kyag

9th Region with 3 teams in the mix.

Soccerama is just a NKHSBSCA event and scores are not submitted to KHSAA. I use the Riherds Scoreboard for a lot of my score updates, it’s a great site with a ton of access to team information. You may have the wrong link, but all the information is listed. https://scoreboard.12dt.com/scoreboard/khsaa/kybsc23?I'd=2023-09-05

We are officially halfway through the season and for me, the top 3 teams are still Ryle, Highlands, and Cov Cath. After those 3, can anyone separate from the group and make a run as a contender for a 9th Region title? Here are some games in my opinion to watch this week: Tuesday (9/5/23) Highlands @ Covington Catholic - Highlands didn't play last week as they have two big times games this week and will be the team to watch this week. Can the Bluebirds solidify a spot as the top team in NKY? The Colonels have won the last 2 meetings. I've seen both teams and I think Cov Cath playing at home might be enough to get a 1-0 win. Thursday (9/7/23) Highlands @ Ryle - These teams met at Soccerama with Highlands getting the win. Ryle verses NKY competition has scored 21 goals and conceded 2. Highlands has done the same scoring 25 goals and conceding 5. Will this be a track meet with both teams making attacks, or will the defense show up and we get a heavyweight match with both sides waiting for a miscue from the other. Maybe a preview of the 9th Region title game? Holy Cross (Covington) @ Holmes - District 35 battle. Can Holmes get a win? The last time the Bulldogs beat the Indians was in 2018, this is Holmes only win in 23 years. Other games of note: Tuesday (9/5/23) Boone County @ Campbell County Beechwood @ Conner Cooper @ Holy Cross (Covington) Calvary Christian @ Pendleton County Dixie Heights @ Simon Kenton St. Henry @ Ryle Bishop Brossart @ Walton Verona Thursday (9/7/23) Beechwood @ Campbell County Boone County @ Conner (District 33 Game) Scott @ Newport Central Catholic Grant County @ Simon Kenton (District 32 Game) Dixie Heights @ St. Henry (District 34 Game) Saturday (9/9/23) Bishop Brossart @ Calvary Christian (10th Region All "A") Newport Central Catholic @ Holmes Walton Verona @ Villa Madonna Simon Kenton @ Scott

Where is this season going? Already week 4 is over and we are preparing for week 5 with a slew of district games coming up. I went back and added the All "A" games since some of these teams' cancelled games against each other, I assuming due to the All "A" games that were played against each other. Just a reminder that the win/loss record is against NKY teams only. I'll give my Top 10 for NKY: 1. Ryle 2. Highlands 3. Covington Catholic 4. Bishop Brossart 5. Dixie Heights 6. Conner 7. Cooper 8. Newport Central Catholic 9. Simon Kenton 10. Beechwood

Nice night to watch the NCC @ Conner game tonight in Hebron. NCC started off with some nice opportunities but shots either went high or wide. Conner started to settle in and pressured the NCC defense as they tried to play the ball out of the back. Grady Noble got the first goal for Conner and the Cougars take the 1-0 lead into half time. Conner comes out the second half and keeps the pressure on the back line of NCC and a pass from Liam Windsor finds Noble again for a 2-0 lead. Conners defense was up to the task and did a good job of limiting shots from the Thoroughbreds. Around the 6 minute mark on a goal kick, the young center backs for Conner try a little time wasting by setting the ball down and then initiated play by touching the ball. It took the NCC attacker a few seconds but then he presses towards the goal, Ginn, who initiated play got a little nervous waiting for Faulkner to come clear the ball and touches it again. An indirect kick is called from the 6 yard line and Ginn is able to redeem his mistake and clears the ball out of danger as NCC is unable to convert the play. This was a nice win for the Cougars against a quality opponent and the Cougars have now won 4 in a row with 3 clean sheets in a row for King and Wagner combined.

Just saw on the X feed that Cooper goes down to Brossart. Any game insights are always appreciated.

Watched part of this on Dixie Heights Athletics on YouTube. Ryle gets a goal in the 1st half to take the 1-0 lead into half. Josh Line scores a 25 yard blast in the second half and the Raiders add another to beat the host Red Colonels 3-0.

