By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Several major college basketball teams are showing an interest in Covington Catholic junior Cole VonHandorf, but the recruiting competition could quickly come to an end if the 6-foot-2 guard gets a scholarship offer from the University of Notre Dame.
VonHandorf said he has two uncles who attended Notre Dame and they used to take him to Fighting Irish games when he was younger. When he returned to the storied campus in South Bend, Indiana, for a recruiting visit earlier this month, it rekindled his boyhood dreams of playing there.
“It’s a great program, beautiful campus and not too far away, but not too close,” he said.
VonHandorf has been on the college basketball recruiting radar since his freshman year when he averaged 10.9 points and shot 52 percent from the field as a starting guard on the CovCath team that won the Kentucky state championship.
Last season, the left-handed shooter averaged a team-high 18.2 points for the Colonels, who repeated as 9th Region champions and made it to the semifinals of the state tournament.
VonHandorf has already received Division I scholarship offers from DePaul, Withrop, Northern Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky. He’s trying to set up a recruiting visit to Pepperdine University in California. Coaches at Creighton, Cincinnati and Lipscomb are also showing a keen interest in him.
“It’s a really fun process, just talking to all these coaches who are great guys and know a lot about the game,” VonHandorf said.
If you ask him to name his dream team among all those recruiting suitors, however, he says it’s Notre Dame without hesitation.
VonHandorf was voted the top boys’ basketball player in Northern Kentucky in a pre-season poll of local coaches and CovCath was voted the No. 1 team in the area. Here are the results of the coaches poll that was released Thursday:
Top 10 teams in Northern Kentucky
1. Covington Catholic, 2. Cooper, 3. Newport Central Catholic, 4. Campbell County, 5. Holmes, 6. Scott, 7. Newport, 8. Simon Kenton, 9. St. Henry, 10. Holy Cross.
Top 10 teams in 9th Region
1. Covington Catholic, 2. Cooper, 3. Newport Central Catholic, 4. Holmes, 5. Newport, 6. St. Henry, 7. Holy Cross, 8. Conner, 9. Dixie Heights, 10. Ryle.
Top 12 players in Northern Kentucky
1. Cole VonHandorf (CovCath), 2. Sean McNeil (Cooper), 3. Ben Weyer (NewCath), 4. Matt Wilson (Campbell County), 5. Jake Ohmer (Scott), 6. Ethan Snapp (Newport), 7. Adam Goetz (St. Henry), 8. Markel McClendon (Holmes), 9. Tyler Bezold (Holy Cross), 10. Michael Scott (Conner), 11. Andy Flood (CovCath), 12. Austin Fries (Simon Kenton) and Sterling Hamilton (Lloyd).
Pioneers one of eight football teams going for perfect regular season record
Simon Kenton is one of eight Kentucky high school football teams with a perfect record going into the final game of the regular season on Friday.
The Pioneers need a win over Scott to post a 10-0 record for the second time in three years under head coach Jeff Marksberry, who has compiled a 110-74 record since taking charge of the program in 2000.
This will be the first time since 2010 that Simon Kenton and Scott have faced each other on the football field. The Pioneers won the last five games between the county school rivals. The Eagles’ last victory in the series came in 2003.
Scott enters Friday’s game with an 8-1 record and five-game winning streak. The Eagles’ only loss was to Conner, 28-27, on Sept. 11. One week earlier, Simon Kenton defeated Conner, 54-0.
Simon Kenton and Scott have both won district championships and will host first-round playoff games next week. The Pioneers will compete in Class 6A and the Eagles are in Class 4A.
Simon Kenton midfielder named 8th Region Player of the Year in girls’ soccer
Simon Kenton junior midfielder Abigail Zoeller was named 8th Region Player of the Year in girls’ soccer in her first season with the Pioneers.
Zoeller was an all-state player for Louisville Sacred Heart the last two seasons before her family moved to Northern Kentucky and she transferred to Simon Kenton.
She was the leading scorer for the Pioneers this season with 31 goals and 26 assists. During last week’s 8th Region tournament, she scored five goals in three games to lead Simon Kenton to the title.
Simon Kenton senior forward Gill Morris was also a first-team selection by 8th Region coaches. The second-team nominees included Simon Kenton sophomores Hunter Clark and Megan Buckner.