The NKyTribune will be providing focused coverage of NKY high school football throughout the season, thanks to support from St. Elizabeth Healthcare Sports Medicine. See all of our pre-season features on each of NKY’s 21 high school football teams and follow our coverage, including roundups each week at Northern Kentucky High School Football.
By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Nic Mayer ended 25 years of frustration for the Campbell County football team Friday by kicking a 30-yard field goal as time expired to give the Camels a 24-21 win over Highlands.
It was Campbell County’s first victory over the tradition-rich Highlands program since 1991, according to winning coach Steve Lickert.
“I think it’s a stepping stone for our program,” Lickert said after the game. “You’ve got to be able to beat teams that win championships if you want to win championships yourself. Highlands is a perennial champion and to beat them shows our guys we can play with those teams and beat those teams. That’s the kind of confidence we need to put our program on the right track.”
Mayer, a junior who also plays wide receiver, scored a touchdown on a 94-yard pass from junior quarterback Austin Hoeh in the third quarter to put the Camels ahead 14-0. But Highlands running back Grant Murray scored twice after that to tie the score going into the fourth quarter.
After each team scored a touchdown to make it 21-21, Campbell County got the ball for its last possession. The Camels moved it down the field to set up Mayer’s dramatic game-winning field goal.
“Nic is a pretty confident kid,” Lickert said. “He’s a kid that you can trust if he says he can do something, he’s going to do it. When I said to him, ‘Can you kick this,’ he said, ‘I’m going to do it,’ and he did.”
Campbell County finished with 395 yards in total offense. Hoeh completed 13 of 28 passes for 221 yards. Junior running back Alex Dowds picked up 129 of the team’s 174 rushing yards.
Highlands senior quarterback Brady Gosney accounted for most of his team’s 343 total yards. He rushed for 129 yards on 22 carries and completed 10 of 19 passes for 128 yards.
Two of Gosney’s passes were intercepted by Campbell County sophomore defensive back Logan Harrod. He picked off one of those passes in the end zone to deny the Bluebirds a touchdown at the end of the first quarter.
Lickert played football at Highlands and was part of the program’s winning tradition. That made the coach appreciate his Campbell County team’s victory even more.
“It’s not about me, it’s about our kids,” he said. “I didn’t play a down (Friday). Our kids went out and executed on offense and executed on defense and we played really well on special teams. It’s about them playing for all those guys who’d been trying to beat (Highlands) the last 25 years.”
HIGHLANDS 0 0 14 7 – 21
CAMPBELL COUNTY 6 0 8 10 – 24
CC – Hoeh 5 run (kick blocked)
CC – Mayer 94 pass from Hoeh (Hoeh run)
H – Murray 3 run (Bowman kick)
H – Murray 30 run (Bowman kick)
CC – Dowds 1 run (Mayer kick)
H – Pulsfort 3 run (Bowman kick)
CC – Mayer 30 FG
RECORDS: Campbell County 1-1, Highlands 1-1.
RYLE 34, HENRY CLAY 28 – The Raiders took a 28-0 lead early in the third quarter and held off Henry Clay’s late rally to win their second straight game.
Henry Clay scored on a 98-yard kickoff return late in the third quarter and a 57-yard pass play early in the fourth quarter to make things interesting at the end.
Ryle finished with 393 total yards compared to Henry Clay’s 200. The Raiders’ balanced offensive attack featured senior quarterback Tanner Morgan, who passed for 153 yards, and junior running back Jake Chisholm, who rushed for 127 yards and scored twice.
The Ryle defense scored a touchdown on a 27-yard interception return by Josh Sandmann in the third quarter. Special teams also played well with Cole Burch netting 178 yards on three kickoff returns and Chisholm getting 40 yards on one return.
RYLE 3 15 16 0 – 34
HENRY CLAY 0 0 21 7 – 28
R – Molique 21 FG
R – Chisolm 15 run (Molique kick)
R – Ashley 5 pass from Morgan (Long pass from Morgan)
R – Molique 21 FG
R – Sandmann 23 interception return (Molique kick)
HC – Davis 21 pass from Bean (Works kick)
R – Chisolm 4 run (kick failed)
HC – Langston Jackson 98 kickoff return (Works kick)
HC – Bean 1 run (Works kick)
HC – Tyler 57 pass from Bean (Works kick)
RECORDS: Ryle 2-0, Henry Clay 0-1.
