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By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Bluebirds football team has played the Covington Holmes Bulldogs more than anyone in school history. The Bluebirds improved to 50-20-2 all-time against the Bulldogs. The only teams they’ve beaten more in school history are Dixie Heights (62-8) and Campbell County (51-9). Highlands has outscored Holmes, 205-42 in the recent three meetings. Despite that, Highlands Head Coach Dale Mueller said the Bulldog program is headed in the right direction under first-year Head Coach and Simon Kenton graduate Ben Nevels. “I’ve always liked the whole Nevels family,” Mueller said. “I know his three brothers and parents. They’re just a great family and I really have respect for what he’s doing and like that he’s coaching at Holmes doing the best he can. I’m not rooting for them when they play us of course, but I want the best for Holmes. I think he really cares about the guys on the team. They want to do well.” Highlands improved to 102-37 all-time against the current district teams. The Bluebirds are 44-17 against Covington Catholic and a perfect 8-0 against Harrison County. Highlands improved to 95-3 since the start of 2007. The Bluebirds also earned the program’s 850th all-time win since starting the program in 1915. They are 850-225-26 all-time. The 850 wins ranks second in the country behind Valdosta’s 881-211-34 record. The Wildcats of south Georgia beat 1-AAAAAA rival Tift county, 31-21 on Friday to move to 5-2 overall. Elementary Names Mentioned: The Highlands football players name their elementary schools on the new scoreboard before the game. It is a similar concept to the National Football League players announcing their colleges and universities. The elementary schools in the Fort Thomas Independent School District are Woodfill, Johnson and Moyer Elementary. “(The players) came up with the idea of introducing our starting lineup,” Mueller said. “They don’t have a university so they say their elementary school. I think it’s just a lot of fun.” Mueller moves into Top 20 in Kentucky: Muller moved to 245-34 in his 20th season as the head coach at Highlands good for 20th in Kentucky history. Mueller’s win total surpassed former Pikeville and Letcher County Central Head Coach Hillard Howard’s record of 244-69-1 in 25 years. Big win for Highlands alum: Chris Wolfe, a 1990 Highlands alum, guided the tradition-rich Male Bulldogs to a huge win Friday. The Bulldogs knocked off Class 6A, District 4 rival Louisville Trinity Shamrocks, 24-14 to stay undefeated at 8-0. Male also edged Louisville St. Xavier, 44-40 the previous week to move to 2-0 in district play. Male became the first team from the Jefferson County Public Schools to beat Trinity since Louisville Seneca did it 34-33 on Sept. 19, 2003. The Bulldogs were also the last team to beat Trinity and St. Xavier in consecutive weeks since Cincinnati St. Xavier did it in 2009. Male seems poised to end St. Xavier and Trinity’s run of winning every large-school championship since 2000. That marked the last year that Male won its last of six titles and Bob Beatty’s first year as head coach of the Shamrocks. Male ranks second in Kentucky and third in the nation behind Valdosta and Highlands for the most wins in program history. The Bulldogs own 829 all-time wins. Massillon Washington (Ohio) ranks fourth in the country with 828 victories. District opponents St. X and DuPont Manual also rank in the top 10 for the most wins all-time in Kentucky. Trinity is not on that list mostly because the program started in 1955. Highlands JV/Freshman Results: The Highlands Junior Varsity is 5-0 and recently had a game against Covington Catholic cancelled. They take on Cincinnati Elder at 10 a.m. on Oct. 26. The Highlands Freshman team is 4-4 after beating Dixie Heights, 42-27 on Thursday. The Bluebirds finish the season Thursday against Cooper at 6 p.m. Boyle County, Johnson Central stay undefeated: The Boyle County Rebels and Johnson Central Golden Eagles also won again Friday to improve to 8-0. Those two plus top-ranked Highlands are the only three undefeated teams left in Class 4A. Boyle County beat Marion County, 50-7 in District 5 action and Johnson Central destroyed Rowan County, 59-10. Johnson Central faces Ashland Blazer next week for the District 8 crown. After those three, there is one one-loss team in Class 4A. That is the 7-1 Russell County Lakers. Their lone loss came 49-21 on Sept. 13 at Class 5A’s second-ranked and undefeated 9-0 Pulaski County Maroons. The Bluebirds will face the winner of the Boyd County (0-8) at Greenup County (2-6) matchup Friday in the first round of the playoffs. The Musketeers have made an improvement after going 0-10 last year. Highlands dominated the Lions in the first round of the playoffs the last two years. Fort Thomas Sports

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The exclamation point to another undisputed football district championship came with the usual mighty Highlands Bluebird roar Friday. Class 4A’s top-ranked and undefeated 8-0 Bluebirds continued their domination of Class 4A, District 7 opponents with another convincing 71-14 victory over the Covington Holmes Bulldogs. Highlands outscored its three district opponents, 190-20 and hit the 70-point mark for the second straight game after posting 77 on Harrison County two weeks ago. The Bluebirds own 17 district championships in the last 18 years. The only time they have not won it since 1996 came in 2006 when Covington Catholic beat Highlands on a last-second touchdown. The Bluebirds also once again beat their average margin of victory with the 57-point win forcing the running clock with 10:32 left in the second quarter. They came into the game outscoring non-Covington Catholic district opponents by an average of about 49.4 points per game since the start of 2007 including the playoffs. That margin increased to about 49.7 after the Bluebirds improved to 21-0 against non-CovCath district opponents during that time. Highlands is also 10-0 against CovCath bringing their overall record to 31-0 against district opponents during that same time. Holmes dropped to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in district play. But the Bulldogs had not faced a team as talented as the Bluebirds this year. Holmes takes on Covington Catholic on Oct. 26 for the district’s second seed. The winner earns a home playoff game in the first round and avoids a potential second-round trip to Fort Thomas. Highlands obliterated the stat sheet racking up 450 yards of offense compared to 98 for Holmes. That included a 354-123 domination through the air. Senior quarterback Drew Houliston led Highlands completing 18-of-23 passes for 320 yards and five touchdowns behind another strong performance by the offensive line. Evan Allen led Highlands with five catches for 106 yards and a score and Alex Veneman had two for 96 yards and two touchdowns. “It was just another great game for (Houliston),” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator. “The receivers were running great routes and getting open. The linemen were keeping people off him. It was another step forward.” Highlands rushed the ball 20 times for 96 yards. Allen also led Highlands on the ground rushing the ball once for 43 yards and Austin Hergott followed with two carries for 42 yards. Zach Harris usually leads Highlands in the rushing department. He had just one carry for a 30-yard touchdown with 7:29 left in the first quarter. The Bluebirds led 15-0 at that point after Houliston completed the two-point conversion to Luke Brockett. The Highlands offensive line knew it had to contain Holmes junior 6-foot-2-inch, 315-pound junior defensive lineman Breandon Johnson. Johnson did get in the backfield a couple times against the Highlands offensive line. “Staying low is the most you can do, especially if he’s bigger than you,” said Matt Walkenhorst, Highlands senior tight end. “You have to keep him from the inside. That’s about all you can do.” The Bluebird defense did its part holding the Bulldogs to minus-25 rushing. Holmes played without injured senior running back Jonathan Scruggs. Scruggs has 1,004 and 11 touchdowns on the year. Turnovers played a big part in the win. The Bulldogs threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles compared to one lost fumble for the Bluebirds. Brady Murray, Joey Kruse and Grayson Heck intercepted passes for Highlands and Rocco Pangallo had a fumble recovery. “We really do try to get better every week,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator. “They’re understanding each other and the big picture. We’re getting better as individuals so they’re creating a better unit. We want to do better next week than we did this week.” Holmes sophomore quarterback Desean Brumfield completed 12-of-29 passes for 123 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions for Holmes. Andrew Arnold led the Bulldogs with six catches for 56 yards. “We just got our keys and kept pressuring (Brumfield) to where he couldn’t throw it,” said D.J. Mills, Highlands junior defensive lineman. “The corners (leveraged) him inside.” The Bluebirds led 29-0 after the first quarter scoring on 4-of-5 possessions. Houliston completed an 8-yard pass to Harris. Then after Harris’ second touchdown, Houliston found Beau Hoge for a 14-yard score before running it in from six yards out. Houliston then found Veneman for an 84-yard score after the teams exchanged turnovers to start the second quarter. That made the score 36-0 Bluebirds after Jared Dougherty made the extra-point attempt. Dougherty has been excellent in PATs this year. He made 9-of-9 against Holmes after making all 11 attempts against Harrison County. Dougherty has made 49-of-50 tries for 98 percent this year. The Bluebirds scored three more touchdowns in the final 5:56 of the first half to go up 57-0. Houliston hit Veneman and Allen for 12 and 42-yard scores respectively and Kruse returned an interception 21 yards for the touchdown. Both teams played an even second half as Highlands played many of its reserves. Hergott scored on a 44-yard touchdown run for the Bluebirds before throwing an 11-yard strike to junior Cashel Coughlan in the fourth quarter. “We have a lot of fast players that get downfield and Drew (Houliston) throws the ball in the air to where the receivers can get (the ball),” Coughlan said. “In practice, we work a lot on the routes and just try to get faster, open and better at catching it. We have a lot of guys that can play a lot of different positions.” Brumfield threw both touchdown passes in the third for Holmes. They were 16 and 45-yard strikes to Dakota Garvey and Fred Warlaw respectively. Highlands can now turn its attention to 6-2 Cincinnati Elder in its final road regular season contest. Elder is coming in off a 23-19 win at Winton Woods. “(Coach) Weinrich has us ready to go for Elder,” said Daniel Kremer, Highlands junior linebacker. “We’ve really picked it up (defensively) these past couple weeks because he knows that they’re going to be a really good team.” The Panthers handed the Bluebirds their lone loss in the last three years, 38-24 in Fort Thomas last year. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at The Pit. Fort Thomas Sports

