Friday will be installation #8 of the Covington Catholic vs. Elder series when the Colonels travel across the river to West Price Hill and take on the Panthers at The Pit. Thus far this series has been all Elder, who is up 7 wins to 0 over Cov Cath. Cov Cath's nearest chance for a win in the series thus far came in the second meeting of the series back in 2004 when the Colonels special teams unit lined for a 45 yard field goal attempt at The Pit, down 10-9 with 4 seconds remaining on the game. The attempt was unsuccessful, going wide left, and the Panthers notched their second win of the series

On Friday, Cov Cath will be looking to notch their first win of the 2025 season after losing 26-20 in their season opener to Ryle. The Colonels just won the offensive yardage battle on Friday with QB Cash Harney racking up 131 yards rushing and another 184 yards passing and Dylan Gaiser combining for 140 offensive yards with his 59 rushing yards and 81 yards receiving, but Ryle still came away with the W with their offensive and defensive lines controlling action up front throughout most of the game, and their defensive backs intercepting Harney twice.

Elder will be looking to continue their winning ways after beating Maryland's Mt. Zion Preparatory Academy 34-0. MZP, founded in 2011 as a prep school for the athletically gifted in the greater-Baltimore area, currently boasts an enrollment of 85 students in grades 9-12 and is in its 4th year of fielding a football program. The Warriors proved to be an obvious mis-match for the Panthers on Friday with Elder scoring all 34 of their points in the first half of football and holding the Warriors to a total -4 yards of offense in the game. It's hard to get a real concept for what to expect out of the Panthers from Friday's game, but we do know that their offense returns QB Kaden Estep as a junior. Estep had a very respectable 1900 yards passing last year, and he was 5-9 for 37 yards passing and led the team with 67 yards on 6 carries in their win over MZP. Estep is also the top returning rusher from Elder's 2024 campaign after losing Joey Thamann to graduation, and it appears from Friday's game that Estep will be joined in the backfield this year by senior RB Tommy Becker and junior RB Andrew Tallon, and senior WR Jackson Ruth looks to be one of Estep's favorite receiving targets. Senior DB Derek Uran led the GCL in sacks last year with 9, and also turned in 75 total tackles to finish at #5 in the GCL.

This looks to be another big test for the Colonels starting off their 2025 season. Will Elder continue their sweep in this series, or do the Colonels have a shot at notching both their first win of the season and their first-ever win over Elder?

Complete Series Results:

2003: Elder (Ramsey) 49 Cov Cath (Ray) 21
2004: Elder (Ramsey) 10 Cov Cath (Ray) 9
2006: Elder (Ramsey) 13 Cov Cath (Rodenberg) 3
2007: Elder (Ramsey) 35 Cov Cath (Brossart) 6
2008: Elder (Ramsey) 56 Cov Cath (Brossart) 7
2021: Elder (Ramsey) 28 Cov Cath (Eviston) 6
2022: Elder (Ramsey) 42 Cov Cath (Eviston) 21

3 minutes ago, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

Complete Series Results:

2003: Elder (Ramsey) 49 Cov Cath (Ray) 21
2004: Elder (Ramsey) 10 Cov Cath (Ray) 9
2006: Elder (Ramsey) 13 Cov Cath (Rodenberg) 3
2007: Elder (Ramsey) 35 Cov Cath (Brossart) 6
2008: Elder (Ramsey) 56 Cov Cath (Brossart) 7
2021: Elder (Ramsey) 28 Cov Cath (Eviston) 6
2022: Elder (Ramsey) 42 Cov Cath (Eviston) 21

2022 is the only time Cov Cath has ever hosted Elder. I'm not sure why we've ended up heading to The Pit so many times without having any hosting rights ourselves but I mean, yeesh, we definitely haven't historically made it any easier on ourselves heading over there to Price Hill so much. It's only like one of the absolute most hostile environments out there for a visiting high school football team ?

Last year St. X lost to them 17-15 when they kicked a FG with seconds left in the game. I'll be interested in this game because they come to St. X on 9/19. 

8 hours ago, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

2022 is the only time Cov Cath has ever hosted Elder. I'm not sure why we've ended up heading to The Pit so many times without having any hosting rights ourselves but I mean, yeesh, we definitely haven't historically made it any easier on ourselves heading over there to Price Hill so much. It's only like one of the absolute most hostile environments out there for a visiting high school football team ?

Elder used to pay teams to come to the Pit, much like big colleges would pay small colleges to come get beat down on.  Not sure if they still do or not, but that was definitely a reason in the past.  

Elder is also notoriously difficult to work with schduling wise.  That's one big reason they have such a difficult time trying to fill their schedule.  They say things like, "your stadium is nowhere near large enough to handle our fans."  Too many teams essentially said, well then, go pound rocks if you won't play at our place.

Is that for real? I’d tell them to bug off as well. 

Elder likely wins this by a couple of scores, but I think Cov Cath is talented enough to make this interesting if Elder isn't ready to play. 

Every time we play Elder I'm always impressed by their coaching staff. I think they are disciplined, creative on offense and do things the right way. 

