Two Boone County teams meet Friday night at in Hebron. Both teams are coming off losses in week 1.

Ryle enters 0-1 after dropping its season opener 50-6 to Covington Catholic. The Raiders will look to regroup on the road and get their first win of the 2026 season.

Conner is also 0-1 after suffering a 56-6 loss to Madison Central in its opener. The Cougars are looking to bounce back in their home opener under first-year head coach Chase Floyd as they begin a new era of Conner football.

The Raiders and Cougars will both be searching for answers, making Friday’s matchup an important early-season opportunity for both programs.

Fred Nevel Stadium — Hebron, KY
Friday, August 28 — 7:00 PM

Conner plays host to the Ryle Raiders this Friday, August 28, 2026, at 7:00 PM at Fred Nevel Stadium. Both teams were thumped in their first games with Conner losing at Madison Central 56-6, and Ryle falling to Covington Catholic 50-6.

Game Details

• Teams: Ryle Raiders (Union, KY) vs. Conner Cougars (Hebron, KY)

• Date: Friday, August 28, 2026

• Time: 7:00 PM Eastern

• Location: Fred Nevel Stadium, Conner High School (Hebron, KY)

• Coaches: Mike Engler enters his 13th season leading Ryle, holding a 93-55 record with the Raiders. Chase Floyd is in his first season.

Season Outlook

• Ryle: The Raiders enter the season returning an experienced roster following a deep playoff run last year, though they are looking to fill key spots left by graduated starters. Ryle is considered one of Northern Kentucky's top class contenders.

• Conner: The young Cougars with their home-opener looks to give new head coach Chase Floyd his first win.

Conner has to get healthy and play much better defensively than what they showed last week. Ryle seems to still be trying to figure some things out offensively. It will be interesting to see if the very young Cougar team can grow up quickly this week. Good luck to both teams and hopefully it is a hard fought game and both teams come out healthy.

Ryle has a get-right week vs The Cougars.

Ryle with an easy win.

Ryle will win. They are down drastically this year, but they still have a competitive team in the grand scheme of things.

3 hours ago, Al Bundy said:

Ryle with an easy win.

I don't see easy wins for Ryle this year. Let's see if they clean up the penalty issues Friday night against Conner.

6 hours ago, StraightShooter said:

I don't see easy wins for Ryle this year. Let's see if they clean up the penalty issues Friday night against Conner.

If I'm a Ryle fan that attended last Friday's game, my number one thing to watch for this week is can they tackle and get guys on the ground. Was as bad a tackling game as I've ever seen from a quality program.

Again, I think they win easy this week, and I'm certain the Raiders will be frothing at the mouth to get out there. I'm sure it has been a long week for the Raiders already.

19 hours ago, StraightShooter said:

I don't see easy wins for Ryle this year. Let's see if they clean up the penalty issues Friday night against Conner.

I think they will handle Boone and Connor this year in their district play. Boone struggled with Holmes until the second half. Connor may be young, but their freshman teams have struggled to win a game or two the last three years. I think Ryle has enough talent to have a few easy games. They are probably the 5th or 6th best team still in NKY.

3 hours ago, Al Bundy said:

I think they will handle Boone and Connor this year in their district play. Boone struggled with Holmes until the second half. Connor may be young, but their freshman teams have struggled to win a game or two the last three years. I think Ryle has enough talent to have a few easy games. They are probably the 5th or 6th best team still in NKY.

Boone and Conner are 5A while Ryle is 6A so Ryle is not in their district. Ryle hasn't played Boone County since Bryson Warner was the BCHS head coach and did not renew the county rivalry. This was probably on the best interest of both teams at the time.

I do agree that Ryle should still have a few 'easy' games this year

I think I would put Ryle at 4th in NKY, but they have a lot to prove. Ironically, my 1-3 in NKY were Ryle's first three opponents, two of them being scrimmages though.

23 hours ago, onethirdofthegame said:

Boone and Conner are 5A while Ryle is 6A so Ryle is not in their district. Ryle hasn't played Boone County since Bryson Warner was the BCHS head coach and did not renew the county rivalry. This was probably on the best interest of both teams at the time.

I do agree that Ryle should still have a few 'easy' games this year

I think I would put Ryle at 4th in NKY, but they have a lot to prove. Ironically, my 1-3 in NKY were Ryle's first three opponents, two of them being scrimmages though.

I got messed up because they are in district in basketball and baseball. Right now I'd have Ryle at #5 maybe put SK#4. Still think Ryle could possibly clock Connor tonight.

Ryle scored on first possession, short pass to 11, initially bottled up but switched fields and went for about 45 yds.

7-0 Ryle, Conner at about midfield about 8:30 left in Q1

Conner had the ball around the Ryle 10, fumbled snap, Ryle returned it to midfield

long pass for TD for Ryle, called back for a hold. Looks like it may be a long night for the Cougs.

Conner holds poem and take over on downs around their own 40.