By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
Kyle Niederman had no idea the first round of the Kentucky High School Football Playoffs would go like this for his now 10-1 Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts.
Although the Lloyd coach knew his team was healthy now with everybody in the right position – Isaiah Sebastian back at wide receiver from quarterback, sophomore Kaleb Evans healed up and back at quarterback after being out most of the season and tailback Yurii Collins-Comer likewise healthy and back running the ball.
All bad news for a visiting Fleming County team Friday at Erlanger’s Cecil Dee Field as the Juggs used a 34-point second quarter to power them on to a 55-7 romp and a second-round Class 3A game next Friday at East Carter.
“We got after ‘em on both sides of the ball,” Niederman said. “And we are healthy now with everybody back.”
But 55-7? “No, no, I did not think it would be like that,” Niederman said. “I liked our chances but never, ever would I have thought it would be like that.“
Not against a Fleming County team that came into the game with a 6-4 record against a decent schedule.
“We played really, really, really well defensively,” Niederman said. “I know people see the score and the 55 points and think it’s about offense. But we had the ball multiple times starting at midfield or on the inside of the 50. We played really complementary on both sides of the ball.”
Junior Collins-Comer ran for two TDs. “And I’m told our defense held them to 58 yards,” Niederman said. “Our coaches did a really good job preparing them.”
As for next week’s opponent, Niederman apologized for how “we were focused on this week. We’ll start Saturday morning looking at East Carter.”
But thanks to a quirk in the KHSAA matchup system, Lloyd, despite a higher RPI ranking and better record against a tougher schedule, will have to travel to Grayson to play an 8-2 East Carter team ranked below them in RPI because the Raiders finished first in their weaker district. Starting in Week 3 of the playoffs is the home team determined by RPI. And since Lloyd finished second to Lexington Catholic in the district, they will be doing the traveling. So the team with the tougher district schedule is punished here.
“I’d rather not be traveling two-and-a-half hours,” Niederman said, “but I’ll drive a long way for a win.”
In another quirk, East Carter did not have to play a first-round game this week and was seeded into next week’s game. To get a sense of the Raiders, they lost, 46-36, to the Greenup County team that CovCath beat, 49-12, Friday. And they beat the same Fleming County team Lloyd beat, 55-7, by a score of 19-15.
So maybe another advantage for Northern Kentucky here, much as CovCath, Highlands, Beechwood, Dixie Heights, Ryle and Cooper all displayed with one-sided playoff wins Friday against downstate opponents.
“I’m really proud of Northern Kentucky,” Niederman said, “that’s a really good night.”
