Tonight I'm hosting the first of what I hope will be many Beef O'Brady's Coaches Shows at Beef O'Brady's in Newport Shopping Center. The show kicks off tonight with NewCath head coach Eddie Eviston as my first guest.
Anyone who wants to come down and check the show out while eating some good food is more than welcome to join. The show should get underway at 7:30. If you're not able to make it out then you can follow along online in video - NKYSports.com: Beef O'Brady's Coaches Show with Eddie Eviston
**UPDATE**
NewCath players Brady Hightchew, Jake Cain and Chris Kelly will be at the show as well.
NKy Top Ten - 9/6/10
There's a little bit of shakeup this week...
1. Highlands
2. Ryle
3. Simon Kenton
4. NewCath
5. Holmes
6. Dixie
7. CovCath
8. Boone County
9. Beechwood
10. Conner
I finally am on the Ryle over Simon Kenton bandwagon. The Pioneers' offensive line was my biggest concern coming into the season and it is a bigger issue than I anticipated. Boone County is all the way up in the eighth spot now after not being ranked last week as they're off to a good start.
TALK ABOUT THE RANKINGS IN THE FREE NKSB FORUMS
1. Highlands
2. Ryle
3. Simon Kenton
4. NewCath
5. Holmes
6. Dixie
7. CovCath
8. Boone County
9. Beechwood
10. Conner
I finally am on the Ryle over Simon Kenton bandwagon. The Pioneers' offensive line was my biggest concern coming into the season and it is a bigger issue than I anticipated. Boone County is all the way up in the eighth spot now after not being ranked last week as they're off to a good start.
TALK ABOUT THE RANKINGS IN THE FREE NKSB FORUMS
Predictions - 9/3/10
Here's my predictions for tonight's games...
Simon Kenton 42 Dixie 21 - Pioneers respond in a big way and Dixie struggles to stop both the legs and arm of Chad Lawrence.
Highlands 42 Beechwood 14 - Cory Compton has a big night in Fort Thomas as the Bluebirds roll.
Holmes 35 Bellevue 20 - Bulldogs struggle early in this one and DJ Slater gets his yards but in the end the Bulldogs have too many weapons.
Conner 56 Lloyd 6 - The Cougars score early and often in this one. Cy Smith goes for six touchdowns for the second time in as many weeks.
Cooper 28 Scott 7 - Dvontae Bradley has a big game with three touchdowns as the Jaguars roll over the Eagles.
LaSalle 35 CovCath 14 - The Lancers win pretty handily over the Colonels with Matt Farrell and Matt Woeste combining for big nights in both the running and passing game respectively.
Simon Kenton 42 Dixie 21 - Pioneers respond in a big way and Dixie struggles to stop both the legs and arm of Chad Lawrence.
Highlands 42 Beechwood 14 - Cory Compton has a big night in Fort Thomas as the Bluebirds roll.
Holmes 35 Bellevue 20 - Bulldogs struggle early in this one and DJ Slater gets his yards but in the end the Bulldogs have too many weapons.
Conner 56 Lloyd 6 - The Cougars score early and often in this one. Cy Smith goes for six touchdowns for the second time in as many weeks.
Cooper 28 Scott 7 - Dvontae Bradley has a big game with three touchdowns as the Jaguars roll over the Eagles.
LaSalle 35 CovCath 14 - The Lancers win pretty handily over the Colonels with Matt Farrell and Matt Woeste combining for big nights in both the running and passing game respectively.
Breakdown: Bellevue 35 Newport 34
One of the best games of the year has already taken place and chances are you missed it. Bellevue and Newport battled it out this past weekend and they combined for one of the more fun games you'll see this season. If you weren't at Bellevue to watch this one I'd highly recommend watching NKYSports.com's broadcast of it... or at least skim through it. - Video Replay - Newport vs Bellevue
- Let's start with the coaching in this one. Nick Rice has done a great job at Newport and I've said before how I really like the direction of this program. The kids are buying into his system and the program and that is the only way to succeed in a small public school. I also love the play-calling. He's letting his kids have fun and at the same time giving his exceptional athletes at the skill positions chances to make plays. At one point they ran a double reverse flea-flicker... yeah, you read that right.
- The man that has taken over at Bellevue is Russ Shearer. Shearer had the unenviable task of replacing Dave Eckstein who really brought the program back to relevance. Shearer though, looks like he's doing nothing but continuing the momentum that Eckstein started. He realizes the strengths of his team and in this game in particular he did a great job of sticking to the original game-plan and keeping his kids in the game despite their slow start.
- One player that I'm really high on is Newport quarterback Demitri Brown and in this game he showed why. He doesn't get near enough credit for his ability to pass the ball because he is so athletic and a great running quarterback. The reality is he is a true dual-threat and he might be the best player in 2A. He made some great plays both with his arms and his feet in this one. He really should have had an even bigger game but there were a lot of drops by the Newport receivers.
- On the other side of the field, Jake Sparks is a guy that I had yet to see before watching this game and I came away very impressed. The Tigers quarterback is perfect for this system. He's athletic, runs hard and showed the ability to pass enough to keep the defense honest. He's definitely a guy to keep an eye on as he progresses through his junior season. He has a lot of upside.
- At running back, Brandon Carter is perfect for Newport's offense. The speedster does a nice job of catching passes out of the backfield and really provides a threat to beat the defense to the outside which sets Brown up for a lot of counters. The other thing that I like about Carter is he never goes down very easy despite being a small back. He does a good job of "bouncing" off tacklers almost like a pinball.
- Everyone talked about how hard of a job DJ Slater had coming into this season because he had to replace Ricky Buckler. Apparently Slater doesn't think it's quite as hard as the rest of us. He has been outstanding so far and really shows no signs of slowing down. Slater is a bruising back that runs very hard but he surprised me with his ability to change directions. He has a lot more shiftiness than I realized. He's going to be a star at 1A.
- Bellevue also had freshman Dylan Huff getting some carries as a change of pace back and he looked great as well. They have a great 1-2 punch in their backfield and it's going to make it easy to stick to their game-plan of running the football, especially when Sparks can provide some great carries as well. Huff had two fumbles which he'll have to fix going forward but he has a ton of athleticism and has big-play ability.
- I was also really impressed with Newport receiver Rob Washington. Washington looks as tall as his listed 6-foot-2 and really does a good job of running after the catch. He's even a guy that they look to involve on end-arounds and reverses. He finished the game with four catches for 86 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown. He dropped another pass that would have been an easy touchdown as well, but he is a guy who definitely provides Brown with a reliable target.
- Up front for Bellevue, stud right tackle Rick Allen was dominant in this one. He was not only blowing his guy up but he was just flat out clearing a whole side of the line for his backs to run behind. I knew Allen was supposed to be one of the better lineman in 1A this season, but he was really impressive in this one.
- Kudos to Bellevue for coming back in this one. They could have very easily folded after that first half. I really can't wait to watch the game between them and Brossart to decide who is No. 2 in 2A. I really thought Brossart was but after watching this game I'm not so sure. At the same time, I was really impressed with Newport and thought they were actually the more impressive team. They shot themselves in the foot way too many times in the second half to let Bellevue come right back and then take the lead, but I was really impressed with what they have. They were also missing their starting middle linebacker which definitely affected their ability to stop the run. I'd love to see a rematch with these two teams and I think they are really going to be two of the top small school teams in NKy this season.
Talk about this in the FREE forums
- Let's start with the coaching in this one. Nick Rice has done a great job at Newport and I've said before how I really like the direction of this program. The kids are buying into his system and the program and that is the only way to succeed in a small public school. I also love the play-calling. He's letting his kids have fun and at the same time giving his exceptional athletes at the skill positions chances to make plays. At one point they ran a double reverse flea-flicker... yeah, you read that right.
- The man that has taken over at Bellevue is Russ Shearer. Shearer had the unenviable task of replacing Dave Eckstein who really brought the program back to relevance. Shearer though, looks like he's doing nothing but continuing the momentum that Eckstein started. He realizes the strengths of his team and in this game in particular he did a great job of sticking to the original game-plan and keeping his kids in the game despite their slow start.
- One player that I'm really high on is Newport quarterback Demitri Brown and in this game he showed why. He doesn't get near enough credit for his ability to pass the ball because he is so athletic and a great running quarterback. The reality is he is a true dual-threat and he might be the best player in 2A. He made some great plays both with his arms and his feet in this one. He really should have had an even bigger game but there were a lot of drops by the Newport receivers.
- On the other side of the field, Jake Sparks is a guy that I had yet to see before watching this game and I came away very impressed. The Tigers quarterback is perfect for this system. He's athletic, runs hard and showed the ability to pass enough to keep the defense honest. He's definitely a guy to keep an eye on as he progresses through his junior season. He has a lot of upside.
- At running back, Brandon Carter is perfect for Newport's offense. The speedster does a nice job of catching passes out of the backfield and really provides a threat to beat the defense to the outside which sets Brown up for a lot of counters. The other thing that I like about Carter is he never goes down very easy despite being a small back. He does a good job of "bouncing" off tacklers almost like a pinball.
- Everyone talked about how hard of a job DJ Slater had coming into this season because he had to replace Ricky Buckler. Apparently Slater doesn't think it's quite as hard as the rest of us. He has been outstanding so far and really shows no signs of slowing down. Slater is a bruising back that runs very hard but he surprised me with his ability to change directions. He has a lot more shiftiness than I realized. He's going to be a star at 1A.
