kyag

They have not had the regional draw yet. First round games should be at district winners with semifinals and finals at Dixie Heights. Regional Tournament starts next week (10/14)

1 for 1 so far….the following teams all advanced to regionals: Conner, Ryle, Dixie Heights, St. Henry, Beechwood, Cov Cath, Highlands, NCC

This was a hard-fought game/victory for the Cougars. Conner started off very tense in this game and almost gave up the opening goal less than 1 minute in. Conner would settle in around the 10-minute mark and started to generate some better chances for themselves but the Cooper defense held tough. The game would to halftime 0-0. Second half would see the Cougars get a direct free kick from 35 yards out and Brayden Thornton would connect with fellow center back Kellen Faulkner who headed it in for the first goal of the game. Conner would strike again as Dallas Marshall found himself open and finds the back of the net to put the Cougars up 2-0. Cooper would keep pressing and would generate chances but nothing that Trey Wagner could not stop. With less than 20 seconds left Cooper had a corner to try to take away the shutout Wagner was having. Faulkner was able to clear/head the ball out to Grady Noble who streaked down the field and as time was just about to expire, Noble gets the 3rd goal and the game ended Conner 3 Cooper 0. Conner will play Ryle for the 33rd District Championship on Thursday at Cooper.

I would do something like this... 33rd - Boone, Conner, Cooper, St. Henry 34th - Beechwood, Dixie Heights, Holy Cross, Villa 35th - Cov Cath, Highlands, Holmes, NCC I would dissolve the 36th District for boys. I would move Ryle to the 8th Region and pair them with Walton, SK, and Grant County. This would leave you 12 teams in the 9th region which means 6 teams now would make the regional tournament. You could offer 2 byes for 2 district winners. 1 district winner would have to play a loser, and the other bracket would have 2 district losers. Not the best option, but I'd rather take my chances on something like this. I won't have a dog in the fight much longer, but this is better than having weak districts who get rewarded because of lack of schools that have no teams.

The 9th Region has 13 teams that participate in district tournaments. Three teams have already punched their ticket into the 9th Region tournament based on how their districts are set up. 5 teams after Tuesday will have their season come to an end. Now to take a look at the district tournaments for next week. 33rd - Conner verses Cooper. Conner goes undefeated in district play and get to play a very tough Cooper team who have one of the most dangerous attackers in the region and will be looking to knock the Cougars out of the regional tournament 2 years in a row. The other game sees Ryle verses Boone County. I get the feeling the Rebels have felt disrespected by the coaches poll after their win over Cooper and maybe looking to prove they can make noise in the post season. This is by far the toughest district in the 9th Region, and it is a shame that only 2 teams get to advance as all 4 teams have had a successful season. 34th - Dixie Heights get the #1 seed and automatic bid for regions. St. Henry verses Viila Madonna, I see St. Henry winning and getting another chance to play the Colonels. 35th - Covington Catholic verses Holmes, Covington Catholic get to rest their starters most of this game and should win easily. Beechwood verses Holy Cross, the Tigers get this win and look to surprise the Colonels on Thursday. 36th - Highlands verses Newport Central Catholic. This district makes me so mad. Only two teams so they both always advance. No district should be set up this way. I know KHSAA does it this way due to other sports, but this is just crazy that every year these teams don't have to worry about getting in because they are the only two teams. I shouldn't do this, but I'm going to. Here are my predictions. Conner and Ryle advance. Dixie Heights and St. Henry advance. Covington Catholic and Beechwood advance. Highlands and Newport Central Catholic are already in. Regional draw with winners listed first: Covington Catholic verses Newport Central Catholic. Conner verses St. Henry. Dixie Heights verses Beechwood. Highlands verses Ryle. Covington Catholic verses Conner, Beechwood verses Ryle. Conner verses Ryle....Conner. In the words of Lavar Ball "Speak it into existence!" I'm a homer so like any homer I'm going to go with my heart and visualize my Conner Cougars winning their first regional title in program history. For the rest of you, give me your replies on what you think for each district and even region. We will all know after Tuesday how it will look.

