By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
A steady rain was falling as Covington Catholic football players gathered around head coach Eddie Eviston at one end of the field following their team’s 49-13 win over Campbell County on Friday in Alexandria.
Eviston had just one thing to say during the post-game meeting. He yelled, “10 and 0, let’s go,” and pointed to the team buses waiting in the parking lot.
The water-soaked Colonels undoubtedly rode back to school with proud smiles on their faces. They had just become the first CovCath team since 1992 to finish the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record.
“It feels amazing,” said CovCath senior quarterback A. J. Mayer. “We put in so much hard work and there’s a lot of experience on this team now so being 10-0 feels great. It’s really a blessing.”
The Colonels entered Friday’s game with the highest power rating in Kentucky high school football and they’ll probably remain in the No. 1 position going into the first round of the Class 5A playoffs next week. They have won seven games against in-state opponents by margins of 32 points or more with a balanced offensive attack that’s averaging 217 yards rushing and 205 yards passing per game.
“We talked all year about taking every game one by one and they’ve done a great job of focusing in each week,” Eviston said. “We’ve got to continue doing that (in the playoffs). I’m proud of what they’ve done, now we’ve just got to get back to work and continue it.”
In Friday’s game, CovCath finished with a net total of 336 yards that was below its season average. But the offense only had to pick up 23, 26 and 17 yards on three scoring possessions in the first half when the Colonels took a 35-0 lead.
Special team units gave the CovCath offense those great field positions by recovering a fumble on one punt, partially blocking another punt and snagging a loose ball on a kickoff after it bounced away from a Campbell County player.
“There’s a little luck involved in that,” Eviston said of the three special team plays. “But you’ve got to be able to strike when that opportunity is there and we did a nice job of that.”
CovCath netted 201 offensive yards in the first half. Mayer completed 7 of 14 passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Junior running back Casey McGinness rushed for 50 yards and two TDs.
Campbell County attempted an onside kick at the start of the second half, but the Colonels recovered it on the 50-yard line to get good field position once again. Nine plays later, McGinness scored his third touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run to give his team a 42-0 lead.
The rest of the game was played with a running clock and Eviston sent in reserve players to finish it out. Campbell County scored two touchdowns against CovCath’s second-team defense and picked up 132 of its 209 total yards on those two possessions. Senior running back Alex Dowds carried the ball into the end zone both times for the Camels.
CovCath’s final touchdown was scored by reserve quarterback Richard Reusch on a 9-yard run with 3:29 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Colonels have to wait until Saturday to find out their opponent in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. There was a three-way tie among teams in the other district and results of Friday night’s games will be used to determine how they finish in the district standings.
CovCath will be favored in every one of its playoff game since it’s the No. 1 team in the state power ratings, but Eviston doesn’t put much stock in that.
“The thing is you can take all those ratings and throw them out the door because if you lose now you’re done,” Eviston said. “It doesn’t matter what we’re ranked. We just have to be ready for our next opponent on Friday. That’s the approach we always take.”
Campbell County (6-4) will play a home game against Louisville Eastern in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs on Friday.
COVINGTON CATHOLIC 21 14 7 7 — 49
CAMPBELL COUNTY 0 0 7 6 — 13
COV – Coldiron 23 pass from Mayer (Gronotte kick)
COV – McGinness 5 run (Gronotte kick)
COV – Pike 28 pass from Mayer (Gronotte kick)
COV – McGinness 21 run (Gronotte kick)
COV – Mayer 1 run (Gronotte kick)
COV – McGinness 1 run (Gronotte kick)
CAM – Dowds 4 run (Mayer kick)
CAM – Dowds 10 run (kick blocked)
COV – Reusch 9 run (Felix kick)
RECORDS: CovCath 10-0, Campbell County 6-4.