article NKY Power Rankings: 09-04-19

1) 5A Covington Catholic (2-0) – The Colonels absolutely rolled in their second game of the season, and in similar fashion to the last two seasons, they’ve had a running clock on their opponents in each of their first two games of the season. Cov Cath’s defense was lights out on Friday, holding Campbell County’s offense to -47 total yards in the 49-0 win. QB Caleb Jacob was 9-12 passing for 131yds and 4 TDs. Michael Mayer continued to dominate offensively when he got his hands on the ball, rushing for 1 TD on 1 carry, and scoring 2 more TDs on his 2 receptions in the game. Michael has scored a touchdown each time he has gotten ahold of the football on offense this year. Cov Cath hosts 3A Lexington Catholic (2-0) and their UK commit QB Beau Allen on Friday.

2) 5A Highlands (1-1) – Highlands made the trip down to Corbin on Friday to take on TN-5A Knoxville Catholic (2-0) in the Cumberland Falls Pigskin Classic. They were facing a tough opponent, with Knox Cath coming into the game bragging the four D1 recruits and the #4 spot in USA Today’s rankings of Tennessee football programs. The Bluebirds fought hard, with QB Collin Hollingsworth going 12-26 passing for 3 TDs, and rushing for another TD, and WR Adam Weyer posted 100yds on 4 receptions, but the total offensive yards told the story of the game. Knox Cath put up 544 total yards offense in the game to Highlands’ 362, and the Birds came home with a 31-28 loss. Highlands will host 6A Campbell County (0-2) on Friday.

3) 2A Beechwood (0-1) – The Tigers opened their season on Friday at Georgetown College against 1A Paintsville (2-0), and made the drive home to Fort Mitchell with a 19-14 loss. Beechwood came out and scored the first 14 points in the game, but the scoring was all Paintsville for the rest of the game, with the Blue Tigers scoring a TD in the 4th quarter to pull ahead and take home the win. Beechwood came out of the game with some injuries to key players in their linebackers and running backs, so we will see how much impact those injuries have on the team in the weeks to come. QB Cam Hergott still put up some all-star numbers in the game, going 10-17 passing for 124yds and rushing for another 173yds and 2 TDs. Beechwood will be on the road again this week when they head to Somerset to take on the 2A Briar Jumpers (2-0).

4) 6A Simon Kenton (1-1) – Simon Kenton’s second game of the season decidedly did not go the way they would have hoped, with the Pioneers hosting OH-DII Anderson (1-0) and coming away with a 44-16 thumping. Freshman QB Chase Crone was 9-25 passing for 186yds and 1TD, and junior QB also spent time behind center managing another 55yds and 1 TD in the air. The story of the game was the ‘Neers inability to get a running game going, with a paltry 21yds rushing, and begging the question: When will we see senior RB Austin Hammack, the team’s top returning rusher? On the defensive side, DL Vuk Sajlovic led the team with 12 total tackles, and LB Aric Hoffman and DB Zack Koenes each had 11 tackles. Simon Kenton will head across the river to take on OH-DI Oak Hills (0-1) on Friday.

5) 5A Cooper (2-0) – Cooper still may look a little slow to get going, but they’ve still managed to preserve an undefeated record after bringing home a 13-7 win over 2A Newport Central Catholic (1-1) on Friday. QB Drew Warth was 7-17 passing for 101yds and 1 TD, and WR Jeremiah Lee proved his mettle by scoring both TDs in the game, with 72yds and 1 TD receiving, and 95yds and 1 TD rushing. The Jags’ offense is still working out their kinks, with just under 500 total yards offense in their first two games, but the defense has held strong and kept their opponents to only 431yds in those games, including the 234yds posted by New Cath on Friday. LB Spencer Handel led the defense with 9 total tackles, and DB Zach Armour & DB Jeremiah Lee each provided an interception. Cooper hosts crosstown rival 6A Ryle (1-1) on Friday.