The high school regular season has come to an end. As I sit here and review the Riherds scoreboard, X, and other social media sites to see how teams did this week, it makes me kind of sad that to think that next week at this time there will be less than 128 high school teams playing soccer. Many Seniors may have already played their last high school game today, perhaps Monday, or Tuesday...but for many high school soccer will have an end. For the other fortunate seniors, they will get another game or two. Well...enough of that. Let's recap what happened with NKY soccer at the end of Week 8. Beechwood starts off the week with a 3-1 win over Dixie Heights, but then drop their last home game 1-2 to Cooper. Speaking of Cooper, they go 0-3 in 33rd District games and are the 4 seed. Covington Catholic play an out of area team then come home and beat Boone County 3-0. Highlands come away with a draw verses Campbell County and then take a loss verses St. Henry. St. Henry earlier in the week made the trip to Hebron to take on Conner and come away with a 0-2 loss in a rain filled game. Conner finish their season with an 8-0 win over Grant County. Ryle go to Alexandria and get a 2-1 win over Bishop Brossart. Simon Kenton gets a 3-2 win over Campbell County and then draw Bishop Brossart 1-1. Here is @KYAG final rankings for NKY soccer. 1. Covington Catholic 2. Conner 3. Ryle 4. St. Henry 5. Highlands 6. Cooper 7. Dixie Heights 8. Beechwood 9. Bishop Brossart 10. Boone County Simon Kenton, Calvary Christian, Newport Central Catholic, Holy Cross, Scott, Pendleton County, Villa Madonna, Grant County, Holmes, Walton Verona.

Senior Night part 2 for the Cougars. Coach Walker opts to start his 6 Seniors for their last home game on Tom Stellman field in Hebron. The Seniors would not disappoint as Owen Mayhew passes a ball through the defense that finds fellow Senior Golikia Masoluka for the 1-0 lead. A few moments later Colin Davey would find Owen Mayhew who received the ball and draws a foul in the box. Mayhew converts on the PK 2-0 Cougars. The Cougars continued to find goals from their Seniors as Micah Bitter gets his first varsity goal and makes it 3-0. Coach Walker would rotate some starters in and Grady Noble finds Mason Ginn on a pass that allows Ginn to go 1 v 1 on the keeper to make it 4-0 Conner. Before the half ends the Cougars would find another goal as junior Noah Beckley would score his first goal off a ball bouncing around in the box to make it 5-0 Conner going into the half. At this point Conner had the game in hand heading into the second half and Coach Walker comes back with his Senior starters and some reserves added in. Conner would take a while to find another goal, but Dallas Marshall would find Colin Davey on the right side of the field who would rocket a shot into the back of the net for his first goal of the season and put the Cougars up 6-0. Once again, the Cougars would find the back of the net as Ayden Terry crosses a ball that finds Landon Henn who gets a touch on the ball and gets a shot past the keeper for the 7-0 lead. With about 4 minutes remaining the Cougars Seniors put the game away as Owen Mayhew finds fellow Senior Brayden Thornton who makes a nice shot to close the game out 8-0 for the Cougars. I'm not sure what to make of this game. Grant County has played some teams tough, but they just didn't have the quality of players like Conner had tonight. The Cougars were focused for their last regular season game, and it was impressive that they had 8 different scorers in the match with 5 assists. If Conner can move and share the ball like they did tonight over the next 2 weeks this could be a season to remember for the Cougars.

Well...Boone takes a 2-0 lead into halftime and then give up a PK in the second half to Cooper.

Well...it looks like I picked the correct game for my game of the day. Beechwood gets a signature win at home verses the Colonels. Beechwood is a dangerous team...who knows, maybe they can sneak a win in the district championship game verse the Blue Colonels.

Nothing to report on from the first half of this game. St. Henry had the better first half, but no real threat of scoring. When the rain started in the second half the Cougars offense kicked in. Grady Noble scored off an assist from Dallas Marshall and then Marshall gets his first goal of the year shortly after. Wagner keeps a clean sheet, and the Cougars get the win over the Crusaders in Hebron tonight.