11 hours ago, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

Friday will be installation #8 of the Covington Catholic vs. Elder series when the Colonels travel across the river to West Price Hill and take on the Panthers at The Pit. Thus far this series has been all Elder, who is up 7 wins to 0 over Cov Cath. Cov Cath's nearest chance for a win in the series thus far came in the second meeting of the series back in 2004 when the Colonels special teams unit lined for a 45 yard field goal attempt at The Pit, down 10-9 with 4 seconds remaining on the game. The attempt was unsuccessful, going wide left, and the Panthers notched their second win of the series

On Friday, Cov Cath will be looking to notch their first win of the 2025 season after losing 26-20 in their season opener to Ryle. The Colonels just won the offensive yardage battle on Friday with QB Cash Harney racking up 131 yards rushing and another 184 yards passing and Dylan Gaiser combining for 140 offensive yards with his 59 rushing yards and 81 yards receiving, but Ryle still came away with the W with their offensive and defensive lines controlling action up front throughout most of the game, and their defensive backs intercepting Harney twice.

Elder will be looking to continue their winning ways after beating Maryland's Mt. Zion Preparatory Academy 34-0. MZP, founded in 2011 as a prep school for the athletically gifted in the greater-Baltimore area, currently boasts an enrollment of 85 students in grades 9-12 and is in its 4th year of fielding a football program. The Warriors proved to be an obvious mis-match for the Panthers on Friday with Elder scoring all 34 of their points in the first half of football and holding the Warriors to a total -4 yards of offense in the game. It's hard to get a real concept for what to expect out of the Panthers from Friday's game, but we do know that their offense returns QB Kaden Estep as a junior. Estep had a very respectable 1900 yards passing last year, and he was 5-9 for 37 yards passing and led the team with 67 yards on 6 carries in their win over MZP. Estep is also the top returning rusher from Elder's 2024 campaign after losing Joey Thamann to graduation, and it appears from Friday's game that Estep will be joined in the backfield this year by senior RB Tommy Becker and junior RB Andrew Tallon, and senior WR Jackson Ruth looks to be one of Estep's favorite receiving targets. Senior DB Derek Uran led the GCL in sacks last year with 9, and also turned in 75 total tackles to finish at #5 in the GCL.

This looks to be another big test for the Colonels starting off their 2025 season. Will Elder continue their sweep in this series, or do the Colonels have a shot at notching both their first win of the season and their first-ever win over Elder?

With this schedule CCH could be 1-7 going into the last 2 weeks of the season. Maybe 2-6.

1 hour ago, NKYBornandBred93 said:

With this schedule CCH could be 1-7 going into the last 2 weeks of the season. Maybe 2-6.

No shot. I guess I am unfamiliar with Louisville Central, but barring a load of injuries, they will beat at least SK, Dixie and Beechwood. 

The Highlands faithful on here also do not seem that fired up so that is still a possibility. 

1 hour ago, NKYBornandBred93 said:

With this schedule CCH could be 1-7 going into the last 2 weeks of the season. Maybe 2-6.

Elder is an uphill battle and likely loss.

Definite wins over SK and Dixie. 

Slight favorite over Beechwood in an emotional battle. I believe CovCath will win.

Win over Central.

Highlands is a tossup in an annual rivalry grudge match and now with district implications again.

Host Cathedral, a traditionally strong opponent. This is a winnable game at home, but I know nothing about this year's Cathedral squad.

Last two games - definite wins.

The Pitt is such a great experience. I wouldn't mind playing there on a regular basis.

45 minutes ago, fatsnbul said:

The Pitt is such a great experience. I wouldn't mind playing there on a regular basis.

I agree. My favorite HS stadium I've been to.

2 hours ago, CCHFC said:

No shot. I guess I am unfamiliar with Louisville Central, but barring a load of injuries, they will beat at least SK, Dixie and Beechwood. 

The Highlands faithful on here also do not seem that fired up so that is still a possibility. 

Central is down this year, that will be a win barring an absolute catastrophe. I think Highlands is 50/50.

After the dust has settled after the Ryle loss, I feel like Eddie is going to have a solid gameplan going in to Elder. It’s disappointing to lose your first game, especially at home, but Ryle could certainly win 6A. I think the Colonels strike some fear into the Panthers; we may not win this game but we’ll go down swinging. I’ll be pleased if it’s closer than the last two times we’ve played them and I’ll be shocked if it isn’t. We’re still one of the best teams in 4A. If we stay healthy, these games are only going to make us better. It would be lovely to at least either win this one or Cathedral (who’s better than Elder) at home. 

13 hours ago, NKYBornandBred93 said:

With this schedule CCH could be 1-7 going into the last 2 weeks of the season. Maybe 2-6.

The disrespect is crazy. The Colonels, even in their down years, have always been a tough out! The JV team wouldn’t go 1-7. They quickly calibrated against Ryle even after being down a couple touchdowns. Sure, Ryle was better, but this team will surprise this season. Never underestimate Cov Cath.