For those not in the know, #18 Brady "The Bulldog" Murray is another kid that agreed to move positions this yr to the OLB position. This is one of the most overlooked and thankless jobs any really good defensive player can be assigned to in Highlands scheme.

 

Not a whole lot of action on the weak side of the formation and it takes a very disciplined and smart football player to fill the spot. Brady fits this position better than anyone on the team as the picture shows. He stayed at home on the trickery and had the play not been on the 5yd line and been on the 5.5 yd line he would have done his job to perfection and Highlands supporting cast would have recovered the ball for a forced turnover.

 

Brady is another kid that has sacrificed his individual accomplishments to help his team win and win big. As OB pointed out kids at Highlands have always done what they have been asked to do for the best of the team and this has been part of the recipe for success...

 

FWIW, it is my understanding that Brady is close to committing to Butler University for football even though he is a standout baseball player, Brady comes from a legacy of great Highlands football players and family, roll on Bulldog...:thumb:

For those not in the know' date=' #18 Brady "The Bulldog" Murray is another kid that agreed to move positions this yr to the OLB position. This is one of the most overlooked and thankless jobs any really good defensive player can be assigned to in Highlands scheme. Not a whole lot of action on the weak side of the formation and it takes a very disciplined and smart football player to fill the spot. Brady fits this position better than anyone on the team as the picture shows. He stayed at home on the trickery and had the play not been on the 5yd line and been on the 5.5 yd line he would have done his job to perfection and Highlands supporting cast would have recovered the ball for a forced turnover. Brady is another kid that has sacrificed his individual accomplishments to help his team win and win big. As OB pointed out kids at Highlands have always done what they have been asked to do for the best of the team and this has been part of the recipe for success... FWIW, it is my understanding that Brady is close to committing to Butler University for football even though he is a standout baseball player, Brady comes from a legacy of great Highlands football players and family, roll on Bulldog...:thumb:[/quote']

 

Great Kid! Plays with a whole heck of a lot of heart out there!

 

His pick and run back in the first Cov Cath game is still my favorite play this year! Sorry Beau!

Austin Beal #27 has stepped up his game and role in the last month...he is playing with some serious intensity and I love it.

 

I agree that this hit and interception by 29 Jacob Noe was a killer as LC was moving the ball and ready to answer early...

 

The pitch and catch of Hoge and Venneman is as good as it gets at the HS level. A back shoulder pass that Venneman reaches back for but continues his twisted momentum forward with outstretched arms for the TD. It was a thing of beauty that not many if any HS Db's could have defended. I am not sure many at the next level could defend that one...the ball was put that nobody but V could have put his hands on it...:thumb:

Great Kid! Plays with a whole heck of a lot of heart out there!

 

His pick and run back in the first Cov Cath game is still my favorite play this year! Sorry Beau!

 

You mean the "wiggle wiggle wiggle, get outta my way" play? :thumb:

 

Here's your chance FTTS, teed it up for ya...

Another key hit near the goal line. This made a big difference in game.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]48067[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]48068[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]48069[/ATTACH]

 

I had a great view of this one. Great hit by Beal. i was just starting to try to decide if it was a catch & fumble or an incomplete pass when Noe swooped in to snatch the ball out of the air. Guess we will never know. Great play at a critical time.

I listened to the game on Lex-Cath radio. They were talking about a player from HHS that was a Soph and weighed 140 lbs. I think he had 2 QB sacks. They were also talking about a 300 lb fullback for HHS. Who are these players?

 

Great game, congrats to all involved.

 

Why was LC doing the on side kicks? Short fields for HHS all night long.

 

Never had a kicker who could put in the end zone and kick return coverage was a problem area during the season.

I listened to the game on Lex-Cath radio. They were talking about a player from HHS that was a Soph and weighed 140 lbs. I think he had 2 QB sacks. They were also talking about a 300 lb fullback for HHS. Who are these players?

 

Great game, congrats to all involved.

 

Why was LC doing the on side kicks? Short fields for HHS all night long.

 

Probably the same reason Highlands was doing it, something they saw on scout video...

 

Sometimes as armchair qb we question these types of coaching moves as I thought the same thing especially with Dougherty ability to kick it into the endzone every time.

