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 Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
With 10 returning starters on defense, Cooper football coach Randy Borchers wasn’t too surprised with the final statistics from his team’s 37-13 win over Highlands in last Friday’s season opener.
In addition to limiting Highlands to 101 yards rushing and 169 yards passing, the Jaguars intercepted four passes and made stops on two fourth-down plays to give their own offense good field position.
The end result was Highlands finishing with its lowest point total since 2009 and losing its first game to a Northern Kentucky opponent since 2010. But Borchers knew his players had the potential to pull it off.
“Last year, the defense was really our strong suit and having so many kids back we felt like we would be really good defensively again,” he said. “Our big fear coming into Friday’s game was how well we’d handle their high-tempo offense with as many kids that they run in and out, especially at receiver. So we tried to spell our guys as much as we could and we did enough to get by.”
The Bluebirds only scored one touchdown on offense. The other one came on a punt return. A big chunk of the team’s 270 total yards came on one 59-yard pass play in the third quarter. But the Cooper defense offset that big gainer by intercepting four passes thrown by Highlands first-year quarterback Austin Hergott.
“The best part about our defense is our guys really fly to the ball,” Borchers said. “There were a couple passes that were tipped and we were able to pick off. That’s more to the credit of our kids always running to the ball and being in the right place at the right time.”
Senior defensive back Chad Michels made two of the pass interceptions. His second one set up Cooper’s final touchdown that clinched the victory. Junior safety Dante Hendrix and senior linebacker Aiden Keller picked off the other two passes.
The leading tacklers for the Jaguars were senior defensive tackle Marcus Watson with 12, senior linebacker Seth Keller with 10 and senior defensive back Justin Parks with eight.
Watson is part of a three-man defensive front that also includes junior Sander Roksvag and senior Elliott Smith, with senior Erik Pavek rotating in to give each of them a break
“Our defensive line across the board all did a great job and really shut down the run,” Borchers said. “If there was an MVP defensively, it would have been our line.”
How well the Cooper defense stops the run could play a major role in the outcome of Friday’s game at Newport Central Catholic. The Thoroughbreds have one of the area’s top running backs in senior Jacob Smith, but an injury kept him from playing in his team’s 8-7 loss to Scott last week.
Borchers doesn’t know if Smith will return to action this week, but his team is preparing for the game as if he will be carrying the ball. What the coach does know is the game will be another tough test for the Jaguars whether Smith is in the lineup or not.
“They’re going to have a chip on their shoulder because they’re hearing the same thing as we did last week when people were saying we wouldn’t be able to play with Highlands,” Borchers said. “They’re really not getting the credit they deserve for being as good a football team as they are. We know we’re going to have to come out Friday and play really well to win that game.”