By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
Deondre Pleasant, a senior captain on the Scott football team that posted a best-ever 10-3 record last season, is a member of the first recruiting class for Cincinnati Christian University.
Cincinnati Christian announced plans to start a football program last June and hired James Fulcher, a former all-pro strong safety with the Cincinnati Bengals, as head coach.
Pleasant will be on the roster when the Eagles make their debut this year competing on the Division II level of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics as an affiliate member of the Mid-South Conference.
In high school, Pleasant was a three-year starter at safety and two-year starter at running back for Scott. Last season, he was named Player of the Year in Class 4A District 7 because he rushed for 530 yards, scored 11 touchdowns, intercepted five passes and made 61 tackles.
“Deondre has been a huge part of the resurgence of our program,” said Scott coach Dan Woolley. “He is a playmaker on both sides of the ball and matured into a great leader who was well respected by all members of the team and the student body. I have no doubt he will become a huge part of the CCU program and their success.”
Woolley said Pleasant was recruited to play strong safety for Cincinnati Christian. That’s the same position the new team’s head coach played during his NFL career.
Cincinnati Christian has not released its schedule for the 2016 football season. The Eagles will become the seventh member of the Mid-South Conference East Division that includes five Kentucky teams – Cumberlands, Georgetown, Kentucky Christian, Pikeville and Union – along with Bluefield of Virginia.
Several other Northern Kentucky high school football players made commitments with teams in the Mid-South Conference. Two local players who signed with larger colleges are Dillion Powell of Simon Kenton and Austin Hergott of Highlands.
Hergott, who passed for 1,722 yards last season, was recruited by Central Michigan University, an NCAA Division I team that has played in a post-season bowl game seven of the last 10 years.
Powell, the leading rusher in Northern Kentucky last season with 1,780 yards on 256 carries, accepted a scholarship from Wayne State University in Michigan. The team competes on the NCAA Division II level.
Powell is one of five finalists for the Northern Kentucky “That’s My Boy” Award that goes to the top student-athlete in football each year. The other finalists are Kyler Padgett of Conner, Cameron Pitzer of Covington Catholic, Brett Slusher of Beechwood and Sean Sullivan of Holmes. The winner will be announced at the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the National Football Foundation banquet on March 1 at the Westin Hotel in Cincinnati.
Campbell County senior among candidates for 10th Region Player of the Year
Campbell County senior Matt Wilson is among the leading candidates for 10th Region Player of the Year in boys’ basketball with less than three weeks remaining in the regular season.
The 6-foot-9, 247-pound center is averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds per game for the Camels, who won the 10th Region championship the last two years and have a 7-1 record against regional opponents this season.
The two leading scorers in the region – Bracken County junior Austin Crawford (26.9 ppg) and Scott junior Jake Ohmer (26.7 ppg) – are also considered top candidates for the honor.
Wilson, who will be attending West Point, is closing out an impressive career at Campbell County. He has scored 1,483 points and pulled down 1,088 rebounds in four varsity seasons.
He needs 18 rebounds to become one of the top 25 rebounders in the history of Kentucky boys’ high school basketball, according to statistics posted on the khsaa.org website.
CovCath to honor former basketball coach at Friday night’s home game
Covington Catholic High School will pay tribute to former coach Martin “Mote” Hils during its home game against Beechwood on Friday night.
Hils, who passed away earlier this month, was head coach at CovCath from 1963 to 1971 and compiled a 195-52 record in eight seasons. His teams won five consecutive 9th Region championships and made it to final game of the 1967 state tournament.
After the 1970-71 season, Hils left CovCath to become the first men’s basketball coach at Northern Kentucky State College, which later became Northern Kentucky University. He had a 119-118 record in nine seasons as a college head coach and took the Norse to their first post-season playoff appearance in 1978.
CovCath alumni and friends are invited to attend a reception in the Griffin Alumni Center on the high school campus after Friday’s game.
Walton-Verona wrestling team reaches semifinals in state duals tournament
Walton-Verona placed third in the Kentucky State Dual Wrestling Championships small-school division last Saturday at Lindsey Wilson College.
“Very pleased the way the team united together and the positive energy they produced,” coach John Roth said in an email. “They finished third because they fed off each other’s performances.”
The Bearcats were seeded fifth in the 12-team bracket going into the tournament. They won their first two dual matches against Louisville Moore and Larue County before losing to top-seeded Union County in the semifinals.
Walton-Verona junior Hunter Ruber won all four of his matches in the 285-pound weight class during the tournament. Roth said sophomores Ryan Moore and Mason Smith each posted their 100th varsity win for the Bearcats.