Coaches poll.

In Week 7 we saw Ryle secure the #2 seed in the 33rd District with a win over Cooper. Highlands made a stop in Edgewood to continue their unbeaten streak verses Dixie Heights. Boone County gets a nice win over Campbell County who later in the week get a nice win over Bishop Brossart. Conner and Dixie Heights draw 0-0 on a rainy Thursday night. Scott gets their first win of the year verses NKY competition as they beat Villa Madonna. Here is @KYAG end of week 7 rankings: 1. Covington Catholic 2. Highlands 3. Conner 4. Dixie Heights 5. St. Henry 6. Ryle 7. Beechwood 8. Cooper 9. Bishop Brossart 10. Boone County

Well...all good things must come to an end. The regular season comes to an end this week for boy's high school soccer. For those schools who participate in NKY it has been an interesting season. Covington Catholic has impressed this year with solid wins but have shown they are not invincible as they had a surprising loss to St. Henry and a tie with Highlands. Highlands has been an interesting team too as they have really reduced their schedule this year but have performed well losing only to Cooper in NKY. Bishop Brossart out of the 10th Region has done well and will look to make a run in their region. So, let's get to it...here are the games occurring Week 8 in Northern Kentucky. Tuesday Boone County @ Cooper - These two teams will be battling to secure the #3 seed in the 33rd District. The Rebels were my pick for the surprise team this year and they are currently 8-7-1 verses NKY competition. Cooper loss a tough one to Ryle and will be looking to get their first district win on Tuesday. Highlands @ Campbell County - The Blue Birds have a nice season going. Campbell County started hot this season, but their competition wasn't the best. Can the Camels get a win? You have to go back to 2017 the last time the Camels won. St. Henry @ Conner - The Cougars have had all of their rostered players available for Varsity the last two games. St. Henry has put together a nice year with their biggest win coming against Cov Cath. This could be a regional preview game. Dixie Heights @ Beechwood - @KYAG game of the day. This will be a good game. Beechwood has quietly had a very good year. Dixie started slow but have really picked up when it is most important. This also can be a preview game of a regional matchup. Holy Cross (Covington) @ Walton Verona - The Bearcats have given up 44 goals to NKY competition, I see goals conceded by Walton increasing verses the Indians. Newport Central Catholic @ Grant County - Both teams are used to playing in pastures so no advantage there for either team. I see the Thoroughbreds riding away with this one. Pendleton County @ Calvary Christian - Josh Ruwe will add to his goal total verses the Wildcats. Ryle @ Bishop Brossart - This was almost my game of the day. The Mustangs have a nice team, the Raiders have been injury plagued and have had some key pieces leave. Do the Raiders have enough to tame the Mustangs? Thursday Bishop Brossart @ Newport Central Catholic - Which horse will be put out to pasture? The Mustangs will have their speed neutralized with the grass at Morscher Field. NCC's best win of the year is verses a depleted Conner team. I'm picking NCC with the upset win. Boone County @ Covington Catholic - Tough way to end the regular season for the Rebels having to play the Colonels. Grant County @ Conner - The Braves and Cougars have not played each other since 2018. Conner will be looking to close out the year with a win as they head into the tough 33rd District tournament the following week. Holmes @ Walton Verona - Not sure who to go with on this one. Can Walton get their first win of the season verses a NKY opponent? Campbell County @ Simon Kenton - The Pioneers have not had the best season. The Camels will be looking to get the road win. St. Henry @ Highlands (NKU) - @KYAG game of the day. St. Henry has not beat Highlands since 2017. The Crusaders have some nice wins, will this be another? What say ye @FrankNicodemus...we all know your pick, Bluebirds. Saturday Cooper @ Beechwood - @KYAG game of the day. The Tigers will be looking to show they are for real in the 9th. Cooper may take this one easy to avoid any injures before district play on Tuesday. St. Henry @ Newport Central Catholic - Which one of these "All A" schools will win? The pasture grasses of Morscher maybe enough to knock the Crusaders off their quest to end the season on a win. Bishop Brossart @ Simon Kenton - This will be the 4th game this week for the Mustangs. End of Week 7 Rankings 1. Covington Catholic 2. Highlands 3. Conner 4. Dixie Heights 5. St. Henry 6. Cooper 7. Beechwood 8. Ryle 9. Bishop Brossart 10. Boone County

Ryle over Brossart. I believe this is 3 in a row for Ryle.

