bluebirds open the playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Friday against the Boyd County Lions at David Cecil Memorial Stadium.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The first-round opponent is the same as last year.

But the result may not change much based on the two football teams’ seedings and tradition. The Highlands Bluebirds overwhelmed the Boyd County Lions, 63-7 to open the Class 4A playoffs last year on their way to a fifth consecutive state championship.

Like last year, Highlands (9-1) won the District 7 championship for the second straight year and its 16th title in 17 years while Boyd County comes in with an identical 5-5 record. The Lions finished fourth in District 8 and have to travel about two hours and 39 minutes as a result for the 7:30 p.m. contest Friday.

“We feel good about the game,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Co-Head Coach. “We’ve definitely had a better season than Boyd has. It is a game we’re looking first to win because it is one-and-out. But it is also a game where we’re looking to execute well and play as well as we can play and not just good enough to win.”

The Lions enter the game on a three-game winnings streak while Highlands pounded Ryle, 58-13 to end the season. But the Bluebirds own five wins over teams with winning records in Boyle County (6-4), Scott County (9-1), Mason County (6-4), Covington Catholic (7-3) and Covington Holmes (6-4). Their only loss came to Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I Cincinnati Elder (7-3).

The two recent wins for Boyd County came against winless Greenup County and West Carter. The Lions, under first-year head coach Ray Brooks, had to hold off the Comets, 14-7 on Friday.

Gaje Ayers ran the ball 17 times for 66 yards and Reid Dearfield had 64 yards on 20 attempts for the Lions. Boyd’s two touchdowns came on a Dearfield 10-yard run in the second quarter and a quarterback Billy McCoy 15-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Barnwell with 4:25 left in the third quarter.

Ayers and Dearfield lead the Lion rushing attack. Dearfield has 628 yards on 117 carries with four touchdowns for an average of 5.3 a carry and Ayers has 592 yards on 123 carries and five touchdowns for an average of 4.8 a touch.

Boyd County has not beaten a team with a winning record this year. The Lions’ other three wins came against Shelby Valley (3-7), East Carter (2-8) and Magoffin County (4-6).

Opponents have averaged 20.4 points, 192.1 yards rushing and 84.4 yards passing per game against the Bluebirds. Highlands scored its first defensive touchdown of the year when sophomore defensive back Griffin Urlage returned an interception back 70 yards on the last play of the game Friday.

“It actually felt really good,” Urlage said of the touchdown. “It was fun. The coaches were telling me to go down. I really didn’t hear them so I took it and ended up scoring. We just have to bring (the intensity) hard (Friday).”

The Bluebirds have 56 tackles for a loss, 16 sacks, 11 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries this year. Reid Schroder leads Highlands with 6.5 tackles for a loss totaling 12 yards and Thomas Wrobleski has 4.5 for 10 yards to go with six sacks for a total of 67 yards. Senior linebacker Joe Paolucci has 4.5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks and senior defensive back Quentin Murray has four interceptions.

Conversely, the Bluebirds will bring out their quick-scoring offense. Highlands averages 53.7 points, 505.9 yards and 7.6 touchdowns a contest.

“(Balanced) is what we hope to be (offensively) every year,” Mueller said. “We are that team this year. We really try to execute the play that gets called. The guys are just great at it.”

Quarterback Donovan McCoy has completed 122-of-194 passes for 1,949 yards, 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions and rushed for 579 yards on 84 attempts and 11 touchdowns for an average of about 6.9 yards a carry.

Zach Harris leads Highlands with 736 yards on 89 carries and 13 touchdowns for an average of about 8.3 a carry. Jaylen Hayes, Ryan Donovan and Colin Seidl have rushed for at least 321 yards for the Bluebirds. Harris has been battling a bone bruise the last couple of weeks and may not play Friday unless it is close so the other running backs could get more carries.

“You have to be prepared for anything,” Donovan said. “If someone gets hurt, you pretty much have to go in and do what you have to do.”

Luke Turner leads a talented Highlands receiving corps with 26 catches for 515 yards and seven touchdowns. He had seven catches for 172 yards and four touchdowns against Ryle. Teammates Luke Brockett, Nick True, Justin Weyer, Brandon Hergott and Ryan Greene have at least 10 catches and two touchdowns.

This will mark just the second meeting between the two teams. The Bluebirds have never lost in the first round of the playoffs since Mueller came on staff in 1994.