- Bellevue also had freshman Dylan Huff getting some carries as a change of pace back and he looked great as well. They have a great 1-2 punch in their backfield and it's going to make it easy to stick to their game-plan of running the football, especially when Sparks can provide some great carries as well. Huff had two fumbles which he'll have to fix going forward but he has a ton of athleticism and has big-play ability.
- I was also really impressed with Newport receiver Rob Washington. Washington looks as tall as his listed 6-foot-2 and really does a good job of running after the catch. He's even a guy that they look to involve on end-arounds and reverses. He finished the game with four catches for 86 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown. He dropped another pass that would have been an easy touchdown as well, but he is a guy who definitely provides Brown with a reliable target.
- Up front for Bellevue, stud right tackle Rick Allen was dominant in this one. He was not only blowing his guy up but he was just flat out clearing a whole side of the line for his backs to run behind. I knew Allen was supposed to be one of the better lineman in 1A this season, but he was really impressive in this one.
- Kudos to Bellevue for coming back in this one. They could have very easily folded after that first half. I really can't wait to watch the game between them and Brossart to decide who is No. 2 in 2A. I really thought Brossart was but after watching this game I'm not so sure. At the same time, I was really impressed with Newport and thought they were actually the more impressive team. They shot themselves in the foot way too many times in the second half to let Bellevue come right back and then take the lead, but I was really impressed with what they have. They were also missing their starting middle linebacker which definitely affected their ability to stop the run. I'd love to see a rematch with these two teams and I think they are really going to be two of the top small school teams in NKy this season.
Talk about this in the FREE forums
Breakdown: Middletown 34 Simon Kenton 0
Simon Kenton got flat out beat by a better team Saturday at Nippert Stadium. Middletown was faster, stronger and deeper than I think anyone had really anticipated. I knew they had athletes. I just didn't know they would be that far along at this point with all the players they had to replace.
And then there's Jalin Marshall. The sophomore quarterback for Middletown showed the makings of a phenom that we will likely hear about for the next three seasons.
That's all I really have for Middletown since they're not an NKy team. Let's talk about Simon Kenton. Many people are reading way too much into this score... or at least in my opinion. Middletown is better than any Northern Kentucky team that Simon Kenton will face without a doubt. Let's take a closer look at what happened on Saturday for the Pioneers:
- The first thing that stood out to me was the Pioneers miss their offensive line from last year bad. It's not easy to replace an experienced and talented group like last year's with the likes of Derek Piccirrillo and Jordan Hansel. They've already moved some guys around from the time that they started practice this summer and I doubt those moves are finished yet. It's a group that will likely get better but they aren't going to be what they've had in the past.
- Chad Lawrence was a little nicked up heading into Saturday's game and I think it played a big role in not just the way he played but the play-calling. It took a long time before Lawrence even had his number called and once he finally did it didn't look like he was quite 100 percent. He also looked a little off throwing the ball like he wasn't able to push off or something. He finished 9-of-19 for 66 yards with two interceptions. It wasn't his best performance and there's little doubt that it will be his worst of the year but it wasn't like he was bad or the reason they lost. The best part about the it was he was an absolute leader the entire way. He never once got down on anyone from what I saw and he was still bouncing up and trying to keep the team going after taking hit after hit. I loved his composure on a very difficult day for him.
- Cory Crane got pretty much all of the carries out of the backfield for the Pioneers. He's not really a freak athlete type back but more of a hard-working, grind-it-out type back. He has good balance and runs hard. I think he'll have a nice year, especially as the line gets more experience.
- The biggest bright spot for the Pioneers' offense was Ryan Winkler at wide receiver. A returning starter from last year, Winkler had five catches for 65 yards with some very nice grabs in there. Great route-running was the difference for Winkler on Saturday as he found himself open a few times against a very fast and athletic Middletown defense. I look for him to have a big season when the Pioneers start playing other NKy teams.
- We also got a look at sophomore quarterback Jared Swanson very briefly after the game was already out of reach. While he didn't get a chance to do a whole lot, I'd say he did enough to slightly ease the anxiety about losing Lawrence in a year for Pioneers fans. He has a lot of ability. He showed great speed and the ability to make plays with his feet much like Lawrence, but he was also 2-for-2 for 19 yards passing. Comparing him to Lawrence would be completely unfair at this point but he definitely has the makings of a capable starter for life after Lawrence in Independence.
- Most people are going to look at the score and think that Middletown dominated Simon Kenton's defense. That simply wasn't the case. Now it's not like the Pioneers defense was great but they weren't near as bad as the score would indicate. They really didn't have that many breakdowns, rather it was more Jalin Marshall making phenomenal plays out of what should have been sacks or stops for the Pioneers. Literally three of Middletown's touchdowns came on broken plays where Marshall did an unbelievable job of improvising.
- At the linebacker position I thought Parker Deters was really really good. He wasn't quite as fast as the athletes Middletown had but he made up for that by taking great pursuit routes and he was a very sure tackler Saturday. He really did a nice job of absorbing his block and then shedding it in time to make the tackle. Big game for him against a very good opponent.
- Jared Bowling also had a pretty good game. In particular he had a huge sack on 4th down on in the third quarter that I thought was a big-time play for him. He also had a fumble recovery. He's looking like a big-play type of guy for the Pioneers.
- Trey Pinkelton also looked like he's ready for a breakout year at free safety. Pinkelton was really laying some big hits and was one of the guys who looked athletic enough to be playing with Middletown. I'd like to see him get some more looks on the offensive side whether it be receptions or carries I think he has the ability to make big plays.
- Zach Carroll was another guy who looked good in the Pioneers' secondary. He had a few big breakups including a few on third down that forced Middletown to punt. He's a guy with great ball skills too, so don't be surprised to see him get some picks this year.
It comes down to this... Middletown was really very good. Better than most people even anticipated. Simon Kenton did a good job defensively, especially matching up with a team that was much more athletic than them. The offense was bad and wasn't ready to face a defense with that type of speed. They will need to make some adjustments both on the line and in figuring out how to utilize some play-makers. I think Pinkelton and Sage Powell will need to see some more time on offense in the future. Simon Kenton will get better and this loss shouldn't be read into too much. It will be very interesting to see how they respond against Dixie.
Thoughts or comments? Post in the message boards.
And then there's Jalin Marshall. The sophomore quarterback for Middletown showed the makings of a phenom that we will likely hear about for the next three seasons.
That's all I really have for Middletown since they're not an NKy team. Let's talk about Simon Kenton. Many people are reading way too much into this score... or at least in my opinion. Middletown is better than any Northern Kentucky team that Simon Kenton will face without a doubt. Let's take a closer look at what happened on Saturday for the Pioneers:
 | |
| Chad Lawrence |
- Chad Lawrence was a little nicked up heading into Saturday's game and I think it played a big role in not just the way he played but the play-calling. It took a long time before Lawrence even had his number called and once he finally did it didn't look like he was quite 100 percent. He also looked a little off throwing the ball like he wasn't able to push off or something. He finished 9-of-19 for 66 yards with two interceptions. It wasn't his best performance and there's little doubt that it will be his worst of the year but it wasn't like he was bad or the reason they lost. The best part about the it was he was an absolute leader the entire way. He never once got down on anyone from what I saw and he was still bouncing up and trying to keep the team going after taking hit after hit. I loved his composure on a very difficult day for him.
 | |
| Cory Crane |
- The biggest bright spot for the Pioneers' offense was Ryan Winkler at wide receiver. A returning starter from last year, Winkler had five catches for 65 yards with some very nice grabs in there. Great route-running was the difference for Winkler on Saturday as he found himself open a few times against a very fast and athletic Middletown defense. I look for him to have a big season when the Pioneers start playing other NKy teams.
- We also got a look at sophomore quarterback Jared Swanson very briefly after the game was already out of reach. While he didn't get a chance to do a whole lot, I'd say he did enough to slightly ease the anxiety about losing Lawrence in a year for Pioneers fans. He has a lot of ability. He showed great speed and the ability to make plays with his feet much like Lawrence, but he was also 2-for-2 for 19 yards passing. Comparing him to Lawrence would be completely unfair at this point but he definitely has the makings of a capable starter for life after Lawrence in Independence.
- Most people are going to look at the score and think that Middletown dominated Simon Kenton's defense. That simply wasn't the case. Now it's not like the Pioneers defense was great but they weren't near as bad as the score would indicate. They really didn't have that many breakdowns, rather it was more Jalin Marshall making phenomenal plays out of what should have been sacks or stops for the Pioneers. Literally three of Middletown's touchdowns came on broken plays where Marshall did an unbelievable job of improvising.
 |
| Parker Deters |
- Jared Bowling also had a pretty good game. In particular he had a huge sack on 4th down on in the third quarter that I thought was a big-time play for him. He also had a fumble recovery. He's looking like a big-play type of guy for the Pioneers.
- Trey Pinkelton also looked like he's ready for a breakout year at free safety. Pinkelton was really laying some big hits and was one of the guys who looked athletic enough to be playing with Middletown. I'd like to see him get some more looks on the offensive side whether it be receptions or carries I think he has the ability to make big plays.
- Zach Carroll was another guy who looked good in the Pioneers' secondary. He had a few big breakups including a few on third down that forced Middletown to punt. He's a guy with great ball skills too, so don't be surprised to see him get some picks this year.
