By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Newport’s first offensive series set the tone for the rest of the night in a Class 1A playoff game at Ludlow on Friday. After big gains on their first two plays were negated by penalties, the Wildcats scored on a pass from Kyle Lee to AJ Lowe, who slipped past a defender and raced 72 yards to the end zone.
Penalties and turnovers continued to plague Newport during the game, but the players persevered and came away with a 23-7 victory that puts them in the region finals of the state playoffs for the first time since 2014.
“We’re fighters. When we play as a team we can get a lot done,” Lee said after the win. “We had some hiccups, but we overcame them, so we’re good to go.”
Newport (9-2) will visit Kentucky Country Day (9-2) in one of four Class 1A region championship games at 7 p.m. next Friday. In the Ratings Percentage Index used to seed the remaining eight teams, Kentucky Country Day is No. 1 and Newport is No. 7.
Several Newport players were doing back flips on the field after Friday’s big win. But head coach Paul Wiggins Jr., who took charge of the program last summer, may have been the happiest member of the team.
“As a Newport alum, it’s big,” he said. “We told them last week, ‘You’re one of 16 (Class 1A) teams still playing,’ and I told them just now, ‘You’re one of eight teams playing for state.’ I don’t know where our path takes us, but I’m happily going wherever we go.”
The final score in Friday’s game was much closer than the final stats due to the penalties and turnovers that hampered Newport’s offensive efficiency. The Wildcats finished with 359 total yards (271 passing, 88 rushing) compared to Ludlow’s 76 yards (29 passing, 47 rushing).
The Panthers actually got most of their total on a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Miller Reed to Carson Evans late in the second quarter that made the score 13-7 at halftime.
Neither team scored during the third quarter that ended with Newport intercepting a pass at its own 1-yard line. The Wildcats then put together a 99-yard scoring drive despite four penalties, a bad snap that Lee was able to recover and a quarterback sack during that series.
On a fourth-down play at the 9-yard line, Lee arched a pass into the right corner of the end zone that Lowe caught for his second touchdown. Lee then scored on a two-point conversion run to give the Wildcats a 21-7 lead with 4:19 remaining in the game.
“That was super big,” Lee said of the scoring drive. “It was like mandatory in my head the whole time to get completion after completion and get it down field to score. That’s all I wanted to do.”
Newport recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but the offense turned the ball over on a fumble at the 2-yard line. Ludlow wasn’t able to move the ball and the Wildcats defense got a two-point safety on an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone.
“The defense was the signature tonight,” said coach Wiggins. “We made it very difficult on them. I think at times (Ludlow) looked uncomfortable. We saw stuff that they’d never run before and I think that was more a credit to our defense than anything.”
Lee completed 21 of 34 passes for 271 yards with Lowe getting nine catches for 181 yards and two touchdowns. It was the best night of the season for the 6-foot-4, 190-pound wide receiver, who came into the game with 233 total receiving yards.
“AJ can be a weapon because he’s a mismatch for people at the high school level,” Wiggins said. “He’s a matchup nightmare for people.”
Ludlow ends the season with an 8-4 record. The Panthers defeated Newport, 28-6, in last year’s playoffs, but they lost to the Wildcats, 32-30, earlier this season in a game that was decided in the final seconds.
“They made plays when they needed to and their defense played much better than they did in our previous couple meetings,” Ludlow coach Woody McMillen said after Friday’s loss. “They created situations where it was difficult for us. We had some unfortunate miscues, and Newport was just better than us tonight.”
NEWPORT 7 6 0 10 — 23
LUDLOW 0 7 0 0 — 7
N — AJ Lowe 72 pass from Kyle Lee (Rodrigo Rosario kick)
N — Aiden Satchell 8 run (kick failed)
L — Carson Evans 43 pass from Miller Reed (Finn McMillan kick)
N — Lowe 9 pass from Lee (Lee run)
N — Safety, intentional grounding in end zone
RECORDS: Newport 9-2, Ludlow 8-4
High school football scoreboard
Newport Central Catholic 41, Brossart 14
Newport 23, Ludlow 7
Beechwood 56, Breathitt County 28
Russell 21, Lloyd 20
Covington Catholic 14, Johnson Central 13
Highlands 55, Woodford County 38
Cooper 45, Scott County 20
Ryle 38, Louisville St. Xavier 17
High school football region finals on Friday
CLASS 1A
Newport (9-2) at Kentucky Country Day (9-2), 7 p.m.
Newport Central Catholic (9-3) at Campbellsville (10-2), 7 p.m.
CLASS 2A
Martin County (9-3) at Beechwood (11-1), 7 p.m.
CLASS 4A
Covington Catholic (10-2) at Boyle County (12-0), 7 p.m.
CLASS 5A
Pulaski Southwestern (7-5) at Cooper (12-0), 7 p.m.
Pulaski County (8-4) at Highlands (10-2), 7 p.m.
CLASS 6A
Central Hardin (4-8) at Ryle (12-2), 7 p.m.