By Audrey Carrico NKyTribune sports contributor If there’s one thing the Scott football program needed it was consistency. Earlier this year, the high school hired a new head coach for the fourth time in 14 months. The man who got the job, Justin Franklin, is stabilizing the situation. “I think coach Franklin brings the energy,…
By Dan Weber NKyTribune sports reporter Name your sport, any sport, it’s almost certainly a numbers game in one way or another. Here’s the problem with that: Numbers don’t always tell the whole story. Or the most accurate one. For example, how about this year’s Highlands Bluebirds. The key stat for a high school football team…
By Jake Dickman NKyTribune sports reporter With double-threat senior quarterback Armani Gregg among six starters returning on offense, Dixie Heights expects to move the ball like last season when the Colonels averaged 358 yards per game. The big question is how will the defensive unit do? Last season, Dixie Heights gave up 30 points or…
By Audrey Carrico NKyTribune sports contributor The Campbell County football team has 26 seniors on its current roster. That’s the same number of seniors the Camels had last season when three losses by margins of six points or less resulted in a disappointing 3-8 final record. “We did have a large senior class last season,…
By Chad Hensley NKyTribune sports reporter The Newport Wildcats are on the prowl and ready to pounce on their competition now that their stadium is ready for home games and with the return of numerous skill position players from an 8-4 season in 2023. The football program at Newport is about as battle tested as…
By Jake Dickman NKyTribune sports reporter After struggling through a 2-8 record last football season, a much-needed fresh start awaits the Boone County Rebels. And with so much changing throughout the entire program, even calling it a fresh start might be an understatement. On the heels of the Rebels’ worst season since pre-COVID-19, a brand…
By Audrey Carrico NKyTribune sports contributor Last season, the Dayton Greendevils extended their post-season success by winning a Class 1A football playoff game for the third consecutive year. “We want to prove this season that we can take the next step in our program,” said head coach Jesse Herbst. On paper, it looks like that…
By Dan Weber NKyTribune sports reporter No question with once-in-a-lifetime player Aba Selm having moved on to Kentucky and SEC football, Simon Kenton’s Pioneers will have someone to root for on Saturdays this fall. But the hope is that the team will have someone to root for deeper into November in the Class 6A playoffs this year…
By Terry Boehmker NKyTribune sports reporter The majority of players on the Holy Cross football team’s roster this season will be sophomores and freshmen, but that didn’t stop Curt Spencer from accepting the head coaching job last February. Spencer spent the last two years coaching those young players in the Indians’ middle school program. He…
By Chad Hensley NKyTribune sports reporter With a strong core of senior leadership returning, no one will be surprised if the Newport Central Catholic football team makes it back to the region finals in the Class 1A playoffs for the sixth consecutive year. Improving on their 1-4 record in the last five finals is what…
By Jake Dickman NKyTribune sports reporter After going winless last season, Holmes football players want to put the past behind them. To do that, coach Ben Nevels wants them to keep one thing in mind. “One of our sayings that I use all the time is, ‘Play fast, but not in a hurry,’” said Nevels,…
By Audrey Carrico NKyTribune sports contributor Last season, the Conner football team took a step in the right direction. Coming off a 2-9 record in 2022, the Cougars improved to 5-6 despite injuries to key players. But that wasn’t good enough for the returning starters. “We’re unsatisfied with what happened last year,” said Conner senior…
By Dan Weber NKyTribune sports reporter A recent ranking has two of Greater Cincinnati’s top eight college football prospects calling Union home. Both are a part of a Cooper team that has plans to take the final step this season after falling in the Class 5A state championship game a year ago. But that’s just…
By Terry Boehmker NKyTribune sports reporter On June 4, Walton-Verona High School scheduled a meet-and-greet for newly hired head football coach Gary Pence. That’s when the race against the clock began. He had 79 days to mold players he had never seen into a team before the start of the 2024 season. With 16 days…
By Chad Hensley NKyTribune sports reporter The 2023 Ludlow Panthers ended a 48-year district championship drought and this season’s team expects to be a playoff contender once again as numerous skill position players return. Back for head coach Woody McMillen’s Panthers will be Class 1A, District 4 Player of the Year Dameyn Anness for his…
By Jake Dickman NKyTribune sports reporter After taking a step forward with a 4-7 record last season, the Bellevue Tigers will continue their quest for the team’s first winning record since 2014. Head coach Chad Montgomery, a 2001 graduate of Bellevue, feels that his Tigers are in a great position as they return eight starters…
By Audrey Carrico NKyTribune sports contributor Brossart will begin this football season with a new head coach at the helm. The high school selected Adam Kozerski, a current teacher and son of former Cincinnati Bengals player and Holy Cross head coach Bruce Kozerski, to run the program. “I’m very fortunate to have been given a…
By Dan Weber NKyTribune sports reporter They’re getting the big things right, Kyle Niederman says of his Lloyd Memorial Juggernaut football team, but now “We really need to focus on the small things, to do a really better job on the small details.” That’s the kind of talk you hear from teams that return 11 starters from…
By Terry Boehmker NKyTribune sports reporter Winning a playoff game on the day after Thanksgiving is something Beechwood football teams had done seven times in eight years going into last season. But the Tigers lost to Mayfield, 31-28, in the Class 2A semifinals in late November and didn’t make it to the state championship game…
By Terry Boehmker NKyTribune sports reporter Kentucky high school football teams can begin practicing in full gear today and Ryle junior linebacker Jacob Savage is anxious to participate in contract drills for the first time in nine months. “There’s no other physical contact sport like football,” he said. “It’s definitely exciting and I’m definitely looking…
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 John Lachmann NKyTribune…