It comes down to this... Middletown was really very good. Better than most people even anticipated. Simon Kenton did a good job defensively, especially matching up with a team that was much more athletic than them. The offense was bad and wasn't ready to face a defense with that type of speed. They will need to make some adjustments both on the line and in figuring out how to utilize some play-makers. I think Pinkelton and Sage Powell will need to see some more time on offense in the future. Simon Kenton will get better and this loss shouldn't be read into too much. It will be very interesting to see how they respond against Dixie.
Thoughts or comments? Post in the message boards.
NKy Top Ten - 8/30/10
Here's the newest NKSB rankings...
1. Highlands
2. Simon Kenton
3. Ryle
4. NewCath
5. Dixie
6. Holmes
7. CovCath
8. Beechwood
9. Conner
10. Campbell County
The only change is Campbell County in at 10. Thoughts? Post them on the forum - Football: Top Ten 8/30
1. Highlands
2. Simon Kenton
3. Ryle
4. NewCath
5. Dixie
6. Holmes
7. CovCath
8. Beechwood
9. Conner
10. Campbell County
The only change is Campbell County in at 10. Thoughts? Post them on the forum - Football: Top Ten 8/30
Predictions - 8/26/10
Here's a few predictions for the weekend ahead...
Ryle at Highlands
7:30 PM
This is one of the premier matchups of the season and it's happening in week one. Both teams come into the game with impressive victories in week zero. Ryle has a chance to prove themselves as the top team in Northern Kentucky and a top team statewide.
The Raiders offensive line is athletic and physical, which makes them suited much better to compete with Highlands than in years past. Ryle will not be able to run the ball against Highlands the way they did against CovCath obviously, but they will likely have a fair amount of success. The question is can they mix in a few quick hitters to give them the opportunity to score. You can't beat Highlands on 15 play drives where all you do is run.
On the other side it will be interesting to see the balance that Highlands uses on offense. They clearly have an advantage throwing the ball downfield, but the Birds always want to run first. I think we see Patrick Towles prove himself as the top quarterback in NKy in this game. Look for a big day from the Birds through the air.
In the end I think this game is a better game than the score will indicate. Ryle is really good but Highlands isn't down from last year like most seem to think. The Birds will win this one in convincing fashion if Ryle is not willing to open up the playbook and take some chances.
Score Prediction: Highlands 35 Ryle 14
Other Predictions:
- Dixie 35 Beechwood 21
- Holmes 42 Lloyd 12
- Conner 21 Scott 7
- Newport 21 Bellevue 20
Ryle at Highlands
7:30 PM
This is one of the premier matchups of the season and it's happening in week one. Both teams come into the game with impressive victories in week zero. Ryle has a chance to prove themselves as the top team in Northern Kentucky and a top team statewide.
The Raiders offensive line is athletic and physical, which makes them suited much better to compete with Highlands than in years past. Ryle will not be able to run the ball against Highlands the way they did against CovCath obviously, but they will likely have a fair amount of success. The question is can they mix in a few quick hitters to give them the opportunity to score. You can't beat Highlands on 15 play drives where all you do is run.
On the other side it will be interesting to see the balance that Highlands uses on offense. They clearly have an advantage throwing the ball downfield, but the Birds always want to run first. I think we see Patrick Towles prove himself as the top quarterback in NKy in this game. Look for a big day from the Birds through the air.
In the end I think this game is a better game than the score will indicate. Ryle is really good but Highlands isn't down from last year like most seem to think. The Birds will win this one in convincing fashion if Ryle is not willing to open up the playbook and take some chances.
Score Prediction: Highlands 35 Ryle 14
Other Predictions:
- Dixie 35 Beechwood 21
- Holmes 42 Lloyd 12
- Conner 21 Scott 7
- Newport 21 Bellevue 20
Breakdown: NewCath 35 Dixie 28
Another game that saw both teams where I pretty much expected them to be... I had predicted 28-21 in favor of the Breds but despite the extra touchdown each team scored they were pretty evenly matched.
- The Breds have come along way in the last year with basically the same cast of characters. There's no way that team comes back and wins a year ago, but they are a group with a lot of experience now and a lot of solid players. They are probably even a little better than I expected.
- Dixie is kind of a typical Dixie team. They have a couple very good skill players. They don't have quite enough discipline or depth to be a top team but will still be competitive. This Dixie team has more upside than those in the past couple years but they are still nowhere near the top three teams in my Top Ten.
- Brady Hightchew is an electrifying playmaker and the perfect style quarterback for NewCath. People are calling him a running back playing quarterback and while I think that may have been true last year it's definitely NOT this year. He's not a pure drop-back passer but he has a good arm and puts the ball where it needs to be more often than not through the air. The other aspect that makes him a good quarterback is he's become a good leader. He understands his role on the team and playing last year as a sophomore has given him a lot of confidence heading into this season. I really liked the way he carried himself Friday night. As for his running ability... well that speaks for itself. He is one of the most dangerous open-field runners in NKy. The two moves he made on the 10-yard winning touchdown run off of a broken play were just flat out nasty.
- Zeke Pike is going to be under more scrutiny every single game than any other player in the area due to NKy's obsession with proving recruiters wrong. Anytime in any sport that a kid is getting big-time looks this area is just dying to "hate" on the specific athlete. I would rather celebrate the kid and continue to promote our athletes so more and more kids get looks... but that's just me. Anyways, I thought Pike's play was solid this past week. One thing that is without a doubt going to hurt him is playing on both sides of the ball. You would have liked for him to have his best stuff left at the end of the game when they had a chance to come back and tie it up but it's hard to do that when you've played all game on both sides of the ball. He was very good actually in the first half. He can throw the ball 60 yards on the run like it's nothing, so his arm is big-time. His accuracy was really pretty good in the first half. There were too many drops by his receivers and he was missing his top target in Goose Cohorn.Later in the game he was off on a few passes but again he looked tired. Pike has a high release, good footwork and great arm strength. I can see why the college coaches like him.
- Chris Kelly did what Chris Kelly does. He pounds the ball all game long and then he takes over in the fourth quarter. He's never going to be a guy who "wows" you. He's a hard-nosed runner with decent speed and is an absolute workhorse. His running style, which wears on the defense, goes very well with the HUGE offensive line of the Breds this season. Between Hightchew, Kelly and the offensive-line, NewCath should have a dominant running game this season.
- Seth Bruns was the best kept secret in NKy coming into Friday night. There was a lot of hype surrounding a lot of guys, but not much of it was aimed at the Dixie running back. Bruns WILL be a top running back in NKy this season without question. His speed is special and there are very few players in the area who can run with him. He's not a guy that you want to send between the tackles 30 times a game, but if you get him out in the open field he will do damage. He had a run against NewCath where he ran a stretch play to the right side and once he got over to the numbers and realized there was nowhere to go he stopped on a dime and reversed fields for a 60-yard touchdown...very impressive. Expect Bruns to be good for at least one highlight reel play a week.
- Dixie had a let down in the fourth quarter defensively and there's no way around that. However, the first three quarters they were pretty good defensively. The Colonels were solid up front and got some really good play from Ryan Zumdick at middle linebacker. Add in Pike on the outside and they really should have a pretty decent defense. However, they HAVE to fix their conditioning or depth issue that allowed NewCath to dominate them in the fourth quarter.
- NewCath's defense impressed me. Their defensive line did a nice job of slowing down Dixie's run game. Evan Morse was tough all night long and Dixie didn't have an answer for him up front. I thought Jake Cain and Chris Kelly looked really good at the linebacker positions. As for the secondary, Brian Doyle picked up right where he left off by picking off two passes (one of them to preserve the Breds' win) after leading NKy in picks with eight last season. He has great ball skills and good height which makes it dangerous for opposing quarterbacks to put any ball up for grabs around him.
- The Breds have come along way in the last year with basically the same cast of characters. There's no way that team comes back and wins a year ago, but they are a group with a lot of experience now and a lot of solid players. They are probably even a little better than I expected.
- Dixie is kind of a typical Dixie team. They have a couple very good skill players. They don't have quite enough discipline or depth to be a top team but will still be competitive. This Dixie team has more upside than those in the past couple years but they are still nowhere near the top three teams in my Top Ten.
- Brady Hightchew is an electrifying playmaker and the perfect style quarterback for NewCath. People are calling him a running back playing quarterback and while I think that may have been true last year it's definitely NOT this year. He's not a pure drop-back passer but he has a good arm and puts the ball where it needs to be more often than not through the air. The other aspect that makes him a good quarterback is he's become a good leader. He understands his role on the team and playing last year as a sophomore has given him a lot of confidence heading into this season. I really liked the way he carried himself Friday night. As for his running ability... well that speaks for itself. He is one of the most dangerous open-field runners in NKy. The two moves he made on the 10-yard winning touchdown run off of a broken play were just flat out nasty.
