Great effort by both teams and you have to give CovCath credit for not just mailing it in after the first quarter. On a side note Miami Columbus won 22-0 tonight and faces unbeaten Killian next week.

 

There was a thread started yesterday for Christifer Columus of Miami Florida. Thanks.

I'm surprised I didn't hear people go bananas about that timeout. If I'm remembering right, CCH called a timeout with 1:46 left in the game, with the clock stopped. That was their last timeout, so if my math is correct, the game was over right then.

 

Thanks. So would that timeout be a bad coaching call? Would it have been better to let the clock run and force HHS to run plays hoping for a turnover?

Great to see the Birds moving on. Gotta love the years when they hang two Ls on the Colonels. Good job!!!

I was impressed with the size of the TE's for CovCath. I am curious why they didn't go to them more. They were complete mismatches for the Highlands LB's.

 

CovCath did a nice job of playing keep away in the 2nd qtr but that last Bird drive of the half was a thing of beauty.

I was impressed with the size of the TE's for CovCath. I am curious why they didn't go to them more. They were complete mismatches for the Highlands LB's.

 

CovCath did a nice job of playing keep away in the 2nd qtr but that last Bird drive of the half was a thing of beauty.

 

Playing more take away than keep away that second quarter.

Playing more take away than keep away that second quarter.

 

True, I was surprised the Birds threw on 1st down and that pick went right at the CovCath kid. But with that said, they did milk the clock prior to the Int. Heck I saw some of the Highlands offensive players on the sideline wearing the long coats jogging to keep warm.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Highlands Bluebirds football team feels fortunate because it held off the pesky Covington Catholic Colonels, 37-34 on Friday.

The Bluebirds (11-2 overall) have come out on the positive side many times against their arch-rivals. But even though they accomplished the tough feat a fourth straight year, it has not always turned out that way. Even recently retired Highlands Head Coach Dale Mueller came into the locker room after the game and said it’s never easy facing the Colonels (8-5) in the playoffs. The Bluebirds had a stellar 250-36 record during Mueller’s 20-year tenure as head coach with an unmatched 11 state championships.

Many in Fort Thomas have not forgotten what happened to the 1997 and 2001 teams. In 1997, the Bluebirds edged the Colonels, 24-22 during the regular season. But CovCath came back to beat Highlands, 41-35 in double overtime in the region championship game on its way to the AAA state championship that year.

Highlands responded with three consecutive state championships the following three years. But in 2001, the Bluebirds crushed the Colonels, 52-22 during the regular season only to lose 18-15 in the second round of the playoffs. CovCath later lost 17-14 to eventual state runner-up Rockcastle County in the state semifinals that season.

The Colonels trimmed the lead to the final score with 4:57. But the CovCath offense did not touch the ball again.

“They have dynamic players. Their quarterback (Adam Wagner) is a playmaker,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “They have speed on the outside. We knew we didn’t want to give them the ball back. They had the momentum. We had to get the first first down, then we had to get the second first down. We had to keep the ball moving and keep it out of their hands. We ran the clock out and were fortunate to win that game.”

The Bluebirds avoided any Kurt Bovard-type situations as a result. Bovard hauled in the game-winning pass on Oct. 27, 2006 during the regular season for a 29-27 Colonel win. The Colonels then beat the Bluebirds, 25-15 on Nov. 11 that same year for the last win in the series.

The Bluebirds ran behind their offensive line with quarterback Beau Hoge and running backs Nick Kendall and Griffin Urlage to run out the clock. They moved to 47-17 against the Colonels all-time and extended the longest winning streak in the series to 13 games.

“We had some success running the ball (in September),” Weinrich said. “We came out firing the ball. We said it is time to win the game. We’ll get behind you guys and lets go. If they can’t stop us, we’re going to keep going. We got just enough each time. We really took control at the end of the game. That’s what you do all year long. It comes down to that last drive. No one was tired. No one was panicking. We were ready to go.”

