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FRIDAY'S FEATURE GAMES
BOONE COUNTY (3-6) AT DIXIE HEIGHTS (4-5)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Rice Mountjoy Stadium, Covington.
Kypost.com coverage: Josh Katzowitz.
Notes: Boone County is having a rough season, and the Rebels’ defense has been especially brutal recently.
Boone County has allowed 111 points the last two weeks vs. Ryle and Simon Kenton, and is giving up 35.5 points per game this year.
The Rebels’ run defense is surrendering 256.2 yards per game, an area they will have to improve on quickly if they hope to have any postseason success. Boone County’s pass defense has been respectable – its opponents are averaging 127.4 yards per game in the air.
Dixie Heights has over 500 more passing yards than rushing, and senior Ryan Wilson is one of two area quarterbacks to throw for over 2,000 yards.
Wilson is 170-for-268 (63.4 percent) for 2,088 yards, 19 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has also rushed for 540 yards and four TDs.
Senior Corey Klei is the Colonels’ leader in rushing yards (572) and rushing touchdowns (6).
Three Dixie Heights receivers have over 30 catches. Senior Ben Haggerty has 34 catches for a team-best 515 yards, senior Josh Stegner leads the Colonels in receptions with 37, and he has 480 receiving yards. Junior Bobby Leonard has 35 receptions for 376 yards.
The Colonels have also had difficulties on defense. They are giving up 228 yards rushing and 160 yards passing per game.
Boone County’s offensive strength is its ground game. Of the 319.7 yards the Rebels are averaging, 252.3 have been on the ground.
Senior Charles Quainoo has 213 carries for 1,282 yards and 12 touchdowns, and junior Jordan Oppenheimer has added 552 ground yards and eight TDs on 89 carries.
Senior quarterback Nate Alford has never gotten on track this season. He is completing just 38.9 percent of his passes, has thrown only three touchdowns but nine interceptions and has a 31.0 passer rating.
Boone County has won six straight games vs. Dixie Heights, including two playoff games, but the Rebels’ streak is in serious jeopardy. The last time the Colonels beat Boone County was a 30-21 win on Oct. 15, 2004.
COVINGTON CATHOLIC (5-4) AT LOUISVILLE ST. XAVIER (8-1)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at St. Xavier Stadium, Louisville.
Kypost.com coverage: Billy Robertson.
Notes: St. Xavier’s only loss to Cincinnati St. Xavier, and the Tigers have won six straight since. They scored just seven points in that game, but St. Xavier has scored at least 32 points in seven of its eight wins.
The Tigers have more than twice as many rushing yards as they do passing, and similar to Highlands, they have used several running backs who have all had success.
Senior Jeremiah Neal leads the team with 584 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on 88 carries, and junior LaMont McMurry has 54 carries for 557 yards and six TDs – a 10.3-yard average.
St. Xavier has only thrown 104 passes all season, but senior quarterback Brian Buehner has been very successful when he goes to the air. He has completed 43 of 79 passes for 751 yards and nine touchdowns with just two interceptions.
McMurry is the team leader in receptions (15), receiving yards (350) and receiving touchdowns (3). Neal is second on the team with 10 receptions for 172 yards.
CovCath gave up 373 passing yards vs. Dixie Heights last week after allowing 136.0 yards per game in the air the previous eight games. The Colonels are surrendering 195.6 ground yards per game.
The Colonels started the season 0-3, but they have won five of six since.
Senior quarterback Brayden Erpenbeck went over the 1,000-yard mark rushing and passing last week. Erpenbeck rushed for 212 yards to give him 1,028 ground yards, and he passed for 224 to push him up 1,220 yards in the air.
Erpenbeck struggled against Highlands the previous week, as have most quarterbacks that face the Bluebirds’ defense, but Erpenbeck will need to play like he did last week for CovCath to have a chance.
St. Xavier is holding opponents to 109.3 rushing yards and 134.2 in the air. The Tigers are surrendering just 12.7 points per game.
Erpenbeck will need to watch out for junior defensive back Daylen Hall, who has picked off six passes.
St. Xavier has beaten CovCath each of the past two seasons, 31-14 in 2007 and 56-0 in 2008. The Colonels won the last meeting prior to those games, 24-14 on Aug. 21, 1999.
NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC (4-5) AT BEECHWOOD (6-3)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Edgar McNabb Stadium, Fort Mitchell.
Kypost.com coverage: Dan Wright.
Notes: Bob Schneider, Kentucky’s all-time coaching wins leader, will not be on the NewCath sidelines this weekend.
Schneider had to go to the hospital because of blood clots, and it is unclear when he will be able to return.
The Thoroughbreds lost five of six games to start the season, but have won three straight since. If NewCath is unable to break .500, it would be the first time since 1999.
NewCath’s defense has not been as dominant as in years past, especially its secondary. The Thoroughbreds are giving up 140.4 ground yards and 182.9 yards in the air per game.
