By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Highlands quarterback Beau Hoge heads the list of Northern Kentuky high school football players expected to sign letters of intent with NCAA Division I teams this week when the national signing period begins.
Hoge accepted a scholarship offer from Brigham Young University during his senior season and then led Highlands to a Class 4A state championship. He finished with a combined total of 61 rushing and passing touchdowns for 366 points, which was more than half the 611 points scored by the Bluebirds.
The other local players planning to sign with Division I teams are Covington Catholic offensive lineman Sam Murrer with Miami of Ohio and Ryle tight end Alex Brownell with Kentucky.
There are also three local players who have made commitments with NCAA Division I FCS teams. Dixie Heights teammates Andrew Hedger and Branden Johnson are going to Austin Peay and Logan Ross of Ryle will continue his playing career at Eastern Illinois.
Two players who had outstanding senior seasons – Dixie Heights quarterback Drew Moore and Highlands wide receiver Alex Veneman — have not made any announcement on their college plans. Moore led Dixie Heights to the Class 6A state championship game last season and finished with a combined total of 3,428 rushing and passing yards. Veneman was the state’s leading pass receiver with 95 receptions 1,595 receiving yards.
A son hopes to break a two-game losing streak against his father in a 9th Region boys’ high school basketball matchup on Friday. That’s when Kevin Listerman, head coach at Highlands, will take his team to Holmes, where his father, Mike, is head coach.
This will be the first time in 11 years that the Listermans have faced each other as head coaches. During the 2003-04 season, Mike was coach at Covington Catholic and posted two wins against his son’s Boone County team. The second win came in the championship game of the 9th Region tournament.
This is Mike’s first season as head coach at Holmes. Kevin took charge of the Highlands program two years ago. The father is currently having much more success than his son. Holmes won its last three games to raise its record to 18-5 while Highlands is on a four-game losing streak and now stands 6-12.
Scott senior Luke Treadway plans to sign a letter of commitment with the University of Kentucky men’s soccer team on Thursday.
Treadway was the leading scorer on Scott’s state runner-up team last season. He had three goals in a state quarterfinal game and one goal in both the semifinal and championship games. He finished his high school career with a team-record 105 goals.
Treadway also had a successful career in club soccer. Last season, his team won the Ohio South State Cup and made it to the semifinals in a national tournament. He’ll be joining a Kentucky men’s soccer team that was nationally ranked last season and qualified for the NCAA Division I playoffs.
Pairings for the opening rounds of the boys’ and girls’ state high school basketball tournaments will be decided Thursday when draws are held in Lexington. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association will conduct the draws on live television at 1 p.m. on The CW Lexington channel.
The telecast will also be streamlined live on KHSAA.tv and WKYT.com.
Complete brackets with days and times for each tournament will be available on the KHSAA’s website’s basketball home page following the conclusion of the draw show.
The Houchens Industries/KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16 will be played March 11-15 at E.A. Dibble Arena in Bowling Green and the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16 will take place March 18-22 at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The girls’ state tournament will be moving to the Bank of Kentucky Center on the campus of Northern Kentucky University in 2016 and 2017.
Terry Boehmker, NKyTribune sports writer, is former sports writer and editor for The Kentucky Post. He is an award-winning writer with extensive background in both print and digital media. Reach him at terryboe@yahoo.com.