- Zeke Pike is going to be under more scrutiny every single game than any other player in the area due to NKy's obsession with proving recruiters wrong. Anytime in any sport that a kid is getting big-time looks this area is just dying to "hate" on the specific athlete. I would rather celebrate the kid and continue to promote our athletes so more and more kids get looks... but that's just me. Anyways, I thought Pike's play was solid this past week. One thing that is without a doubt going to hurt him is playing on both sides of the ball. You would have liked for him to have his best stuff left at the end of the game when they had a chance to come back and tie it up but it's hard to do that when you've played all game on both sides of the ball. He was very good actually in the first half. He can throw the ball 60 yards on the run like it's nothing, so his arm is big-time. His accuracy was really pretty good in the first half. There were too many drops by his receivers and he was missing his top target in Goose Cohorn.Later in the game he was off on a few passes but again he looked tired. Pike has a high release, good footwork and great arm strength. I can see why the college coaches like him.
- Chris Kelly did what Chris Kelly does. He pounds the ball all game long and then he takes over in the fourth quarter. He's never going to be a guy who "wows" you. He's a hard-nosed runner with decent speed and is an absolute workhorse. His running style, which wears on the defense, goes very well with the HUGE offensive line of the Breds this season. Between Hightchew, Kelly and the offensive-line, NewCath should have a dominant running game this season.
- Seth Bruns was the best kept secret in NKy coming into Friday night. There was a lot of hype surrounding a lot of guys, but not much of it was aimed at the Dixie running back. Bruns WILL be a top running back in NKy this season without question. His speed is special and there are very few players in the area who can run with him. He's not a guy that you want to send between the tackles 30 times a game, but if you get him out in the open field he will do damage. He had a run against NewCath where he ran a stretch play to the right side and once he got over to the numbers and realized there was nowhere to go he stopped on a dime and reversed fields for a 60-yard touchdown...very impressive. Expect Bruns to be good for at least one highlight reel play a week.
- Dixie had a let down in the fourth quarter defensively and there's no way around that. However, the first three quarters they were pretty good defensively. The Colonels were solid up front and got some really good play from Ryan Zumdick at middle linebacker. Add in Pike on the outside and they really should have a pretty decent defense. However, they HAVE to fix their conditioning or depth issue that allowed NewCath to dominate them in the fourth quarter.
- NewCath's defense impressed me. Their defensive line did a nice job of slowing down Dixie's run game. Evan Morse was tough all night long and Dixie didn't have an answer for him up front. I thought Jake Cain and Chris Kelly looked really good at the linebacker positions. As for the secondary, Brian Doyle picked up right where he left off by picking off two passes (one of them to preserve the Breds' win) after leading NKy in picks with eight last season. He has great ball skills and good height which makes it dangerous for opposing quarterbacks to put any ball up for grabs around him.
NKySportsBlog Opens Forums
I've added forums to the blog. It has its own stand-alone page that you can get to by clicking on the link at the top of the blog where it says "Forums." Also I'm sure you noticed that the forums are now embedded into the blog above all the posts. Hopefully this will give you more of a chance to interact with me and a place to give you more tidbits that aren't always worthy of an entire post. It will also serve as a replacement for some of the great conversations I've been having over email with you guys.
You can become a member by clicking on the register button in the top right hand corner of the blog. The forums are free so go ahead and post away.
NKYSPORTSBLOG FORUMS
You can become a member by clicking on the register button in the top right hand corner of the blog. The forums are free so go ahead and post away.
NKYSPORTSBLOG FORUMS
NKy Top Ten - 8/23/10
Here's the newest NKSB rankings...
1. Highlands
2. Simon Kenton
3. Ryle
4. NewCath
5. Dixie
6. Holmes
7. CovCath
8. Beechwood
9. Conner
10. Holy Cross
... I also placed the current top ten which I will update every week on Monday to the right side of the blog.
1. Highlands
2. Simon Kenton
3. Ryle
4. NewCath
5. Dixie
6. Holmes
7. CovCath
8. Beechwood
9. Conner
10. Holy Cross
... I also placed the current top ten which I will update every week on Monday to the right side of the blog.
Breakdown: Ryle 61 CovCath 7
The lopsided outcome of this one didn't come as a surprise (check the predictions if you think otherwise), though the final score was a little bit worse than I expected. Now here's the tough part... deciding how much of that was Ryle and how much was CovCath.
- Ryle can run the ball. Period. Their offensive line was very impressive and much further along than I expected. I knew what Travis Elliot could do and he was every bit of his freakish-self. Conner Hempel was a great change of pace on the counter. His running style reminds me of Nick West from Conner last year. Neither one are the fastest players but they have deceptive speed, are strong runners and have good shiftiness.
- CovCath will run the ball better. I think. Ryle really impressed me with the way they controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. CovCath has a nice stable of backs with Alex Slabaugh and Gabe Gray with Brady Reese sprinkled in there some. I would have expected to see Leo Schaefer get some carries in this game but he didn't get a single look on offense. It could have been the fact that the defense was on the field so much that the coaches felt he was tired... or maybe we aren't going to see him on offense much. Either way I thought he would have helped because he's more of a power runner, while the other guys mentioned need some holes to get going and are more effective using their speed in the open field. I'm pretty confident that CovCath will have a decent running game this season. They aren't playing Ryle every week.
- Ryle's defense was better than I expected. They did a nice job of stuffing the run and they were very sure tacklers. Winston Field had a monster game on the front line for the Raiders. He was an absolute run-stuffer and was a problem for the Colonels to block all night. I also thought Mac Vollet had a great game at linebacker.
- CovCath's defense played good for a quarter and a half. Now that may seem like I'm mocking them but I'm not. They genuinely surprised me with their play to start the game. They were on the field for too long and that's the bottom line. They really deserved a better showing than 61 points. There were some major letdowns though in the second half. Guys missed a lot of tackles and that's not a good sign that they could have that tendency. The one positive from the Colonels was their secondary. Paul Ritter is as good as it gets at safety. He is a top kick returner and a big play guy in the secondary with good size and athleticism. Travis Connor was very impressive with his tackling ability. He is a fearless tackler and a solid cover corner. Factor in Alex Cosby, who also had a nice game, and the secondary should be pretty good for CovCath.
- Ryle still has some things to prove. If you read my "Biggest Questions" post from last week, you'll know that I have concerns about Ryle's play-calling and their ability to "open it up" on offense. They didn't put my concerns to rest by any means. They attempted zero down-field passes that I can recall and really didn't throw the ball very much period. I have a ton of faith in Hempel's abilities, I just want to see those abilities used more in the passing game. I understand the argument is why pass when you're racking up 600 yards of rushing, which is very true. It will just be interesting to see what they do against Highlands play-calling wise.
- CovCath's offense may have been awful but that shouldn't be attributed to sophomore quarterback Blake Bir. I think he proved that he was the right choice for the position. His arm looked very good and he was accurate enough. He should be their quarterback going forward. The only thing I'm confused about is the limited looks that Alex Connelly got. One of the top receivers in NKy would figure to be a big part of the Colonel's offense and he hardly got a target. They need to involve him in the offense if they want to be successful.
- Ryle can run the ball. Period. Their offensive line was very impressive and much further along than I expected. I knew what Travis Elliot could do and he was every bit of his freakish-self. Conner Hempel was a great change of pace on the counter. His running style reminds me of Nick West from Conner last year. Neither one are the fastest players but they have deceptive speed, are strong runners and have good shiftiness.
- CovCath will run the ball better. I think. Ryle really impressed me with the way they controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. CovCath has a nice stable of backs with Alex Slabaugh and Gabe Gray with Brady Reese sprinkled in there some. I would have expected to see Leo Schaefer get some carries in this game but he didn't get a single look on offense. It could have been the fact that the defense was on the field so much that the coaches felt he was tired... or maybe we aren't going to see him on offense much. Either way I thought he would have helped because he's more of a power runner, while the other guys mentioned need some holes to get going and are more effective using their speed in the open field. I'm pretty confident that CovCath will have a decent running game this season. They aren't playing Ryle every week.
- Ryle's defense was better than I expected. They did a nice job of stuffing the run and they were very sure tacklers. Winston Field had a monster game on the front line for the Raiders. He was an absolute run-stuffer and was a problem for the Colonels to block all night. I also thought Mac Vollet had a great game at linebacker.
- CovCath's defense played good for a quarter and a half. Now that may seem like I'm mocking them but I'm not. They genuinely surprised me with their play to start the game. They were on the field for too long and that's the bottom line. They really deserved a better showing than 61 points. There were some major letdowns though in the second half. Guys missed a lot of tackles and that's not a good sign that they could have that tendency. The one positive from the Colonels was their secondary. Paul Ritter is as good as it gets at safety. He is a top kick returner and a big play guy in the secondary with good size and athleticism. Travis Connor was very impressive with his tackling ability. He is a fearless tackler and a solid cover corner. Factor in Alex Cosby, who also had a nice game, and the secondary should be pretty good for CovCath.
- Ryle still has some things to prove. If you read my "Biggest Questions" post from last week, you'll know that I have concerns about Ryle's play-calling and their ability to "open it up" on offense. They didn't put my concerns to rest by any means. They attempted zero down-field passes that I can recall and really didn't throw the ball very much period. I have a ton of faith in Hempel's abilities, I just want to see those abilities used more in the passing game. I understand the argument is why pass when you're racking up 600 yards of rushing, which is very true. It will just be interesting to see what they do against Highlands play-calling wise.
- CovCath's offense may have been awful but that shouldn't be attributed to sophomore quarterback Blake Bir. I think he proved that he was the right choice for the position. His arm looked very good and he was accurate enough. He should be their quarterback going forward. The only thing I'm confused about is the limited looks that Alex Connelly got. One of the top receivers in NKy would figure to be a big part of the Colonel's offense and he hardly got a target. They need to involve him in the offense if they want to be successful.