Conner did what they needed to in this game. In the first half there were 3 missed opportunities for Conner to score, a missed header, a shot right to the keeper, and a missed played 2 v 1. Half ends at 0-0. Second half about 3 minutes in Dallas Marshall finds Jeremy Alig for the 1st goal. About 3 minutes later the same duo connect again for Alig's second goal of the night. Alig would have a couple more opportunities to score for the hat-trick but just couldn't find the back of the net again. Owen Swaney is able to score his 1st goal of the season and also his 1st varsity goal of the season. Could've, would've, should've...Conner had the opportunities to score 2-3 more goals but didn't so the score is what it should've been. I fully expected the Cougars to win this game by 3+ goals so I'll take the 3 and hope they come ready to play Thursday vs NCC.

Must be some serious soccer going on in Centerville Ohio, not sure I’ve seen such a lopsided reported score vs a Cov Cath team.

Good point…looking at the game stats which seem incomplete for the Ryle/Henry Clay game it looks like Barth didn’t play and I’m not sure how focused on winning Ryle was as much as they were looking at who would be potential players that could help them when it really counts, districts, regionals, and state. The week of September 4th we should learn a lot about Highlands as they have Cov Cath and Ryle, which both will be games to watch next week.

Week 4 has some games that I'm sure will get some conversation going. Tuesday (8/29/23) Ryle @ Dixie Heights - Ryle enters the week 3-0 vs NKY competition. Can the back 4 for Dixie stop the high scoring attack for Ryle? Dixie is coming off of a win vs Cooper and I'm sure they'd love to get another win vs a 33rd District team. Cooper @ Bishop Brossart - Bishop Brossart has scored 16 goals vs NKY competition this year, granted 15 of those have not been against the best of NKY. Conner and Dixie played the Mustangs to draws, can the Jaguars get a needed W before they play Cov Cath on Thursday? Thursday (8/31/23) Covington Catholic @ Cooper - Cooper makes the trip down to Longbranch Road to take on the Jaguars of Cooper. Cooper hopes to have more success against the Blue Colonels than they did against the Red Colonels. Cov Cath will be looking to get the win as last year Cooper got it, and it was their (Cooper) first in 13 years. Newport Central Catholic @ Conner - Last year Conner played NCC to a tie. At Soccerama the two clubs tied again. Newport Central Catholic is coming off of winning the All "A" and are currently 4-1 vs NKY competition. Can the Cougar defense hold the Thoroughbreds and get the W in Hebron? Other games of note for Week 4: Tuesday 8/29/23 Lawrenceburg (IN) @ Conner Boone County @ Grant County Holy Cross (Covington) @ Pendleton County Holmes @ Scott Newport Central Catholic @ St. Henry Walton Verona @ Simon Kenton Beechwood @ Villa Madonna Thursday 8/31/23 Villa Madonna @ Dixie Heights Boone County @ Holmes Holy Cross (Covington) @ Ryle Campbell County @ Scott Gallatin County @ Walton Verona Saturday 9/2/23 Holy Cross (Covington) @ Newport Central Catholic Note...The Bluebirds of Highlands have no games scheduled this week per the scoreboard.

Week 3 saw Ryle go into Park Hills and get a PK to pull out the W vs Covington Catholic. We had the All "A" classic wrap up this week, congratulations to Newport Central Catholic on winning this small school tournament. Cooper and Dixie Heights battled it out on Thursday night with the Red Colonels pulling out the win. I did not put the All "A" games that took place this week in the sheet. I figured most of these teams play during the regular season and there was no reason to add these games to the sheet. I'll take my stab again at ranking the top 10 for NKY: 1. Ryle 2 Highlands 3. Covington Catholic 4. Dixie Heights 5. Newport Central Catholic 6. Bishop Brossart 7. Cooper 8. Simon Kenton 9. Conner 10. Holy Cross

They still have it….https://scoreboard.12dt.com/scoreboard/khsaa/kybsc23?I'd=2023-08-26

Well, since the Conner/St. Henry game got canceled due to the Crusader's playing Holy Cross in the All “A”, I checked out the Cooper/Dixie game. I thought Cooper looked to be the better team in the 1st half. They seemed to create more opportunities for themselves and actually took a 1-0 lead into half off a goal from Maddox Pemberton goal. Dixie had a couple chances but nothing came of them. 2nd half Cooper was holding their own but then a Jaguar defender makes what I thought was a silly foul just outside the box on the attacking left side around the 5 yard line. Bolte takes the free kick and the ball finds a Colonel player…1-1. After Dixie tied it up I thought Cooper just kind of fell apart. Dixie continued to attack and they get a run on the right side, cross the ball in front of the goal Bolte is by himself on the left side and gets the ball to the back of the net for a 2-1 lead. it’s always fun when you don’t have a dog in the fight to listen to the parents rant about calls. At one point the announcer forgot to start the clock (which benefited Cooper) and the Cooper parents start yelling start the clock…they were down 2-1 so I would’ve kept my mouth shut cause any extra time is a gift. Nice crowd tonight at Dixie and the announcer did a nice job.

