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FRIDAY’S FEATURE GAMES
RYLE (2-1) AT DIXIE HEIGHTS (2-2)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Mountjoy Stadium, Covington.
Kypost.com coverage: Terry Boehmker.
Notes: This game features teams that are playing brutal non-district schedules.
Ryle made a major statement last week with a 45-0 road win at Newport Central Catholic (the Raiders lost to the Thoroughbreds, 25-20 last year).
The Raiders’ running game has gotten off to a lightning-quick start, averaging 310.7 yards per game. In three games, sophomore Travis Elliot has already piled up 474 ground yards and five TDs, and senior Kiefer Eubank has 253 rushing yards on just 25 carries.
And junior Conner Hempel has been his usual solid self under center, throwing for 396 yards and completing 57 percent of his passes.
Dixie Heights’ defense gave up just 14 points in its first two games, but the Colonels allowed 85 in their last two.
Dixie Heights will need to find a way to slow down the Elliot-Eubank tandem, but the Colonels have struggled vs. the run. Opponents are averaging 215.8 rushing yards per game against Dixie Heights, and 136.0 against the pass.
Ryle may favor its running game, considering its early success on the ground and Dixie Heights’ trouble defending it.
Dixie Heights’ offense has been nearly balanced, gaining 187.5 rushing yards and 202.0 passing yards per game.
Colonels senior quarterback Ryan Wilson leads Northern Kentucky with 868 passing yards, and he has completed 64.5 percent of his passes. He has also thrown seven touchdowns and just two interceptions in 121 passes.
What has made Dixie Heights so tough to defend is the number of receivers that are thrown the ball regularly. Five Colonels receivers have caught at least 10 passes, and four have touchdown catches.
Dixie Heights’ biggest receiving threat so far has been senior Ben Haggerty, who leads the area in catches (18) and yards (234), and is tied for the lead in TD catches (3).
Wilson has been nearly as dangerous running the ball. He has rushed for 293 yards (a 7.5 average) and two TDs on 39 carries.
And Wilson is second on the team in ground yards. Senior Corey Klei is Dixie Heights’ workhorse in the backfield, with 57 carries for 301 yards and three scores.
Ryle’s defense has already faced Highlands, so the Raiders have experience facing an offense with a plethora of skill players. But the Raiders did allow 431 yards of offense vs. the defending Class 5A champs.
The Raiders’ defense has been about average vs. both the run and pass, but Ryle has faced Covington Catholic, Highlands and Newport Central Catholic thus far.
The Raiders are allowing 181.7 yards rushing and 106.3 yards passing per game.
Dixie Heights has been favoring the passing game more recently, with 514 yards in the air the last two weeks. Granted they were losses, which is why they threw more, but he still has a 67 percent completion rate in that span.
Wilson was a dual threat last season as well, but his passing has been exceptional, so the Colonels’ may ride his hot hand and throw over 30 times even if they are leading.
Ryle has won three of its last four meetings with Dixie Heights. The Raiders beat the Colonels twice in 2006, including the first round of the playoffs, and the Colonels’ lone win during that stretch was a 45-10 victory in 2007.
Ryle beat Dixie Heights, 48-39 last season, and with these powerful balanced offenses going at it, the score of this season’s game may resemble 2008’s.
CAMPBELL COUNTY (1-2) AT NEWCATH (1-3)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Newport Stadium, Newport.
Kypost.com coverage: Dan Wright.
Notes: Both teams are looking to recover from slow starts and are having trouble establishing a balanced offense.
Campbell County split with small Ohio schools before losing to previously-unbeaten Covington Catholic, 33-14 last week at home.
After an 0-2 start, Newport Central Catholic beat a winless Madison Central team before suffering a 45-0 loss to Ryle last week (its most lopsided defeat since a 48-0 beating by Beechwood on Oct. 29, 1999).
Almost all of Campbell County’s offense has come from its passing game. The Camels have rushed for an average of 34.3 yards per game, but are passing for 211.3.
Junior quarterback Michael Kremer leads Northern Kentucky in pass attempts with 133, completing 68 for a 51.1 percent rate. He has thrown for 779 yards and six touchdowns with five interceptions.
Senior Austin Johnson and senior Andrew Eshman have been Kremer’s top targets. Johnson has caught 17 passes for 194 yards, and Eshman has 16 catches for 175 yards.
