By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The Holy Cross football team is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2016 after upsetting Bracken County, 25-24, on Friday at Thomas More University.
Bracken County (1-1) came into the season ranked among the top 10 Class 2A teams in a statewide coaches poll, but the Polar Bears weren’t able to convert on any point-after kicks or two-point conversions after their four touchdowns. Holy Cross had three touchdowns, one field goal, two point-after kicks and a 2-point conversion.
Sophomore quarterback Brian Ferguson scored the first two Holy Cross touchdowns and Gabriel Romito kicked a 35-yard field goal that gave the Indians a 17-12 halftime lead.
When Bracken County went on top, 18-17, in the third quarter, Holy Cross junior Max Hunt returned the ensuing kickoff 48 yards for a touchdown followed by a two-point conversion that made it 25-18.
Early in the fourth quarter, Bracken County scored the game’s final touchdown, but the point-after kick was blocked. Holy Cross was able to maintain a one-point lead through the final 10 minutes of the game.
In two games involving defending state champions, Beechwood rolled to a 53-6 win over Newport Central Catholic and Lexington Sayre needed a late touchdown to get past Brossart, 8-5.
Beechwood, last year’s Class 2A state champion, scored on all seven of its first-half possessions to take a 46-6 lead and the rest of the game was played with a running clock. The Tigers’ offense had more than 300 yards in the first half with big plays by junior Tyler Fryman accounting for much of that total.
On the third play of the game, Fryman scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass from first-year quarterback Emmett Queen, who joined the team during the offseason.
In the second quarter, the two juniors hooked up again on a 73-yard scoring pass that gave their team a 29-6 lead.
Fryman ended the first-half scoring by taking a direct snap from center and breaking loose on a 45-yard run to the end zone. The speedster capped his performance by scoring his fourth touchdown on a punt return early in the third quarter.
Brossart was on the verge of upsetting defending Class 1A state champion Lexington Sayre, but a touchdown pass with 38 seconds left in the fourth quarter gave the visiting Spartans an 8-5 victory.
Both teams had good defensive showings. After a scoreless first half, Brossart cornerback Brady Boruske recovered a Sayre fumble in his team’s end zone for a two-point safety. The Mustangs extended their lead to 5-0 on a 20-yard field goal by Max Runge in the fourth quarter.
It looked like Brossart would win when Boruske intercepted a pass with 2:42 left in the game. But the Mustangs weren’t able to get a first down and punted the ball back to Sayre. The Spartans then went 71 yards on four passes by quarterback Gage Pennington, who ended the game-winning drive with a 18-yard touchdown strike to Paul Miller.
Covington Catholic scored on a 51-yard pass from Cash Harney to Logan Sanning to pull within 28-20 in a game at Cincinnati Elder. But Harney had a pass intercepted on his team’s final possession and the Colonels’ record dropped to 0-2.
Elder finished with a 401-390 advantage in total yards. Harney had 84 yards rushing and completed 11 of 16 passes for 172 yards with one interception. Dylan Gaiser had the Colonels’ only rushing touchdown and Logan Zembrodt kicked a pair of field goals.
The fans who went to Dayton’s first game at their new on-campus with field on Friday saw a high-scoring affair as the Greendevils defeated Pendleton County, 66-49. It was the highest point total by a Dayton team in more than 25 years.
High school football scoreboard
FRIDAY
Highlands 28 Cooper 14
Beechwood 53 Newport Central Catholic 6
Nicholas County 26 Bellevue 6
Lexington Sayre 8 Brossart 5
Holy Cross 25 Bracken County 24
Scott 35 Bullitt Central 21
Ryle 44 Conner 0
Cincinnati Elder 28 Covington Catholic 20
Lloyd 46 Newport 6
Ludlow 42 Holmes 18
Dayton 62 Pendleton County 49
Boone County 40 St. Henry 6
Hamilton Badin (Ohio) 66 Dixie Heights 21
Simon Kenton 43 Western Brown (Ohio) 24
SATURDAY
Campbell County at Pulaski Southwestern, 2 p.m.