1. Highlands 10-0

2. CovCath 8-2

3. Dixie 7-3

4. Ryle 5-4

5. Beechwood 5-5

6. Cooper 5-5

7. Campbell Co 4-6

8. Simon Kenton 1-7

9. Conner 1-8

Not the finish the Raiders wanted but the future is bright!

There is a lot of hype around a bunch of kids in this 2029 class and there should be as it is much deserved. This would be considered 14U if I am not mistaken? Kids turning 14 and 15 this year. I want to put a couple notes out there and this may rub some people the wrong way but they can take it for what they want. There is a lot of talk about kids going "D1" or just playing some type of good college football in general. 

When colleges look at "kids" they take into account where they think a players ceiling is. Is there a lot of room for this kid to keep getting better? Is there room for this kid to keep getting bigger? Not necessarily in a matter of height, yes that is a big factor but also as in mass. Is there room for a player to keep putting on weight, muscle and strength and also maintain or in most cases increase his athletic ability? What's the potential for a kids frame to fill out until they are into their early 20's. In terms of good college football, coaches/recruiters want to invest in kids that are no where near a finished product. They want to see potential in the form that is a kid going to be a totally different player from when he is 15-18 years old to when he is 20? Now that may sound stupid, is a player going to be different from when he is 15 compared to when he is 20? Well duh, is what most think. There is definitely change between 15-20 but actually being able to put the whole package together is not a given.

And I am just adressing the " good " players here and am not really addressing average or below. A kid can get as big as he wants as fast as he wants and can look good playing with his age group but does it translate to being able to play above his age group. Can you put this young kid out on the varsity field at 14-15 and he excells with 17, 18, 19 year olds? Will he not be a liability in some way, shape or form? And I am not talking about in scrap up time or at low level competition. At 17-18 does it seem like this kid could fit in with 19-21 year olds?

Okay this kid looks good out there at 15 on the varsity level. What's the difference in this kid at 15 compared to 17-18? Okay now what is the potential growth for this kid between 18-20? Can he keep getting better from 20-22. Alot of kids max out their potential before they are 18. It's just nature. Does that mean they can't be really good high school players? No not at all. Does that mean they are big time college football players? No not at all. Big time colleges don't want kids who are maxed out before they turn 18. They want kids that they can develop and that are still raw. Of course you get your "freaks" that are just men among boys but to be honest we don't see them in NKY hardly at all. They are rare in the whole US/world in general. 

Now again there is a lot of good kids in this 2029 class and they have a bright future but be realistic with the situation and don't rush to make these kids grow up faster or put more pressure on them than there should be.

My one last piece of nonsense. The best player in this 2029 class would easily be Damarion Peterson "currently" out at Lloyd Memorial. The kid just turned 15 in early October and is younger than a bunch of " the guys " in 2029. He has done nothing but pretty much dominate varsity on the defensive side of the ball just off insticts alone but he is in the class of 2028. Not anywhere close to a finished product. You could take this kid right now and put him in the middle of Highlands, Cov Cath, Beechwood, Ryle and Cooper's defenses and no doubt he would belong. I would go as far to say he could play on the top teams defenses in the state and fit right in. Call it a stretch if you want but the eye in the sky don't lie. And everything about his movements says he is still a " kid ".

Just turned 15 and in the class of 2028? Hmmmm? That puts him well into college at 17, that's a disadvantage. Nope wrong again. College coaches would look at that as an upside. He grades as one of the highest in his class or above while also being the youngest. Would he more than likely be redshirted as a freshman in college if he were able to make it that far? Most definitely yes but that's another positive college coaches would see. Get him in the program at 17 and give him a year in THEIR program to develop him all around before there is even an expectation of him playing a minute of college football. So when he is an 18 year old the following year and the next group of freshman come rolling in, at 18...who do you think is going to be ahead of the curve? The kid checks the boxes at atleast 6'2 190 lbs and can run. Again, just turned 15. Again, no where near a finished product. And to keep it " real ", the chances of the D. Peterson kid playing big time college football are very, very, very slim. And that's just being honest.

Take this for what you want but the " hype " around NKY is getting ridiculous the way it is being handled. Get real and just watch these kids develop as students, athletes, and into men over the next few years and enjoy good football being a part of it.

Sense there has been a lot of name dropping going on lately, I will drop a name that should put everyone on notice. And he is in the class of 2030. True class of 2030 student at that. And he has "D1" traits without a doubt about it. Grew up in NKY his whole life but never played a down of football in the state. If he ever does, one school will be very fortunate and others will be very unlucky.

13-maybe about to be 14 years old. 6'3 180 lbs. as stout as they come and can move like a gazelle. Never lifted a weight a day in his life up to this point or " trained " for that matter. Just naturally rawly gifted. Can play any position on the field. Dominant anywhere he lines up. Any LB position, any DB position, DE...QB, RB and you forsure do not want your baby little Jimmy lining up across from him if he is at his bread and butter WR. I will not knock Armstrong and Smith because they are legit but he would body anybody else that lines up in front of him in the 2029 class. I hate to put it like that but it's true. You can say what you want about the teams going against Elder and Moeller and so so but he has been doing it against them kids over there since he was 4 years old. There is levels to this stuff and if you want to see what a glimpse of it looks like there is film out there. Look up Charles Knox at Taft Junior High and you may see a little something different. There is a reason he hasn't played a down of football in NKY even though being born and raised in the area. And if by the slim chance he ever does, uh ohhh somebody's in trouble. Oh and in basketball, he might just throw one down for you.

On 10/20/2025 at 4:44 PM, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

Week 8 Results: Oct 13-Oct 19
Beechwood 17 Simon Kenton 0
Covington Catholic 28 Trinity 13
Dixie Heights 21 Cooper 13
Highlands 47 Conner 0
Ryle 62 Campbell County 20

Cleaning up as I put away the 2025 info. Just for posterity's sake on Beechwood's record, a couple corrections and additions of the final two games:

Beechwood score correction versus Highlands: Highlands 42 Beechwood 13

Final two games:

Beechwood 35 Walton Verona 0

Beechwood 14 Cooper 13 (Championship week, 5th place game) 

On 1/3/2026 at 7:02 PM, Voice of Reason said:

Cleaning up as I put away the 2025 info. Just for posterity's sake on Beechwood's record, a couple corrections and additions of the final two games:

Beechwood score correction versus Highlands: Highlands 42 Beechwood 13

Final two games:

Beechwood 35 Walton Verona 0

Beechwood 14 Cooper 13 (Championship week, 5th place game) 

Thanks for bringing that back up, VOR. Totally forgot to finish out the final season results summary. As @WSL-BIRDS posted previously, the final NKY freshman conference standings were:

1.) Highlands (10-0)
2.) Covington Catholic (8-2)
3.) Dixie Heights (7-3)
4.) Ryle (5-4)
5.) Beechwood (5-5)
6.) Cooper (5-5)
7.) Campbell County (4-6)
8.) Simon Kenton (1-7)
9.) Conner (1-8)