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By Evan Merrill
NKyTribune contributor
It was the Tanner Morgan Show in Union on Friday as the senior quarterback led Ryle to a 31-13 win over the visiting Covington Catholic Colonels.
Morgan, a Western Michigan recruit, showed why he’s a candidate for Mr. Kentucky Football with a 304-yard passing performance that included three touchdowns. He got his big night started with a 75-yard scoring strike to senior wide receiver Zach Cusick.
“Tanner’s like a coach on the field,” Ryle coach Mike Engler said. “He’s the best quarterback in the state and he’s going to a D1 school and there’s a reason. He works his tail off. He’s a leader on the field. When the going gets tough, Tanner makes a play.”
The Raiders led 21-10 at the half and followed up their strong start with a defensive clinic in the second half, allowing only a field goal while holding CovCath sophomore running back Casey McGinness to 22 yards rushing.
“Our defense made great adjustments,” coach Engler said. “McGinness had a great first half and had hardly anything in the second half because our defense just shut him down. Kudos to our defensive staff and the adjustments they made.”
The Raiders stopped CovCath on a couple of key fourth down plays and an interception by senior Cooper Scherr also helped Morgan secure the win.
“Without (the stops) it’s a completely different game,” Morgan said. “The O-line dominated the trenches. They’re extremely underrated throughout the state. I just expect them to have an outstanding year and just can’t thank them enough. And the defense played their hearts out.”
Assisting in Ryle’s offensive performance was junior running back Jacob Chisholm, who rushed for 161 yards and a TD as a result of the strong offensive line play.
“We have the makings of a good offensive line,” Engler said. “And Chisholm looked good, (Cole) Burch looked good and with us being able to throw the ball with probably the best quarterback in the state opens up that running game for them.”
Although they cruised in the second half, Ryle still had mental mistakes in the game, accounting for 13 penalties.
“We made a couple mistakes we’ll fix, but anytime you can win the opening game it’s all right,” Morgan said.
“We takeaway it was a good win, a good team effort,” Morgan added. “We played hard. Every time you get a Week 1 win it’s impressive. But you can’t dwell on it, just on to the next game and next Friday.”
COVCATH 3 7 3 0 — 13
RYLE 14 7 7 3 — 31
R — Chisholm 1 run (Molique kick)
CC — Kloska 33 FG
R — Cusick 75 pass from Morgan (Molique kick)
CC — McGinness 10 run (Kloska kick)
R — Long 13 pass from Morgan (Molique kick)
CC — Kloska 31 Fg
R — Morgan 1 run (Molique kick)
R — Molique 40 FG
RECORDS — Ryle 1-0, CovCath 0-1.