Covington Catholic wins the 2024 Scott Christian JV Tournament 2-0 over Cooper.

Bishop Brossart plays Ryle tonight at Dixie in the championship game.

Cov Cath defeats Campbell County in PK’s to advance to the champions game. Conner falls to Cooper 3-2. Championship game at Dixie Copper vs Covington Catholic, game should start at 4:00 PM I believe as it was moved up. May go back to original time now I’m not sure.

Well...the game of day was a little disappointing as we didn't have an official winner, but we did get a draw. Conner started fast and moved the ball into dangerous positions a couple of times in the 1st 10 minutes. Conner was not able to capitalize on a few good chances they had. Dixie settled in and controlled most of the first half but only had 1 shot on goal. 2nd half saw the Cougars start slow but eventually built up some nice connections. A ball got through the backline of the defense and Mason Ginn charged in and was able to get a shot off, but the Dixie keeper made a fantastic save to keep the score even. Dixie would generate several shots on Wagner, but nothing that seemed to challenge the Cougar keep that much. As the game was winding down a yellow card was shown to a Cougar player with 3 seconds left. A little clock delay and a late horn ensued, but the Cougars hold and draw 0-0 verses a good Colonel team that was looking to send their seniors out with a win on senior night.

Maybe this will help explain it….. RPReplay_Final1727314766.mp4

The battle for the #2 seed in the 33rd District needed overtime to determine who it would be. The scoring started off by Cooper conceding an own goal to let Ryle go up 1-0 into halftime. The second half Cooper would score one for themselves as Maddox Pemberton would find the back of the net to even the score 1-1. The score remained tied at the end of regulation which meant overtime. In OT Ryle would find the back of the net again to secure the win and lay claim to the #2 seed. Cooper and Boone who play next Thursday will decide who gets the 4th seed and another game with Conner. Both teams will be a battle as a #4 seed.

Highlands 2 Dixie Heights 1…the losing streak continues for the Colonels verses the Blue Birds. That is an impressive streak of over 20 years. Nice goals by Gamble…he bullied his way through the Colonels defense.

Great job @FrankNicodemus...I took the easy way out and went with the draw. Looking forward to watching this one on Tuesday night.

I'm getting old and forgot my glasses at work, so hopefully this is error free. Here are the results through week 7 of NKY teams verses NKY teams.

