G. Michael Graham Photo. Newport Central Catholic defenders Jacob Smith (3), Logan Neff (diving) and Kole Zenni (9) chase Simon Kenton quarterback Brenan Kuntz (26) in Friday's game in Independence. The Thoroughbreds hope to break their three-game losing streak Friday at Dixie Heights. Game time is 7 p.m.
By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
The
defending Class 2A state champions would love nothing more than to go into
District 6 action with a win.
But the run
through the Class 6A, District 6 has been tough so far and will not get any
easier on Friday. The 1-3 Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds travel to Crestview
Hills for the second time in four weeks to face the improved Dixie Heights
Colonels.
This marks
the third straight week facing a team from that district. NewCath lost 31-22 to
2012 Class 5A runner-up Cooper in the annual Crosstown Showdown on Aug. 30
before suffering consecutive losses at Campbell County (21-20) and Simon Kenton
(30-7).
NewCath is
facing a rough stretch like last year. The Thoroughbreds started last year 2-4
before reeling off nine straight wins to capture the fifth state championship
in school history. All four losses also came to bigger schools.
“Dixie Heights is a quality opponent,” said Dan Wagner, NewCath Head Coach. “Getting a quality win would be huge for
us. We’re going through growing pains. But they’re learning and staying
aggressive. You can’t fault their effort at all.”
Dixie
Heights finished just 3-8 last year. The Colonels had a new Head Coach in Dave
Brossart after longtime Head Coach Tom Spritzky retired. Dixie Heights lost a
tough one, 57-50 to Lexington Henry Clay in the first round of the playoffs.
The Colonels
enter the game just one win shy of last year’s total at 2-1 overall. They
opened the year with a 21-13 against rival Covington Catholic before beating
Beechwood (41-20) and Cincinnati Turpin (38-7). Dixie Heights has outscored
opponents by an average of about 31-16 while opponents have outscored NewCath
by about a 27-22 average.
“We asked our kids to expect more out of themselves
and their teammates,” Brossart said. “To show up is not enough. We expect great
effort and this started about halfway through last season. Our kids realized
that things needed to change, too. Our offseason and spring football session
was much improved from the previous year and right now, we are seeing the
dividends.”
The
Colonels have rushed the ball well in their two wins. They ran for 420 yards
against Beechwood and another 258 at Turpin. Senior running back Darion
Washington paced the attack against Beechwood with 161 yards on 15 carries and
junior quarterback Drew Moore had 123 yards rushing on 12 carries against
Turpin. Moore also threw for 140 yards and two touchdowns completing 11-of-16
passes.
“We have some special drills for quality mobile
quarterbacks,” Wagner said. “(Drew) Moore is special. This is how you
find out if you’re any good or not.”
Dixie
Heights likes to run a multiple-formation offense. Brossart said the Colonels
use a tight end and two-back base offense before branching off to spread formations.
Brossart said they like to establish the run then go to the pass. Both teams
have players going both directions.
That does
not bode well for a NewCath team that has struggled defensively this year
allowing 836 on the ground and 442 through the air for a total of 1,251. A lot
of that has to do with some youth and inexperience.
NewCath
played Simon Kenton without seniors Stephen Brooks, Matt Lenz, junior Jacob
Wieland and sophomore Luke Kues leaving them in a tough situation on both sides
of the ball. Brooks, Wieland and Lenz are options at offensive center.
“During the summer, we’d been working everyone in,” said Nathan Kling, NewCath senior offensive and
defensive lineman. “We always say, ‘Next
Guy in.’ The younger guys have to know that they have to play. We’re trying to
stay in there and do the best we can.”
Senior linebackers
Jack Sutkamp and Kalvin Moore continue to lead the 4-4 Thoroughbred defense.
Sutkamp has 65 tackles and Moore has 36. Tyler Lyon leads NewCath with three
fumble recoveries and Nate Enslen has the team’s lone interception.
NewCath
hopes to get its run-and-shoot offense on track this game. The Thoroughbreds
have rushed for 474 yards and passed for 442 for a total of 916 yards. They did
not move the ball consistently other than one possession against Simon Kenton
as the Pioneers dominated the line of scrimmage.
“They played hard,” said Dave Schneider, NewCath Offensive Coordinator. “They have a lot of work to do, but I think
we’ll get there. We’re not giving up on them.”
Sophomore
Jacob Smith leads the NewCath rushing attack with 172 yards rushing on 42
carries to go with two touchdowns and quarterback Mac Franzen has 154 yards
rushing on 54 carries and a touchdown.
Franzen has
completed 36-of-67 passes for 442 yards to go with four touchdowns and six
interceptions. Tommy Donnelly leads the Thoroughbreds with nine catches for 167
yards and a touchdown. Enslen is second on the team with eight catches for 45
yards.
“We (wide receivers) just need to run crisper routes,” Donnelly said. “I
know we can do it. We just need to get out there and work hard.”
Despite the
start, Brossart said the Thoroughbreds are still dangerous. Brosssart said
NewCath played “the toughest schedule in Northern Kentucky.”
“When you play any NCC team, you are up against great
kids who are a part of a great tradition,” Brossart said. “We have to put
pressure on (Franzen). They have some nice skill players and we must prepare to
defend their run game.”
The
Colonels run a 4-2-5 defense. Senior linebacker Seth Caple looks to go for more
than 200 yards in his career. Senior defensive back Shawn Brown and senior
linebacker Brendan Fisk also lead the Dixie Heights defense.
NewCath won
last year’s meeting 37-22 for its third straight in the series. But the
Colonels lead the overall series 13-7.
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