BEECHWOOD 12, LLOYD 0 – Beechwood’s offense didn’t score any points, but the Tigers won their season opener thanks to some big plays by the defense and special teams.
A 21-yard field goal by Daniel Mescher at the end of the first half gave Beechwood a 3-0 lead. After a long lightning delay in the third quarter, the defense got a two-point safety by recovering a blocked punt in the end zone. Then sophomore Logan Castleman returned the ensuing free kick 68 yards for the game’s only touchdown.
Most of the first half was played in a steady drizzle and neither team was able to get much done on offense. When the rain stopped late in the second quarter, Beechwood finally put together a scoring drive that ended with Mescher converting the field goal.
The Tigers picked up 54 yards on that drive with Castleman involved in two crucial third-down conversions. On one play, he took a handoff in the backfield and completed an 18-yard pass. On the other, he caught a 15-yard pass from quarterback Brayden Burch for a first down at the 12-yard line.
LLOYD 0 0 0 0 — 0
BEECHWOOD 0 3 9 0 — 0
B – Mescher 21 FG
B – Safety: recovered blocked punt in end zone
B – Castleman 68 punt return (Mescher kick)
RECORDS: Beechwood 1-0, Lloyd 1-1.
NEWPORT 16, FINNEYTOWN 14 – After Newport senior slotback Markel Garland scored on a 7-yard run to tie the score with six minutes left, the Wildcats went for the two-point conversion and sophomore running back Tyler Porter made it to the end zone.
Porter finished with 135 yards on eight carries. Newport’s other touchdown was a 30-yard pass from senior quarterback Nate Lloyd to slotback William Beamon in the first quarter.
NEWPORT 8 0 0 8 — 16
FINNEYTOWN 7 0 0 7 — 14
F – Haywood 4 run (Perry kick)
N – Beamon 30 pass from Lloyd (Garland pass from Lloyd)
F – Feaster 1 run (Perry kick)
N – Garland 7 run (Porter run)
RECORDS: Newport 1-1, Finneytown 0-1.
Other games played Friday
SIMON KENTON 50, BRYAN STATION 7 – The Pioneers took a 36-0 lead in the first half and ended up with 531 yards in total offense to improve to 2-0.
Dylan Hampton rushed for 93 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. The biggest scoring plays during Simon Kenton’s fast start were a 58-yard run by quarterback Cam Racke and a 34-yard TD pass from Racke to Luke Vance.
Matt Shearer took over at quarterback in the second half and threw for 102 yards and two TDs. The SK defense held Bryan Station’s offense to just 130 yards.
CONNER 36, BOONE COUNTY 7 – Walker Buelow had 242 yards passing and 76 yards rushing in his first game as Conner’s quarterback.
The senior connected with senior Matt Simpson on an 83-yard TD pass play in the first quarter. Simpson ended up with seven catches for 159 yards.
Boone County scored its only touchdown on a 29-yard pass from Devin Ruberg to Rondell Douglas.
HOLMES 6, PARIS 0 (suspended) – The game was stopped due to lightning early in the first quarter after Holmes senior running back Seth Hille broke loose for a 54-yard gain and then scored on a 4-yard run.
The game will resume at 6 p.m. Saturday at Lloyd High School with 9:24 remaining in the first quarter. Holmes moved the home game to Lloyd because the press box at its stadium was declared unsafe.
DIXIE HEIGHTS 21, SCOTT 0 (suspended) – Senior running back Jose Torres scored three touchdowns for Dixie Heights in the first half before the game was suspended by lightning in the area.
The teams will return to Scott at 9 a.m. Saturday to finish the game. That will give the Scott coaches some time to figure out how to stop Torres, who already has 79 yards in touchdown runs alone, including a 50-yard breakaway.
AIKEN 56, BROSSART 14 – Senior quarterback Chase Keller rushed for 88 yards and one touchdown and threw a 15-yard TD pass to Keller McGrath to account for most of Brossart’s points.
Today’s schedule
Dixie Heights at Scott, 9 a.m.
Holy Cross vs. Walton-Verona at Thomas More, 11 a.m.
Holmes vs. Paris at Lloyd, 6 p.m.
Bellevue at Dayton, 7 p.m.