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The rivalry game for the 36th District girls soccer championship Thursday at Tower Park once again proved that records can be thrown out the window. The Highlands Bluebirds had been playing better lately despite their 6-7-5 record and the Newport Central Catholic Lady Breds had not despite sporting a 12-3-4 mark and All “A” State championship. That showed in a 2-1 Highlands victory. That had especially been the case since NewCath beat Highlands by the same score on Sept. 30 at Tower Park. Highlands has gone 2-1-2 since that day and NewCath has struggled going 0-2-2. The Bluebirds own wins over Dixie Heights and defending state runner-up and 2011 state champion Notre Dame this year. “I think we’ve been playing well most of the season,” said Tommy Kearns, Highlands Head Coach. “We play a really strong schedule. Almost every team on our schedule has 10-plus wins so night-in and night-out, we’re in for a battle. (This) is the reward for that. When you’re in big games all year, you’re ready for this time of the year.” Highlands returned to its familiar place on top of the district after NewCath won last year’s contest 2-0. The Bluebirds had won the previous six district championships and own 12 overall. All 12 titles have come since 1997. The program started 10 years before that. The Bluebirds outshot the Lady Breds, 15-6 including 7-2 in the first half in a battle of two teams playing 4-4-2 (defender-midfielder-forward) sets. Kearns credited players like Peyton Bankemper, McKenzie Goyert, Alyssa Farley and Brooke Dougherty for hanging tough in the Highlands defensive backfield. Goalkeeper Sarah Owens made three saves for Highlands and Meg Martin made nine for NewCath. “You have to stay in front as a defender,” Goyert said. “You don’t want to stab (at the ball) so they can get around you. You also have to be careful about them playing balls wide because if they get past you, you have to trace them back to the middle hoping someone is there to cover for you. It takes a lot of soccer IQ as we call it.” That stat among other things had NewCath Head Coach Kevin Turnick and staff unhappy after the game. Turnick said he had nothing to say when approached after the game. “I was proud of the way we played,” Kearns said. “Our play up top was great. We created a ton of chances again and managed to tuck a couple of them away.” During October, Highland has outscored the opposition 13-5 after scoring just 14 goals last year. On the other side, NewCath has been outscored 5-3 in October after outscoring opponents, 47-9 in August and September in a 12-1-2 start to the season. NewCath scored first with 9:55 left in the first half. Taylor Tolle scored her team-high 16th goal of the year to give the Lady Breds their lone lead of the game. Tolle tied 2005 NewCath graduate Kyra Macke for fourth in school history for goals on the season. Tolle needs three more goals to tie Macke’s school-record of 19 goals in a season set in 2005. Macke is the school’s all-time leading goal scorer with 57. Tolle has tied 2001 NC graduate Heather Gardner for 15th on the all-time career goal-scoring list. But that lead did not last long. Highlands junior midfielder Allyson Bridewell drew a free kick just outside the box and scored to tie the game at 1-1 with 2:38 left in the first half. “Everything just went so fast,” Bridewell said. “I got fouled and took the shot. I was going far corner because if you miss the goal, you have teammates going in. If we play like we did (Thursday) and against Notre Dame (in the Lexington Catholic Cup), we can go far. We just need to play as a team, work hard and keep our heads on right.” Highlands senior midfielder Ellie New scored the game-winner with 36:14 left in the first half. She scored from near the top of the attacking box. Highlands will play host to a 9th Region quarterfinal game Monday while NewCath hits the road. NewCath finished region runner-up to Notre Dame in last year’s tournament title game. Highlands could face Dixie Heights, Beechwood or the loser of the 33rd district title game to be played Saturday between Boone County and Ryle. NewCath will face the winner of that game, St. Henry or Notre Dame. Fort Thomas Sports

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The state-ranked Ryle Lady Raiders volleyball team dominated the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds, 3-0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-23) on Wednesday. NewCath finished the regular season with a 14-16 record. But the host Thoroughbreds still won the top seed in the 36th District Tournament. They take on either Bellevue or Newport at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Fort Thomas Sports: Ryle volleyball dominates NewCath

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team dropped to 12-20 following a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) loss at Covington Holy Cross on Tuesday. Kaitlin Hall led Highlands with nine digs, 14 assists and eight kills. Teammate Kaylan Frisch followed with two blocks. The Bluebirds conclude the regular season at home Thursday against Lexington Lafayette. Game time is 8 p.m. Simon Kenton 3, Newport Central Catholic 1: The Thoroughbreds (14-15) dropped a four-game match to the visiting Lady Pioneers on Senior Night, 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 27-29). Alyssa Maier had 34 assists to lead NewCath and Keyaira Lankheit had 12 kills to go with four blocks. Rachel McDonald followed with 10 kills and Nikki Kiernan had 10 kills and three blocks. NewCath concludes the regular season at Ryle on Wednesday. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: Tuesday Volleyball Roundup

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter Standing in the way of another district title is the most common opponent in school history. The top-ranked, undefeated Highlands Bluebirds football team (7-0 overall, 2-0 district) has played the Class 4A, District 7 rival Covington Holmes Bulldogs more than any other opponent since the program began in 1915. The two meet at 7 p.m. on Friday at David Cecil Memorial Stadium for the 72nd time. The Bluebirds own an overall record of 49-20-2 against the Bulldogs. A win would mark the 17th district championship in the last 18 years for Highlands. Highlands beat Covington Holmes, 57-28 in Covington last year. Highlands has gone 20-0 against district opponents not named Covington Catholic including the playoffs during their 94-3 run since the start of 2007. The Bluebirds have outscored those opponents by an average of just more than 49 points during that time including a 77-0 win on Oct. 4 over Harrison County. Highlands enters the game off its bye week. “Last week was great for us in the middle of the season,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Head Coach. “We did a lot of ones against ones, team drills, man on man and seven-on-seven drills. It was geared to improve our own team skills.” Holmes (5-2) enters the game off a 14-7 against that same rebuilding Harrison County squad. Aside from that, Holmes’ other four wins have come against 1A and 2A opponents. The Bulldogs have a first-year Head Coach in Ben Nevels. Highlands brings its vaunted Spread offense that averages 50.4 points, just more than seven touchdowns and 437.4 yards per contest into the game, including 339.9 through the air. Senior quarterback Drew Houliston has completed 119-of-167 passes for 2,103 yards, 28 touchdowns and just one interception. Nine different Highlands wide receivers have at least seven catches and a touchdown led by Jensen Feggins with 26 catches for 487 yards and seven scores. The Highlands offensive line has blocked well all year paving the way for other skill position players like Zach Harris. Harris leads the team with 463 yards rushing on 63 attempts and 11 touchdowns for an average of 7.3 a carry. Harris also has 19 catches for 322 yards and seven touchdowns. “We work on the team chemistry in spring and summer drills,” said Connor Bleser, Highlands senior offensive lineman/tight end. “It’s about repetition. We keep going over the B (hike) count. That’s why we’re so disciplined.” Holmes struggled against a spread offense in a 40-14 loss to Scott on Aug. 30. The Eagles rushed for 379 yards and six touchdowns on 52 carries in that game. Josh Castleman led Scott with 108 yards on 19 touches with a touchdown. The Bluebird 3-4 defense has allowed an average of 18 points and 312.1 yards per contest. Teams have gone on long and sustained drives at certain points of the season. But the Bluebirds have improved in recent games allowing a mere touchdown to Covington Catholic in district play. They shut out Harrison County with players like Thomas Wrobleski, Seth Hope and Jackson Bardo. “We have a great group of players and coaches,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator. “Everyone is sold on improving each day, each drill and each (repetition). Game planning is great. But the guys must be able to execute the plans. We feel improving on a daily basis is more important than specific schemes.” Holmes also runs a Spread offense. Senior Holmes running back Jonathan Scruggs leads the Bulldogs with 1,004 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns. “(Containment) is pretty much everything,” said Tyler Robinson, Highlands sophomore defensive lineman. “Beating the (offensive) linemen to the gaps is what it is (about). We work on our footwork every day. We make sure (opponents) don’t get outside us.” Senior linebacker Joey Cochran leads Highlands with six tackles for a loss. Junior defensive back Griffin Urlage leads the Bluebirds with two interceptions. Highlands has intercepted five passes and recovered eight fumbles defensively. The Bluebirds conclude the season on the road at Cincinnati Elder (5-2) and at home against Warren Central (4-3). Elder handed the Bluebirds their lone loss last year. Fort Thomas Sports: Most common opponent last obstacle to another Highlands district crown

