By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Consistency is what the Covington Catholic football team will be striving for this season after a stunning turn of events during last year’s Class 4A playoffs. One week after upsetting nationally ranked Boyle County to reach the final four, the Colonels lost to Franklin County.
“To get to the state title game and to win a state title, you’ve got to bring your ‘A’ game every day,” said coach Eddie Eviston. “So that’s kind of the big thing we’ve talked about during the offseason. You’ve got to be consistent. You’ve always got to keep moving forward, and I think these guys really feel that.”
With eight returning starters on defense and five on offense, CovCath expects to be a state title contender once again. The last time the Colonels won a state championship trophy was 2019 in Class 5A. Over the last five years, they have a 13-5 record in 5A and 4A playoff games, including a loss in the 2023 Class 4A final.
The current team has a good amount of experience, especially in the skill positions. Rebuilding the offensive and defensive front lines has been the primary focus during offseason weight training and summer practice.
“I think that’s how you win the games, up front,” Eviston said. “We’ve got some experience there, but we graduated (players with) a lot of reps. We’ve got some guys who are stepping in and I like how they’re working. If they come together with our combination of skill and experience we could have something to work with.”
The top returning linemen who will play on both sides of the ball are 6-foot-3, 260-pound junior Jonny Lind and 6-foot, 215-pound senior Tucker Evans. Eviston expects them to help their less experienced teammates learn to operate as a unit as the season progresses. That’s what happened last year when the Colonels got off to a 0-2 start and then won 11 straight games.
“We were playing our best ball towards the end of the year and that might be the case this year,” Eviston said. “Eventually, these O-line and D-line guys kind of grow into who they are and start to become veterans as the year goes on.”
Topping the list of skill players on the Colonels’ roster is senior quarterback Cash Harney, who passed for 1,303 yards and 13 touchdowns while also leading the team in rushing (1,476 yards) and scoring (116 points).
He became the first CovCath quarterback to surpass 1,000 yards in both passing and rushing in the same season.
In the team’s final two playoffs games last year, Harney had a combined total of 610 yards (398 passing, 212 rushing), but that didn’t ease the disappointment of losing in the semifinals.
“We hate that feeling of losing right before the championship game,” he said. “We know what it feels like and we’re coming into this season with a chip on our shoulder.”
Dylan Gaiser, a senior running back who had 1,378 rushing yards and scored 15 touchdowns last season, rejoins Harney in the offensive backfield. Both of them are also returning starters as defensive backs along with seniors Logan Sanning and Zach Brooks. The Colonels had 25 interceptions last season with Gaiser, Sanning and Brooks each picking off three passes.
Three of the four leading tacklers on last year’s team graduated. The two returning linebackers are a 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior Owen Pitzer and 6-foot-4, 210-pound senior Brady Guard, who made 57 and 50 tackles last season.
Pitzer, who also plays tight end and running back on offense, received a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky last spring.
“I think we’re going to kind of lean on Owen Pitzer to lead the way and we’ve got Brady Guard on the outside who has really good experience,” coach Eviston said. “We just need to bring along younger guys to be able to play with them. Our defense requires a lot of discipline and making sure you’re not making mental mistakes. If we can get that right mix of guys, hopefully we don’t miss a beat.”
CovCath will open the season with a home game against Ryle, last year’s Class 6A state runner-up, and then cross the Ohio River to take on Elder, a perennial power in Ohio. The Colonels also have consecutive games scheduled against Class 2A state champion Beechwood, Louisville Central, Highlands and Indianapolis Cathedral to prepare for what they hope will be a long playoff run.
“It’s always in the back of our head,” Gaiser said of last year’s loss in the semifinals. “We can’t do that again. We might not be perfect, everybody’s human, but we know we can do better.”
COVINGTON CATHOLIC COLONELS
2024 SEASON: 11-3 record, lost in semifinals of Class 4A playoffs.
STARTERS RETURNING: 5 offense, 8 defense.
DISTRICT: Class 4A, District 5 with Highlands, Harrison County, Mason County.
HEAD COACH: Eddie Eviston (111-26 in 10 seasons at CovCath, 145-34 in 12 seasons overall).
2025 SCHEDULE
Aug. 22 – RYLE, 7 p.m.
Aug. 29 – at Cincinnati Elder, 7 p.m.
Sept. 5 – at Simon Kenton, 7 p.m.
Sept. 12 – DIXIE HEIGHTS, 7 p.m.
Sept. 19 – at Beechwood, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 26 – at Louisville Central, 7 p.m.
Oct. 3 – at Highlands, 7 p.m.
Oct. 10 – INDIANAPOLIS CATHEDRAL, 7 p.m.
Oct. 17 – HARRISON COUNTY, 7 p.m.
Oct. 24 – at Mason County, 7:30 p.m.