As we enter week 7, we should finalize a couple more district seedings and start to understand who a threat will be to win District and Regional games going into weeks 8, 9, and 10. Games to watch this week.... Tuesday Beechwood @ Calvary Christian - Calvary has Josh Ruwe who has scored 31 goals on the year. Granted, Calvary hasn't played the toughest of competition. Beechwood has given up 8 goals on the year...very impressive. I'm picking the Tigers in this battle of large cats. Boone County @ Simon Kenton - Way back in the day these two schools were in the same district for basketball... that is crazy to think of. I think the Rebels get this one. Highlands @ Dixie Heights - My game of the day. Both of these programs are playing good futbol. Dixie is missing one of their best players but are still putting up goals. The Bluebirds are coming off a loss and a tie and will be looking for a win. If I told you that the Colonels have not had a win verses the Blue Birds in over 23 years, would you believe me? I know @FrankNicodemus would. Is this the year the Colonels defeather the Blue Birds and take a piece of the cake? @FrankNicodemus I'll be at this one, since your Blue Birds canceled on my Cougars last week you can buy me a popcorn and Mt. Dew at the Dixie concessions. @FrankNicodemus you need to start a thread on this game and put a poll on it...I'd be interested to see who the soccer community thinks win this one. Holmes @ Pendleton County - I'm picking the Bulldogs. Holy Cross @ St. Henry - St. Henry should win this one but can the Indians get a surprise win? Ryle @ Cooper - Having seen both teams play already this is going to be an interesting one. Pemberton will give the back line of the Raiders some problems with his speed. Cooper got a win on the books due to a forfeiture reported in 2021 for an illegal player by Ryle. Before that you have to go back to 2019. If Ryle win, they would secure the #2 seed in the district. This could be a potential 2/3 district matchup in October. Villa Madonna @ Grant County - I'm going with Villa to get the win. Walton Verona @ Scott - These teams have given up a combined 90 goals to NKY competition. How ironic if they draw 0-0. Wednesday Boone County @ Campbell County - The Rebels are playing back-to-back games, will fatigue play a part in this game? The Camels are having a good year, this would be a nice win for them. Boone will be looking to win as they have lost 2 in a row and have dropped the last 3 in this series to the Camels. By default, this is my game of the day. Thursday Boone County @ Walton Verona - Rebels don't believe in avoiding back-to-back-to-back games! 3rd game in 3 days for the Rebels verses a Walton Verona team they should beat even having played 3 days in a row. Conner @ Dixie Heights - Yes, this is the game of the day. The Colonels get two games of the day this week. The Cougars, when focused are tough to beat. Dixie Heights is playing well and will be looking for another win verses a 33rd District team. The Colonels are currently 2-1 verses the 33rd. Cougars are on the prowl after securing the #1 seed in the 33rd and will be looking for another signature win verses one of the top teams in the 9th Region. Cooper @ Grant County - Cooper gets to play on the pasture down in Dry Ridge. For the Conner vs Cooper game, the announcer kept calling them the Jag-u-ars...I like that. I'm picking the Jag-u-ars to win this one. Holy Cross @ Beechwood - 35th District seeding game. The Tigers secure the #2 seed in my opinion and win this one. Newport Central Catholic @ Calvary Christian - No advantage for the Cougars with the grass field as the Thoroughbreds play on a grass pasture too. I'm picking the pony on this one. Ryle @ Holmes - Why is Ryle playing Holmes? In the past this game would've been over at half time. The last time these two played each other was in 2007. I think Coach Collins is trying to get an easy win for his squad. Ryle still wins easily in this one. Simon Kenton @ Highlands - The Blue Birds should win this one. Villa Madonna @ Scott - I'm picking the Mustangs St. Henry is showing open date for this day, not sure if they will have a game or not. Saturday Bishop Brossart @ Campbell County - The battle for Alexandria! Not sure who to pick in this one. This will also be my game of the day. Holmes @ Covington Latin - The Bulldogs get the win in the Battle for the Dixie Chili Cup (I just made that up). Holy Cross (Covington) @ Scott - I think the Indians get the win verses the Eagles. St. Henry @ Calvary Christian - I'm going with St. Henry.

In my opinion...NKY just got more interesting with some of the outcomes this week. The Conner Cougars were able to secure the #1 seed in the toughest district in Northern Kentucky by defeating all 3 county rival schools. Ryle, Boone, and Cooper still have to play each other with Ryle getting the win over Boone in week 6 and Cooper looking to the next two weeks to wrap up their 33rd District games. Ryle gets a nice win over Highlands, but then Highlands takes Covington Catholic to the limit and the Colonels score a late goal to get the draw. Dixie Heights takes care of Boone County. St. Henry crushes Walton who has given up 35 goals on the year to NKY competition, but then escape with a 1-0 win over Simon Kenton. Holy Cross gives up 4 verses Conner but then go to Alexandria and almost tame the Mustangs but end up giving up a goal and losing 1-0. Beechwood continues to beat the lower quality teams, their best win this year is 1-0 over St. Henry. NCC had a rough week losing to Cooper and Cov Cath. As we enter the last two weeks of the year, we may get a better picture of what the 9th Region tournament will look like this year. @KYAG end of week 6 rankings 1. Covington Catholic 2. Highlands 3. Dixie Heights 4. Conner 5. St. Henry 6. Cooper 7. Bishop Brossart 8. Ryle 9. Beechwood 10. Boone County