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands volleyball team knocked off Covington Holmes, 2-0 (25-9, 25-19) on Monday. The Bluebirds are 12-19 overall. Highlands hits the road to face Covington Holy Cross on Tuesday. Game time is 7 p.m. Louisville Mercy 3, Newport Central Catholic 0: The Lady Breds (14-14) lost on the road to the 30-0 and top-ranked Jaguars, 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-13). Setter Alyssa Maier again led NewCath with 16 assists and Madison Volk recorded 10 digs. Teammate Keyaira Lankheit followed with six kills with Rachel McDonald contributing five kills and eight digs. NewCath faces Simon Kenton on Senior Night at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. This marks the final regular season home match for six NewCath seniors in Maier, Volk, Nikki Kiernan, Abbie Lukens, Molly Mertle and Rachel Parnell. Fort Thomas Sports

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter NEWPORT – The Fireman’s Bell unsurprisingly stayed with the team on the Hill on Friday. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds won their 15th straight meeting over the Class 2A, District 6 in-town rival Newport Wildcats, 42-21. The last time the Wildcats beat the Thoroughbreds came in 1999. NewCath jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter of this contest and never looked back. The win gave the Thoroughbreds sole possession of first place in the district because every other team has at least one loss in district play. NewCath is 22-0 in district action since the Kentucky state playoffs expanded from four to six classes in 2007. NewCath is 3-4 overall and 2-0 in district play while Newport dropped to 2-5 and 1-1. The Thoroughbreds outgained the Wildcats, 375-267 in total offense. That included 199-123 on the ground. NewCath ran 58 plays averaging 6.5 per play and Newport ran 64 plays averaging 4.2 yards per touch. Senior quarterback Mac Franzen led NewCath with 69 yards rushing on 16 carries with a touchdown and 176 yards passing. Franzen completed 9-of-13 passes with no interceptions. Tommy Donnelly led NewCath with three catches for 107 yards and three touchdowns with Brandon Gray recording two for 34 yards. Teammate Nate Enslen added a 17-yard touchdown reception. Sophomore Jacob Smith provided a huge spark running the football. Smith led NewCath with 100 yards on 18 carries. Defensively, NewCath wanted to contain junior running back Dominic Joseph. The Thoroughbreds held him to 68 yards rushing on 22 carries. Senior quarterback Charlie Mullins led Newport completing 11-of-24 attempts for 144 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 61 yards on 13 carries with a score. Mullins’ top two targets were Jayshawn Stanley and Brian Burton with one touchdown reception each. Stanley had four catches for 55 yards and Burton two for 43. The Thoroughbreds led 7-0 after the first quarter. Jack Sutkamp scored from a yard out after Smith pulled off a 47-yard run and Wyatt Boberg added the extra-point attempt. John Caudill added three extra-point kicks for NewCath. The Thoroughbreds extended the lead to 21-0 in the second quarter. Franzen completed a 38-yard score to Donnelly and Enslen hauled in his 17-yarder with 3:09 left in the first half. Smith scored on a two-point conversion run after the Enslen score. NewCath missed the PAT following Donnelly’s score. Newport trimmed the margin to 21-7 with 1:01 left in the half. Burton hauled in a 35-yard touchdown reception from Mullins. The Thoroughbreds extended the margin to 28-7 with 8:06 left in the third quarter. Donnelly hauled in a 30-yarder from Franzen for his second touchdown. After Mullins scored from a yard out in the fourth quarter, NewCath responded with two more touchdowns. Franzen scored on a 36-yard run and Donnelly recorded his third touchdown reception from 39 yards out. The Thoroughbreds led 49-14 with 3:56 left in the game. The Wildcats scored their final touchdown with 1:31 left in the game. Stanley scored on a 27-yarder from Mullins and Oscar Franco made his third of three PATs. Turnovers did not play a huge factor in this game. Both teams lost just one penalty. The Thoroughbreds may address their total number of penalties this week. They committed eight penalties for 59 yards compared to four for 30 for the Wildcats. Bishop Brossart up next: The Thoroughbreds look to improve to 3-0 all-time against the county rival Bishop Brossart Mustangs (2-5) on Saturday. Bishop Brossart has been eliminated from playoff contention at 0-3 in district play. The Mustangs started their program in 2007. NewCath dominated last year’s meeting by a 58-0 count. Neither team has a true home field. The game will take place at Scott at 7 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: NewCath claims 15th consecutive Fireman's Bell game

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter This marked the game things fell apart a year ago for the Highlands Bluebirds boys soccer team. The defending 2011 state runner-up Ryle Raiders came to Tower Park and won 2-0 snapping a four-game Highlands winning streak. The Bluebirds proceeded to lose 1-0 games to Newport Central Catholic and St. Henry in the 36th District championship and 9th Region quarterfinal contests respectively. Host Ryle did something similar Thursday scoring 12 minutes into the game and not giving it up to snap the five-game Highlands winning streak. The Bluebirds are 13-6-1 entering the postseason. Both teams had five shots on goal. Nick Breslen had three saves for Highlands and Nathan Tippenhauer had one. Highlands begins the postseason on Tuesday against NewCath (11-4-1) at 7:30 p.m. in the district championship at Tower Park. Highlands opened the season with a 2-1 win over the Thoroughbreds on Aug. 20. Volleyball: Highlands 3, Lloyd Memorial 0: The Bluebirds improved to 11-19 with the 9th Region win Tuesday. Highlands plays host to Covington Holmes on Monday. Game time is 7 p.m. Soccer, Girls: Lexington Catholic 4, Highlands 1: The Bluebirds concluded the regular season at 5-7-5 with the road loss Thursday. Allison Nienaber scored the lone goal for Highlands. Sarah Owen recorded five saves at goalkeeper for the Bluebirds. Highlands plays host to Newport Central Catholic next Thursday in the 36th District championship game. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: Thursday Sports Briefs

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds volleyball team won its third game in three days, 3-1 (13-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-16) over the visiting Conner Lady Cougars on Wednesday. NewCath continued its outstanding all-around play. Setter Alyssa Maier had 21 assists and 10 digs with Rachel McDonald recording 13 kills and nine digs. Keyaira Lankheit followed with eight kills with teammates Laura Brannon and Nikki Kiernan adding three aces each. NewCath concludes the season with three tough games. That starts Monday at undefeated Louisville Mercy. Game time is 7 p.m. Soccer, Girls: Newport Central Catholic 0, Simon Kenton 0: The Lady Breds (12-2-4) recorded their second straight scoreless tie to finish the regular season on Wednesday in Independence. NewCath also tied Conner on Saturday. NewCath has gone 0-1-2 since winning the All “A” State championship and beating rival Highlands, 2-1. Meg Martin recorded three saves in net for NewCath. The Lady Breds will face Highlands for the 36th District title next week at Tower Park. The game will take place Wednesday or Thursday. Fort Thomas Sports

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds volleyball team won its third game in three days, 3-1 (13-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-16) over the visiting Conner Lady Cougars on Wednesday. NewCath continued its outstanding all-around play. Setter Alyssa Maier had 21 assists and 10 digs with Rachel McDonald recording 13 kills and nine digs. Keyaira Lankheit followed with eight kills with teammates Laura Brannon and Nikki Kiernan adding three aces each. NewCath concludes the season with three tough games. That starts Monday at undefeated Louisville Mercy. Game time is 7 p.m. Soccer, Girls: Newport Central Catholic 0, Simon Kenton 0: The Lady Breds (12-2-4) recorded their second straight scoreless tie to finish the regular season on Wednesday in Independence. NewCath also tied Conner on Saturday. NewCath has gone 0-1-2 since winning the All “A” State championship and beating rival Highlands, 2-1. Meg Martin recorded three saves in net for NewCath. The Lady Breds will face Highlands for the 36th District title next week at Tower Park. The game will take place Wednesday or Thursday. Fort Thomas Sports

