The NKyTribune is 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
Ryle scored 25 points in the fourth quarter to win a shootout with Conner, 46-34, in a Class 6A district game between the county school rivals on Friday.
The Raiders had a slim 29-28 lead before they ran off 17 straight points to take control of the game. The scoring spurt included a 4-yard touchdown run by Jake Chisholm, a 38-yard field goal by Mason Molique and a 6-yard TD pass from Tanner Morgan to Jake Long.
Morgan threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns and scored on a 2-yard run. Ryle’s leading rushers were Chisholm with 117 yards and Mitchel Bateman with 97.
Conner senior quarterback Kyler Padgett threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 125 rushing yards and scored twice.
The final Class 6A district game will be be played next Friday when Cooper visits Conner. If Cooper wins, it will take the title. If Conner wins, there will be a three-way tie for first place and a tie-breaker system will be used to decide the two teams that host first-round playoff games.
CONNER 14 0 8 12 — 34
RYLE 0 14 7 25 — 46
C — Padgett 19 run (Eberhard kick)
C — Warwick 20 pass from Padgett (Eberhard kick)
R — Morgan 2 run (Molique kick)
R — Long 4 pass from Morgan (Molique kick)
R — Chisholm 3 run (Molique kick)
C — Nyers 13 pass from Padgett (Warwick run)
R — Bateman 2 run (Long run)
C — Padgett 33 run (conversion failed)
R — Chisholm 4 run (Molique kick)
R — Molique 38 field goal
R — Long 6 pass from Morgan (Molique kick)
C — Nyers 11 pass from Padgett (conversion failed)
RECORDS: Conner 6-3, Ryle 5-1
SIMON KENTON 51, CAMPBELL COUNTY 15
Simon Kenton won its final Class 6A district game to finish first in the standings behind another strong offensive performance that produced 533 total yards and seven touchdowns.
The undefeated Pioneers had 321 rushing yards with Dillion Powell getting 150 on 18 carries and Dylan Hampton getting 124 on just three carries. Powell was the team’s leading scorer with two touchdowns and a conversion run for 14 points.
Simon Kenton quarterback Cam Racke did his part by completing 11 of 14 passes for 161 yards and three TDs. Luke Vance had five receptions for 131 yards and two TDs.
Campbell County quarterback Carson Plessinger had 108 passing yards, 51 rushing yards and scored one of his team’s touchdowns.
CAMPBELL CO. 6 3 6 0 – 15
SIMON KENTON 8 22 21 0 – 51
CC – Dowds 9 run (pass failed)
SK – Racke 5 run (Powel run)
SK – Vance 53 pass from Racke (McNamara kick)
CC – Schierenbeck 27 FG
SK – Powell 7 run (McNamra kick)
SK – Vance 18 pass from Racke (McNamara kick)
SK – Powell 28 run (McNamar kick)
CC – Plessinger 18 run (kick blocked)
SK – Hampton 69 run (Carmony kick)
RECORDS: Simon Kenton 8-0, Campbell County 0-8
SCOTT 42, BOURBON COUNTY 35
Scott rallied in the fourth quarter to come away with the win that clinched first place in the Class 4A district standings and a home game in the opening round of the playoffs.
Scott took an early 20-7 lead on the strength of three rushing scores, two from quarterback Danny Fitzgerald and one from Bobby Brown. Bourbon County battled back and entered the fourth quarter up 28-20. But the Eagles scored three straight touchdowns on runs by senior Deondre Pleasant to put the game away.
Pleasant finished with 90 yards on seven carries and Roberto London had 148 yards on 19 carries. Fitzgerald had 107 yards passing and 70 yards on the ground.
BOURBON CO. 7 14 7 7 — 35
SCOTT 14 6 0 22 — 42
S — Fitzgerald 64 run (Lawson kick)
S — Brown 17 run (Lawson kick)
BC — 8 pass (kick good)
S — Fitzgerald 70 run (kick failed)
BC — 52 pass (Kick good)
BC — 33 pass (Kick good)
BC — 1 run (Kick good)
S — Pleasant 7 run (conversion good)
S — Pleasant 39 run (Lawson kick)
S — Pleasant 27 run (Lawson kick)
BC — 2 run (Kick good)
RECORDS: Bourbon County 4-4, Scott 7-1
WALTON-VERONA 49, TRIMBLE COUNTY 14
Walton-Verona won its fifth straight game and clinched first place in its Class 2A district without one of its leading rushers in the lineup.
Noah Richardson had to sit out Friday after being ejected from last week’s game, but the Bearcats were still able to rush for 375 yards. Halsey Page led the way with 170 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. That lifted his season rushing total over the 1,000 mark. Scott Pettyjohn also had a big game, rushing for 138 yards and three TDs.
The Bearcats’ multi-faceted rushing attack proved too much for Trimble County. Walton-Verona scored all 49 of its points in the first two quarters and pulled some of its offensive starters before halftime.
WALTON VERONA 21 28 0 0 — 49
TRIMBLE COUNTY 0 0 0 14 — 14
WV — Page 1 run (Moran kick)
WV — Brown 13 run (Moran kick)
WV — Page 28 run (Moran kick)
WV — Page 28 run (Moran kick)
WV — Pettyjohn 51 run (Moran kick)
WV — Pettyjohn 18 run (Moran kick)
WV — Pettyjohn 38 run (Moran kick)
TC — Weaver 3 run (Kick failed)
TC — Harris 11 run (Fox run)
RECORDS: Walton-Verona 5-4, Trimble County 0-9
DIXIE HEIGHTS 28, GRANT COUNTY 20
Dixie Heights scored one touchdown each quarter with its balanced rushing attack to stay on top in the Class 5A district game.