In terms of the playoffs, this Bluebird team will be lumped in with the ones of the previous three years in addition to the 2007, 2004, 2000, 1998, 1995, 1989 and 1982 teams. Those teams beat the Colonels in both the regular season and playoff games. The 2012, 2011, 2007, 2004, 2000, 1998, 1989 and 1982 teams went on to win state championships as a result before last year’s team and the 1995 squad finished state runner-up.

Highlands plays host to Lexington Catholic (10-3) on Friday in the state semifinals. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

 

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Bluebirds find themselves lumped in with 10 other teams

I'm surprised I didn't hear people go bananas about that timeout. If I'm remembering right, CCH called a timeout with 1:46 left in the game, with the clock stopped. That was their last timeout, so if my math is correct, the game was over right then.

 

Clock was going to restart after the first down anyway

I was impressed with the size of the TE's for CovCath. I am curious why they didn't go to them more. They were complete mismatches for the Highlands LB's.

 

CovCath did a nice job of playing keep away in the 2nd qtr but that last Bird drive of the half was a thing of beauty.

 

The name of the game last night wasn't what Cov Cath could or couldn't do on offense- it was their defense stopping Highlands offense. Dug a 20-0 hole they couldn't get out of.

 

I don't want to hear, "yeah but Highlands had TO's that kept it close". TO's are part of the game. Heck Cov Cath had three unforced botched snaps that were drive killers- all part of the game. Defense just couldn't stop them consistently- but then, not many teams have been successful doing that against Highlands this year.

 

Proud of our Colonel kids this year. A ton of injuries to overcome mid season- kids playing hurt. Kids playing with heart. No one quit and that is the life lesson that will propel these young men into grown men. Thanks boys!

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

Some fans may not have thought it would not be a good game.

Thus, they did not brave the 28-degree weather to see another Class 4A, Region 4 championship game between the Highlands Bluebirds and Covington Catholic Colonels on Friday at Cecil Memorial Stadium. But the ones that did saw the Bluebirds survive a 37-34 scare.

The difference between Friday and Sept. 26 is the Colonels did not give up despite trailing at halftime. CovCath fell behind just 14-0 during the regular season and the Bluebirds pulled away for a 42-7 win.

But on Friday, the Colonels fell behind 27-13 at halftime and did not crumble. It took Highland running off the final 4:57 of the game to escape with its 13th straight win in the series and eighth consecutive region title.

“I think they have a lot of athletes. They never slowed down. They never flinched, and we knew they wouldn’t,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “We figured 20 points wouldn’t be enough, and if it was, great. I thought our guys played hard and I thought their guys played hard. It was another Highlands-CovCath classic. We’re both going to watch film and see our mistakes. We’re going to see ours and feel fortunate and we could have won by more. They’re going to see their mistakes and see it should have gone the other way. We’re really happy to be in the left column as the coaches were saying.”

The Bluebirds tried to put away the Colonels in the second half. But CovCath clawed its way back into the game with two turnovers to none for Highlands. Those two turnovers gave CovCath short field position.

The Bluebird turnovers came with one lost fumble and an interception. Sam Kathman intercepted a Hoge pass and Nate Bailey picked up a Hoge fumble and returned it 16 yards before Highlands wide receiver Mitch Cain saved a touchdown by tackling him from behind.

Highlands still put up impressive offensive numbers. The Bluebirds gained 534 yards on 63 plays to 350 yards on 55 plays for the Colonels. That included 357-116 on the ground.

Highlands senior quarterback Beau Hoge committed to Brigham Young University over the weekend and put up another impressive game behind another great game from the offensive line. Hoge rushed for 191 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns and threw for 177 more. Hoge completed 13-of-21 passes and two touchdowns to go with one interception.

“You have to take what you get,” Weinrich said. “Sometimes a guy is going to be such a dynamic playmaker. There are going to be some things that happen. You can’t make plays unless you take some chances. We didn’t want to do some things until we had to. But we let (Hoge) loose.”