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Bluebirds boys soccer team continued its run of success with a 3-0 win over the Cooper Jaguars on Senior Night. Highlands has won to 11 of its last 13 games to improve to 13-5-1 overall. The Bluebirds finished the year 7-2 at Tower Park. Chris Garbig scored once and leads the Bluebirds with 13 goals. Colin Dean and Brady Gesenhues scored the other two. Nathan Tippenhauer played the entire game at goalkeeper for Highlands. He stopped all seven Cooper shots for the shutout. The Bluebirds conclude the regular season at Ryle on Thursday. Game time is 8 p.m. Volleyball: Newport Central Catholic 3, Newport 0: The Thoroughbreds (13-13 overall, 4-0 district) completed another undefeated run through the 36th District regular season with a convincing 25-6, 25-8, 25-8 win over visiting Newport on Tuesday. NewCath returns to action today. The Thoroughbreds play host to Conner at 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter There was no secret the juices would be flowing for this volleyball rivalry game. But the team that settled down and played its game won this one soundly. That turned out to be the visiting Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-17) over the 36th District rival Highlands Bluebirds on Monday. This marked the 16th win in the last 17 meetings for NewCath. The lone Highlands win since 2005 came in last year’s district championship. NewCath dominated the net in the win. Nikki Kiernan recorded a couple blocks in the first game to get the Thoroughbreds on a roll. “Even from last week, they’ve made progress from each game,” said Vicki Fleissner, NewCath Head Coach. “We wanted to make a statement. But we have to make sure we’re mentally ready the next time we face them and hopefully put together the same type of game.” But Kiernan had plenty of help. Kiernan had five blocks and two kills with Keyaira Lankheit making eight kills and Rachel McDonald seven. “It puts a lot of pressure on other teams because they need to stay ready,” McDonald said. “Our blocking is going to be fabulous. (Nikki’s blocks) got us up in the beginning.” That forced Highlands to set the ball further away from the net. The Bluebirds tried a lot of tipping to no avail. “We have to learn how to hit around the block and cover the block,” said Whitney Mulroney, Highlands Head Coach. “We did a great job trying to defend it and get it up. But we have to make sure we stay calm.” Both teams struggled with serve reception. But NewCath did the better job passing the ball to setter Alyssa Maier. She had 23 assists with Madison Volk making 10 digs and Amanda Ruwe leading the team with three aces. “We just have to be on our toes ready for short and deep serves no matter who we play because we practice getting them,” Volk said. “We had to stay focused. We always need to step up our game and play our hardest.” NewCath recorded five aces, 26 digs, 27 kills, eight kills and 24 assists to 47 digs, 15 kills, six aces, two blocks and 15 assists for Highlands. Kaitlin Hall led the Bluebirds with 11 assists and four kills. Teammates Abby Schweitzer and Izzy Schultz followed with 12 digs and four aces. The first game stayed close until Kiernan recorded two block kills and Ruwe had an ace to put NewCath up 13-8. Lankheit had another block kill to extend the NewCath lead to 19-10 before Highlands made a run to cut the margin to 24-20 before NewCath won the game on a Highlands net error. “We struggled in the beginning getting the passes to the target so Alyssa couldn’t get anything going with the hitters because she was behind the 10-foot line,” Fleissner said. “We told them in the beginning of the game not to overplay, just go in and look for the same skills we look for every match. You can talk about that all you want. But it’s still an emotional charge for them.” The second game also stayed close until another NewCath run. Highlands made several errors and Lankheit landed a kill to give the Thoroughbreds a 15-9 advantage. The Thoroughbreds led by as much as eight points before Maier had a block kills to give them the second game. NewCath then scored the first three points of the third game and never looked back. McDonald had two kills and Ruwe had another ace to start the run. The Thoroughbreds led by as many as nine points in that contest. “It’s such a huge rivalry that the girls get so psyched up for it then we just kind of panicked when one thing went wrong,” Mulroney said. “But this game doesn’t matter right now. What matters is later on. We got to see what we’re working with and how we need to prepare for it.” NewCath wraps up district play today against Newport. Game time is 7:30 p.m. on the Hill. Highlands does not play again until Thursday. The Bluebirds take on Lloyd Memorial in a 7 p.m. contest. Fort Thomas Sports: NC volleyball beats Highlands for 16th time in 17 matches

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team tied the host Boyle County Lady Rebels on Saturday, 2-2. Highlands (4-6-5) recorded its second straight tie and is winless in its last four games. Freshman Kayla Nehus scored both Highlands goals and senior goalkeeper Sarah Owen recorded two saves. The Bluebirds play host to Dixie Heights on Monday. Game time is 8 p.m. Soccer, Boys: Newport Central Catholic 2, St. Henry 1: The Thoroughbreds (11-4-1) finished the regular season with a road win in Erlanger. This marked the second win of the season against the Crusaders. NewCath beat St. Henry, 5-1 in the All “A” 9th Region title game on Aug. 29. Seth Freppon and Noah Connolly scored goals for the Thoroughbreds. NewCath trailed 1-0 at halftime. NewCath outshot St. Henry, 8-7. Paul Grosser made six saves for the Thoroughbreds. NewCath does not play again until Oct. 15. The Thoroughbreds face Highlands for the 36th District championship at 7:30 p.m. at Tower Park. Soccer, Girls: Newport Central Catholic 0, Conner 0: The Lady Breds (12-2-3) tied the Lady Cougars on Saturday at Pendery Park. NewCath concludes the regular season at Simon Kenton on Wednesday. Game time is 7 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: Saturday Soccer Roundup

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter It can be tough to wait sometimes from an egotistical standpoint. But many talented sophomores and even juniors are finding themselves in that position on the deeply talented Highlands Bluebirds football team. One of them is sophomore backup quarterback Austin Hergott. Hergott could start on many varsity teams around the country. Hergott did not see action in Friday’s 77-0 win over Harrison County. With Cincinnati Elder on the horizon, Highlands Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Dale Mueller wanted to get junior Beau Hoge some repetition with the skill position players. But Hergott and his teammates still practice hard in case someone goes out with an injury. “It can be rough (waiting) at times,” Hergott said. “But you have to fight through it and know that you’re going to play for one of the top programs in the whole nation. That’s all worth it your senior year.” Current Highlands starting quarterback Drew Houliston found himself in the same situation two years ago. He backed up Patrick Towles and Donovan McCoy as a sophomore then backed up McCoy last year. Hoge backed up McCoy and Houliston last year. Resting up: Highlands recorded its first shutout of the year without several key players. On defense, Seth Hope, Avery McDaniel, Thomas Wrobleski and Jackson Bardo did not play. On offense, Highlands rested wide receiver Evan Allen. “We’re not healthy now,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator. “So we have a lot of guys out there getting a lot of confidence. I’m not sure how many of the guys could have played. We’re gaining some depth now.” Another Milestone in Sight: The next victory for Highlands will be the 850th in school history. The Bluebirds are 849-225-26 since the program began in 1915. Only one other program has that many wins in school history. That is Valdosta (Ga.). The Wildcats are 880-210-34 since starting their program in 1913. Hitting the 70s: Highlands is 94-3 since the start of 2007 with a state-record six consecutive state championships. The Bluebirds hit the 70s for the seventh time during that run. They scored a 70-0 win over Pendleton County last year. Highlands also scored 70 points against Covington Holmes in 2008 and another 70 against Woodford County in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs in 2010. “We had a scrimmage against Trinity where we were down 51-0 at halftime (last year),” Mueller said. “We just needed to get Beau in. Those were his first snaps playing quarterback all year.” But the Bluebirds did it three times in 2011 with Patrick Towles and Austin Sheehan when Highlands shattered the state record with 849 points. They scored 71 on Mason County, 79 on Pendleton County and 77 on Covington Holmes that year. Defending state champs sock district opponents: Highlands was not the only team to put up a lot of points against weaker district opponents the previous two days. The defending Class 5A champion Bowling Green Purples destroyed the District 2 rival Logan County Cougars, 91-10 on Thursday. The Cougars have scored just 38 points all season. The 7-0 Purples own the state’s longest winning streak with 37 in a row. The state record is 50 straight set by Louisville Trinity from 1988 to 1991. Defending Class 1A champion Mayfield knocked off Fulton City, 63-0 on Friday. The Cardinals are also undefeated at 7-0. Dougherty ties school record: Highlands sophomore kicker Jared Dougherty made 11 extra-point attempts in the win. That tied the school team record set in 2011. Bowling Green made 13 extra-point attempts in the win over Logan County. That broke the previous record of 12 by Fleming-Neon against Elkhorn City in 2000 and Lexington Catholic against Owen County in 1999. But unlike Dougherty, the Purples used two different kickers. Hunter Hanks made nine and Lee Ramsey four for Bowling Green. Record vs. Harrison County: The Bluebirds improved to 8-0 all-time against the Thorobreds with the win. They’ve won the previous three meetings by a combined 214-10. Mueller presented game ball: Highlands Principal Brian Robinson presented Mueller with the game ball at halftime for his 300th career win as a head coach that came in a 33-26 win on Sept. 14 at John Hardin. Mueller owns a career record of 303-65 and 244-34 at Highlands. Around District 7: Highlands district rivals Covington Holmes and Covington Catholic picked up non-district wins. CovCath (4-2) rebounded from the Saturday loss to Highlands with a 28-7 win at Beechwood on Thursday. Holmes (4-2) beat Bellevue, 42-36 on Friday. Around Class 4A: Region rival Johnson Central downed southern Ohio power Ironton, 56-14 on Friday. The Golden Eagles remained undefeated at 6-0 and go to Greenup County this week. Boyle County remained undefeated at 7-0 with a crucial District 5 victory over Lexington Catholic (4-3), 22-13. The Rebels don’t figure to be challenged the rest of the regular season. Fort Thomas Sports: Bluebird Notebook: Younger players wait for time

