By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
CRESTVIEW
HILLS – They may be battling adversity right now.
But the
heart of the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds football team is one thing
that can’t be questioned. NewCath made the host Dixie Heights Colonels earn a
36-7 non-district victory Friday in rainy conditions.
The
Thoroughbreds (1-4) just could not control things in the trenches with their
injury-riddled offensive and defensive lines like previous weeks in their
four-game losing streak. Dixie Heights (3-1) outgained NewCath, 467-97 in total
offense on its way to equaling last year’s win total.
“I can’t fault their effort defensively,” said Dan Wagner, NewCath Head Coach. “We battled tooth and nail.”
NewCath
played without a dozen players. That included seniors Stephen Brooks, Matt
Lenz, juniors Brandon Gray, Jacob Wieland, Logan Neff and sophomores Luke Kues,
Nick Tolle and Ethan Craig. But no NewCath players are out for the year.
“We had four kids that could have played if it was a
playoff game,” Wagner said. “We can’t afford to run that risk. The
doctors recommended we didn’t play them. They should be back next week. We had
seven starters on the sidelines. Four are two-way starters.”
The
Colonels gained 23 first downs to three for NewCath. Darion Washington led the
way with 123 yards on 21 carries and junior quarterback Drew Moore completed
7-of-15 passes for 242 yards. Seth Caple led the way with for the Colonels
catching three passes for 106 yards.
“We watched the film and (NewCath) gave Simon Kenton
fits,” said Dave Brossart, Dixie
Heights Head Coach. “They gave us fits.
But that’s how tough they are. They’re well-coached. They’ll be fine come
playoffs.”
Both teams
turned the ball over the same amount of times. NewCath lost two fumbles and
threw an interception and Dixie Heights lost three fumbles.
The
Thoroughbreds jumped out of the gate quick. On the second play from scrimmage,
NewCath quarterback Mac Franzen completed a 68-yard pass to Tommy Donnelly down
to the Dixie Heights 4-yard line. Smith then took a handoff left for a 4-yard
touchdown and John Caudill made the extra-point kick to give NewCath its lone
7-0 lead.
But the
NewCath offense did not do much after that. Franzen completed 3-of-8 passes and
an interception for 101 yards. The Thoroughbreds finished with a minus-12 yards
rushing on 32 attempts.
“It was a very good defense,” said Dave Schneider, NewCath Offensive Coordinator. “They overwhelmed us playing with a lot of
inexperienced guys in there. But they (inexperienced players) tried their best.”
The
Colonels came back and tied the game. Senior wide receiver Cameron Farmer
wrestled the ball away from NewCath defensive back Jacob Smith and ran to the
NewCath 23 on 3rd-and-31 from the Dixie Heights 9 before Caple scored on a
1-yard run.
The
Thoroughbreds proceeded to turn it over twice and the Colonels capitalized on
the second one. Washington scored from a yard out to put Dixie Heights up for
good at 14-7 at halftime.
Dixie
Heights then put the game away in the third quarter. Moore scored from a yard
out and Ethan Harrison intercepted a NewCath pass and took it back 43 yards for
the touchdown to put the Colonels up 28-7 entering the fourth quarter.
The
Colonels scored once more in the fourth. Washington scored on a 17-yard
scamper.
The
Thoroughbreds started last year 2-4 before managing to reel off nine straight
wins on their way to the Class 2A state championship. That team also finished
1-4 against schools in bigger classes.
“We’re pretty much in the same position as last year
with a lot of guys out,” said Jack
Sutkamp, NewCath senior linebacker/running back. “I think we can pull it together. We’re just going to have to work
harder.”
Dixie
Heights extended the series lead to 14-7. NewCath had won the previous three
meetings including a 37-22 win in Crestview Hills last year.
The
Thoroughbreds open District 6 action Friday back in Newport against the Lloyd
Memorial Juggernauts (3-2). Game time is 7 p.m.
Volleyball:
Highlands 2, Boone County 0:
The
Bluebirds (6-10) opened up the Cake Classic with a 25-15, 25-19 win over the
Lady Rebels. They did not win any games in the Cake Classic last year.
That marked
the 100th win in the head coaching career of Whitney Mulroney. Mulroney served
as head coach at Bishop Brossart before coming to Highlands.
The
Bluebirds conclude the Cake Classic on Saturday.
Too much football commentary is appearing on the FT blog. Not everyone here even cares about football. It injures children. The stadium noise has become outrageous for nearby homeowners. This morning the announcer started at 8:20 am. Dial down the football worship.
ReplyDeleteAll due respect, the "clicks" would disagree with your statement. Football stories are some of the most trafficked stories on the site.
ReplyDeleteIt's football season in Fort Thomas and until people stop reading them, it's our duty to cover them.
Ummm. Football is kind of what the city is known for. GREAT COVERAGE FTM! KEEP IT UP! Debbie Downer around these parts, I tell ya.
ReplyDeleteI never comment, but I'm sorry I've got to butt in here. To the original commenter: This is not your site. I'm pretty sure the writers and publisher knows which stories to put on the site better than you do.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't care for a particular story, it's pretty simple, don't read it.
FTM: You guys are amazing and a true blessing to our city, businesses and community. It makes me sick that you have to read comments like that. I know how difficult it must be to provide content on a daily basis.
G. Michael Graham: I LOVE your work. Keep it up!