By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
One week after opening the season with a disappointing offensive performance, Newport Central Catholic’s football team scored on five of its first six possessions Friday night and went on to defeat Walton-Verona, 42-7, in a game played at Covington Catholic High School.
NewCath finished with a 377-146 advantage in total yards. The team leader was senior quarterback Kolton Smith. He completed 8 of 15 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 68 yards and two TDs on nine carries.
Senior running back Demetrick Welch scored the other two touchdowns for the Thoroughbreds. He rushed for 68 yards on 10 carries and junior Kaleb Cole picked up 62 yards on seven carries.
NewCath (1-1) got its first three touchdowns on two short runs by Welch and one by Smith. The Thoroughbreds extended their lead to 35-0 on Smith scoring passes of 55 yards to Mitchell Doeker and 52 yards to Charlie Ford in the second quarter.
Smith scored his second rushing touchdown in the third quarter to make it 42-0 and start a running clock.
Walton-Verona (1-1) got its lone touchdown on a 26-yard pass from senior quarterback Jackson Smith to junior wide receiver Jonathon Strunk in the fourth quarter.
NewCath has won all seven games it has played against Walton-Verona over the last 12 years.
In other games on Friday night
Ryle scored 21 unanswered points in the second half and defeated Conner, 28-7, to give both teams a 1-1 record. Senior quarterback Logan Verax threw a pair of touchdown passes and pushed his career passing total over the 5,000-yard mark in the Raiders’ victory.
Verax accounted for 246 yards (163 passing, 83 rushing). Both of his touchdown passes went to Dylan Lee and he scored on a quarterback keeper. Verax’s career passing total is now 5,119 yards in four seasons. The team record is 5,421 yards by Tanner Morgan.
Next week, Ryle will face neighboring rival Cooper in the annual Battle of Union. Cooper is off to a 2-0 start after whipping Lexington Henry Clay, 42-2, on Friday, but the Jaguars have an 0-8 record against Ryle over the last seven seasons.
Beechwood, Lloyd and Covington Catholic are the other local teams that have 2-0 records. CovCath’s next opponent is Simon Kenton (1-0), which had its game against Woodford County cancelled on Friday due to problems caused by the weather.
Lloyd rushed for 473 yards and six touchdowns in its 47-14 win over Boone County on Friday. Junior running back Yurli Collins-Comer picked up 313 yards on 23 carries and scored three TDs for the Juggernauts.
High school football scoreboard
FRIDAY GAMES
Covington Catholic 35, Highlands 21
Beechwood 50, Campbell County 7
Cooper 42, Lexington Henry Clay 2
Ryle 28, Conner 7
Newport Central Catholic 42, Walton-Verona 7
Lloyd 47, Boone County 14
Newport 48, Holmes 6
North Bullitt 56, Scott 25
Dixie Heights 33, Hughes (Ohio) 8
Bethel-Tate (Ohio) 18, Brossart 14
Simon Kenton at Woodford County (cancelled)
Dayton 48, Pendleton County 17
Trimble County 8, Bellevue 6
Holy Cross 32, Dohn Community (Ohio) 14