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Bluebirds football team has a knack for obliterating laws of averages, especially against district opponents not named Covington Catholic. The average margin of victory for Highlands against district opponents outside Covington Catholic was about 48 points entering Friday’s contest. The Bluebirds bested that average by 29 in a 77-0 victory over the visiting Harrison County Thorobreds in Class 4A, District 7 action at David Cecil Memorial Stadium. The undefeated 7-0 Bluebirds have hit the Harrison County (2-5) record book three straight years. Highlands also beat Harrison County, 68-0 two years ago. No team had scored more points in a game against the Thorobreds at that point in 41 years of. The Bluebirds bested that total by a point last year in a 69-10 win in Cynthiana. Harrison County’s program is in its 43rd season compared to the 99th for Highlands. “It was a game where the ones played longer than we would have liked to,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator. “But we don’t have a game next week. We’re playing (Covington) Holmes (in two weeks). We just need some time in the next couple weeks before we get to (Cincinnati) Elder.” Highlands improved to 94-3 since the start of 2007. The Bluebirds also moved to 849-225-26 all-time with the win. The point total came nowhere near the record for the most points in a game in Kentucky history. Louisville Male set that record way back in 1913 scoring 149 against Tharp. Teams need to score in triple digits to make the record book, which is pretty tough to do because the running clock starts when opponents go up by 36 or more points. Dixie Heights scored 100 points in a win over Newport in 1969. This marked the first shutout of the year for Highlands. The Bluebirds have outscored both district opponents 119-6. They entered the game off a 42-6 at Covington Catholic on Saturday. “Anytime you shut a team out, we’re excited about that,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator. “We just have to keep getting better at what we do. We need to get stronger, faster and quicker and focus on our fundamentals. I thought we made a big step with a lot of guys in certain positions.” The Bluebirds scored on 11 of their 12 possessions. The only time they did not score was their final possession of the first half with the running clock. They drove to the Harrison County 23 but ran out of time despite calling all three timeouts. Highlands threw an incomplete pass into the end zone with 17 seconds left. Highlands passed the ball all but two times in the game similar to last year. The Bluebirds outgained the Thorobreds, 441-185 in total offense including 439-108 in the air on 26 plays. They started the majority of their drives in Thorobred territory thanks to three turnovers, a bad punt and some good punt returns. The Bluebird offensive line again protected well for quarterbacks Drew Houliston and Beau Hoge. Houliston completed 11-of-14 passes for 249 yards and four touchdowns all in the first half including his first nine for 190 yards. Hoge completed 9-of-10 for 190 yards and five scores in the second half. Houliston also had both Highlands rushes for two yards. “I think because (the offensive linemen) got a lot of reps in the entire game, they got better on their feet,” said Bailey Schell, Highlands junior tight end/offensive lineman. “You’re only doing one thing the entire time so you keep practicing the same thing. We’ve been watching a lot of film studying different blitzes. We go against the scout defense that tries really hard. That helps a lot.” Junior Jensen Feggins had four catches for 123 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bluebirds with Alex Veneman and Zach Harris making three catches each for 84 and 74 yards respectively with two touchdowns a piece. Jaylen Hayes followed them with two catches for 35 yards and two touchdowns and Luke Brockett had two catches for 26 yards and a touchdown. “(The passing game) was pretty darn good,” Mueller said. “It puts a lot of pressure (on opposing defenses) because we can throw the ball 60-65 yards down the field and down the sidelines so you have to cover such a big area. That leaves the running game up the middle or out wide. It makes it difficult to cover.” Harrison County junior quarterback Robbie Stroub completed 17-of-37 passes for 108 yards. Grant Carr led the Thorobred receivers with four catches for 35 yards. The Thorobreds played without senior Zach Royce. The Thorobreds ran a mixture of I-formation and spread sets and gained 14 first downs to 11 for the Bluebirds but could not convert on fourth down on a couple drives into Highlands territory. “We were honestly worried about doing our jobs,” said Joseph Dressman, Highlands sophomore linebacker. “It’s not about focusing on one aspect of the game. It hurts you on the football field when you think a lot. When it is something simple, it comes faster.” Highlands scored just 35 seconds into the game. Harris took a shovel pass and scored from 26 yards out. Harris scored on another 25-yard shovel pass with 9:32 left in the quarter. That came after Braden Hicks tipped a Stroub pass and Michael Ayers intercepted it and returned it to the Harrison County 27. The scoring run was far from over. Veneman scored on a receiver screen pass from nine yards out and Feggins returned a punt back 69 yards for a touchdown before another Harrison County led to the final score of the first quarter. Harrison County tried to kick a field goal, but the snap was high and junior Grayson Heck returned it 65 yards for a touchdown with 39 seconds left to put Highlands up 35-0 after the first quarter. The Bluebirds scored just one touchdown in the second quarter. Houliston found Veneman for a 29-yard strike with 11:44 left in the quarter to put Highlands up 42-0. Hoge threw three touchdown passes in the third quarter to give Highlands a 63-0 advantage. They were a 14-yarder to Brockett, a 49-yarder to Feggins and a 19-yarder to Hayes. The Hayes score came after Highlands sophomore defensive back Brad Broering recovered a Harrison County fumble on a kickoff. “It is nerve-racking,” Broering said of chasing a fumble. “You have the decision to pick it up or jump on it. I thought the best decision was to jump on it. We take five minutes of practice every day picking up fumbles so that helped out a lot.” Hoge threw two more in the fourth quarter to finish the scoring. Hoge threw a 2-yard score to Justin Weyer and a 16-yarder to Hayes. Highlands has a bye week before concluding district action Oct. 18. The Bluebirds will welcome Covington Holmes (4-2) to Fort Thomas for a 7 p.m. contest. Fort Thomas Sports: Highlands throttles another district opponent, 77-0

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Bluebirds boys soccer team pulled off a huge victory Wednesday. Highlands edged a former district rival in the Bishop Brossart Mustangs, 2-1 to move to 11-5-1 on the year. The Bluebirds have won three in a row and 10 of their last 13 contests. Devin Dupont scored the lone goal for Highlands on five shots on goal. The other Bluebird goal came on a Bishop Brossart own goal. Nick Breslin made 10 saves in net for Highlands. The Mustangs took 11 shots on goal. The Mustangs (14-3) won the All “A” State Tournament in Elizabethtown over the weekend. But they’ve lost both games since beating Kentucky Country Day, 3-0 Sunday for the crown. St. Henry beat Bishop Brossart by the same score Tuesday. Highlands concludes a run of three games in three days with a game against Cincinnati LaSalle tonight. Game time is 8 p.m. at Tower Park. Fort Thomas Sports: Boys Soccer: Highlands pulls off huge win

