In their 4th season of football, Great Crossing is looking very good, boasting their second-straight 8-2 regular season. Historically, many new programs around the state have taken 7+ years to pull off their first winning season. The Warhawks, on the other hand, took three years to get their first, and have pulled off an impressive repeat performance.

Coach Bowling's team definitely prefers to run the ball, with 1797 of their 2453 total yards offense (73%) gained on the ground. Rushing by committee, Jakeece Patterson is Great Crossing's top rusher with 583 yards on 115 carries (5.1 ypc), Isaiah Johnson has 402 yards on 34 carries (11.8 ypc), and Cayden Allen has 334 yards on 32 carries (10.4 ypc). The defense is led by junior LB Zach Morris with 44 solo/71 total tackles, 9.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, and senior DE Oryend Fisher, with 39.5 solo/61.5 total tackles, 10.5 TFL, 12.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries.

Great Crossing's two losses this season came at the hands of (9-1) Scott County, who beat the Warkhawks 43-0 back on September 30th, and (10-0) Frederick Douglass, who beat them 54-0 on October 14th.

Covington Catholic also wrapped up their regular season with an 8-2 record, with a Week 1 loss to Elder (OH), and a Week 8 loss to Highlands. The Panthers, who are currently 2nd in the Cincinnati GCL, beat the Colonels 42-21 and the Bluebirds won 32-21.

Coach Eviston's offense has a much more balanced attack, with the Colonels splitting things almost 50/50 between the run and the pass. Of their 3457 total yards offense this season, they have 1818 yards (52.6%) on the ground, and 1639 yards (47.4%) by the air. Owen Leen is the top rusher, with 1016 yards on 174 carries (5.8 ypc). And following the injury of top receiver Willie Rodriguez in Week 6, Braylon Miller has become the favorite receiver for the Colonel quarterbacks, with 466 yards and 7 TDs on 28 pass receptions (16.6 ypc).

The quarterback situation has been interesting to watch for Cov Cath this season. Senior Zaccary Roberts was given the nod to start the season, but came out early in the first game of the season with an injury, and junior Evan Pitzer stepped in and took over. Pitzer saw some time last year as a sophomore starter for the Colonels, and has had a solid season this year after stepping in as QB1 following Roberts' injury against Elder. Pitzer ended up injured in the second offensive play of the Highlands game, with a break in his tibia up near his knee. He finished out the game, even rushing for 53 yards, but in the two games that followed, Pitzer has been on the sideline on crutches while Roberts has stepped back in as QB1. In the final two games of the regular season, Roberts was 22 for 31 passing for 380 yards, with 5 TDs and 1 INT. He has also rushed 13 times for 91 yards (7.0 ypc).

On the defensive side of things, sophomore linebacker Tate Kruer leads the team in tackles, with 50 solo/7 assisted, 6 TFL, 1 forced fumble, and also leads the team with 4 INTs. His 3 interceptions on Friday against Ryle was 1 short of tying the school record for interceptions in a single game. The record, 4, was set by Jim Schwartz back in 1983 against Holmes. Senior linebacker and Army commit Aiden Jones is just behind Kruer in tackles, with 42 solo/11 assisted, 13 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery. Junior D-lineman Josh Flood is 3rd in tackles, with 30 solo/11 assisted, 2 TFL, 3 sacks, 2 INT.

Kick off is at 7:30pm in Park Hills on Friday. What do you predict for the game when these two programs meet for the first time on the gridiron?

Cov Cath.

CovCath by a lot. Probably very similar score from when Great Crossing played Scott County and Freddie D. 

Covcath wins 21-7. Both are teams that struggle on offense. 

1 hour ago, Royal Blue said:

Covcath wins 21-7. Both are teams that struggle on offense. 

I'd say a running clock midway through the 3rd quarter.

Covington Catholic wins this comfortably. 

Willie Rodriguez just visited Tennessee this weekend. He is going to have quite a Rolodex of offers from some high-level D1 programs over the next year.

Colonels

16 hours ago, Bluesport said:

Willie Rodriguez just visited Tennessee this weekend. He is going to have quite a Rolodex of offers from some high-level D1 programs over the next year.

I haven’t seen him in any games lately. He is hurt? Will Cov Cath get him back for a playoff run?

2 hours ago, CoachR said:

I haven’t seen him in any games lately. He is hurt? Will Cov Cath get him back for a playoff run?

Rumor has it he could possibly be back for the second round.

 

Bump.

Great Crossing is getting better each year but they aren't in the top of Class 5A quite yet. I believe CovCath rolls in this one tonight.

Don’t think Colonels need it tonight, but it never hurts: 

 

Hail Mayer, full of skill,
the ball is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst athletes
and blessed is the fruit of thy hands.
Holy Mayer, friend of the Colonels,
pray for us fans,
now and at the hour of kickoff. 
Amen. 

Heckuva lot of traffic on I-71/I-75 north of the merge at Walton. Be prepared for some serious backup if you're headed north to the game tonight.