The Bluebirds displayed their usual balance as the offensive line allowed just two quarterback sacks. Junior Nick Kendall rushed for 97 yards on 15 carries and Griffin Urlage ran for 52 on 10 carries.

Kendall also led Highlands with five catches for 36 yards. Junior Eric Miller recorded four receptions for 64 yards as CovCath again focused on senior Alex Veneman. The record-setting Veneman had just one catch for 30 yards.

“We’re always prepared for CovCath so that really helped,” said Evan Richardson, Highlands junior center. “From a mental perspective, we watched a lot of film just really drilling in our plays making sure we got our steps right. We expected the pass to be more in our game. But it wound up being more of a running game. When teams shift to defend the pass, we have to be able to revert back to the running game.”

The Bluebirds had 22 first downs to 14 for the Colonels. But Adam Wagner gave a valiant effort for CovCath. The senior quarterback completed 14-of-21 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 49 yards on 20 carries. Logan McDowell led CovCath with four catches for 108 yards and Lee McClure had four for 55 yards.

“Beating CovCath is always awesome,” said Patrick Schoepf, Highlands senior linebacker. “Whatever the score is, we still beat them. We’re moving on. That’s all that matters. We’ll be ready for (Lexington Catholic). We have a whole week of practice to get ready for them. We’ll be ready to go.”

The Bluebirds came out strong moving the ball at will. Hoge had 13 and 3-yard touchdown runs to give Highlands a 13-0 lead. He then completed a sideline pass to Veneman. Veneman made a few moves and scored his 21st receiving touchdown of the season with 2:55 left in the first to put the Bluebirds up 20-0.

CovCath hit the scoreboard with two touchdown in the final five minutes of the second quarter. Wagner scored from six and a yard out to trim the margin to 20-13.

But the Bluebirds took back the momentum before halftime. Miller took a pass on the right side and scored from 20 yards out with 34 seconds left to put Highlands up 27-13 at halftime.

Highlands went on a nice drive to open the second half. Jared Dougherty hit a 28-yard field goal with 9:18 left in the third to put Highlands up 30-13.

Just a few minutes later, Hoge had an amazing run for all-time with 4:26 left. He took a read-option right, ducked and dodged eight CovCath defenders on his way to an 81-yard touchdown run that made the ESPN Top Plays. That gave Highlands a 37-13 lead.

But CovCath scored 21 straight to make things interesting. It started when Wagner ran it in from three yards out with 1:23 left in the third quarter.

With 8:48 left in the game, McDowell got behind the Highlands secondary for an 81-yard score to cut the margin to 37-27.

Then following a lost Highlands fumble, the Colonels struck quick again. Wagner found McClure for a 34-yard score with 4:57 remaining.

“They found some matchups they liked,” said Shelby Jones, Highlands Defensive Coordinator. “Whenever you throw the ball up, it’s 50-50.”

Highlands takes on Lexington Catholic in the state semifinals for the fourth straight year Friday in Fort Thomas. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

 

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Highlands escapes CovCath again

Nice reads Mike:thumb:

Great to see Jared Daugherty hit a very important 3 in this game...28 yder I believe

 

As the season winds down and the games get much tighter the kicking game will become a major part of the game imo

 

Either way, another great weapon to take points in the red zone if you have to:thumb:

Honest question, did the best team win?

 

Yes, but the losing team would have been a handful for anyone next week had the score been reversed. CovCath sacked up last night, which was exactly what was missing in the regular season game. Gotta be impressed with the QB. You could tell he wasn't 100%, but he made Highlands pay for each turnover.

Last night was the best Cov Cath team I have seen in 8 years. They refused to quit and did a great job of pumping each other up. Even our (kid) announcer was dogging HHS fans for not having the energy the Colonels did. CCH is definitely on right path.

Last night was the best Cov Cath team I have seen in 8 years. They refused to quit and did a great job of pumping each other up. Even our (kid) announcer was dogging HHS fans for not having the energy the Colonels did. CCH is definitely on right path.

 

Hugely disappointed in their crowd. Just a handful of kids and some moms and dads. That team deserved better.