The NKyTribune will be offering focused coverage of NKY high school football throughout the season, thanks to support from St. Elizabeth Healthcare Sports Medicine. See all our pre-season features on each of NKY’s 21 high school football teams and follow our coverage, including roundups each week at Northern Kentucky High School Football.
By Brett Bibbins
NKyTribune contributor
With 433 total yards of offense and three pass interceptions on defense, Cooper stunned perennial state power Highlands, 37-13, in the season opener for both teams on Friday at Cooper.
Senior running back Torrey Cordell-Armstrong rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Jaguars’ offensive attack. Nathan Brown also made an impressive debut as Cooper’s quarterback, completing 7 of 18 passes for 186 yards and two TDs.
Highlands wasn’t able to sustain offensive drives, partly due to three pass interceptions. The Bluebirds finished with 266 total yards.
HIGHLANDS 0 7 6 0 — 13
COOPER 14 3 6 14 — 37
C — Hendrix 82 pass from Brown (Hollifield kick)
C — Cordell-Armstrong 68 run (Hollifield kick)
C — Jackson 40 pass from Brown (kick blocked)
H — Miller 45 punt return (Dougherty kick)
C — Hollifield 25 FG
H — Kendall 2 run (run failed)
C — Cordell-Armstrong 2 run (Hollifield kick)
C — Cordell-Armstrong 5 run (Hollifield kick)
RECORDS: Cooper 1-0, Highlands 0-1
SCOTT 8, NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 7
NewCath scored the game’s first touchdown on a 7-yard run by John Harris in the third quarter, but the Thoroughbreds failed to find the end zone the rest of the game.
Scott’s lone score came in the fourth quarter when Gage Tucker recovered a fumble and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion run by quarterback Danny Fitzgerald proved to be the difference-maker.
NEWCATH 0 0 7 0 — 7
SCOTT 0 0 0 8 — 8
NC: Harris 7 run (Hans kick)
S: Tucker 41 fumble return (Fitzgerald run)
RECORDS: Scott 1-0, NewCath 0-1
LLOYD 28, WALTON-VERONA 20
Lloyd senior wide receiver Charles Gaines caught a 10-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Jordan Fann with 37 seconds left for the winning touchdown.
Gaines scored two touchdowns and ran in a two-point conversion to account for half of his team’s points. Noah Richardson rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns for Walton-Verona. He scored on a 75-yard run to tie the score at 20-20 before Lloyd put together its game-winning drive.
Lloyd finished with 332 total yards and Walton-Verona had 351.
WALTON-VERONA 7 0 7 6 — 20
LLOYD 6 8 6 8 — 28
WV — Richardson 22 run (Moran kick)
L — Townsend 64 run (run failed)
L — Gaines 1 run (Gaines run)
WW — Page 2 run (Moran kick)
L — Durham 2 run (run failed)
WV — Richardson 75 run (kick failed)
L — Gaines 10 pass from Fann (Durham run)
RECORDS: Lloyd 1-0, Walton-Verona 0-1.
HOLY CROSS 24, HOLMES 20
Holy Cross junior runing back Xavier Abernathy scored the winning touchdown on a 9-yard run with less than five minutes left on the clock.
Holy Cross jumped out to an early 17-7 lead, but Holmes battled back. The Bulldogs went ahead early in the fourth quarter when Andrew Arnold scored his third touchdown to make it 20-17.
Abernathy rushed for 124 yards on 22 carries, while Arnold had 113 yards on 19 carries. Holy Cross quarterback Hamilton Scott picked up 118 yards on 18 carries and scored 12 points on a touchdown, field goal and three extra-point kicks.
HOLY CROSS 7 10 0 7 — 24
HOLMES 0 6 8 6 — 20
HC — Scott 14 run (Scott kick)
HC — Abernathy 6 run (Scott kick)
HOL — Arnold 2 run (kick blocked)
HC — Scott 37 FG
HOL — Arnold 9 run (Brumfield run)
HOL – Arnold 10 run (run failed)
HC — Abernathy 9 run (Scott kick)
RECORDS: Holy Cross 1-0, Holmes 0-1.
EAST CENTRAL (Ind.) 24, CAMPBELL COUNTY 21
East Central’s relentless rushing attack picked up 258 yards and the visiting Indiana team had a 24-7 lead in the fourth quarter.
Campbell County quarterback Carson Plessinger scored two rushing touchdowns in the final quarter to close the gap, but the Camels’ comeback fell short. Plessinger completed 12 of 22 passes for 171 yards and one TD. He carried the ball eight times for 20 yards.
EAST CENTRAL 10 7 0 7 — 24
CAMPBELL COUNTY 0 7 0 14 — 21
EC — Patton 8 run (Spidham kick)
EC — Patton 9 run (Spidham kick)
CC — Comer 13 pass from Plessinger (Schierenbeck kick)
EC — Spidham 24 FG
EC — Castle 12 pass from Maxwell (Spidham kick)
CC — Plessinger 1 run (Schierenbeck kick)
CC — Plessinger 5 run (Schierenbeck kick)
RECORDS: East Central 1-0, Campbell County 0-1
OTHER GAMES INVOLVING LOCAL TEAMS
Bellevue 35, Gallatin County 20
Brossart 35, Dayton 0
Ludlow 34, Newport 0
Lexington Catholic 51, Boone County 13
Simon Kenton 50, Christian Academy of Louisville 23