By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Northern Kentucky high school football coaches had two strong candidates at quarterback on the ballot for this year’s all-star team. Both of them have put up impressive numbers this season while leading their teams to the semifinal round of the state playoffs.
The coaches ended up naming Beechwood senior Cameron Hergott to the first-team offensive unit, and Covington Catholic senior Caleb Jacob was a second-team selection.
Hergott has a combined average of 290.8 passing and rushing yards per game for Beechwood, one of the final four teams in the Class 2A playoffs. In 10 games, he has completed 131 of 172 passes for 2,023 yards and 21 touchdowns. On the ground, he has picked up 885 yards on 94 carries with 12 TDs.
Hergott currently has the state’s second best pass completion percentages at 76.1. The highest single-season percentage ever recorded by a Northern Kentucky player was 68.1 by Drew Houliston of Highlands in 2013.
Jacob is the offensive leader of the CovCath team that has advanced to the Class 5A semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. In 10 games, he has completed 115 of 198 passes for 1,689 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 508 yards on 103 carries and 15 TDs.
Jacob is a three-year starter who has a total of 7,338 passing yards. He needs 228 more to break the CovCath career record of 7,565 passing yards set by Blake Bir in 2012.
CovCath had eight first-team selections on the coaches all-star teams, followed by Beechwood with six and Dixie Heights with four. Beechwood sophomore Mitchell Berger was a first-team selection at both wide receiver on offense and linebacker on defense.
Noel Rash of Beechwood was named Coach of the Year by his counterparts. Ben Nevels of Holmes is this year’s recipient of the Owen Hauck Award. His team won all four its Class 4A district games and finished with a 7-3 record.
At the end of the season, each of the 20 teams in the Northern Kentucky Football Coaches Association will select one player to receive a Top 26 Award. The coaches will vote on six additional players to be recognized for their outstanding contributions.
No date for the coaches association postseason awards banquet has been announced, probably due to the ongoing pandemic.
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Quarterback
Cameron Hergott (Beechwood)
Running Backs
Pierce Rohlman (Dixie Heights), Owen Nally (CovCath), Braxton Newborn (Ludlow)
Wide receivers
Ethan Reardon (CovCath), Mitchell Berger (Beechwood), Cam Patterson (Scott)
Tight end
Derrick Mining (Campbell County)
Linemen
Evan Wibberly (Dixie Heights), Ben Dickhaus (CovCath), Peyton Dietz (CovCath), Henry Nachazel (Beechwood), .
Andrew Clifford (Simon Kenton), Mike Leicht (Campbell County)
Kicker
Trey Gronotte (CovCath)
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Quarterback
Caleb Jacob (CovCath)
Running Back
Joey Runyon (NewCath)
Wide receivers
Devin Holbert (Dixie Heights), Will Watkins (Ryle), Simon Keating (Newport)
Tight end
Justin Schneider (NewCath)
Linemen
Matt Mason (Ryle), Luke Slusher (Beechwood), Eric Jimenez (Dayton), Rhys Brown (Dixie Heights), Aidan Dietz (Holmes), Sam Clements (Conner), Jack Greene (NewCath)
Kicker
Nick Seger (Simon Kenton).
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Linemen
Rhys Brown (Dixie Heights), Xavier Campbell (Beechwood), Luke Stegman (CovCath), Trevor Wilson (CovCath).
Linebackers
Gabe Savage (Ryle), Colin Smith (Dixie Heights), Mason South (Highlands), Mitchell Berger (Beechwood)
Defensive backs
Tayquan Calloway (Holmes), Brandon McClendon (Holy Cross), Brady Moore (Beechwood), Ryan Schneider (CovCath), Mathias Cusick (Ryle)
Punter
Luke Iden (Scott)
Athlete
Jeremiah Lee (Cooper).
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
Linemen
Joe Vormbrock (Simon Kenton), Mike Wallington (Lloyd), Kaden Morency (Campbell County), Adam Sand (Cooper)
Linebackers
Michael Hatfield (Beechwood), Jackson Belk (Ryle), Clayton Melcher (Conner), David Sullivan (CovCath)
Defensive backs
Eli White (Cooper), Malaki Herndon (NewCath), Brennon Miller (Simon Kenton)
Punter
Franklin Rogers (Ryle)
Athlete
Quantez Calloway (Holmes)