FirstTimeLongTime

Clean sweep for the Birds. Won the Lineman Challenge, A 7v7 and B 7v7 tourneys at Ironton.

The Enquirer votes Highlands as having the best Football uniforms in Greater Cincinnati. Kudos to Andy Raaker on the most recent versions of the uniforms! https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/high-school/high-school-sports/2025/07/10/ranking-cincinnati-top-10-high-school-football-uniforms-2025/84518600007/?tbref=hp

I believe NKY Guy meant it would have been a 15 yard penalty in a game? Somehow, the one Woody Hayes posted vs. Woodford was not penalized but the Birds certainly have been penalized for this in the past!

Many assistant coaches also work as trainers. If a player is paying to train, I see no issues. If there is an open field, go use it. I also think it is good for top players to train together. See it all the time.

Tayden was not there the night these photos were taken. I know Matt Shearer works with many QBs in the area multiple times per week.

That is Cash Harney. There are a group of QBs in the area (Cash, Rio Litmer, Cam O'Hara, Lloyd's QB etc..) that train/have throwing sessions with Highlands assistant coach Matt Shearer. They were working out at HHS last week. Just thought I would mention this before the Cash Harney to HHS rumors start ? Matt Shearer played at SK then EKU and did a year coaching as GA at Carson Newman. He is an excellent young coach.

Sometimes the parents evaluation of their player differs from the coaches evaluation of the player. Sometimes when the feedback from coaches differs from the parents view, they look for what they think is a better situation. I do not fault any player or family for searching for what is best for them. One player just quit football. It happens. The other fell into the situation above and is attending a D2 school on the east side of Cincinnati. Not a GCL school.

I could be wrong but I do not believe Cooper has played Newport yet this season.

Totally agree on Pitzer and Lind. Will be dominant players in this class. I like Sowder and Fryman at Beechwood as well. There are five Highlands class of 2027 players that are getting a lot of attention from recruiters. 1) Teegan Haretuku (6'2 285) - Started both ways last season on OLine and DLine 2) Tayden Lorenzen - (6'2 250) - TE/QB - was a starter about 3 weeks into the season last year. Will be a focal point on offense this season and will be lined up all over the field. Wouldn't be surprised to see him on defense. 3) Gabe Williams (5'9 180) - DB/RB - Starter on Defense and a big piece of the RB rotation in 2024. Will be a 2 way starter in 2025. Gabe is also an excellent Kick and Punt returner. 4) Cooper Benke (6'5 225) - Edge - was a dominant player on JV and made some impactful plays on Varsity via special teams and situational D Line reps. Will be a starter the next 2 years and will most likely find a way to be utilized on offense. Also a Long Snapper 5) Griffin Benke (6'5.5 220) - Edge - JV Co Defensive player of the year with his brother in 2024. Made a few splash plays on varsity. Will be a starter for the next 2 years. Also does Short snapping.

Solid choice. Adding to what @futurecoach said above, WKU is an offensively focused team with the current staff. They have a winnable schedule (LSU will be tough in 2025) in a winnable conference. Most importantly, I can see him getting early reps in 3-4 games his Frosh year and still redshirting then being ready to challenge for more time in his 2 and/or 3rd season. In addition, he can now focus on his senior season as well as getting bigger and stronger for the next level without the distraction of making his college decision. Congrats to Cam and Family!

Semifinals in the 33rd district are Ryle vs. Conner and the winner of Boone Co. and Heritage Academy vs. Cooper.

According to the Arbiter Database, they had wins vs. Conner (7-0), SK (41-0), Walton Verona (61-0), Campbell (No Score reported), Conner again (No Score), Dixie twice (No Scores). The Highlands game was cancelled due to moving varsity games to Saturday and they lost to Ryle 20-0.

Marshall, Toledo, Bowling Green, App State, Troy all recruit in this area and I am shocked they haven't offered him. Maybe they have and we haven't seen it. I am sure UC and Louisville are keeping tabs. For example, UL has offered 23 QBs in the class of 2026. Most have already committed. If they all go elsewhere, it opens a potential slot. UK has offered 9 QBs in the 2026 class including Cam. Three have committed elsewhere. It all comes down to open spots and timing.

The portal hurts all HS kids but especially QB. Most FBS teams are taking 10-15 HS kids then supplementing with the portal. With QB, 10 kids may be offered in a class and when 1 Commits and it is accepted, the recruiting closes for the others at that school. I don't disagree with you at all about Cam's situation. He may not end up in a better situation. Frankly, the only benefit would be playing better competition and potentially getting more/different looks from colleges. Many schools not in KY don't even have a recruiter assigned to recruit KY. They will swing by NKY while in Cincy if they have a kid they like and will hit up Louisville, Lexington and Western KY but it is usually centered around certain schools. Going group of 5 or FCS and having the opportunity to play sooner is a great option nowadays especially if they are full scholarships. Even those spots are becoming limited with the portal.