That is correct. Highlands will be at home until the state semifinals.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter It is not a forgone conclusion because it still has to be proven on the field. But generally once the Highlands Bluebirds football team takes care of the Covington Catholic Colonels, it cruises to a district crown. The undefeated 6-0 Bluebirds hope to take another step toward their 17th one in the last 18 years on against the Harrison County Thorobreds (2-4) on Friday. The Class 4A, District 7 contest takes place at David Cecil Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. Highlands owns an overall record of 93-3 since the start of 2007. That includes an astounding record of 87-1 against Kentucky opponents and 19-0 against district opponents that are not CovCath including the playoffs. The average margin of victory for Highlands against non-CovCath district opponents during that time is about 48 points. Points have especially come in bunches against the Thorobreds. The Bluebirds beat Harrison County, 68-0 two years ago in Fort Thomas and 69-10 last year in Cynthiana. Those totals are the most an opponent has scored on the Thorobreds in school history. Harrison County had a new head coach last year in Jim Carr. Carr and staff challenged the Thorobreds last year and many seniors quit as a result leaving Harrison County with just 37 players on the roster, including 21 freshmen. That is a huge reason the Thorobreds finished 1-10 last year. They were the lone team with a losing record last year on the Bluebird schedule. But the Thorobreds have nearly doubled that number this year with 65 players on the roster listed on the Kentucky High School Athletic Association web site. But they are still young with just 17 juniors and seniors. More depth has led to already doubling last year’s win total. Harrison County beat Class 3A winless Fleming County (35-7) and Class 2A Gallatin County (34-24) to open the season. But the Thorobreds have dropped four straight and have been outscored 214-148 on the season. “We are bigger, faster and stronger than last year through our weightlifting program,” Carr said. “We stress that this is a great opportunity to get noticed by college scouts. We stress being focused on doing your job and playing hard.” The Bluebirds will once again display their vaunted Spread offense. Highlands is averaging 46 points per game and just less than 437 yards per contest. That offense tends to get scarier as the season progresses. “Offensively, the focus (in practice this week) will be improving our physical skills – getting quicker feet and improving our strength so we can block better at all positions,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator. “We will spend a lot of time hitting sleds, running over bags, doing reaction drills, running routes and throwing and cathing footballs.” Highlands senior quarterback Drew Houliston leads the way completing 108-of-153 passes for 1,854 yards, 24 touchdowns and just one interception. Houliston completed 10-of-13 for 160 yards against Harrison County in the second half of last year’s game after starting quarterback Donovan McCoy completed 18-of-22 for 385 yards and six touchdowns in the first half. Harrison County plays a lot of even and odd defensive fronts. The Thorobreds brought seven guys after McCoy and Houliston last year. That’s why the wide receivers found a lot of grass on screens. Jensen Feggins and Brandon Hergott caught four passes and two touchdowns each for 129 and 81 yards respectively for the Bluebirds. “It’s important (the Highlands quarterbacks) have protection and time to get the ball to the wide receivers,” said Brian Condon, senior Highlands wide receiver. “It’s up to us to be able to run our routes fast and sharp and come down with the ball. Speed is everything.” Carr said the Thorobreds need to do a better job making sure their outside linebackers and secondary get in better position to make tackles in the open field. Opponents have rushed for 1,061 yards and passed for 1,085 against them this year. Junior linebacker Zack Mastin leads Harrison County with 26 tackles. Zach Harris leads Highlands with 463 yards rushing on 63 attempts for an average of 7.3 a carry and 11 touchdowns. Fellow senior running back Jaylen Hayes has 232 yards rushing on 37 attempts for an average of 6.3 a carry and three touchdowns. Thirteen different Bluebird receivers have catches. Feggins leads the way with 22 for 364 yards and six touchdowns. The Highlands 3-4 defense faces a Harrison County offense that has rushed for 997 yards and passed for 1,199. The Thorobreds run I-formation and split backfield sets. Senior linebacker Joey Cochran leads Highlands with five tackles for a loss and senior defensive lineman Seth Hope has four. Hope, Bo Hebel and Braden Hicks have one sack each. Griffin Urlage leads Highlands with two interceptions with Hicks and Rocco Pangallo making one each. Six different Bluebirds have one fumble recovery each. “We have to continue to get better at the little things – alignment, technique, base recognition and finishing plays,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator. “We still had moments of allowing (CovCath) to get yards they didn’t earn. We have to get faster and stronger each day. I know this might sound very much ‘coach talk,’ but this is what we believe in defensively. We don’t really game plan for teams until late in the year. We worry about ourselves.” Harrison County has players going both directions. Mastin leads the Thorobreds with 411 yards rushing on 64 carries and five touchdowns. Senior Justin Hunter follows with 249 yards on 49 carries with a touchdown and junior quarterback Robbie Stroub has 200 yards rushing on 49 carries with three touchdowns. “The big key to slowing them down is stopping the run the way (the coaches) teach you,” said Austin Greene, Highlands senior defensive lineman. “It’s a matter of being quick on your feet and using your hands to try to smash the ball carrier.” Stroub has completed 77-of-142 passes for 1,072 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions. Hunter is his leading target with 372 yards on 22 catches and three touchdowns with sophomore Jovon Williams hauling in 19 catches for 267 yards and two scores. This marks the eight meeting in school history against Harrison County. The Bluebirds have never lost to the Thorobreds. Fort Thomas Sports: Highlands seeks another district victory

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team celebrated Parents Night with a 3-1 (25-14, 25-11, 23-25, 25-9) victory over the Dixie Heights Lady Colonels on Tuesday. The players gave flowers to their parents before the game. Highlands improved to 9-18 again playing without junior standout middle blocker Jessica Ginter. Sophomore Kaylan Frisch led Highlands with seven kills and five blocks with junior setter Kaitlin Hall recording 27 assists and five aces. Senior Abby Schweitzer added three digs. Highlands travels to Bellevue on Thursday for a 36th District contest. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Soccer, Boys: Highlands 3, Conner 1: The Bluebirds improved to 10-5-1 with a win over the Cougars (4-10-1) on Tuesday. Highlands outshot Conner, 9-0. Brady Gesenhues, Mitch Gesenhues and Noah Sellers scored the Bluebird goals. Highlands takes on 14-2 Bishop Brossart at 7 p.m. tonight. The Mustangs won the All “A” state championship in Elizabethtown over the weekend. NCC 4, Covington Holy Cross 0: The Thoroughbreds improved to 10-3-1 with a sound victory in Covington on Tuesday. NewCath outshot Holy Cross, 10-2. Thoroughbred goalkeeper Paul Grosser saved both Indian shots. Matt Tolle, Jacob Hensley, Ben Tierney and Connor Hanneken scored the goals for NewCath. Tolle leads the Thoroughbreds with 12 goals and his younger sister, freshman Taylor Tolle leads the Lady Breds with 15. The Thoroughbreds have two games remaining. They travel to Woodford County for an 8 p.m. contest Thursday. Fort Thomas Sports: Tuesday Sports Briefs

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter It was a case of the well-traveled against the well-rested. In the rivalry game between the two Northern Kentucky 36th District girls soccer rivals, the well-traveled Newport Central Catholic Lady Breds downed the Highlands Bluebirds, 2-1 at Tower Park on Monday. NewCath has won two in a row in the series. The Lady Breds downed the Bluebirds, 2-0 in last year’s 36th District title game. That ended Highlands’ run of six consecutive district championships. “We (seniors) keep telling (teammates) not to get a big head,” said Sam Bunzel, NewCath senior midfielder. “You have to go in strong and refocus on what we’ve been practicing. You can’t let down.” NewCath (12-1-2) has not lost since a 1-0 defeat at Ryle on Aug. 26. The Lady Breds played for the fifth time in six days also winning the All “A” State championship and tieing Dixie Heights, 1-1. “We had a very emotional weekend,” said Kevin Turnick, NewCath Head Coach. “The good thing is this has always been a very good rivalry so it’s easy to get up for it. I was impressed with their positive mindset. When I got here, they were pretty loose. But they deserve a couple days off.” On the other side, Highlands (4-6-3) had not played in nine days. The Bluebirds finished runner-up in the prestigious Lexington Catholic Cup to Louisville Sacred Heart, 2-0. Highlands beat last year’s state runner-up and arch-rival Notre Dame in the semifinals of that tournament. “We played well enough to win,” said Tommy Kearns, Highlands Head Coach. “We didn’t get the result. We look forward to a rematch here in October.” The Lady Breds had more shots that would have been goals had the goalkeeper not stopped them. They won that category 5-3. Both teams ran 4-4-2 (defender-midfielder-forward) attacks. NewCath came out of the gate strong scoring quickly. Michaela Ware scored on a throw-in from teammate Loren Zimmerman just 1:13 into the game. “The first five (minutes) and last five has been huge for us,” Turnick said. “We made a mistake, but we battled back. I just got done telling them it was nice to see that. We went undefeated for the month of September so that was a cool feeling too.” But Highlands came back and tied the game with 16:03 left in the first half. Ellie New scored on a nice pass from Taylor Vaughn. “The early goal was a killer,” Kearns said. “If you give up a goal early in the match, you’re digging out of a hole. We played well creating a ton of chances again.” Zimmerman scored the game-winning goal for the Lady Breds with 7:08 left in the first half. She took a nice pass from Taylor Tolle and put it away. NewCath could have made the score 3-1 later in the half. But a shot went off the crossbar. Both defenses played well. Highlands goalkeeper Sarah Owen recorded three saves and NewCath goalkeeper Meg Martin recorded two. She dove to stop a Highlands throw-in early in the second half. “I try to go after (the ball) when I’m pretty much the last hope,” Martin said. “When (opponents) have it too long and the pressure is not coming, I’ll go after it. But I usually trust my defenders. They’re just awesome.” The game was played clean. Neither team received any yellow or red cards. Neither team committed any offside violations as well. Both teams continue action Thursday against other 9th Region powers. Highlands goes to St. Henry for a 7:30 p.m. contest and NewCath ventures to Notre Dame for a 5:15 p.m. game. Fort Thomas Sports: NewCath edges Highlands, 2-1 in 36th District battle

