article NKY Power Rankings 09-15-16 - Sponsored by NKY Family & Cosmetic Dentistry

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Well, #1 and #2 in Northern Kentucky is a pretty easy call. That we know. Beyond that, it’s tough to say definitively where everyone stands. There’s a lot to be said for things “depending on which team shows up” in regard to a number of teams around NKY. There are also quite a few teams in the #3 through #7 spots who could very well beat any other team in that range depending on any number of things in a given game. With that said, here’s what I’ve got:

THE RANKINGS:

10) Newport Catholic (2A) 1-3 – The Breds dropped a third straight game on Friday, this time losing to the three-time defending 3A champs, Belfry. Both teams struggled with the pass, with a mere 28 yards a piece. However, Belfry almost quadrupled New Cath’s 100 yards by rushing for 396 yards. Isaiah Meyer ran for the Breds’ sole touchdown, while Jason Decker and Trent Wrobleski both posted 9 solo tackles on defense. Kurtis Sutkamp and Brady Hicks each added another 7 tackles a piece. New Cath will host 4A Harrison County on Friday for a Breds vs. Breds matchup in Newport.

9) Dixie Heights (5A) 2-1 – The Colonels were hande their first loss of the season via 6A Simon Kenton on Friday, losing 14-43. Dixie managed 285 yards total offense against the Pioneers, who haven’t allowed any more than 286 yards to a team this season. Senior RB Jose Torres had 97 of the Colonels' total yards, including a 72 yard touchdown run, making it his 6th of the season. Dixie heads to Hebron this week to take on the 6A Conner Cougars on Friday.

8) Beechwood (1A) 3-0 – One of three undefeated teams in the NKY top ten, Beechwood has managed to do so by beating 3 teams from higher classifications than themselves. Beechwood beat 4A Franklin County 57-21 at home on Friday, with 417 total yards offense and a running clock against the Flyers. QB Brayden Burch threw for 3 touchdowns this week, and Aiden Justice scored 2 touchdowns, including an 83 yard kickoff return. The Tiger defense had 8 points in the game, with a 1Q safety and a 31 yard pick-6 by Cody Lofton in the 2Q. Beechwood heads down Dixie Highway to take on 5A Cov Cath on Friday.

7) Highlands (5A) 1-3 – After coming up with a big week 0 win against 6A Cooper, the Birds have dropped 3 games straight, this time being beaten 14-50 by 6A Ryle. Highlands struggled greatly to get their running game moving, with a mere 34 yards rushing. Gosney’s 216 yards passing was the highlight of the game for the Birds, throwing for 1 TD completion to Braden Posey. Jared Pulsfort added the other touchdown on the ground. Highlands will have another tough one this week when they head to Louisville to take on 6A St. Xavier.

6) Campbell County (6A) 2-2 – The Camels dropped one this week to 6A rival Cooper 14-44. Their passing was there, but they couldn’t get the run game moving against the Jags, only coming up with 69 yards on the ground. QB Austin Hoeh threw for 169 yards and the Campbell County’s only two touchdowns, while the defense struggled greatly against Cooper’s superior passing game, and gave up a total 522 yards to the Jags. The Camels have another tough row to hoe this week when they host the undefeated 6A Ryle Raiders.

5) Conner (6A) 2-1 – The Cougars impressed in their losing performance against 6A Simon Kenton last week, and they continued working to expel doubts on Friday by trouncing 4A Scott 60-8 at home. 12 solo tackles by Austin Cain and 10 more by Peyton VanHorn is a great way to expel doubt…as is Walker Buelow’s going 5-5 with 153 yards and 3 TDs passing. The Cougars also had an impressive four RBs with rushing TDs. Conner travels to 5A Dixie Heights on Friday.

4) Covington Catholic (5A) 3-1 – The Colonels pulled off a win for a third week straight, this time beating 3A Lex Cath 21-20 at home. It was another nail-biter, as Cov Cath won for a second week in a row via an opponent’s missed XP. Interestingly, it also makes the third win in a row where the losing team had more total offense than the Colonels. Senior LB Ben France had 8 solo tackles, while DL Jacob Kunkel added 6 of his own, and LB Anthony Best added 5 more to his count. AJ Mayer had another big game in the air, passing for 240+ for a third straight week, while sophomore RB McGinness had 117 and 1 TD on the ground. The Colonels host 1A Beechwood on Friday.

3) Cooper (6A) 3-1 – The Jags have shaken off their week 0 loss to Highlands by winning the following three games. This week they beat 6A Campbell County 44-14, pointing out my mistake in ranking them so low last week. Cooper has only allowed 56 points in the last three games, which is only 4 more than allowed against Highlands in their first game of the season. QB Lonaker had an incredible 344 yards and 3 TDs passing against the Birds, while Schlarman and Armour both averaged over 20 yards per reception. The Jags host 6A Simon Kenton on Friday.