6) 1A Newport Central Catholic (1-1) – If you’re going to stumble during the regular season, at least you can do it in a non-district game against a team from a higher classification. That’s what happened on Friday, with the Thoroughbreds coming up short in a 13-7 loss to 5A Cooper (2-0). QB Paul Kremer couldn’t get the Breds passing game going, only going 7-20 for 74yds and 2 INTs. After only getting 32yds in New Cath’s season opener against 6A Campbell County (0-2), junior RB Joey Runyon came out strong on Friday, rushing 9 times for 113yds and 1 TD, and adding on another 5yds on 1 reception. Defensive stats were not reported for the game. The Thoroughbreds will head across the Ohio River on Friday to take on OH-DIV Roger Bacon (1-0).

7) 4A Scott (1-1) – Coach Eric Turner posted his first win over his former program as the Eagles sent 2A Lloyd Memorial (1-1) back to Erlanger with a 17-0 shutout loss. Scott’s offense is still working to find its legs, only coming up with 194 total yards in the game, but it proved to be enough, with QB Gus Howlett going 7-26 passing for 63yds and 1 TD, and RB Quincy Perrin leading the running game with 57yds and 1 TD. WR Cam Patterson led the receiving corps with 2 receptions good for 34yds and 1 TD. Defensive stats were not reported for the game. The Eagles will be headed to Crestview Hills on Friday to take on 2A Covington Holy Cross (1-1) at the Indians’ new home for football at Thomas More University.

8) 6A Ryle (1-1) – Ryle raised a few eyebrows around northern Kentucky on Friday after coming back from a 37-0 shutout loss at the hands of 5A Covington Catholic (2-0) and putting up a 34-10 win over 5A Conner (1-1), who was rolling on from a beating of 6A Madison Central (0-2) the week before. After an offensive struggle against Cov Cath only earned them 89 yards last week, the Raiders came back by putting up 143yds in the air, and 252yds on the ground, with RB Kyle England working hard for almost 200yds rushing and 4 TDs, and the remaining touchdown coming on a 19yd connection with WR Elijah Cusick. Defensive stats were not reported for the game. Ryle will be heading across town to take on 5A Cooper (2-0) on Friday.

9) 5A Conner (1-1) – After a solid showing in their season opener against 6A Madison Central (0-2), Conner took a step backwards in their game on Friday, losing 37-10 to 6A Ryle (1-1). The Cougars defense struggled badly to stop bleeding yardage to the Raiders’ running game, and their offense was unable to get a running game started. Jared Hicks had a solid performance as hurler, going 14-23 passing for 161yds, and WR Justin Daniels came up with 98yds on 6 receptions, but with 4yds total on the ground, Conner was unable to find the endzone. Senior defensive back Caleb Ervin led the defensive effort for the Cougars with 13 total tackles, including 1 tackle for a loss, and 1 forced fumble. Conner will have their 3rd straight game on the road this Friday when they head to Edgewood to take on 6A Dixie Heights (1-1).

10) Boone County (2-0) – The Rebels are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2011. Coach Bryson Warner has people excited about high school football in Florence, and it’s showing on the scoreboard. Boone County started off the season with a 20-6 win over 4A Holmes (1-1), and on Friday they managed a 34-28 victory over 6A Paul Laurence Dunbar (1-1). Hey diddle-diddle, they’re coming up the middle. Junior RB Evan Curee led the offensive charge with 193 yards and 3 TDs on 34 carries, while senior RB Eli Rossi had 123yards and 2 TDs on 12 carries. QBs Kaden Craft and Samuel Brown combined to go 4-4 passing for 49yds, and leading the offense to a total 407yds. Evan Curee also led the defense with 12 total tackles from his position at linebacker, while LB Dave Bodenbender had 8 tackles and a sack. Boone County will head to Erlanger to take on 2A Lloyd Memorial (1-1) on Friday.

TRENDING UP

6A Boone County (2-0) – The Rebels are moving in the right direction with a 2-0 start to their season. They beat 6A Paul Laurence Dunbar (1-1) on Friday 34-28.

1A Dayton (1-1) – The Greendevils looked good in their season opener, despite a loss to 1A Bishop Brossart (1-1), and improved their own record with a win over rival 1A Bellevue (0-2).

4A Holmes (1-1) – The Bulldogs came back from a loss in their season opener with a strong 34-18 win over 5A Grant County (1-1).

TRENDING DOWN

1A Bracken County (0-2) – The Polar Bears are not off to the start they had hoped for after suffering their second straight shutout loss at the hands of 1A Ludlow (1-1).