I do not want to offend anyone. Just taking a 10,000 foot view of this situation. As mentioned, Cam O'Hara will break the NKY Passing records and has a good chance to have his team back in the final 4/State title game for 3 straight years. Very Very impressive! With KY HS football not being held in the highest regards by recruiters (Have personally heard this many times), I could see a move to Ohio to increase recruiting possibilities. QB is the toughest position to find a spot at the FBS level. He has nice offers from WKU, UK and Miami in FBS. Those offers have been out there for a while and would be dependent on how many spots are left when Cam decides to commit. After watching his play during his Junior season, I really expected to see more FBS offers coming in. Maybe there are more that haven't been posted on the recruiting sites. Obviously, there is still time and I have no clue where he is personally in the 2026 recruiting cycle, but I wouldn't think the O'Hara's were crazy if they attempted to find a spot in the GCL, for example. With the Signing periods continuing to move up, most Power 4s and many Group of 5 schools will have their 2026 signing classes committed before the start of the upcoming HS season. I really enjoy watching Cam play and I hope he continues at Cooper. He has created quite a legacy there.

In my opinion, this is the perfect spot for HHS to play an out of state game. 1) Holmes cancelled so you are limited on who you can fill the game slot with. 2) A win vs. Holmes at that point in the season is not going to raise the RPI much. In fact, RPI may go down with a win. 3) This gives the Birds a quality opponent in the last half of the schedule heading into the playoffs. Every team has a strategy around RPI. If you feel your team is good, the outside KY opponents and the impact on RPI shouldn't matter as much. Getting your team ready for the playoffs is more important. With the gauntlet of 4A this season, it seems the Birds have gone with the "let's Get Ready For The Playoffs" strategy. Should be fun.

Uran picked up an offer from UC yesterday.

Names and/or Positions to keep an eye on that weren't mentioned by @FrankNicodemus Offense: RB - Aidan Duncan (SR - Injured during week 1 of 2024 season) WR - Cale Harris (Jr), Chase Jacob (Jr) O Line - Russell Ali (SR), Andrew Swope (Jr), Weston Higgason (Sr) Defense: D Line - Cooper Benke (Jr), Griffin Benke (Jr), Kaden Sturdevant (So), Weston Higgason (Sr) LB - Tayden Lorenzen (Jr), Brady Carnohan (Sr), Ryan Dunn (Sr), Jaxon Roderick (Jr), Isaac Niemann (Sr), Jace Wiloughby (Jr) Safety - Gabe Williams (Jr), Cale Harris (Jr) Corner - Peyton Klosterman (Sr), Connor Carnohan (Sr), Fili McCarter (Sr) * Most likely see John Feldbruegge and Michael Tincher rotating in at Safety and/or Corner.

Some are saying this may be the toughest schedule in Highlands history: Aug 22 vs. Frederick Douglass Aug 29 at Cooper Sep 5 vs. Campbell County Sep 12 at Boyle County Sep 19 vs. Ryle Sep 26 at Harrison County (District) Oct 3 vs. Covington Catholic (District) Oct 10 at Elder (OH) Oct 17 at Mason County (District) Oct 24 vs. Scott County Oct 31 - BYE Holmes has opted out of district play. That game was replaced with Elder. Link to Schedule: https://www.highlandsathletics.com/Events?for=e06bb248-052e-4062-9c1e-d9c63d09fb17&academicYear=2025

Any word on the Collins QB (#3)? Looks like he went out of the GC game a few minutes before half. Seemed to be a non contact arm issue while throwing. Hope he gets to play. He is a real good player.

Here is the HHS roster.

Although it is likely Scott Co. travels to Fort Thomas in round 1, there is 1 more scenario. Collins and South Oldham play this Friday. If Collins somehow wins, it goes 1) Woodford 2)Scott County 3) Collins 4) S. Oldham

Big game here. Please correct me if I am wrong but looking at the district standings, this is how playoff seeding looks to play out after this game. Scott Co. Victory = Scott Co. #1 seed, South Oldham #2 Seed and Woodford #3 seed Woodford Victory = 3 Way tie which will go to RPI. At this time, South Oldham #1 Seed, Woodford #2 seed and Scott Co. #3 seed. Obviously RPI could/will change after the last few weeks. If Scott Co. wins it is easy. If Woodford wins, it gets interesting. Either way, If Highlands beats Conner this week, it looks like we could have an intriguing matchup in round 1 with the potential of Woodford or Scott Co. at Highlands.

Birds defense shuts out the #4 scoring offense in 5A. Pretty good after holding #3 to 17 points of offense last week. Nice work from all 3 phases tonight.