The Colonels relied so heavily on their running game that they only completed three passes for 40 yards while rushing 54 times for 305 yards.
Jose Torres rushed 22 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Colonels. Keegan Barmore rushed 13 times for 76 yards and two touchdowns and Gunther Faith rushed 14 times for 74 yards.
DIXIE HEIGHTS 7 7 7 7 — 28
GRANT COUNTY 0 0 20 0 — 20
DH — Torres 1 run (Schulte kick)
DH — Barmore 5 run (Schulte kick)
GC — Lawson 1 run (Kick failed)
DH — Barmore 14 run (Schulte kick)
GC — Spohn 86 run (Souder pass from Knipp)
GC — Spohn 20 pass from Knipp (Kick failed)
DH — Torres 6 run (Schulte kick)
RECORDS: Dixie Heights 2-6, Grant County 3-5
BEECHWOOD 62, LUDLOW 6
The Beechwood offense has been on a roll this season and Friday’s Class 1A district game was no different. The Tigers scored eight touchdowns on offense and racked up more than 400 total yards.
Beechwood scored four times in the first quarter and never looked back from there, sitting some starters for the entire second half.
Ethan Stringer had a big game for the Tigers, rushing for 179 yards and four touchdowns all in the first half. Aiden Justice rushed twice for 88 yards and a score to go along with 56 receiving yards. Kyle Fieger threw for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
LUDLOW 6 0 0 0 — 6
BEECHWOOD 28 21 7 6 — 62
B — Stringer 19 run (German kick)
B — Stringer 12 run (German kick)
B — Slusher 10 pass from Fieger (German kick)
B — Overstreet 45 fumble recovery (German kick)
L — Blackburn 39 run (Kick blocked)
B — Stringer 17 run (German kick)
B — Stringer 19 run (German kick)
B — Castleman 4 pass from Fieger (German kick)
B — Justice 78 run (German kick)
B — Erdman 3 run (Kick failed)
RECORDS: Ludlow 5-4, Beechwood 7-1
HOLMES 41, MASON COUNTY 6
The Holmes offense scored two touchdowns in the first three quarters to put the game out of reach for their Class 4A district opponent.
Senior Andrew Arnold ran 16 times for 105 yards and three touchdowns to go along with two catches for 72 yards. Junior Salih Abdullah ran 10 times for 113 yards and a score, and Shawndale Mincy rushed 12 times for 87 yards and a TD.
MASON COUNTY 0 0 0 6 — 6
HOLMES 14 13 14 0 — 41
H — Abdullah 2 run (Varney kick)
H — Arnold 30 run (Varney kick)
H — Arnold 2 run (Varney kick)
H — Sullivan 62 pass from Brumfield (Kick blocked)
H — Mincy 8 run (Brumfield run)
H — Arnold 7 run (Kick failed)
MC — Lofton 3 run (Kick failed)
RECORDS: Mason County 0-8, Holmes 3-5
PARIS 34, BISHOP BROSSART 21
Paris took a 21-7 lead in the first half and handed Brossart its first loss of the season in the Class 1A district game.
The Paris rushing attack racked up 402 yards with James Clark and Koebe Garrard leading the way. Clark scored three times and Gabbard made it to the end zone twice.
For the Mustangs, Craig Pfefferman threw for 150 yards and rushed for 62. Frank Cetrulo had 156 rushing yards and two TDs.
BISHOP BROSSART 7 0 7 7 — 21
PARIS 7 14 7 6 — 34
B — Moore 78 pass from Pfefferman (Cetrulo kick)
P — Clark 10 run (Dumphord kick)
P — Garrard 76 run (Dumphord kick)
P — Garrard 5 run (Dumphord kick)
B — Cetrulo 3 run (Cetrulo kick)
P — Clark 5 run (Dumphord kick)
P — Clark 51 run (Kick failed)
B — Cetrulo 10 pass from Pfefferman (Cetrulo kick)
RECORDS: Bishop Brossart 7-1, Paris 9-0
HOLY CROSS 48, NEWPORT 6
Junior running back Xavier Abernathy rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns and senior quarterback Hamilton Scott threw three TD passes for Holy Cross in the Class 2A district win played on Thursday.
The Indians finished with 351 total yards while limiting Newport to 118. The Holy Cross defense recovered three fumbles and intercepted a pass to hold the home team scoreless until the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
Both of senior wide receiver Damien Serrano’s pass receptions went for touchdowns on plays covering 28 and 38 yards. He also had a 50-yard punt return and a 32-yard kickoff return for the Indians to finish with a 148 all-purpose yards.
HOLY CROSS 7 20 14 7 – 48
NEWPORT 0 0 0 6 – 6
HC – Serrano 28 pass from Scott (Scott kick)
HC – Barnes 1 run (Scott kick)
HC – Abernathy 20 run (Scott kick)
HC – Williams 22 pass from Scott (Scott kick)
HC – Serrano 38 pass from Scott (Scott kick)
HC – Abernathy 7 run (Scott kick)
HC – Couch 6 run (Scott kick)
N – Lloyd 10 pass from Porter (run failed)
RECORDS: Holy Cross 4-4, Newport 1-7
OTHER GAMES INVOLVING LOCAL TEAMS
Highlands (3-5) 14, Covington Catholic (2-6) 10
Bellevue (3-5) 31, Dayton (1-7) 0
Cooper 43 (7-2), Boone County (0-8) 7