The Cougars get another win (2nd in a row) in Alexandria tonight vs the Camels of Campbell County. Conner had a chance early to score in front of the goal but the Camel keeper makes 2 nice saves in a row. The Camels scored first off a throw in into the box that the Conner keeper misplays and the Campbell County player puts it away. I thought Conner did some nice things in the first half but just couldn’t get a clean shot off. 2nd half Conner kept the pressure up and Dallas Marshall gets his first Varsity goal and ties up the game. Conner had a quick counter and Grady Noble receives the ball and pings it off the side post, off the Camel keeper and a goal kick is called. A few more minutes go by and Noble again is on the receiving end of a counter and finds the back of the net to put the Cougars up 2-1. The Camels keep attacking but the Cougar defense holds and the Cougars claw their way out of Alexandria with the win.

According to the NKHSBSCA site, this will be updated every other week. I have to admit, I think they are off and in my opinion have my Cougars to high in his pole.

We are 3 weeks in and there have been some good games in the NKY area. I'm not sure we have had any surprises yet in the early season...but maybe this week. Tuesday (8/22/23) Campbell County @ Conner - I know, I know...KYAG you always put Conner down (of course I do, I'm the one posting). This game could go a number of different ways. Campbell County has played NCC and Dixie and came out with a loss in each contest. The Camels tied Holy Cross, but that game was in Latonia on a smaller grass field which Holy Cross uses to their advantage very well. The Camels have scored 12 goals but 10 of those came against Calvary Christian. The Camels seem to have a decent defense only giving up 1 goal apiece to NCC and Dixie. Conner...I'm not sure which team will show up. You have a team that played Cov Cath and Highlands tight. Then there is the team that showed up vs Simon Kenton, hopefully that team stays in Independence for the rest of the season. St. Henry @ Villa Madonna - This is a 9th Region All "A" matchup. Could it come down to PK's to decide who gets the winner of Beechwood and NCC? Thursday (8/24/23) Dixie Heights @ Cooper - This could've been the game to watch for the week if it wasn't for the one I have listed just below. Dixie takes the bus down to Longbranch Road to visit the Jaguars in Union. Cooper will play physical at home and will look to press Dixie. Will the Red Colonels stay focused and take care of business? Tune in at 8:00 pm to find out. Ryle @ Covington Catholic - This is the game of the week. Ryle travels to Park Hills with their attack of Denigan, Hoenderkamp, and Line. Barth will anchor the defense vs the Blue Colonels. I saw Ryle vs Madison Central and Ryle understands how to stay in formation and attack space. Can Cov Cath find the gaps with Roland and Leach? Will the back line of Cov Cath be able to contain the speed and attack of Denigan and Hoenderkamp? This could be a glimpse of a 2nd round or finals matchup for Region 9. Beechwood @ Newport Central Catholic - This has potential to be a battle. Can Beechwood finally get over the hump and get the win at Morscher Field vs the Thoroughbreds? Other games of note for Week 3: Tuesday 8/22/23 Scott @ Bishop Brossart Simon Kenton @ Boone County Walton Verona @ Holmes Highlands @ Bryan Station Wednesday 8/23/23 St. Henry @ Boone County Thursday 8/24/23 Walton Verona @ Gallatin County St. Henry @ Conner Pendleton County @ Holmes Campbell County @ Highlands

As week 2 comes to a close and I'm sitting here watching Nashville vs Miami, I figured what better time to update the NKY spreadsheet. I changed a couple of things and added some more data for all of us analytic guys. My top 10 for NKY 1. Ryle 2. Highlands 3. Cov Cath 4. Cooper 5. NCC 6. Dixie Heights 7. Bishop Brossart 8. Simon Kenton 9. Holy Cross 10. Campbell County

A win is a win. 1st half Scott had a good opportunity in the opening minutes but Conner’s defense ends up denying the chance. The Cougars had 3-4 chances to score in the first half but couldn’t find the back of the net. 2nd half Cougars started slow again but about half way through Alig scores off a corner to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead. Cougars get another corner and Faulkner is able to find the back of the net. With about 10 minutes left, Ethan Davey pushes forward and finds the ball at his feet in the top left corner of the box, takes a dribble and bends in the shot. Cougars finish the game and Wagner and King combine for the clean sheet.

