Scott Falls on Last Play
The Scott Eagles saw the best season in school history come to an end on the final play of the game in a devastating 27-26 loss to Johnson Central on Friday night at Eagles Stadium.
Johnson Central (11-1) quarterback Bryce Workman connected on a 30-yard TD pass to Geordon Blanton as the final ticks of the clock hit zeros. Blanton also had a 3-yard TD run earlier in the contest.
Scott (10-3) took advantage of early mistakes by the Golden Eagles to build a 20-6 halftime lead, but it would prove to be not enough. Johnson Central would score 13 unanswered points to close out the contest and dash the title hopes for the home team.
Senior running back Roberto London found the end zone three times, including on a 78-yard TD run to start the fourth quarter and give the Eagles a 26-14 lead. Danny Fitzgerald threw a pair of touchdowns in the loss. The first TD pass went to London from 10 yards out and the other came on a 14-yard scoring strike in the second quarter to sophomore Ryan Muck.
Johnson Central moves on to the KHSAA Class 4A semi-finals with a trip to Wayne County on tap next Friday.
NewCath Blanks Lloyd to Win Region Title
The NewCath Thoroughbreds are back in the Class 2A state semi-finals after shutting out the Lloyd Juggernauts on Friday night, 41-0.
The regular-season meeting between these two district foes was a tightly contested 29-26 battle, but this time it was all NCC.
NewCath (8-5) got an early touchdown from Trent Wrobleski on a 34-yard fumble return. Shortly thereafter, they added a 40-yard pick six from Josh Harris to build a 13-0 lead with 5:36 left to go in the opening quarter, and they never looked back. Wrobleski added a second interception return for a touchdown (30-yard return) before the quarter closed to give NCC a commanding 20-0 lead.
Breds’ senior Jacob Smith carried the ball 11 times for 68 yards, taking his season total to 1,438 (4,202 career). He needs 31 yards to pass Chris Kelly and climb into second on the school’s all-time rushing list. John Harris chipped in with 67 yards and a rushing touchdown.
The victory was the 21st straight for NewCath against Lloyd (9-4). The Thoroughbreds advance to the KHSAA Class 2A state semifinals next week and will host Danville.
NCC is trying to win its first state championship since 2012.
Fieger Lifts Beechwood on Milestone Evening
If the Beechwood Tigers are going to hoist a state title in 2015, they are going to have to win three straight weeks away from the friendly confines of Edgar McNabb Field. They picked up their first road win on the journey by knocking off Louisville Holy Cross on Friday night, 21-9.
Quarterback Kyle Fieger threw his 100th TD pass of his career in the victory and finished the night completing 8-of-17 passes for 124 yards to lead Beechwood (11-1). He finished the game with three passing touchdowns to give him 102 career passing touchdowns, which beats the previous Northern Kentucky mark of 92 set by Highlands’ Gino Guidugli.
If the Tigers can make it to the state finals, Fieger will have a real shot reaching Guidugli’s records for career completions (445) and yards (7,516) too.
If Beechwood is going to get to the state championship game in Bowling Green, though, they’ll need to get another road win next week at Russellville (10-2).
Simon Kenton edges Cooper
The Simon Kenton Pioneers held on against the Cooper Jaguars 13-12 to claim the region championship on Friday night at Cooper High School.
Simon Kenton (13-0) thwarted a two-point conversion try with one minute left in the game and then forced a turnover on downs after Cooper (10-3) recovered the ensuing onside-kickoff to come out victorious in a classic game that will be talked about for many years.
The Pioneers’ offense was held to a season-low 13 points, 30 points below their average. However, the defense came up huge allowing Simon Kenton to advance to the state semi-finals. It was the tenth game this year that they’ve kept their opponents to 15 points or fewer.
The Jaguars ran the ball for 150 yards per game prior to Friday night, however they were only able to gain 92 yards on the ground and averaged just 2.5 yards per carry.
Conversely, the Pioneers ran the ball for 299 yards behind a strong offensive line with junior quarterback Cam Racke rushing for 157 yards and senior running back Dillon Powell running for 148 yards.
Simon Kenton will host Lafayette (11-2) next Friday with a trip to the state championship game on the line.
Highlands completes sweep
Albeit with an unfamiliar record, the Highland Bluebirds beat a familiar rival to make it to a familiar spot in the Kentucky state postseason.
“We knew we weren’t going to run it on them early, we knew we had to stick with it and keep grinding, because they’re an excellent run defense.” said Highlands head coach Brian Weinrich. “We had to hit some passes to keep the chains moving, and open up the run game.”
The win was the Bluebirds’ second of the year over CovCath, and the 15th straight time in the series. Highlands will host Pulaski County (12-1) next Friday in the 5A semifinals, as the Maroons rallied to knock off upset minded North Laurel 28-24 in Somerset. Pulaski County has spent most of the year ranked in the top three of the Kentucky 5A AP polls.