Listen to the CovCath/Ryle Game Live
I'm going to be doing color commentary for the CovCath IRadio team for the CovCath vs Ryle game at the Showdown. Mark Wehry will be on the play-by-play.
Listen Here
Listen Here
Crosstown Showdown Predictions
 | |
| Dixie QB Zeke Pike |
Nippert Stadium
6:00 PM
This is a great match-up to start the season as we'll know a lot more about these two teams after watching them play each other. Expect another hard fought, grind-it-out style game much like last year's meeting between these two.
NewCath's strength is their running game with a big offensive line and a two-headed monster in the backfield with quarterback Brady Hightchew and running back Chris Kelly. Dixie meanwhile has the heavily recruited junior, Zeke Pike, getting his first varsity start. It will be interesting to see the Colonels' play-calling and their balance between run and pass.
This game is really a tough one to call without either team playing any games yet. Look for a good, close game somewhere in the twenties.
Prediction: NewCath 28 Dixie 21
Ryle vs CovCath - Crosstown Showdown
Nippert Stadium
8:30 PM
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| Ryle RB Travis Elliot |
The Raiders will give it to Elliot early and often, but don't think they are a one-dimensional offense. Quarterback Conner Hempel is a top five quarterback in the area and a division-I recruit. If the Colonels slow down the Raiders' running-game it will be interesting to see how much Ryle will throw. CovCath meanwhile expects a strong ground-game of their own. However, there is uncertainty under center with sophomore quarterback Blake Bir taking his first varsity snaps under center tonight. Keep an eye on how he handles the big stage against one of NKy's best teams.
The Raiders are bigger, faster, stronger and more talented. They should win this one and it might not even be close.
Prediction: Ryle 49 CovCath 14
Biggest Questions Heading Into Friday Night
It's finally upon us... I've been writing previews and feature stories leading up to this season since April. I'm ready for some hitting under the Friday Night lights. It seems like every time before the first games of the season I'm really excited to see a few specific teams because I have questions about them that I want answered. This year is no exception.
There are three major questions that I have heading into week zero starting tomorrow night:
1. Simon Kenton's offensive line - The Pioneers have plenty at the skill positions that losing Miles Simpson isn't the blow that many think. The bigger loss from last year's team is the offensive lineman. Coach Marksberry told me last week at our TriStateFootball.com preview show that they have already tweaked the line a few times and they were still working to figure out who the best mix is up front. They need this group to gel to give Chad Lawrence time to throw and Sage Powell holes to run through. If that line is good enough then Simon Kenton is without a doubt a top three team. If they struggle then SK's season could be a slight disappointment and make Ryle the clear-cut favorite to win the district.
2. Ryle's Balance - Ryle is a team that has had enough talent to win the district the past couple of years. I'm not saying they should have but they could have. The biggest difference between them and Simon Kenton was the play calling last year. Ryle has a great running game with Travis Elliot, but they get too predictable at times on offense and don't fully utilize the ability of Conner Hempel. Hempel is a very smart kid with a lot of talent. He'll make good decisions with the football and opening up the offense will help tremendously in keeping the defense off-balance. If the Raiders balance out their play-calling this year and become a little more unpredictable then they have a great chance of winning the district and could even challenge Highlands when they play them. If they are too one dimensional and predictable then don't be surprised to see Simon Kenton win the district.
3. CovCath's QB Situation - The Colonels know who their starter is... for now. Sophomore Blake Bir is the quarterback at the moment for CovCath but until the offense has proven that they can move the ball, I'm not sold that he'll be the QB. Nothing against Bir... He throws the best ball out of the quarterbacks and is their best option if they want to pass. I'm not so sure that they'll want to pass that much. Last year Brayden Erpenbeck was successful in this offense and was a threat mostly due to his ability to run. Brady Reese is currently the backup QB if Bir were to go down, but they are using him as a receiver as well. They already have some packages installed for Reese to take snaps due to his great speed, so I don't think it's a stretch to think that if CovCath hasn't made a first down by halftime against Ryle that Reese could be under center for the rest of the game. The Colonels have a good stable of backs and adding Reese to the mix could make for an explosive run game, which might be their best option this season. Either way they need production out of their quarterback as their other skill positions and defense should be adequate. If one of their quarterbacks are able to step up and lead the team then they could be a top five team and should be No. 2 in the district. If no one pans out then it could be a long year and Dixie figures to be No. 2 in the district behind Highlands.
There are three major questions that I have heading into week zero starting tomorrow night:
Courier-Journal Lists 2013 Names to Remember
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| Holmes WR DeSean Peterson |
Jac Collinsworth, the younger brother of Austin Collinsworth, was one of those players to make the cut. Collinsworth is No. 83 this season, so I'd expect him to be playing wide receiver. However, like his brother Austin, he is a great athlete and could be used anywhere on the field.
The other guy on the list is Holmes' wide receiver DeSean Peterson. If you've been following along for the past month or so then you already know my feelings about Peterson. The Holmes wide-out made a splash as a freshman but 2010 should be a huge sophomore campaign for him.
View the Full List
Courier-Journal Ranks Football Class of 2011
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| Ryle QB Conner Hempel |
The highest-ranked player on that list from the 8-5-9 was Ryle quarterback Conner Hempel. Hempel checked in at No. 19 in the rankings. The next player on the list from NKy was Covington Catholic defensive end Troy Timmerman at No. 28. Ranked No. 30 was Boone County tight end Trevan Brown, who has already committed to Miami (OH). Checking in at No. 36 was Highlands' defensive back Austin Abner and rounding out the NKy guys on the list was Campbell County quarterback Michael Kremer at No. 49.
Players on the, "Other Players to Watch" part of the list included Simon Kenton linebacker Austin Baldwin, Cooper running back D'vontae Bradley, NewCath running back Chris Kelly, Holmes running back Damian Oden and Boone County running back Jordan Oppenheimer.
View the Full List
Courier-Journal Ranks Football Class of 2012
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| Ryle RB Travis Elliot |
Dixie quarterback and linebacker Zeke Pike was ranked No. 2 behind Mason County linebacker Josh Harris. Demling had this to say about the Colonels' signal-caller, "Pike has some serious offers - Alabama and Florida among them - and is likely to have a monster season."
Ryle running back and linebacker Travis Elliot was pegged as the No. 3 player in the state in 2012. Demling wrote the following about Elliot, "Hard-nosed runner is one of the best prospects in talent-rich Northern Kentucky."
Highlands quarterback Pat Towles came in at No. 4 in the class. Here's what Demling had to say, "Have heard so many good things, I can't wait to see him this season in person."
After the top ten rankings, Demling listed another group of about 50 players as, "Other Players to Watch." On this list from NKy is Highlands' Drake Bruns and Austin Sheehan, Holmes' Greg Clemons and Beechwood's Cameron Vocke.
View the Full List
Dixie's New Unis
Here's a few peeks at Dixie's new Nike jerseys for this season. I'm still trying to figure out if I like them. I think they are a really neat design and top of the line gear from Nike, but I don't know if they are my favorite jerseys with the color combos. I would really like to see these in white. What do you guys think?
Front View:
Side View:
Back View:
Front View:
Side View:
Back View:
Breakdown: Trinity 49 Highlands 42
Here is the more lengthy version of what I saw last night...
I want to start by clarifying a few things that I said last night and already got emails about this morning. For starters, I made a comment that these two teams were trying to win. I did not say that they never substituted. Both teams had guys subbing in and out but neither team had mass substitutions on the field at one time and there were always starters sprinkled in. It made the game a lot of fun to be honest and I'm glad it was played the way it was by both coaches. I thought they each did an excellent job of working on what they needed to work on and seeing the kids they needed to see in "real-game" situations, while still playing to win.
I was asked a few times already about the crowd. Again like I said I thought it was a really good crowd for a scrimmage game. I've never been to a scrimmage with a crowd that big, so to me it was good. I've had emails on both sides already telling me that the crowd was way better than I made it out to be and that the crowd was terrible for those two teams. Bottom line is who cares? The stands were fairly full and if you added the people that were standing around the field it probably would have filled the stands up... To me that is a good crowd for a scrimmage. I also thought Trinity traveled really well and I had a lot of fun chatting up their fans during the game. The one thing that I thought was really cool is the amount of mutual respect that both programs and their fans had for each other.
As I said last night, Highlands was beat by a better team. In no way does that mean I think Highlands isn't going to dominate NKy and win another state title... In fact, I like their chances even more after watching them last night. I feel more confident than ever with the No. 1 in NKy ranking I gave them. Trinity was by far the best team Highlands will face all season and that includes their road to a 20th state title. So that should answer the e-mailer who said I was, "watching another game if I thought Highlands sucked."
Now lets get on with the breakdown...
- Let's start with a few things on Trinity... I don't know all their players and this is an NKy blog so I'll make it brief. You've probably heard or read about James Quick already from last night. The sophomore sensation from Trinity was nothing short of unbelievable. I had seen him on the hardwood a lot in AAU before (where he's good as well and would be recruited if he wasn't going to play college football) but this was my first time watching him on the gridiron. It was worth going to the scrimmage just to see him. He is a high-major recruit and will play at a big-time BCS program. His athleticism is off the charts and he is dominating the opposition right now with his athleticism alone. When he starts going to these camps and really starts honing some of the finer skills at the wide receiver position look out.