NewCath’s defense has struggled against the run and has been so-so against the pass. Opponents are averaging 204.0 ground yards and 137.3 yards in the air vs. the Thoroughbreds.
Junior running back Chris Kelly has scored five of NewCath’s seven touchdowns this year, gaining over 400 yards on the ground. But the Thoroughbreds have had trouble establishing the passing game – they have not reaching 100 passing yards in any game this season.
Which may explain why NewCath has scored more than eight points in just one of its four games. But Campbell County is giving up 361.3 yards per game – 193.7 rushing and 167.7 passing.
This is the third straight season these teams have met, and NewCath has won six straight games against Campbell County. The Camels’ last win over the Thoroughbreds was Sept. 8, 2000, by a 19-6 score.
BOONE COUNTY (1-2) AT HIGHLANDS (4-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Cecil Memorial Stadium, Fort Thomas.
Kypost.com coverage: Kareem Elgazzar.
Notes: Boone County’s defense did not give up more than 23 points in any of its 13 games last season. This year, the Rebels have allowed at least 23 in all three.
Boone County is surrendering 38.7 points per game, and 299.3 rushing yards per game. The team has held opponents to an average of 76.7 yards in the air.
A struggling run defense could result in a huge game by Highlands senior running back Austin Collinsworth, who is averaging over 11 yards per carry.
Collinsworth has only rushed 47 times, but he has gained 536 yards and scored 10 touchdowns on the ground. Highlands coach Dale Mueller may again limit Collinsworth’s carries, especially if the Bluebirds take a large lead.
Boone County’s offense is also off last season’s pace. Senior running back Charles Quainoo rushed for 1,887 yards last season despite missing a game, and averaged 6.7 yards per carry. In three games this year has gained 420 ground yards and his yards per carry is down to 5.5.
Also, senior quarterback Nate Alford was injured past of last season, but he still completed 51.7 of his passes and threw just two interceptions in 58 pass attempts. This year, his completion percentage is 39.5 and he has already been picked off four times.
Highlands is giving up 10.5 points per game. Ryle and Beechwood both managed over 300 yards vs. the Bluebirds, but both gained many of those after Highlands had taken a significant lead.
These teams have not met since 2004, when Highlands pounded Boone County, 55-14.
OTHER FRIDAY GAMES
Conner (4-0) at Holy Cross (2-1), 7 p.m.
Cooper (2-1) at Lloyd (1-2), 7 p.m.
Newport (1-2) at Dayton (0-3), 7 p.m.
Shawnee (2-1) at Ludlow (1-2), 7 p.m.
Brossart (3-0) at Elizabethtown (1-2), 7:30 p.m.
Grant County (2-1) at Western Hills (2-1), 7:30 p.m.
Henry Clay (3-0) at Simon Kenton (3-0), 7:30 p.m.
Holmes (3-0) at Bourbon County (2-1), 7:30 p.m.
Scott (0-3) at Harrison County (2-1), 7:30 p.m.
Walton-Verona (1-2) at Carroll County (4-0), 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY’S FEATURE GAME
BEECHWOOD (1-2) AT COVCATH (1-3)
Kickoff: 1 p.m. at Wooten Field, Covington.
Kypost.com coverage: John Lachmann.
Notes: Both teams started very slowly but won their last game and appear to be moving in the right direction.
Beechwood has scored seven, 20, and 36 points respectively, so the offense is getting better.
Senior Joe Colosimo broke out with 220 rushing yards last week after gaining just 96 ground yards the first two games. Senior quarterback Matt Rigdon and sophomore Cameron Vocke have also contributed to the ground game with over 100 yards each.
Rigdon struggled early, but was significantly better last week in the Tigers’ win.
CovCath is allowing 28.8 points per game, but held Campbell County to a 14 points and minus-6 rushing yards last week.
Senior Braydon Erpenbeck also appears to be more comfortable under center. He threw for 187 yards against the Camels, and broke an 81-yard run against Cincinnati-power La Salle in Week 3.
Beechwood’s defense has not played well in any of the Tigers’ three games. Beechwood is allowing 479 yards per game – 265 on the ground and 114 in the air. Opponents are averaging 43.3 points vs. the Tigers, who have given up 35 or more points in every game.
Covington Catholic had a four-game winning streak vs. Beechwood snapped last season with the Tigers won, 35-21. Beechwood had last beaten CovCath, 26-7 on Sept. 20, 2003.
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