Ryle, Cooper football teams prepare for Battle of Union; Dayton cancels district game due to injuries


By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

Eight of the 11 games on this week’s high school football schedule are between district opponents, but there’s only one tabbed as the Battle of Union.

That’s what football fans at Ryle and Cooper have been calling the annual game between the two Class 6A schools located in the ever expanding suburbs around the city of Union. Neither team is off to a great start this season — Cooper has a 2-4 record and Ryle is 1-5 — but that just revs up the rivalry because they’re both hungry for a win.

Mikey Armour returned to quarterback for Cooper after starter Jeremiah Lee was injured. (Photo by Allen Ramsey / dwcphoto.com)

One of the district games scheduled on Thursday was cancelled. In a Facebook post, Dayton school officials announced that the team will not be able to play its Class 1A district game at Ludlow “due to the amount – as well as the severity – of injuries we have suffered the last two weeks.”

Dayton has just 26 players listed on its varsity roster and half of them are sophomores or freshmen. A rash of injuries cut down the number of eligible players and forced the cancellation.

“The safety of our kids and preventing further injury is our main priority at this point,” according to the Facebook post.

The game has been listed as a forfeit on the Kentucky High School Athletic Association website. Ludlow gets the win to advance its record to 5-2 and stands 1-0 in the Class 1A district. Dayton is now 0-6 overall and 0-1 in the district.

This will be the 12th game between the two teams from Union. The series began in 2008 and Ryle won the first four games against Cooper’s fledgling football program at that time. Over the last six years, however, Ryle has a slim 4-3 lead that includes a regular season win and playoff win during the 2016 season.

There’s no clear-cut favorite in Friday’s game at Ryle. Both teams have played a demanding schedule. The five teams that beat Ryle have a combined record of 23-7. Cooper’s four losses came against teams with a 20-5 record.

Cooper is coming off a 20-16 win over Dixie Heights last week. In that game, quarterback Mikey Armour rushed for one touchdown and threw for another. The Jaguars’ leading rusher was Anthony Witschey with 113 yards on 23 carries.

Armour had to return to the quarterback position after Jeremiah Lee was sidelined two weeks ago. Lee had a combined average of 186 passing and rushing yards per game when he went out.

Ryle’s lone win this season came against Boone County four weeks ago. The Raiders’ offensive unit has scored only one touchdown in the last three games. The team’s scoring leader right now is place kicker Mason Molique with 20 points, followed by three players with 18 points.

High school football schedule

THURSDAY
Bellevue at Beechwood, 7:30 p.m.
Highlands at Dixie Heights, 7 p.m.
Dayton at Ludlow (cancelled)
FRIDAY
Newport at Lloyd, 7 p.m.
Bracken County at Brossart, 7:30 p.m.
Conner at Campbell County, 7 p.m.
Cooper at Ryle, 7:30 p.m.
Boone County at Simon Kenton, 7 p.m.
Bourbon County at Holmes, 7:30 p.m.
Holy Cross at Newport Central Catholic, 7 p.m.
Scott at Cincinnati Taft, 7 p.m.
Covington Catholic at Bishop Chatard (Ind.), 7 p.m.


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