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter Check off another goal in what has been another great soccer season. The Newport Central Catholic Lady Breds won the All “A” Classic State championship on Sunday with a 2-0 win over the Owensboro Catholic Lady Aces in Elizabethtown. This marked the first crown since winning the tournament three consecutive years from 2005 to 2007. The Lady Breds recorded two sound victories on Saturday to make it to the title game. They beat Pikeville, 10-0 before knocking off Bardstown Bethlehem in the semifinals, 5-2. “They are doing a great job of communicating with one another,” said Kevin Turnick, NewCath Head Coach. “They’re doing a great job of staying with their marks and not allowing (opponents) time or space to turn. If (opponents) do have the ball, they are right there so they don’t have an opportunity to pass it off. They did a fantastic job all weekend.” NewCath moved to 11-1-2 with the win. The lone loss for the Lady Breds came 1-0 on Aug. 26 at Ryle. This marked the second tournament win of the season for NewCath. The Lady Breds won the Ashland Invitational Tournament a few weeks ago. Defense has been a long-time priority for NewCath. The Lady Breds outscored the three opponents, 17-2. NewCath ran a 4-4-2 (defender-midfielder-forward) set with a 4-5-1 look at one point. Owensboro Catholic (13-2-2) ran a 4-3-3. “Owensboro did a good job of keeping possession,” Turnick said. “In the first 40 minutes, we didn’t play very smart and very effective. We did more chasing. When we won the ball, we didn’t keep possession very well. At halftime, we made adjustments. Owensboro Catholic liked to play with the ball out of the back quite a bit. We let them do what they wanted back there. We just marked the middle and shut down the passing lanes. That helped out tremendously calming our kids down at halftime.” NewCath freshman forward Taylor Tolle earned Most Valuable Player honors with a sensational tournament. Tolle scored six goals in the tournament with at least one per game. Tolle’s goal against Owensboro Catholic came in the second half to make the final score. Tolle had a hat trick against Bethlehem with three goals. Tolle and Chandler Cain led NewCath with two scores each against Pikeville. Junior Loren Zimmerman scored one goal per game for a total of three goals. Her marker in the first half gave NewCath the only goal it needed in the championship game. Ruthie Barth, Sam Bunzel, Ansley Davenport and Meg Martin joined Tolle on the All-Tournament team. Bunzel surpassed 2007 NewCath graduate Stephanie Burns and 2009 graduate Andrea Macke for the most assists in school history with her 25th against Bethlehem. Goalkeeper Martin recorded two saves against the Lady Aces. The game marked the third time NewCath and Owensboro Catholic met for a championship since 2010. The Thoroughbreds beat the Aces, 42-0 in the Class 2A state football championship in 2010 and the Lady Aces beat the Thoroughbreds in the All “A” basketball championship in Frankfort, 52-42 this past winter. Zimmerman, Davenport, Mikayla Seibert and Michela Ware played on that basketball team. Owensboro Catholic landed three players on the all-tournament team. They were Sara Haleman, Brooke Logsdon and Anna Belle Moore. NewCath gets back to work today. The Lady Breds travel across I-471 to face the 36th District rival Highlands Bluebirds. “We’ve got a pretty tough week ahead of us,” Turnick said. “I think playing Highlands after those wins will continue to motivate us. We’ll learn more about ourselves these next two games seeing how we stack up against two of the perennial (state) powers in girls soccer. We have to continue to keep playing smart and stay healthy.” They then battle the defending 9th Region champion and state runner-up Notre Dame Pandas on Thursday in Park Hills. That game starts at 5:15 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: Lady Breds capture fourth All "A" state soccer crown

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter PARK HILLS – Head Football Coach Dale Mueller and staff do not buy into the argument that the annual Highlands Bluebird-Covington Catholic Colonel game is not a rivalry anymore. This comes even after Highlands dominated Saturday’s game, 42-7 to stay undefeated. The 6-0 Bluebirds have won 10 straight against Covington Catholic improving to 93-3 since the start of 2007. The Colonels (3-2) are the team Highlands has beaten the most during this run. “It’s big, big, big, big,” Mueller emphasized. “Every day of my life, I think about playing CovCath. It’s the whole season. Historically, the CovCath-Highlands winner is winning the state championship. This one isn’t the important one. The one in the playoffs, if and when we play in the playoffs, is the important one.” Mueller and staff have not forgotten 2006. The Colonels knocked off the Bluebirds, 29-27 when Kurt Bovard caught a fade pass in the left back of the end zone as time expired on Oct. 27 of that year on the last game of the regular season in Fort Thomas. That marked the first time CovCath had beaten Highlands since 2001 and is the only time dating back to 1996 that the Bluebirds have not won a district championship. The Colonels then beat the Bluebirds, 25-15 in Park Hills on Nov. 11 a few weeks later in the second round of the playoffs before winning their sixth state championship a few weeks later. John Rodenberg, now the Head Coach at Cincinnati Moeller, coached the Colonels to that crown. The Bluebirds also have not forgotten what happened in 1997 and 2001. Highlands won the regular-season meeting before CovCath won the playoff rematch. “We just try to keep getting better every day,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator. “They’re down right now. We know that. We’re not leaving (Park Hills) with any false sense of who we are and who they are. We’re going to play those guys in eight weeks. They’re going to be ready to go.” Highlands has won all three playoff rematches starting in 2007. The Bluebirds beat the Colonels for the regional championship in 2007, 2011 and last year. Fourth Most-Common Opponent: The Colonels are the fourth most-common opponent the Bluebirds have faced since starting their program in 1915. Highlands had faced CovCath and Dayton 60 times each entering the season. The Bluebirds have only faced Covington Holmes (71 times), Dixie Heights (70) and Newport (66) more than CovCath. Highlands battles Holmes on Oct. 18 in Fort Thomas at 7 p.m. Bardo update: Highlands senior defensive back Jackson Bardo left the game during the first defensive series. Bardo said he dislocated his left shoulder and had a sling around it. But Bardo said he hopes to return for the next game. No Luck against defending champs: Both CovCath losses have been to defending state champions on Saturdays in Park Hills. The Colonels also lost to Cincinnati Moeller, 45-7 on Sept. 7. The Crusaders, the alma mater of CovCath Head Coach Dave Wirth, won the largest Ohio Division I championship last year. Highlands Alumni Head Coach updates: Several Highlands alumni aside from Mueller serve as head coaches around the state. Chris Wolfe, a 1990 Highlands alum, has the Louisville Male Bulldogs undefeated at 5-0 following a 40-0 over Louisville Ballard on Friday. Male came into the season tied with Massillon Washington for the third-most wins in program history in the country. The Bulldogs now have 826 wins and are seeking their first state championship since 2000. But things become tougher for Male in a few weeks playing in the rugged Class 6A, District 4 with state powers Trinity and St. Xavier. After facing Meade County on Friday, Male goes to St. Xavier on Oct. 11. Three other Highands alums coach in Northern Kentucky. Steven Lickert (Class of 1997) leads the Campbell County Camels down U.S. 27 in Alexandria. The Camels are 3-2 after a bye week. They lost to Conner, 13-12 on Sept. 20. “I absolutely love to see other guys I’ve coached go on to coach high school and college football,” Mueller said. “Some of the guys on our staff are guys that I’ve coached. It means a lot.” Jeff Barth (Class of 1995) coaches the young Walton-Verona Bearcat program that started in 2008. The Bearcats are 5-1 following a 48-21 victory over Carroll County on Friday. The Bearcats (10-3 last year) won Class 2A, District 5last year before losing to Newport Central Catholic, 49-14 in the Region 3 championship last year. Kevin Siple (Class of 1979) coaches the Grant County Braves. The Braves are struggling at 1-4 this year playing in the rugged Class 5A, District 5. They lost 41-20 at Walton-Verona on Sept. 21 in a battle of Highlands alums. Mueller even said many of his former players at Cincinnati Withrow are also coaching. Valdosta update: The Valdosta Wildcats of South Georgia are the only team in the country that has more wins in school history than Highlands. Valdosta owns 23 state championships and six national championships. The Wildcats (4-1) lost for the first time on Friday, 14-10 to 1-6A rival Camden County. Valdosta is 880-210-34 with the loss and Highlands is 848-225-26 in its history. The Wildcats are in their 101st season in school history. They started their program two years before Highlands in 1913. District 7 update: Covington Holmes and Harrison County both lost on Friday. Holmes is 3-2 following a 40-7 loss to Beechwood and the Thorobreds are 2-4 after a 50-20 loss at Williamsburg. Highlands faces Harrison County on Friday. Game time is 7 p.m. Around Class 4A: Only two undefeated teams remain in Class 4A aside from Highlands. They are two names familiar to the Bluebirds in Boyle County and Johnson Central. Both opened district play Friday. The Rebels (6-0) won 42-6 at Taylor County to open District 5 action. They take on Lexington Catholic (4-2) in Danville on Friday. The only two losses for the Knights came 48-21 to Bowling Green and Louisville St. Xavier (49-28) to open the season. Out East, the Golden Eagles (5-0) opened District 8 action with a 69-14 win over Boyd County. Johnson Central leads Class 4A averaging 59.4 points per game. The Golden Eagles have scored at least 36 points in all their games. Three more one-loss teams follow them. They are Owensboro (5-1), Collins (4-1) and Russell County (4-1). Highlands beat Collins for the state championship last year. Highlands junior varsity, freshman team updates: The Highlands junior varsity team is undefeated at 3-0. The Bluebirds downed Lexington Catholic, 42-19 on Sept. 16. They take on Covington Catholic on Monday at 6 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: Bluebird Notebook: Highlands still not taking CovCath lightly