6A Campbell County (0-2) – The Camels dropped out of the top 10 in the NKY power rankings with a 49-0 shutout loss to 5A Covington Catholic (2-2) with cast of new offensive starters struggling to find itself in the first 2 games.

5A Conner (1-1) – The Cougars fall from the #5 spot to #9 after losing 37-10 to 6A Ryle (1-1) on Friday. Conner’s struggling offense only managed 4 yards on the ground in the loss.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY STAR PERFORMANCES OF THE WEEK:

QB Matthew Campbell (Pendleton County) – 7-14 passing for 163 yards and 2 TDs, 9 carries for 75 yards and 1 TD rushing, 1 two-point conversion.

RB/LB Evan Curee (Boone County) – 34 carries for 193 yards and 3 TDs, 12 tackles.

QB/DB Kaleal Davis (Newport) – 7-15 passing for 163 yards and 1 TD, 5 carries for 136 yards and 3 TDs rushing, 5 tackles.

RB Kyle England (Ryle) – 17 carries for 197 yards and 4 TDs rushing.

DB Logan Hearn (Gallatin County) – 12 solo tackles and 5 assists for 17 total tackles, and 1 sack. 1 fumble recovery.

QB/S Cameron Hergott (Beechwood) – 10-17 passing for 124 yards, 23 carries for 173 yards and 2 TDs rushing.

QB Collin Hollingsworth (Highlands) – 14-26 passing for 207 yards and 3 TDs passing, 27 carries for 76 yards and 1 TD rushing.

QB Conner Knipp (Grant County) – 20-49 passing for 251 yards and 2 TDs, 6 carries for 21 yards rushing.

QB Andre Mumphrey (Carroll County) – 13-25 passing for 149 yards and 2 TDs, 10 carries for 96 yards and 1 TD rushing, 6 tackles and 1 sack.

GAME OF THE WEEK (RESULTS): WEEK 1

2A Lloyd Memorial vs. 4A Scott

Coach Eric Turner has his first shutout win as the skipper of the Scott Eagles after beating Lloyd 17-0.

GAME OF THE WEEK: WEEK 2

5A Cooper vs. 6A Ryle

This game is going to be the first of the noteworthy measuring sticks for the Northern Kentucky Power Rankings this season, where we will see how things are measuring up in high school football around Boone County. Ryle seems to have picked things up in Week 1 after their being shut out in Week 0, and Cooper has two wins, but it’s hard telling how stiff their competition has been as of yet. This week should give us a better look at how these two teams (and their competitors) measure up against one another.

My take, the #11 spot is a close fight between Lloyd Memorial and Dixie Heights. Campbell County falls in somewhere close behind those two. Holmes is next behind Campbell County. Then either Carroll County or Newport.

I say take Boone out and it's Conner and Dixie, that's your 9 and 10 spots take your pick. Cooper may be a bit high in my opinion. Love seeing Holmes in the conversation again.

I say take Boone out and it's Conner and Dixie, that's your 9 and 10 spots take your pick. Cooper may be a bit high in my opinion. Love seeing Holmes in the conversation again.

You may well be right. At this stage of the game there's a lot of reading tea leaves...especially when it comes to 6-12.

Ryle versus Cooper definitely is the obvious choice for the game of the week. 2 great defenses will most likely make for a low scoring game.

Kyle England had 197 yards on 17 attempts with 4 touchdowns against Conner.

Conner lost to Ryle 34-10. Hicks had a rushing TD as well.

Conner lost to Ryle 34-10. Hicks had a rushing TD as well.

The first time was a typo...the second time was me being lazy and just copy/pasting the score from above. Mea culpa, and thanks for the correction :thumb:

It’s all good just giving others the information.

I think Ryle is probably the third best team in NKY. They are much improved and if they didn’t start with Cov Cath, probably would be much higher up the list. Cov Cath will make everyone look bad this year in NKY. I think Ryle will handle Cooper this week and make a big jump.

Rankings look good. Except I probably would move Beechwood down to 6 or 7 for now. After seeing them against Cooper in a scrimmage, and then after losing last week. I would have a few other teams above them.

Tomorrow will tell a lot about the Raiders versus a Cooper squad that held Dixie to 0.