- At QB I liked the Rocks young sophomore Travis Wright. His arm strength will need to improve and I would expect it to over the next couple of seasons but he is a good athlete who can make some big plays with his feet. He seemed to see the field pretty well for a young guy and really wasn't overwhelmed at all. I really like the way he carries himself. That alone goes a long way in a winning program like Trinity. He'll end up being a good one.
- As for the rest of Trinity's offense they had an offensive line that I thought looked really good. They gave Wright plenty of protection for the majority of the game and they really got a push up front in the run game especially early on. Their running back was a workhorse looking type back... Really thick kid that punished tacklers and ran hard. He had enough speed to break away and had some ability to make people miss. There's no doubt that the Rocks are going to light up some scoreboards this year.
- Defensively Trinity wasn't as impressive, though they were solid. Their secondary is going to struggle with the long ball. Their cornerbacks lack top end speed and they seem to have trouble with finding the receivers after the first 10 yards. The front guys were up and down during the game. Highlands at times seemed to dominate up front, but Trinity also had some big time stuffs at the line of scrimmage when Highlands needed a 3rd or 4th and short. I really like Trinity's linebacking corp and think those guys will be good ones. They tackled well and they did a good job in coverage.
- Overall I think Trinity benefited every bit as much as Highlands did from this scrimmage. They went up against a team that had comparable talent and athleticism and a team that exposed their deficiencies. They'll have tons of stuff to look at on film as a coaching staff from this game.
Now for the Birds...
- Let's start with the brightest of bright spots last night and that was QB Patrick Towles. He was very very good. In fact the Trinity fans I was sitting with made comments such as, "That No. 8 is killing us. They have a great QB. That QB is the best Trinity has ever faced since I've been watching. It feels like we're playing against an SEC quarterback...." and that's just a few of the comments I heard and wrote down. After a bad first possession for the Birds, Towles got it going on their second chance when he lofted a perfect 44-yard pass to Austin Sheehan that a Trinity defender had to stop by tackling Sheehan in the endzone for pass interference. On their third possession it only took a play to score as Towles found Daniel Gold for an 81-yard touchdown strike that was a really impressive throw by Towles. Late in the second quarter Towles led a drive with a 13-yard run and later a 36-yard touchdown pass to Sheehan that was again perfectly thrown. On the first possession in the second half Towles had another big completion to Sheehan where he hit him on a 50-yarder that placed the ball on Trinity's 21. The other thing that made Towles so impressive is despite his huge frame and cannon of an arm, he can flat out run. He had a few big first down runs and a 13-yard touchdown scamper. VIEW VIDEO OF TOWLES 13-YD TD The biggest struggle he really had was the screen pass, which I'm sure Mueller and co. are not concerned about. He just couldn't get the right touch on the lob to the running backs. He seemed to be lofting it a little too much and leaving it hanging in the air for too long. That problem will be fixed with a few more repetitions and when they get it down it will kill defenses. Towles didn't throw any interceptions, though he did make one mistake that he threw right to Quick who was playing safety for Trinity but he dropped it. I really liked his decision making and his reads. He only threw three balls that he "missed" his receiver downfield on in my opinion and if you are connecting on more downfield passes than not then that is pretty impressive.
- At running back Cory Compton saw most of the carries. I was really surprised that he didn't split a lot more of them with Jordan Streeter or Jake True, but I was also really impressed with how good Compton looked. I always saw Compton as a hard-nosed downhill runner... and he is. What I didn't realize is the quickness that he showed last night. He still showed those hard-nosed 3-5-yard runs that he plowed his way through tacklers for, but he also showed the ability to make a quick move and then breakaway from everyone in particular on his 71-yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter. I thought he had a really good night and he will have a big season numbers-wise. I'll be interested to see if they start splitting carries a little more with any of the other guys for a change of pace.
- The guys in charge of opening up holes for the running game and protecting Towles was probably the biggest question mark heading into last night. The Bluebirds starting offensive line looked like this: Keenan Weigand LT, Robby Nienaber LG, Ryan Hahn C, Austin Trapp RG, Aaron Robinson RT. Keeping in mind that they were facing a solid defensive line including a top player nationally in the class of 2013 in defensive end Jason Hatcher, I thought that the Birds front-line held their own pretty well. They kept Towles pretty clean for the most part and out of the four or five sacks Trinity had probably three of them were on coverage sacks where Towles was back there for 6 to 8 seconds. I also thought Robert Sanders did a really nice job at LG and LT when he came into the game. I'm not sure about the Bluebirds depth after those six guys but I thought they really held their own. Again in a game against most NKy competition they are going to have their way and Towles will be sitting back there untouched.
- At WR the Birds have their first three spots set. Austin Sheehan, Daniel Gold and Brian Gall were the main three guys that received most of the targets. Sheehan continues to impress every chance he gets. He caught a 36-yard touchdown during the game but also had two other catches where he found separation from a DB and a third where he was tackled in the endzone on a long ball from Towles to draw a pass interference call. As good as Sheehan was I don't know that you could say there is a decided No. 1 or favorite target between him and Gold. Gold also had a 81-yard touchdown catch where he showed great acceleration to run past the defender while the ball was in the air and continue down the sidelines after the catch for the score. Gall isn't getting quite the amount of targets on the deep balls but he seems to run solid routes underneath and has some shiftiness in the open field.
- One thing that the Highlands offense seems to be struggling with... and this goes back to the 7-on-7 with Holmes is the intermediate passing game. They can't be stopped on the deep ball, but they are really struggling with getting guys open when they need to complete a 3rd and medium distance. I think part of it can be contributed to the fact that both Trinity and Holmes had fairly athletic defenses that really make you work to get open underneath. I also think that Trinity was able to apply some pressure to Towles at times that made it tough to get really comfortable in the pocket and pick apart the defense. Instead he was rolling out a fair amount and having to look downfield while buying time. I'm not saying it's necessarily a concern but it will definitely be something I have my eyes on to start the season... Then again if they can just throw it downfield and score a touchdown do they really need to complete 8-yard passes?
- Defensively it wasn't the effort the Birds wanted obviously as they gave up 49 points. That being said by no means are they panicking right now in Ft. Thomas about their defense. They'll be fine. There are two key things to keep in mind about last night. Trinity had the best offensive line the Birds will face. I really thought the big guys up front did a good job for the Rocks and they had good size. The other thing is Drake Bruns sat out nursing an injury that I'm told is "not serious" as a precautionary measure. Bruns is division-I caliber and might be the best defensive back in the area. He was definitely missed.
- Up front the Birds didn't do a great job. They got knocked off the ball a fair amount and they really didn't tackle too well. There were some nice plays throughout, but there were some missed tackles and "bad" plays as well. One guy that stood out in his time on the field was Devin Bruns. Bruns was playing nose and had a series where he burst through Trinity's line to make a tackle for a two yard loss on their running back and on the following play sacked the quarterback forcing a fumble that was recovered by Brendan Sullivan. The Birds shuffled a lot of guys in and out on the front line. Austin Hollingsworth had some good plays while he was at DE. Chad Bowden had a few nice tackles at DE as well.
- The linebacking corp was OK, but really didn't tackle well... and well, you know, that's kind of important on defense. In reality it wasn't just the linebackers but the entire defensive secondary didn't tackle well either. I thought Brendan Sullivan really stood out and Luke Dressman also had a nice game. Sullivan does a great job of using his strength to shed blockers and then get to the ball. Reid Schroder probably had the biggest hit out of the linebackers when he stoned one of Trinity's running backs at the line of scrimmage. Billy Huddleston was one of the few guys who seemed to get some consistent penetration.
- In the secondary the Birds really didn't have a great game. Abner had the unfortunate challenge of being matched up with Quick and he struggled early as Quick scored on a 27-yard score on the first possession and then Abner saw the ball deflect through his hands into a Trinity receivers' hands for a touchdown. He made some adjustments though and played much better later in the game. He had the hit of the night when he absolutely rocked a Trinity receiver right after the reception, causing the ball to fly up in the air and fall incomplete. Blake Schutte had the lone interception of the night when Trinity's QB fired a fastball right at him. As a whole though, the secondary looked a step or two slow and really did a poor job tackling. I'm sure they'll fix that and again... they aren't going to have to try and tackle James Quick every week.
- On special teams Adam Weinel was exceptional. He handled both the kicking and punting duties. He was perfect on PAT's, had a touchback on every kickoff and had some booming punts of over 50-yards. On kickoff return the Bluebirds had Jordan Streeter and Kevin Duenas returning kicks to start out. In the second half, Jake True took Duenas' spot and did some returning as well. I thought True looked the best as he fielded them all cleanly and was always looking to sprint to the 20-yard-line first and foremost and then worried about finding the seam and breaking a long return after that.
I want to start by clarifying a few things that I said last night and already got emails about this morning. For starters, I made a comment that these two teams were trying to win. I did not say that they never substituted. Both teams had guys subbing in and out but neither team had mass substitutions on the field at one time and there were always starters sprinkled in. It made the game a lot of fun to be honest and I'm glad it was played the way it was by both coaches. I thought they each did an excellent job of working on what they needed to work on and seeing the kids they needed to see in "real-game" situations, while still playing to win.