2) Ryle (6A) 4-0 – Ryle made things look surprisingly easy on Friday when they beat the 5A Highlands Bluebirds 50-14 at home. There was even a rare running clock against the Birds. Tanner Morgan had an all-star performance, going 16 for 19 with 250 yards and 2 TD’s passing. Cole Burch punched in the other 4 touchdowns on the ground, and the Raider defense had four players with 4+ tackles a piece. Great outing by Ryle. The Raiders have 6A Campbell County on Friday on the road.

1) Simon Kenton (6A) 4-0 – Simon Kenton has several “should beat” teams on their schedule. For that matter, they have a couple of “should beat easily” teams on their schedule. 5A Dixie Heights definitely falls into the “should beat” category, and the Pioneers did just that on Friday, beating the Colonels 43-14 on the road. Both Cameron Racke and backup QB Matt Shearer threw for over 100 yards and a TD each, and they both added on a rushing TD in the victory. Simon Kenton heads on the road to take on 6A Cooper in a district matchup on Friday.

Trending Up:

6A Conner (2-1) – The Cougars rebounded from a tough loss to 6A Simon Kenton by shellacking the 4A Scott Eagles 60-8 on Friday.

6A Cooper (3-1) – The Jags knocked down 6A Campbell County, posting their 4th game with 40+ points scored.

2A Lloyd Memorial (3-1) – The Juggernauts blanked 4A Holmes this week in a 22-0 win. In 4 games, Lloyd’s defense has only allowed a total 3 touchdowns thus far this season.

Trending Down:

5A Dixie Heights (2-1) – The Colonels struggled this week, taking their first loss of the season at the hands of 6A Simon Kenton. Dixie lost 14-43.

5A Highlands (1-3) – A running clock against Highlands? That’s what happened on Friday in the Birds 14-50 loss to 6A Ryle.

2A Newport Catholic (1-3) – Three losses in a row for New Cath, who couldn’t get things moving against the 3A powerhouse Belfry Pirates on Friday. The Breds lost 8-41.

Player Of The Week:

Austin Cain (Conner)

Cain came up big with an outstanding 12 solo tackles for the Cougars in their 60-8 win over 4A Scott on Friday.

Game Of The Week:

Beechwood (1A) vs. Covington Catholic (5A)

The battle for bragging rights along Dixie Highway as the Tigers head north to take on the Colonels in the NKY game of the week. Beechwood comes into the game undefeated at 3-0, and Cov Cath is 3-1 with two wins over Ohio teams, and a loss to 6A Ryle.

You hit the nail on the head with your rankings. However I disagree with your game of the week. SK at Cooper.

You hit the nail on the head with your rankings. However I disagree with your game of the week. SK at Cooper.

It wasn't intended as a snub on the SK/Cooper game. However, with Cooper having played in the "game of the week" for the last two weeks, I was trying to give a little attention to another good matchup in the region.

For what it's worth, I have some suspicions that the final scoring margins for the SK/Cooper game and the Beechwood/Cov Cath game might be fairly similar.

It wasn't intended as a snub on the SK/Cooper game. However, with Cooper having played in the "game of the week" for the last two weeks, I was trying to give a little attention to another good matchup in the region.

 

For what it's worth, I have some suspicions that the final scoring margins for the SK/Cooper game and the Beechwood/Cov Cath game might be fairly similar.

I am putting words into your mouth here, but please correct me if I am off because obviously we may have different opinions. I kind of thought the Beechwood/CCH game would be a 3 score game in CCH favor. Are you in agreement with that and think the score will be likewise for Cooper/SK, or do you think both games will be closer?

I am putting words into your mouth here, but please correct me if I am off because obviously we may have different opinions. I kind of thought the Beechwood/CCH game would be a 3 score game in CCH favor. Are you in agreement with that and think the score will be likewise for Cooper/SK, or do you think both games will be closer?

I think 3 score games sounds about right in both cases, with both Simon Kenton and Covington Catholic in favor.

That said, I absolutely think Cooper and Beechwood have the potential to surprise.

Lloyd's defense has only given up one touchdown to Grant county and that was in the fourth quarter when jv was in. Beechwood scored a field goal on the defensive then scored a safty on blocked punt and ran the free kick back for a touchdown. Lloyd's varsity defense actually has given up 3 points in 4 games.

Big schools are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Putting good teams on the field. Numbers matter.

Lloyd's defense has only given up one touchdown to Grant county and that was in the fourth quarter when jv was in. Beechwood scored a field goal on the defensive then scored a safty on blocked punt and ran the free kick back for a touchdown. Lloyd's varsity defense actually has given up 3 points in 4 games.

Thanks for the correction, ukfan!