But Beechwood has rushed for almost three times as many yards as it has passed for (2,584 to 892).
Senior Joe Colosimo has 122 carries for 1,022 yards and 13 touchdowns, and senior quarterback Matt Rigdon has 822 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 79 rushes (10.4 average).
Rigdon still needs to complete more passes – he has a 39.4 percentage – but he is averaging 15.2 yards per completion and has 10 touchdowns vs. six interceptions.
Senior Jacob Maus has been his primary target, catching 17 passes for 346 yards and two TDs.
Beechwood’s defense also struggled early in the season, but has done a complete turnaround (granted a good portion of that is due to the softer district schedule the Tigers have played recently vs. the brutal non-district games). The Tigers allowed 43.3 points per game in their first four, and are giving up an average of 3.0 since.
Beechwood, which has won five straight after a 1-3 start, is surrendering 179.9 rushing yards and 105.0 passing yards.
NewCath’s offense has been very similar to Beechwood’s. Both teams have a 1,000-yard rusher, a quarterback with 800 ground yards and less than 1,000 passing yards.
Junior Chris Kelly has 214 carries for 1,346 yards and 19 touchdowns, and sophomore Brady Hightchew has rushed for 806 yards and two TDs on 154 carries.
Hightchew is 61-for-102 for 713 yards and five touchdowns, but he has thrown seven picks.
Junior wide receiver Brian Doyle leads the team with 18 catches, and has 173 receiving yards.
NewCath has won the last three games it has played against Beechwood. The Tigers’ last win vs. the Thoroughbreds was a 28-21 victory on Sept. 30, 2006.
RYLE (7-2) AT HIGHLANDS (9-0)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Cecil Memorial Stadium, Fort Thomas.
Kypost.com coverage: Terry Boehmker.
Notes: Ryle scheduled Highlands twice this season, and the Bluebirds beat the Raiders in the first meeting, 37-14 on Aug. 28.
Ryle was able to generate 354 yards of offense in that game, but Highlands had 429.
The Raiders are averaging 444.7 yards per game, boasting nearly unstoppable run-pass combination.
Sophomore Travis Elliott has helped Ryle average 275.3 rushing yards per game by piling up 1,407 ground yards, fourth-best in the area. He is tied for third in Northern Kentucky in rushing touchdowns with 19.
Senior Kiefer Eubank has been an excellent second back, averaging 8.9 yards per carry and gaining 542 rushing yards.
Junior Connor Hempel has completed 100 of 162 passes (61.7 percent) for 1,506 yards and 15 touchdowns while throwing just four interceptions. His passer rating is 112.9.
Senior Trent Fugate has 27 receptions for an area-best 622 yards, and he is tied for No. 1 in Northern Kentucky with seven TD catches.
Highlands is allowing 149.6 rushing yards and 125.4 passing yards per game.
The Bluebirds have gone 9-0 despite losing their top running back for two games and their starting quarterback for two games.
Senior Will Bardo returned under center last week, but senior running back Austin Collinsworth’s status is unclear.
Bardo split time at QB with sophomore Patrick Towles last week. Bardo rushed for two touchdowns in that win over Scott.
Bardo has a 96.0 passer rating compared to Towles’ 80.4, and Highlands coach Dale Mueller likely will not take a chance with Bardo’s health in a non-district game.
Collinsworth, who leads Highlands with 963 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on 115 carries, sat last week after injuring his thumb vs. Covington Catholic the week before.
Like Bardo, if Collinsworth’s health is questionable, expect Bluebirds coach Dale Mueller to be overly cautious in a game that does not affect playoff seeding.
Ryle has given up almost the same number of rushing yards as passing. Opponents are averaging 173.9 ground yards and 163.9 yards in the air vs. the Raiders.
These teams have played annually for the past three seasons, with Highlands winning every meeting. Before 2007, Ryle and Highlands had not played each other since they were district foes in 1998.
OTHER FRIDAY GAMES
Bethel-Tate (Ohio) (3-5) at Brossart (5-4), 7 p.m.
Lloyd (4-5) at Bellevue (6-3), 7 p.m.
Newport (2-7) at Cooper (2-7), 7 p.m.
Simon Kenton (8-1) at Scott (2-7), 7 p.m.
Campbell County (3-6) at Clark County (6-3), 7:30 p.m.
Dayton (1-8) at Carroll County (5-4), 7:30 p.m.
Harrison County (5-4) at Holmes (7-2), 7:30 p.m.
Ludlow (5-4) at Pendleton County (6-3), 7:30 p.m.
West Jessamine (7-2) at Grant County (3-6), 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Trimble County (3-6) at Walton-Verona (1-8), 1 p.m.
Holy Cross (5-4) at Shadyside (Ohio) (4-5), 3:30 p.m.
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