I was asked a few times already about the crowd. Again like I said I thought it was a really good crowd for a scrimmage game. I've never been to a scrimmage with a crowd that big, so to me it was good. I've had emails on both sides already telling me that the crowd was way better than I made it out to be and that the crowd was terrible for those two teams. Bottom line is who cares? The stands were fairly full and if you added the people that were standing around the field it probably would have filled the stands up... To me that is a good crowd for a scrimmage. I also thought Trinity traveled really well and I had a lot of fun chatting up their fans during the game. The one thing that I thought was really cool is the amount of mutual respect that both programs and their fans had for each other.
As I said last night, Highlands was beat by a better team. In no way does that mean I think Highlands isn't going to dominate NKy and win another state title... In fact, I like their chances even more after watching them last night. I feel more confident than ever with the No. 1 in NKy ranking I gave them. Trinity was by far the best team Highlands will face all season and that includes their road to a 20th state title. So that should answer the e-mailer who said I was, "watching another game if I thought Highlands sucked."
Now lets get on with the breakdown...
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| Trinity WR James Quick |
- At QB I liked the Rocks young sophomore Travis Wright. His arm strength will need to improve and I would expect it to over the next couple of seasons but he is a good athlete who can make some big plays with his feet. He seemed to see the field pretty well for a young guy and really wasn't overwhelmed at all. I really like the way he carries himself. That alone goes a long way in a winning program like Trinity. He'll end up being a good one.
- As for the rest of Trinity's offense they had an offensive line that I thought looked really good. They gave Wright plenty of protection for the majority of the game and they really got a push up front in the run game especially early on. Their running back was a workhorse looking type back... Really thick kid that punished tacklers and ran hard. He had enough speed to break away and had some ability to make people miss. There's no doubt that the Rocks are going to light up some scoreboards this year.
- Defensively Trinity wasn't as impressive, though they were solid. Their secondary is going to struggle with the long ball. Their cornerbacks lack top end speed and they seem to have trouble with finding the receivers after the first 10 yards. The front guys were up and down during the game. Highlands at times seemed to dominate up front, but Trinity also had some big time stuffs at the line of scrimmage when Highlands needed a 3rd or 4th and short. I really like Trinity's linebacking corp and think those guys will be good ones. They tackled well and they did a good job in coverage.
- Overall I think Trinity benefited every bit as much as Highlands did from this scrimmage. They went up against a team that had comparable talent and athleticism and a team that exposed their deficiencies. They'll have tons of stuff to look at on film as a coaching staff from this game.
Now for the Birds...
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| Highlands QB Pat Towles |
- At running back Cory Compton saw most of the carries. I was really surprised that he didn't split a lot more of them with Jordan Streeter or Jake True, but I was also really impressed with how good Compton looked. I always saw Compton as a hard-nosed downhill runner... and he is. What I didn't realize is the quickness that he showed last night. He still showed those hard-nosed 3-5-yard runs that he plowed his way through tacklers for, but he also showed the ability to make a quick move and then breakaway from everyone in particular on his 71-yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter. I thought he had a really good night and he will have a big season numbers-wise. I'll be interested to see if they start splitting carries a little more with any of the other guys for a change of pace.
- The guys in charge of opening up holes for the running game and protecting Towles was probably the biggest question mark heading into last night. The Bluebirds starting offensive line looked like this: Keenan Weigand LT, Robby Nienaber LG, Ryan Hahn C, Austin Trapp RG, Aaron Robinson RT. Keeping in mind that they were facing a solid defensive line including a top player nationally in the class of 2013 in defensive end Jason Hatcher, I thought that the Birds front-line held their own pretty well. They kept Towles pretty clean for the most part and out of the four or five sacks Trinity had probably three of them were on coverage sacks where Towles was back there for 6 to 8 seconds. I also thought Robert Sanders did a really nice job at LG and LT when he came into the game. I'm not sure about the Bluebirds depth after those six guys but I thought they really held their own. Again in a game against most NKy competition they are going to have their way and Towles will be sitting back there untouched.
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| Highlands WR Daniel Gold |
- One thing that the Highlands offense seems to be struggling with... and this goes back to the 7-on-7 with Holmes is the intermediate passing game. They can't be stopped on the deep ball, but they are really struggling with getting guys open when they need to complete a 3rd and medium distance. I think part of it can be contributed to the fact that both Trinity and Holmes had fairly athletic defenses that really make you work to get open underneath. I also think that Trinity was able to apply some pressure to Towles at times that made it tough to get really comfortable in the pocket and pick apart the defense. Instead he was rolling out a fair amount and having to look downfield while buying time. I'm not saying it's necessarily a concern but it will definitely be something I have my eyes on to start the season... Then again if they can just throw it downfield and score a touchdown do they really need to complete 8-yard passes?
- Defensively it wasn't the effort the Birds wanted obviously as they gave up 49 points. That being said by no means are they panicking right now in Ft. Thomas about their defense. They'll be fine. There are two key things to keep in mind about last night. Trinity had the best offensive line the Birds will face. I really thought the big guys up front did a good job for the Rocks and they had good size. The other thing is Drake Bruns sat out nursing an injury that I'm told is "not serious" as a precautionary measure. Bruns is division-I caliber and might be the best defensive back in the area. He was definitely missed.
- Up front the Birds didn't do a great job. They got knocked off the ball a fair amount and they really didn't tackle too well. There were some nice plays throughout, but there were some missed tackles and "bad" plays as well. One guy that stood out in his time on the field was Devin Bruns. Bruns was playing nose and had a series where he burst through Trinity's line to make a tackle for a two yard loss on their running back and on the following play sacked the quarterback forcing a fumble that was recovered by Brendan Sullivan. The Birds shuffled a lot of guys in and out on the front line. Austin Hollingsworth had some good plays while he was at DE. Chad Bowden had a few nice tackles at DE as well.
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| Highlands LB Brendan Sullivan |
- In the secondary the Birds really didn't have a great game. Abner had the unfortunate challenge of being matched up with Quick and he struggled early as Quick scored on a 27-yard score on the first possession and then Abner saw the ball deflect through his hands into a Trinity receivers' hands for a touchdown. He made some adjustments though and played much better later in the game. He had the hit of the night when he absolutely rocked a Trinity receiver right after the reception, causing the ball to fly up in the air and fall incomplete. Blake Schutte had the lone interception of the night when Trinity's QB fired a fastball right at him. As a whole though, the secondary looked a step or two slow and really did a poor job tackling. I'm sure they'll fix that and again... they aren't going to have to try and tackle James Quick every week.
- On special teams Adam Weinel was exceptional. He handled both the kicking and punting duties. He was perfect on PAT's, had a touchback on every kickoff and had some booming punts of over 50-yards. On kickoff return the Bluebirds had Jordan Streeter and Kevin Duenas returning kicks to start out. In the second half, Jake True took Duenas' spot and did some returning as well. I thought True looked the best as he fielded them all cleanly and was always looking to sprint to the 20-yard-line first and foremost and then worried about finding the seam and breaking a long return after that.
Trinity 49 Highlands 42 - Quick Notes
Here is some quick post game thoughts and a little recap. I will have my full breakdown up sometime tomorrow including strength and weaknesses analysis, individual player thoughts and how Highlands will fare against their NKy competition.
Recap:
Trinity jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first few minutes of the game with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Travis Wright to James Quick and 30-yard touchdown pass that deflected through the hands of Highlands' Austin Abner and into a waiting Trinity's receiver hands in the endzone.
Highlands responded on their second possession when Cory Compton found pay-dirt from four yards out. Trinity would go on to score on their first five possessions before Highlands' defense slowed them down for the remainder of the first half. Highlands meanwhile was able to score on a few quick strikes late in the first half to cut Trinity's lead to one possession at halftime, 35-28.
In the second half, Highlands would strike first midway through the third quarter when Towles scored on a 13-yard touchdown run after starting on Trinity's 25-yard-line following a fumble. Trinity immediately answered though with a 64-yard catch-and-run by Quick. Trinity would then extend their lead to 42-35 right before the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the most defense of the night. There was only one touchdown scored in the fourth and it came on a short Compton run for the Bluebirds. Highlands had one last chance where they had the ball with just over two minutes remaining in Trinity territory but both Austin Sheehan and Daniel Gold were out of the game with cramps and the Birds turned it over on downs when Towles misfired on 4th and 8. Trinity took over with 1:45 left and ran the remaining clock out holding on to win 49-42.
Highlands Scoring:
1Q - Compton 4yd Run (Towles 2pt)
1Q - Towles to Gold 81yd Pass (missed PAT)
2Q - Compton 71yd Run (Weinel)
2Q - Towles to Sheehan 36yd Pass (Weinel)
3Q - Towles 13yd Run (Weinel)
4Q - Compton 3yd Run (Weinel)
Thoughts:
- If you didn't attend this game you missed a treat. First of all, it ended up being a nice night out. A little muggy but much cooler than it's been recently. Second, most were wondering it this would be treated like an NFL preseason game with substitutes playing most of the downs and both teams just treating it as a glorified scrimmage... That wasn't the case. At all. It was one of the better high school games I'll see this year without a doubt. Third, the guy pictured to the right is Trinity sophomore receiver James Quick... If you weren't there you missed out on watching this kid. WOW!
