The NKyTribune is featuring players on each of the 21 high school football teams in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties leading up to the first games of the 2023 season on Friday, Aug. 18. We will then provide focused coverage of local teams throughout the regular season and into the playoffs.
By Sarah Mae Wilson
NKyTribune sports reporter
Conner football players are using last year’s 2-9 record as motivation for this coming season. They definitely want to erase the memory of losing their last five games by a combined scoring total of 164-10.
“All the seniors on the team are motivated to make sure our senior seasons end up a lot different than last year’s record,” said Ben Fay, one of the seniors captain on this year’s roster.
Listed at 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, Fay will be a two-way starter at outside linebacker and tight end for the Cougars. Last season, he led the team in tackles with 76 after getting 40 his sophomore year. He was used primarily as a blocker on offense, but he did catch one touchdown pass.
Fay is one of four returning starters on a defensive unit that allowed 345 yards and 31.7 points per game last season. He was moved from inside to outside linebacker to help reduce those numbers and he plans to play with the same aggressiveness that made him a defensive standout last season.
“As the most experienced player on the team and as a returning captain,” he said, “I really feel that it is my duty to be a leader for this team whether it’s by example or vocally. I’m doing as much as I can to be a good leader.”
The starting quarterback, leading rusher and leading pass receiver on last year’s team graduated. The leading candidates to run the offense are junior Wyatt Hatfield and senior Elian Ruzindana, according to head coach Dave Trosper.
Fay said the Cougars’ offense is shaping up and he’s confident the first-year starters will help lead the team to success. One of them is Dylan Stewart, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound tackle who has reportedly received an offer from Eastern Kentucky University.
Fay will also be playing a bigger role in the offense this season. He attended summer camps at several colleges to improve his pass-catching skills and received offers from a few recruiters, according to his Twitter page.
“It is my personal goal to never have to leave the field and be in on every offensive and defensive snap,” Fay said of his senior season.
The Cougars will be playing in a new six-team Class 5A district and only the top four teams will advance to the playoffs. But their first goal will be snapping the five-game losing streak that’s been on the books since last November.
The Conner players would like to do that in the season-opener on Aug. 18 at Lexington Dunbar, one of four Class 6A teams they will face during the first five weeks of the season. The last five games will be against district opponents and the Cougars will likely have to win three of them to get a playoff berth.
Conner had a 2-3 record against those same five opponents last season with close wins over Scott and Boone County and losses to Cooper, Dixie Heights and Highlands by double-digit margins.
CONNER COUGARS
2022 SEASON: 2-9 record, lost in first round of Class 5A playoffs.
DISTRICT: Class 5A, District 6 with Boone County, Cooper, Dixie Heights, Highlands, Scott.
HEAD COACH: Dave Trosper (111-111 in 20 seasons overall, 98-84 in 16 seasons at Conner).
2023 SCHEDULE
Aug. 18 – LEXINGTON DUNBAR, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 25 – at Ryle, 7 p.m.
Sept. 1 – at Lexington Lafayette, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 8 – NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC, 7 p.m.
Sept. 15 – SIMON KENTON, 7 p.m.
Sept. 22 – at Scott, 7 p.m.
Sept. 29 – COOPER, 7 p.m.
Oct. 5 – DIXIE HEIGHTS, 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 – at Highlands, 7 p.m.
Oct. 20 – at Boone County, 7 p.m.
OTHER 2023 PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEWS