Highlands 36 Holmes 0

[katbird]

Great job Birds!!!

[DoTell]

Kind of a low score for the Birds. How did the game go?

[Sweeperboy]

The magic number of 36 is all that counts in this one...

 

Holmes kids get credit from Sweep for hanging in there..Just 28 strong but fighters and determined.:thumb:

[Clyde]

The magic number of 36 is all that counts in this one...

 

:

 

Correct. Get in . Get out.

[Sweeperboy]

Correct. Get in . Get out.

 

That is an understatement...

 

Highlands arrives at 630 for 7 pm kickoff, believe they did all of their stretching and drills at Highlands and then loaded the bus full pads and ran on the field, went through some of the kicking game and then went to work.

 

It was a pretty clean game, not too many penalties or injuries which kept the clock moving, Birds back on the bus by 9pm

 

Get ready for Elder :thumb:

[allsport71]

Lots of class and respect to Highland tonight, Holmes dressed 28 players who played very hard, Arnold and Sullivan and Brumfield just to mention a few, Highland could have scored more but chose to play the bench in the 2nd half, hang in there Dogs, wishing the Bluebirds the best.

[Qryche11]

When Did the JV enter tñthe game.

[horst muhlmann]

When Did the JV enter tñthe game.

 

2nd half. A couple of starters rotated in for 1 or 2 series in the 2nd half, although most were on the defensive side of the ball.

[35Bird]

How much did Hoge play?

[horst muhlmann]

How much did Hoge play?

 

1st half. Several long TDs, at least 3 to speedster Venneman.

[Sweeperboy]

How much did Hoge play?

 

Where ya been son...

 

Missed ya at the 100 yr reunion...

 

Coach Hicks commented that of all the Highlands greats in attendance that there was really only one guy missing and it was #35...:thumb:

 

 

Hoge played well enough to get the job done and get in and get outta there without any issues and geared up for Elder this week.

[PsalmsG]

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

In lopsided contests, the younger Highlands Bluebirds earn some playing time.

That has been the case in all three district contests this year. Highlands (7-1 overall, 3-0 District 6-4A) hit the running clock in the three district contests and the wins over Paducah Tilghman and John Hardin.

“They practice all week too,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “They’re excited about the change to get to play on a Friday night unlike their usual Saturday, which is a little different. It’s good for them.”

Some may be concerned about life after this season because the younger players have not been scoring in the second half like past years. The Bluebirds did not score in the second half against Harrison County or Covington Holmes. But the coaching staff is not concerned.

“They just need time and (reptititions),” Weinrich said. “There’s just not enough reps to go around. We have 100 guys so we try to take advantage of all of them. We try to get things in practice. We also play as many JV (junior varsity) games as we can. That’s how they’re going to get some confidence.”

Junior wide receiver TJ Sipple earned some playing time against Holmes. The Bluebird Junior Varsity entered Saturday’s contest at Cincinnati St. Xavier with a 1-3 record and the freshmen were 3-3 coming off a 43-0 domination of Boone County on Thursday.

“It’s pretty cool to get in after the ones do their job,” Sipple said. “We got that experience we need for next year and (following years), to get better and work out all the (kinks). We just need to get our confidence up some and get more excited about playing when we get in during the second half.”

Both Highland sub-varsity teams have two games left after Saturday. The junior varsity goes to Cincinnati Elder and plays host to Scott county the next two Saturdays and the freshmen take on Ryle and Dixie Heights the next two Thursdays.

Injury Report:

The Bluebirds saw a number of players not play Friday. That included junior defensive lineman Tyler Robinson, senior tight end Jack Telek, senior defensive back James Hinkel, senior linebacker Brady Murray and senior running back Griffin Urlage.

Robinson left during the first half of the game Saturday against Miami (Fla.) Christopher Columbus. But he expects to return this week.

Series Report:

Highlands improved to 51-20-2 all-time against the Bulldogs with the win.

The Bluebirds have met the Bulldogs more than any opponent in school history.

The Bluebirds have won 14 in a row in the series dating back to 1995, which marked Dale Mueller’s second year as head coach.

In 1995, Holmes edged Highlands, 27-25 during the regular season. But the Bluebirds came back to beat the Bulldogs, 13-6 in the region finals before losing to Bowling Green, 28-12 in the 3A title game.

Holmes will not be on the Highlands schedule next year. Holmes will stay in Class 4A while Highlands moves to 5A.

The next in line is Dixie Heights with 70 meetings. The Bluebirds are 62-8 against the Colonels all-time. The two have not played since 2011 and will resume their series next year in the same district in Class 5A.

Class 4A update:

Johnson Central improved to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in District 8-4A action with a 48-14 thumping of Rowan County on Friday. The Golden Eagles meet rival Ashland Blazer (5-3 overall, 3-0 district) for the district championship in Paintsville this Friday.

Aside from Highlands, four other schools have one loss in Class 4A. Owensboro and Boyle County are 7-1 while Franklin-Simpson and Knox Central are 6-1. Owensboro’s lone loss came to three-time defending 5A champion Bowling Green, 42-34 on Sept. 12. Owensboro led at halftime in that game.

Valdosta suffers first loss:

The Bluebirds had not gained anything on Valdosta (Georgia) in terms of all-time program wins. They in fact lost a game with the defeat against Christopher Columbus on Saturday.

But Valdosta lost its first game to South Georgia Region 1-AAAAAA rival Colquitt County, 48-20 on Friday at home. The Wildcats are 889-215-34 good for the most wins in the country while the Bluebirds are 862-228-26.

Up Next:

The Bluebirds take on Cincinnati Elder on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the regular season home finale. The Panthers come in at 5-3. They snapped a two-game losing streak with a narrow 28-21 win over Cincinnati Winton Woods on Friday. They suffered consecutive losses to Greater Catholic League South rivals Cincinnati St. Xavier (32-24) and Cincinnati Moeller (26-17).

Highlands has beaten Elder just once in seven tries. That came by a 34-29 count at Elder in 2011.

 

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Bluebird Notebook: How did the younger players develop Friday?

[PsalmsG]

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

COVINGTON – It had been a little more than a year since the Blue and White kept an opponent off the scoreboard.

The Highlands Bluebirds football team did that Friday. Highlands (7-1 overall, 3-0 District 7-4A) ventured into the River City and handled the Covington Holmes Bulldogs, 36-0 to earn that shutout.

Highlands earned its 18th district championship in 19 years and avoided anything close to its first two-game losing streak since 2006. The Bluebirds moved to 107-6 including 28-0 against district opponents since the start of 2007.

“We executed well enough,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “We played a little sloppy in the beginning. But we ended up fixing it. We had to get a little more crisp with what we were doing.”

Highlands scored all 36 of its points in the first half. The Bluebirds outgained the Bulldogs, 250-126 in total offense taking advantage of shot field position. The Bulldogs had four punts for 75 yards averaging a mere 18.8 yards per kick.

The Bluebirds once again torched the suspect Bulldog secondary mostly with the senior tandem of quarterback Beau Hoge to wide receiver Alex Veneman. Hoge completed 9-of-19 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns and Veneman had six catches for 119 yards and two scores.

Hoge surpassed the 2,000-yard mark on the season. He has completed 130-of-203 passes for 2,006 yards with 24 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

Highlands rushed for 95 yards on 19 carries in the game. Junior Nick Kendall led the way with 62 yards on five carries. Senior James Grau had three carries for 12 yards but had two touchdown runs.

The Bulldogs tried to pound the ball between the tackles in the spread offense. But the Bluebirds did not give up more than 16 yards on one rushing play.

“We did a good job of flying around,” said Shelby Jones, Highlands Defensive Coordinator. “We’re trying to build on what we’ve been doing each week – being confident and communicating pretty well and having fun. We’re going to continue to get better each week and each practice and take it day by day.”

Junior Andrew Arnold had 56 yards rushing on 17 carries for 56 yards to lead Holmes. Fellow junior Sean Sullivan was second with 27 yards on eight carries.

“We were being real aggressive, maybe too aggressive at times trying to strip the ball out that they were able to slip away from us a couple times,” Jones said. “We’re trying to play fast and create turnovers. Sometimes they’re going to squeak out and get a yard here or there.”

Holmes quarterback Desean Brumfield completed just 7-of-16 passes for 47 yards. He throw an interception that Highlands defensive back Austin Beal returned 39 yards in the first quarter. The Bluebirds had one tackle for a loss of three yards by sophomore Carter Burke.

“It was pretty hard (to wrap up),” said Phillip Arce, Highlands senior defensive end. “But the starting defensive line did a pretty good job. It was nice getting some time in there. It was a good week of practice and we all came together.”

Highlands had 11 first downs to nine for Holmes. The Bluebirds were also penalized twice for 20 yards and the Bulldogs had three for 34.

One Holmes penalty came for 15 yards in the third quarter on an unsportsmanlike penalty on second-year Head coach Ben Nevels. He continued to yell at the officials over a no-call even though the head judge warned him and his assistants tried to pull him back.

The Bulldogs did pick off two Austin Hergott passes in the second half. Sophomore strong safeties Jashaun York and Salih Abdullah had them.

Highlands scored 15 points in the first quarter. Grau had a 1-yard run with 8:27 left in the quarter. The Bluebirds converted a 4th-and-10 on the drive when Hoge completed a 16-yard pass to Veneman. Hoge then completed the two-point conversion to Eric Miller to put the Bluebirds up 8-0.

Beal’s interception set up Highlands at the Holmes 46. Hoge then took a sweep right and scored from five yards out with 2:08 remaining.

Highlands used some trickery to go up 22-0 after jared Dougherty hit his second of four extra-point attempts. Hoge handed off to Kendall going right and Kendall handed off to Justin Weyer on a reverse. But Weyer pitched it back to Hoge and Hoge fired a pass to the right post to Veneman for a 28-yard touchdown.

The Blubirds made it 29-0 with 7:12 left in the game. Hoge found Veneman for a 32-yard score.

After holding Holmes on fourth down, Highlands scored its final touchdown. After a 33-yard run by Kendall, Grau took an off-tackle run right for an 8-yard score with 1:12 left in the half.

Highlands play host to Cincinnati Elder on Friday. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Cecil Memorial Stadium.

 

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Bluebird Notebook: How did the younger players develop Friday?

[35Bird]

 

Coach Hicks commented that of all the Highlands greats in attendance that there was really only one guy missing and it was #35...:thumb:

 

 

What Coach Hicks meant was that one of his great stories was not there.

 

Thanks for the update on Hoge, and I regret not being able to make the 100th.