By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Highlands had 11 football players selected first-team All-Northern Kentucky on offense or defense by members of the local coaches association.
The list of Bluebirds includes sophomore quarterback Bryce Armstrong. In his first varsity season, he is generating 215 yards per game in passing and rushing combined.
The five Highlands players named first-team defense include senior twins Griffin and Cooper Benke, who are both linemen for the state’s top-ranked Class 4A team.
Covington Catholic had six first-team nominees, followed by Beechwood with five and Lloyd with three.
The Beechwood selections include Nathan Pabst and Tyler Fryman, the leading rusher and pass receiver on the state’s undefeated top-ranked Class 2A team.
Pabst has rushed for 763 yards and Fryman has 901 receiving yards. They’ve scored a combined total of 49 touchdowns on offense.
This is the second year that Walton-Verona has been a member of the Northern Kentucky Football Coaches Association and the Bearcats had senior linebacker AJ Yutze and senior offensive linemen Samuel Koester as first-team selections.
Yutze had a team-high 71 tackles (40 solo, 31 assisted) for the Bearcats going into their Class 2A playoff win at Breathitt County on Friday.
NKFCA All-Northern Kentucky Teams
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
QB — Bryce Armstrong (Highlands). RB — Nathan Pabst (Beechwood), Kiyan Miller (CovCath). WR — Tyler Fryman (Beechwood), John Feldbruegge (Highlands), Ben Kuhnhein (Highlands). TE — Owen Pitzer (CovCath).
OL — Aiden Dolen (Lloyd), Caleb Atkins (Highlands), Andrew Swope (Highlands), Manning Dawson (Cooper), Landon Robinson (CovCath), Samuel Koester (Walton-Verona). Kicker — Kai Anderson (Highlands).
FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE
DL — Bo Sowder (Beechwood), Jonny Lind (CovCath), Griffin Benke (Highlands), Cooper Benke (Highlands). LB — Lincoln Tomlinson (Lloyd), Cash Myers (CovCath), AJ Yutze (Walton-Verona), Landry Queen (Beechwood). DB — Gabe Williams (Highlands), Caleb Arrasmith (Beechwood), Zay Jones (Lloyd), Brandon Smith (CovCath). Punter — Cale Harris (Highlands). Athlete — Tayden Lorenzen (Highlands).
SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
QB — Emmet Queen (Beechwood). RB — Malachi Kennedy (Dayton), Corey Freihofer (Cooper). WR — Cade Anthrop (Campbell County), Sam Hughes (Simon Kenton), Mac Cogswell (CovCath). TE — Max Hunt (Holy Cross). OL — Max Parsons (Ryle), Kyle Shaw (Beechwood), Conner Abercrombie (Campbell County), Anthony Sparkman (Simon Kenton), Rayden Bennett (Conner), Colin Morris (Beechwood). Kicker — Jack Mercer (Beechwood).
SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE
DL — Brandon Carter (Lloyd), Kingston Brockett (Beechwood), Carson Clark (Cooper), Jeremiah Yutze (Walton-Verona), Stone Eickhoff (Lloyd). LB — Colt Kremer (Highlands), Brad Roaden (Dixie Heights), Cooper Burch (Walton-Verona), Sam Ismael (Scott).
DB — Xavier Collins (Ryle), Demarco Jackson (Newport), Anderson Durrett (Beechwood), Will Stevie (NewCath). Specialist — John Meyer (NewCath) Punter — Andrew Stewart (St. Henry). Athlete — Davea Andrew Glover (Newport).