 

Something that just 3 short yrs ago had LC done the same thing that did last nite they may have won that game had they squibbed it instead of kicking it deep resulting in not 1 but 2 ko returns in that game for TDs...:thumb:

 

The Defense is really coming together late in the season and Coach W recognizes this and is willing to trade field advantage for TDs...JMO

Morris catches TD on 4th down play. Kept the Knights alive.

 

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Highlands Bluebirds football team just needed to defend its home field to advance back to the Class 4A state championship game.

They did just that winning four home games on their way to the title game. The Bluebirds have won 61 straight games against Kentucky opponents dating back to 2006. The last team to beat Highlands at home was Covington Catholic back on Oct. 27, 2006, 29-27 when Kurt Bovard hauled in a last-minute touchdown pass.

They take on the Owensboro Red Devils (12-2) for the title. That marks their eighth straight appearance in a title game in the 100th season of Highlands football. The program moved to 867-229-26 all-time with the win. The win total is second only to the 891 wins of Valdosta (Ga.).

This marked the 16th appearance in 20 years in the state semifinals for the Bluebirds. The only times since 1995 that Highlands did not play in this round are 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2006.

Highlands moved to 15-1 in those semifinal contests. The Bluebirds’ lone semifinal loss under recently retired Head Coach Dale Mueller came in a 45-6 loss at Rockcastle County. That marked the first year that current Head Coach Brian Weinrich served as Defensive Coordinator.

The Bluebirds beat the same four opponents in the same rounds the last two years on their way to the title game. They’ve beaten Boyd County, Covington Catholic and Lexington Catholic in the same round four straight years.

The series against LexCath:

The Bluebirds improved to 7-1 all-time against the Knights. The only loss to Lexington Catholic came 17-0 in the 2005 regional title game. The Bluebirds have not been shut out in 131 games since then. LexCath won the 3A crown in 2005.

“It’s a big victory when they don’t score because (the Knights) are an offensive machine,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “They always have been. I’m not sad to see them in a different class next year. It’s been four years in a row of nail-biters.”

Highlands and Lexington Catholic will be in different classes next year. The Bluebirds move up to 5A and the Knights drop to 3A.

The next opponent:

Highlands has only faced Owensboro twice in school history. The Bluebirds beat the Red Devils in the 1999 and 2000 Class 3A state championship games by 48-10 and 48-27 scores when Geno Guidugli was the quarterback.

Owensboro needed a last-minute miracle to beat North Oldham, 27-24 in the other semifinal game Friday. Red Devil quarterback Nick Locher threw a long pass down the field. It tipped off a North Oldham defender and Owensboro junior wide receiver Jahlil Barrett skill and into the hands of junior Kishawn Walker for

It was similar to the Nov, 9, 2002 last-second Miracle in the Bluegrass when Louisiana State beat Kentucky, 33-30.

The Red Devils lost the regular season finale, 44-18 at Henderson County and 42-34 against then three-time defending 5A champion Bowling Green on Sept. 12. In addition to the nail-biter Friday, Owensboro survived a close 29-28 call against Madisonville-North Hopkins.

Familiar faces in the title game:

The Bluebirds will be seeking their state-record 23rd state championship Saturday after falling a play short of it last year. The state championships take place at Feix Field, Houchens/LT Smith Stadium on Friday and Saturday. Western Kentucky University will play host to the state football championships through 2018.

But Highlands will not be the only traditional power seeking another crown. The Louisville Trinity Shamrocks (9-5) find themselves back in the 6A title game after losing to Louisville Male in the region title game last year. They will also be seeking their 23rd state championship against Dixie Heights (13-1) in the late game Saturday.

In 1A, defending champion Mayfield (13-1) will be seeking its 11th title against Williamsburg (14-0) on Saturday at 11 a.m. Central Standard Time.

In 3A, defending champion Belfry (12-2) takes on rival Louisville Central (10-4) at 11 a.m. Friday. Belfry beat Wayne County, 3-0 to win the title last year but Central had won 3A in five of the previous six years. Belfry will be seeking its fourth state title.

Christopher Columbus still alive:

The Miami (Fla.) Christopher Columbus Explorers (12-1) handed the Bluebirds one of their two losses, 38-34 on Oct. 11. The Explorers moved on to the Florida Class 8A semifinals with a 33-7 victory over Killian on Friday.

Florida has a playoff system similar to Kentucky. The only difference is the classes are divided into 16 districts and the top two teams make the playoffs because Florida has more schools.

