Newport vs. Newport Central Catholic Predictions/Updates

September 22, 20206 yr

Last week the Wildcats lost the 2020 installment of their oldest football rivalry. Newport and Holmes first played each other in 1918, before Covington Independent Schools had relocated their high school to the Holmesdale mansion, and while the oldest public high school in the state was still called Covington Central. This past Friday the Bulldogs found a way to shutdown Newport's elusive QB Ethan Jefferson and stop the rest of the Wildcats' offense, while Newport struggled to contain Holmes' shifty QB Quantez Calloway, who took it to them with his running game.

This Friday, though, Newport will turn around and compete in the 2020 installment their biggest rivalry. Newport Public and Newport Catholic first played in 1949, with the Wildcats winning the first game 14-0, and the 'Breds winning the second edition 21-13 in 1950. The teams first played for a The Newport FOP Trophy, and now the rivalry trophy has been switched over to the Newport Fireman's Bell. Newport HS hasn't won the bell since 1999, the final year of a three year Newport HS win-streak that ended an eleven year win-streak by New Cath.

Newport Central Catholic is walking into the game with a 2-0 record for the first time since head coach Steve Lickert took over the program. Last week the Breds were able to find their passing stride a little, putting up 122 yards and 1 TD passing against Holy Cross, compared to their 13 yards passing in their season opener against Walton-Verona. With two games behind them, now, New Cath seems to have solidified their running game with a true "rushing by committee" approach to ball carrying; no individual stands out high above the others, but with five players seeing 5+ carries in the game, they still put up a solid 241 yards on the ground.

Who wins the game this Friday at Newport Stadium?