By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The last time a Newport football team started the season with three straight wins was 1999. That was before any of the players on this year’s roster were born, so it will be a major accomplishment if they beat Brossart on Friday to go 3-0.
The fact that Newport is among the state’s unbeaten teams is a credit to the players. The Wildcats didn’t have a head coach until Joe Wynn was hired in late June, but they still managed to get off to a good start.
If they pick up a win in Friday’s home game, it will be another positive step for a program that finished 1-10 least season and compiled a 4-29 record over the last three seasons.
Newport’s first-year head coach installed a spread offense that put up good numbers in wins over Finneytown of Ohio and Owen County the last two weeks. The Wildcats are averaging 255 yards and 30 points per game.
Newport junior quarterback Kaleal Davis has accounted for most of his team’s 510 total yards. In the first two games, he completed 12 of 21 passes for 185 yards and rushed for 138 yards on 22 carries.
Brossart also opened the season with two wins, but the Mustangs lost to Bellevue, 28-20, last week in a game that was suspended by lightning on Friday and finished on Saturday.
In that game, Brossart took a 20-14 lead during Friday’s first half on touchdown runs by Nathan Bezold and Adam Orth and a touchdown pass from Tyler McDonald to Trevor Schadler.
McDonald has completed 29 of 61 passes for 402 yards in the Mustangs’ first two games, but he also had five passes picked off. Last year, he threw for 2,229 yards in 11 games and had eight interceptions.
The other local teams putting perfect records on the line Friday are Covington Catholic, Simon Kenton, Walton-Verona, Ludlow and Beechwood.
CovCath, the state’s top-ranked team in computer ratings, takes an 18-game winning streak over the last two seasons into its home game against Kings, an Ohio team that has a 2-0 record.
Beechwood, the defending Class 1A state champion, goes on the road to face a 3-0 Corbin team that was runner-up in the Class 3A state playoffs last season.
High school football schedule
FRIDAY
Highlands at Ryle, 7 p.m.
Cooper at Campbell County, 7 p.m.
Brossart at Newport, 7 p.m.
Holmes at Boone County, 7 p.m.
Simon Kenton at Dixie Heights, 7 p.m.
Walton-Verona vs. Holy Cross at Holmes, 7 p.m.
Kings (Ohio) at Covington Catholic, 7 p.m.
Ludlow at Gallatin County, 7:30 p.m.
Dayton at Pendleton County, 7:30 p.m.
Marion County at Lloyd, 7:30 p.m.
Beechwood at Corbin, 7:30 p.m.
Newport Central Catholic at Belfry, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY
Bellevue at St. Bernard (Ohio), 6 p.m.
Scott at Conner, 7 p.m.