Highlands moved to 12-0 against Kentucky teams this year. The other loss came to Cincinnati Elder. The Panthers lost 42-13 to Wayne in the first round of the Ohio Division I playoffs.

 

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Bluebird Notebook: Highlands successfully defends home field

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

Many may be tired of seeing them venture to Bowling Green.

But each football team has its own unique story in a town that cares about the players’ success in not just football but many things. The Highlands Bluebirds (12-2 overall) advanced to the state championship for the eighth straight year with a sound 47-26 win over the Lexington Catholic Knights on Friday at David Cecil Memorial Stadium.

“We pretty much do the same things (as previous teams),” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “It’s just about all of us doing our jobs. For these guys, this is their only 2014 season. We have to do whatever we can as coaches to make it a great experience for them. It’s a legacy later. But it’s these guys, this year.”

The Bluebirds did that this year with a revamped offensive line protecting quarterback Beau Hoge. Highlands graduated 12 offensive linemen from last year’s Class 4A state runner-up squad and the lone returning senior with varsity experience has seen limited action because of injuries.

But senior Lou Bunning returned to the gridiron for the first time in three years and everyone including the likes of junior Carson Haas, Evan Richardson, Bo Hebel and seniors Manny Venegas and Matt Gall came together to give the Bluebirds the line play their used to seeing.

“We know that our job up front is to protect Beau and give him time,” Gall said. “If we protect Beau, he’s really good. Our defense played awesome. They were a little worried coming into the game. But they shut (LexCath) down and we were able to come in and do what we needed to do.”

The offensive linemen played a vital role in helping the balanced Highlands offense put up 523 yards of total offense in the win. Highlands rushed for 317 yards and passed for 206 in the victory.

The senior tandem of running back Griffin Urlage and Hoge ran for most of the yards. Urlage had 16 carries for 182 yards and two touchdowns and Hoge ran for 137 yards on 16 carries and three scores. Junior Nick Kendall added 47 yards on the ground.

“It’s not about which back,” Weinrich said. “It’s about who is in there at that time. We talked to our wide receivers this week about blocking on the perimeter because we knew there would be times when Beau would keep it. We blocked those guys.”

Hoge completed 14-of-25 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown to five different wide receivers. Senior Alex Veneman once again led the way with seven receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. Chandler New and Kendall had two each for 39 and 37 yards respectively. Eric Miller and Justin Weyer also had receptions.

“We practiced hard all week. We practiced like it was a game,” Veneman said. “It pays off once it gets here. They stopped us once. We stopped ourselves a couple times. We could have put 70 points on the board. But mistakes happen. We played great.”

On the other side, Highlands took out the Lexington Catholic running game. The Knights developed a running threat this year in junior Jaylen Jones and were not afraid to run quarterback draws with quarterback Reece Ryan. Jaylen Jones entered the game with 1,658 yards rushing on 250 carries and 17 touchdowns. Ryan had 321 yards on 66 carries and six scores.

But the Bluebirds held the Knight rushing attack to minus-46 yards rushing on 27 carries. Jones had zero net yards on 10 attempts.

“In every game we watched, (running the ball) was the first thing they tried to do,” Jones said. “We weren’t going to let them run the ball. We made the decision we were not going to let (Ryan) sit and pick us apart. He’s a great quarterback. All the guys did a great job.”

Taking out Jones and jumping out to the 21-7 lead forced LexCath to keep Ryan in the pocket and throw the ball. The Bluebirds sacked him seven times for a total of minus-58 yards on 12 carries.

The Highlands front four had wonderful games. Seniors D.J. Mills, Daniel Kremer and Rocco Pangallo recorded two sacks each. Junior Tyler Robinson and senior John Abner combined for the other.

“I think from the beginning of the game, we had momentum,” Mills said. “All week, we’ve been working on squeezing and doing our jobs. I think it came out how we wanted it.”

Ryan did complete 31-of-48 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns. But some of the throws were off-target because the Bluebirds put a lot of pressure on him.

The Knights saw their two leading receivers have decent games. Junior Joseph Ogbogu had seven catches for 82 yards and Andy Thompson recorded five for 66 yards.

“Last week prepared us for this week also,” said Kyle Martin, Highlands senior defensive back. “We try not to give up long passes. If you got beat, you took the 15-yard pass interference. We had good communication and got it done.”