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter PARK HILLS – They picked an excellent Saturday afternoon to turn in their most complete football game of the year. The Highlands Bluebirds came out determined from the opening kickoff and dominated the host Covington Catholic Colonels, 42-6 to stay undefeated and earn the valuable leg up in the Class 4A, District 7 race. Highlands (6-0) also avoided a potential second-round road trip to eastern Kentucky and could be playing at home in the first three rounds of the playoffs. “It was a matter of getting focused for the games that count,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Head Coach. “This is a game that counts for us. In reality, we play a 10-game regular season. But CovCath is The Game. I was really pleased with the way the guys played (Saturday).” Injury-riddled Covington Catholic (3-2) may once again have to go to Paintsville in the second round of the playoffs just to earn another rematch with Highlands. The Johnson Central Golden Eagles (5-0) are heavily favored to win District 8. The Bluebirds outgained the Colonels, 358-156 in total offense and garnered 18 first downs to 12 for CovCath. They dominated to the point that the running clock started with 7:11 left in the third quarter. Highlands succeeds by keeping things simple for the players. “I think in football if you get too much going on in your brain, you can’t react,” Mueller said. “We really try to do that offensively and defensively. We use simple stuff that we can execute.” A good portion of the home side left in the third quarter. That included the CovCath student section known as the Colonel Crazies. Highlands saw seniors Drew Houliston and Zach Harris turn in another strong performance. Houliston finished 18-of-22 throwing the ball for 307 yards and three touchdowns. Houliston completed passes to eight different receivers before sophomore Austin Hergott came in and completed 1-of-4 passes to a ninth receiver. Ryan Greene led the Bluebirds with six catches for 61 yards and Evan Allen had three for 38 yards and a touchdown. Juniors Beau Hoge and Jensen Feggins followed with two catches each for 82 and 65 yards respectively. Harris rushed the ball 16 times for 101 yards and three touchdowns. All of his touchdowns came in the second quarter as the offensive line blocked well again. “We’re just improving every day getting better and better,” said Nick True, Highlands senior offensive lineman. “We’re aggressive and keeping our hands back not trying to get swung right away. We’re also moving our feet. That’s what it is. We don’t let up on anything.” The Colonels entered the game having allowed just 58 points all season. They shut out Henderson County and Boone County. “It is definitely the last time we (seniors) are playing CovCath (in Park Hills),” Harris said. “So we came out more fired up than ever. We put it on them right from the start. It all took care of itself. We just executed.” The Bluebird defense put a lot of pressure on the young CovCath skill position players. CovCath sophomore quarterback Ben Dressman completed 11-of-21 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. He also led the team with 39 rushes on nine carries. CovCath played without injured starting quarterback junior Adam Wagner and senior running back Luke Bir among others. “We knew they (CovCath wide receivers) were small but quick so we didn’t want them to get behind the defensive backs,” said Jackson Bardo, Highlands senior defensive back. “We kept the game in front of us, came up and made the plays. That was pretty much the game plan.” Highlands picked off Ben Dressman twice. Braden Hicks had one on an attempted screen and Griffin Urlage had the other in the end zone with less than 15 seconds left in the first half. The Bluebirds scored quickly on their first two possessions. Houliston hit Allen from 12 yards in the short corner of the right side of the end zone with 9:37 left in n the first quarter before throwing a nice long pass to Feggins for a 54-yard score with 5:07 left to put Highlands up 14-0. Highlands sophomore kicker Jared Dougherty made all six extra-point attempts. “You could definitely tell when we were up a couple touchdowns, it was like they were slowly going downhill,” said Thomas Wrobleski, Highlands senior linebacker. “It was a hot day and they were getting tired. We drove it down the field every time and that kills their momentum.” Highlands put the game away with three scores in the second quarter. Harris scored on 17, 14 and 18-yard runs respectively often bulldozing Colonels on his way to the end zone. The Bluebirds led 35-0 at halftime. The Bluebirds extended their lead to 42-0 with 7:11 left in the third. Hoge caught a crossing pass and juked several Colonel defenders on his way to a 59-yard score. The lone CovCath score came with 6:09 left in the game. Sam Dressman took a pass from his younger brother 32 yards to the house. Sam Dressman finished with a team-high five catches for 105 yards. The Bluebirds play host to the Harrison County Thorobreds (2-4) on Friday continuing District 7 action. Game time is 7 p.m. Fort Thomas Sports: Highlands thrashes CovCath, 42-7

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter NEWPORT – That familiar, good feeling of the thrill of victory found its way back to the Hill on Friday. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds played tough defense the entire game before their offense finished off drives in the second half to beat the visiting Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts, 22-7 in the Class 2A, District 6 opener for both teams. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the defending 2A state champions. The Thoroughbreds have won 16 in a row over the Juggernauts dating back to 1991 and lead the all-time series, 31-6. NewCath (2-4) held Lloyd Memorial to just 163 yards of total offense and five first downs. That included just 27 yards on the ground. Teams from classes 5A and 6A did that to the Thoroughbreds during the losing streak. “The last three weeks we’ve actually been playing some pretty decent defense,” said Dan Wagner, NewCath Head Coach. “I know it doesn’t show on that scoreboard, but we’re so young (that) the kids are getting the ideas of what we want. Those big schools had to work for (the touchdowns). We didn’t give them anything. I thought we had a chance to be a pretty good defense. We’re slowly getting there.” The Juggernauts (3-3) came into the game on a two-game winning streak. But this marked progress for them from last year. They have a new head coach in former Boone County Offensive Coordinator Eric Turner. NewCath smashed Lloyd Memoral, 63-22 last year in Newport. “It is a big step emotionally and mentally knowing we can play with (NewCath),” Turner said. “Our defense really stepped up and played hard. Offensively, we just couldn’t get the thing rolling.” The Thoroughbreds led just 3-0 at halftime. But NewCath found some things offensively in the second half scoring three touchdowns. The Thoroughbreds finished with 389 yards of total offense and 13 first downs. “Things started to go our way,” said Dave Schneider, NewCath Offensive Coordinator. “We had confidence and made big plays. It’s amazing what confidence does for you.” NewCath quarterback Mac Franzen completed 12-of-18 passes for 237 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Junior Nate Enslen caught four of those passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Senior Tommy Donnelly hauled in two for 42 yards and a touchdown with Brandon Gray making three catches for 57 yards. The Thoroughbreds may not be running the ball like previous years. Sophomore Jacob Smith finished with 63 yards rushing on 15 carries and Franzen had 56 on 16 carries. But many injured linemen such as Seniors Matt Lenz, Stephen Brooks and Junior Logan Neff returned from injuries this week. “They did a nice job pass-protecting,” Schneider said. “We also did a nice job running the ball in spots. I’m very pleased with the way they played in the second half.” Those injuries gave the younger linemen opportunities to come in and contribute. Sophomores Maleek Lawrence and Konner Carmack are two of them. “Being a sophomore and starting on the Blue Team last year, it really helps out for the varsity,” Carmack said. “If the older (players) do things right, it helps us a lot. We’re trying to be more physical and get faster. It’s going to be a matter of repetition.” Lloyd Memorial quarterback Hayden Molitor also completed 12-of-18 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. Brian Freeman led the Juggernauts with four catches for 18 yards and Zack Riddle making two catches for 28. The Juggernauts played without injured running back Brian Warren. “We’ve had guys step up,” Turner said. “That’s a big hole to fill. We have some guys playing out of position, but trying to learn that position. We just have to go to work each week and do better filling those gaps.” NewCath drove into Juggernaut territory on all four possessions of the first half. But Lloyd stopped the Thoroughbreds on fourth down on its nine and Lloyd safety Kyle Grant recorded one of his two interceptions. John Caudill booted a 30-yard field goal with 7:41 left in the first half to put NewCath up 3-0 for the only score of the first half. The Thoroughbreds scored about three minutes into the second half. Sutkamp scored on a 13-yard dive to put NewCath up 10-0. Smith took a screen pass 27 yards on the drive. NewCath then found the end zone again with 1:13 left in the third. Enslen got behind the defense for a 54-yard score putting NewCath up 16-0. “I saw the safety cheat over when we were bunched,” Enslen said. “I told the coaches I saw it. They called the right play and I was wide open.” The Thoroughbreds added their final touchdown in the fourth quarter. Donnelly faked an out route then darted up the field for a 34-yard touchdown to give NewCath a 22-0 advantage. Lloyd Memorial averted the shutout later in the quarter. Molitor found Eric Brunner for a 67-yard pass before Riddle hauled in a 15-yard touchdown on fourth down. “We just blew the coverages,” Wagner said. “That’s the stuff we have to work on. If we play smart football, the zero stays on the board. That’s what we strive for all the time.” Lloyd Memorial also turned the ball over twice losing 2-of-4 fumbles. John Harris recovered one of those fumbles for NewCath. Bye week next: The Thoroughbreds take their bye week this week before battling Newport on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. The Wildcats beat Pendleton County, 21-6 on Friday for their first win of the year. Newport (1-4) takes on Bishop Brossart on Friday in its first district contest. “There’s plenty of stuff for us to work on,” Wagner said. “We’ll start getting ready for Newport. We’re awful young and it shows at times. Even with our older kids, it’s the first time playing (on varsity).” The Thoroughbreds have won 14 in a row over the Wildcats in the Firemen’s Bell game. NewCath last lost to Newport , 42-0 in 1999. The Thoroughbreds won last year’s game 49-0. Newport has a new head coach in Matthew Schmitz. Fort Thomas Sports: NewCath snaps four-game slide