I’m not sure I have much to say about this one. This is just a game to move on from. I thought Simon Kenton had a nice team and they took advantage of the opportunities and kept the field spaced to create lanes to run into when attacking. The keeper (Mullin) he will be one to watch the next 3 years.

It was a tale of two halves in Fort Thomas tonight. Highlands get on the scoreboard early with a nice cross from the right side to the head of Gamble for the 1-0 lead. Highlands was spaced well attacking Conner often and moved the ball it seemed at will in the mid-field. Highlands attacks down the left side, get a cross off that deflects off 2 Conner defenders for the own goal. Conner looked a little defeated in the first half. Conner did have 2 good chances to draw even but shoot wide of the goal and over the goal. 2nd half….in my homer opinion Conner controlled it. Conner had multiple chances at the goal, had a 1 v 1 with the keeper hit off the post, but the Cougars finally get one off a set play as Kellen Faulkner follows up the deflection for the goal. A Conner player quickly grabs the ball to take it back to half field for the kick-off and is, let’s say impeded by a Bluebird player. Conner player comes flying in to protect the fellow teammate…Bluebird on the ground and Fort Thomas faithful is hollering foul play against Conner. The AR and center ref meet to discuss what happened, yellow card awarded to Highlands and a yellow to Conner which was the correct call. Highlands seemed to slow the pace down which I think allowed Conner to keep pressing and get better opportunities. Highlands has some nice pieces and played very controlled in the 1st half. I really liked the changes Conner made at half and they clawed their way back in but just couldn’t get the tying goal.

As we begin week 2, these are games in NKY that should be worth the price of admission. Tuesday 8/15/23 Conner @ Highlands - I know you all think I’m a homer…and I am, but this is a good early test for the Cougars. Last year Conner got the best of the Bluebirds in Hebron. Highlands is scoring and Conner has a tough defense. Can the two young center backs for the Cougars handle the pressure of the Bluebirds? Will Gesenhues have another big game for Highlands? Can the attacking duo of Conner handle the size and skill of Khullar? I guess we will get answers on Tuesday night to all of the above. Thursday 8/17/23 Campbell County @ Dixie Heights - A 10th region vs 9th region battle Dixie has a draw and 2 loses on the season to some tough southern competition. The Red Colonels will be looking for their 1st win of the year. Campbell County hasn’t played the quality opponents that Dixie has and will be looking for a quality win Cooper @ NCC - The Jaguars make the trip to Morscher Park to play on the grass field of NCC. NCC is tough at home and know how to use the setting sun to their advantage to attack opposing keepers who are looking at the sun dropping over the hill. NCC is 3-0 having scored 11 goals and allowed 2. Can Cooper get a win verses the Thoroughbreds? 8/19/23 St. Henry @ Beechwood - Both schools play some big time games earlier in the week and both could be looking for a win on Saturday. Maybe we see a rematch in a few weeks at the “All A” tournament? St. Xavier @ Covington Catholic - Last years state runner up comes to Park Hills to take on the Colonels. Other games of note: 8/15/23 St. Henry @ Bishop Brossart NCC @ Campbell County Holy Cross (Covington) @ Grant County Ryle @ Beechwood 8/17/23 Holy Cross (Covington) @ Highlands Bishop Brossart @ Ryle Conner @ Simon Kenton Cov Cath @ St. Henry Holmes @ Villa Madonna Boone County @ Walton Verona 8/19/23 Tates Creek @ Dixie Heights Scott @ Conner North Oldham @ Cooper

Not sure we learned a lot this week. Hopefully this spreadsheet will give us some more insights as the year progresses. This just shows records vs NKY (Boone/Campbell/Grant/Kenton/Pendleton) teams only. I didn't include Covington Latin due to them not playing NKY teams besides Holmes.

Very physical game at Conner this evening. Conner had a couple chances early in the game but passed the ball directly to the keeper instead of the back of the net. The Brossart keeper had a couple nice saves in the 1st half. Brossart score off a corner as the ball bounces around it gets eventually knocked in. Brossart holds on to lead going into half time. 2nd half Conner turned up the physicality on the front line and really attacked the back line of Brossart. The Mustangs held their own and were able to squash a few good chances the Cougars had. Conner had a nice run down the left side of the field for a cross to a wide open Cougar (Noble) who buries the shot to draw Conner even. Conner had a few more chances as did Brossart but the game ends in a draw 1 - 1.

Conner had 6 players last night getting their first varsity start, 4 of which were sophomores. I agree with #OutofNeccessity observation...Conner is young in game experience, and it showed in the second half.