Ryan threw many balls deep. But he also completed a lot of sideline passes. The Bluebirds gang-tackled those receivers so they did not make moves and break free for long gains.

LexCath struck first with 9:54 left in the first quarter. Ryan waited patiently for Ogbogu to break free over the middle for a wide-open 34-yard touchdown pass to put the Knights up 7-0.

“They got us there on the first drive,” Coach Jones said. “They didn’t let that carry over. That’s been our message all season. We did exactly what we wanted to. We made him get rid of the ball fast.”

But the Bluebirds quickly responded. Hoge drove them down the field and scored on a read-option left to tie the game at 7-7.

The Knights turned the ball over on the next play. Ryan fumbled and Mills recovered the ball in Lexington Catholic territory. A few plays later, Highlands took the lead for good when Hoge found Veneman on the left side of the end zone for a 24-yard score with 6:31 left in the quarter.

Highlands extended the margin to 21-7 with 1:19 left in the quarter. Hoge busted it in from a yard out.

The Bluebirds recorded another big turnover. Ryan completed a pass to Jaylen Jones, but he fumbled the ball into Highlands linebacker Jacob Noe’s hands while Highlands junior defensive back Austin Beal tackled him. Noe returned the ball 32 yards. The Bluebirds then went up 28-7 when Hoge scored from the right side from six yards out with 7:19 left in the half.

Lexington Catholic scored with 5:30 left in the half. Thompson caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Ryan. The kick failed leaving the score 28-13 Highlands at halftime.

Highlands scored quickly out of the halftime gate. Urlage broke free for a 67-yard scamper just 16 seconds into the half. That put the Bluebirds up 35-13.

After a Jared Dougherty 20-yard field goal with 7:04 left, Lexington Catholic scored before Urlage broke free for a 33-yard touchdown. Highlands led 44-20 at that point. Ogbogu scored on a 3-yard touchdown before the quarter ended making it 44-26 Bluebirds.

There was just one score in the fourth quarter. It came when Dougherty hit a 27-yard field goal with 8:35 left in the game.

Highlands hopes to redeem itself after not winning a state championship for the first time since 2006 last year. The Bluebirds lost to Collins, 37-34 with seven seconds left in that game snapping their state-record run of six consecutive state championships.

 

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Highlands earns another semifinal victory

Morris catches TD on 4th down play. Kept the Knights alive.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]48070[/ATTACH]

 

Big time grab.

Same is true for both McCoy and Houliston. 3 yrs. of starting for the Birds would have created huge statistics for any of the 3. But that's not how the system works. Wait your turn and make the most of it when you get there. Bring home the title next week and start a new streak.

 

Agree to what you are saying but if Brian Weinrich is head coach, Beau Hoge plays at least 2 of them. Sorry but that's a fact! To each their own but their hadn't been a QB like Beau since maybe Gino. The other 2 deserved what they earned though. Kudos to them.....

Agree to what you are saying but if Brian Weinrich is head coach, Beau Hoge plays at least 2 of them. Sorry but that's a fact! To each their own but their hadn't been a QB like Beau since maybe Gino. The other 2 deserved what they earned though. Kudos to them.....

 

And yes that's over Pat Towles. Beau sees things you can't teach. It will show at the next level.

And yes that's over Pat Towles. Beau sees things you can't teach. It will show at the next level.

 

Definitely agree with you about Beau over Houliston. Not to take anything away from Drew, he was a truly great passer, but Beau is special; literally calls plays on the field and Brian lets him run with it because of the feel he has for the game. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't Beau have only been sophomore when McCoy was playing? If my memory serves me correctly, I'm sure Beau definitely had the mental tools to perform, but he was physically not ready to play as a sophomore, IMO.

Definitely agree with you about Beau over Houliston. Not to take anything away from Drew, he was a truly great passer, but Beau is special; literally calls plays on the field and Brian lets him run with it because of the feel he has for the game. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't Beau have only been sophomore when McCoy was playing? If my memory serves me correctly, I'm sure Beau definitely had the mental tools to perform, but he was physically not ready to play as a sophomore, IMO.

 

 

And by no means am I insulting Beau's staure as a sophomore, I just know he made a HUGE jump physically between his 10 and 11 years; and then even more between 11 and 12.