- I was impressed by the crowd. Trinity came very very strong. It wasn't a sellout but the stands were fairly full and Highlands even had some students there shirtless with body paint and vuvuzelas.
- As for the game, the better team won. Trinity looked to be a little bit deeper than the Birds and in my opinion they were the more impressive of the two teams. Not to say they were dominant or would beat Highlands in a rematch in three weeks, but tonight they were more impressive and are a little better than the Birds.
- They always say in the preseason the defense is always further along than the offense, but it couldn't have been further from the truth with these two teams. Both looked very strong on offense but a little shaky in certain areas on defense. Obviously with 91 total points scored it was an offensive night for both teams.
- I'll break down Highlands' defense in detail tomorrow but there was a lot of mixing and matching going on especially up front for the Bluebirds. My guess is they are still trying to find the balance between having enough bulk to stop the run but getting enough speed to rush the passer. The good news for the Birds is that was the best offensive line that they will face all season.
- Highlands had some injuries on the defensive side of the ball though also. I don't know all the guys who were out or how much they would have been playing, but I do know they were without one starter who is going to be a huge part of their defense and that is defensive back Drake Bruns. I'm told Bruns' injury isn't serious and he would have played in a real game, but no sense in prolonging the recovery for a scrimmage.
- There were a few cramps throughout the game (more for Highlands than Trinity) but for the most part I was very impressed by the level of conditioning by both teams. Despite being a little bit cooler it was still a humid night and this early on and with as much as both teams' starters played I would have expected a ton of cramping.
- Offensively for Highlands, I'll just say this... No one and I mean NO ONE is going to stop them deep this season. Towles throws the long ball with a ridiculous amount of accuracy and they have the receivers to put up some huge numbers. Again I'll get into a lot more detail about the offense in my breakdown post tomorrow.
- If I were these teams I would play this scrimmage every year. There is no one that could test each other better year in and year out than these two and they'll never meet in the regular season so there's no reason that they can't scrimmage. This was a really fun game to watch and I think both teams are going to be much better prepared in their first games for having played this one.
Recap:
Trinity jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first few minutes of the game with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Travis Wright to James Quick and 30-yard touchdown pass that deflected through the hands of Highlands' Austin Abner and into a waiting Trinity's receiver hands in the endzone.
Highlands responded on their second possession when Cory Compton found pay-dirt from four yards out. Trinity would go on to score on their first five possessions before Highlands' defense slowed them down for the remainder of the first half. Highlands meanwhile was able to score on a few quick strikes late in the first half to cut Trinity's lead to one possession at halftime, 35-28.
In the second half, Highlands would strike first midway through the third quarter when Towles scored on a 13-yard touchdown run after starting on Trinity's 25-yard-line following a fumble. Trinity immediately answered though with a 64-yard catch-and-run by Quick. Trinity would then extend their lead to 42-35 right before the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the most defense of the night. There was only one touchdown scored in the fourth and it came on a short Compton run for the Bluebirds. Highlands had one last chance where they had the ball with just over two minutes remaining in Trinity territory but both Austin Sheehan and Daniel Gold were out of the game with cramps and the Birds turned it over on downs when Towles misfired on 4th and 8. Trinity took over with 1:45 left and ran the remaining clock out holding on to win 49-42.
Highlands Scoring:
1Q - Compton 4yd Run (Towles 2pt)
1Q - Towles to Gold 81yd Pass (missed PAT)
2Q - Compton 71yd Run (Weinel)
2Q - Towles to Sheehan 36yd Pass (Weinel)
3Q - Towles 13yd Run (Weinel)
4Q - Compton 3yd Run (Weinel)
Thoughts:
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| Trinity Sophomore WR James Quick |
- I was impressed by the crowd. Trinity came very very strong. It wasn't a sellout but the stands were fairly full and Highlands even had some students there shirtless with body paint and vuvuzelas.
- As for the game, the better team won. Trinity looked to be a little bit deeper than the Birds and in my opinion they were the more impressive of the two teams. Not to say they were dominant or would beat Highlands in a rematch in three weeks, but tonight they were more impressive and are a little better than the Birds.
- They always say in the preseason the defense is always further along than the offense, but it couldn't have been further from the truth with these two teams. Both looked very strong on offense but a little shaky in certain areas on defense. Obviously with 91 total points scored it was an offensive night for both teams.
- I'll break down Highlands' defense in detail tomorrow but there was a lot of mixing and matching going on especially up front for the Bluebirds. My guess is they are still trying to find the balance between having enough bulk to stop the run but getting enough speed to rush the passer. The good news for the Birds is that was the best offensive line that they will face all season.
- Highlands had some injuries on the defensive side of the ball though also. I don't know all the guys who were out or how much they would have been playing, but I do know they were without one starter who is going to be a huge part of their defense and that is defensive back Drake Bruns. I'm told Bruns' injury isn't serious and he would have played in a real game, but no sense in prolonging the recovery for a scrimmage.
- There were a few cramps throughout the game (more for Highlands than Trinity) but for the most part I was very impressed by the level of conditioning by both teams. Despite being a little bit cooler it was still a humid night and this early on and with as much as both teams' starters played I would have expected a ton of cramping.
- Offensively for Highlands, I'll just say this... No one and I mean NO ONE is going to stop them deep this season. Towles throws the long ball with a ridiculous amount of accuracy and they have the receivers to put up some huge numbers. Again I'll get into a lot more detail about the offense in my breakdown post tomorrow.
- If I were these teams I would play this scrimmage every year. There is no one that could test each other better year in and year out than these two and they'll never meet in the regular season so there's no reason that they can't scrimmage. This was a really fun game to watch and I think both teams are going to be much better prepared in their first games for having played this one.
NKy Players Honored on All-TriState Team
TriStateFootball.com has released it's All-TriState Team and there are several NKy guys who received some love.
Keep in mind that TriStateFootball.com covers over 130 schools in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, so NKy guys were competing with the big boys like Elder, St. Xavier and Colerain when it comes to being nominated. That being said it's a great honor for these kids to be recognized.
Here they are:
First Team All-TriState:
(ATH) Zeke Pike - Dixie (Pictured)
(DB) Drake Bruns - Highlands
Second Team All-TriState:
(RB) Travis Elliot - Ryle
(TE) Trevan Brown - Boone
(OL) Jake Geisler - NewCath
(OL) Tommy Courtney - Holmes
(DT) Troy Timmerman - CovCath
Honorable Mention:
(QB) Chad Lawrence - Simon Kenton
(QB) Conner Hempel - Ryle
(RB) D'Vontae Bradley - Cooper
(RB) Chris Kelly - NewCath
(WR) DeSean Peterson - Holmes
(OL) Rick Allen - Bellevue
(LB) Austin Baldwin - Simon Kenton
(DB) Austin Abner - Highlands
(DB) Sage Powell - Simon Kenton
(K) Adam Weinel - Highlands
(KR) Chris Yates - Ludlow
View the Entire All-TriState Team
Keep in mind that TriStateFootball.com covers over 130 schools in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, so NKy guys were competing with the big boys like Elder, St. Xavier and Colerain when it comes to being nominated. That being said it's a great honor for these kids to be recognized.
Here they are:
First Team All-TriState:(ATH) Zeke Pike - Dixie (Pictured)
(DB) Drake Bruns - Highlands
Second Team All-TriState:
(RB) Travis Elliot - Ryle
(TE) Trevan Brown - Boone
(OL) Jake Geisler - NewCath
(OL) Tommy Courtney - Holmes
(DT) Troy Timmerman - CovCath
Honorable Mention:
(QB) Chad Lawrence - Simon Kenton
(QB) Conner Hempel - Ryle
(RB) D'Vontae Bradley - Cooper
(RB) Chris Kelly - NewCath
(WR) DeSean Peterson - Holmes
(OL) Rick Allen - Bellevue
(LB) Austin Baldwin - Simon Kenton
(DB) Austin Abner - Highlands
(DB) Sage Powell - Simon Kenton
(K) Adam Weinel - Highlands
(KR) Chris Yates - Ludlow
View the Entire All-TriState Team
Conner's Smith hoping to sneak-up on NKy
"We've got a lot of roles to fill," the senior-to-be said. "We're just taking it a day at a time and we've really got to be humble with it."
In reality Conner's chances to succeed this year might be more of an unknown than anything. Again, when there are 22 seniors playing no one gets to see what kind of talent is in the younger grades. Even for a leader on this year's team like Smith, he's really getting his first chance at varsity football.
"It's a big time for us to step up," Smith said. "A lot of people are looking around saying what's Conner going to be like this year and we just have to surprise a lot of people. "
It's probably fitting that the biggest shoes to fill are the ones that Smith is currently trying to slide his feet into. Former quarterback Nick West, who is now a preferred walk-on with Cincinnati, was a dynamic play-maker for the last two seasons under center for the Cougars. West accounted for 42 touchdowns a season ago (20 rushing and 22 passing) and also racked up over 3,600 all-purpose yards. Smith knows that to get the offense back to where it was, everyone will have to be on the same page.
"We stay after practice everyday for a good 20-30 minutes just to go over the routine plays and stuff we need to get down," Smith said. "It's really played a big factor in how we've done in 7-on-7."
When watching one of Conner's recent 7-on-7's you could tell that Smith at least has one similar trait to West, and that is his ability to run. In fact, Smith is even a little bit quicker than West and getting him out of the pocket where he can make plays will be a big part of the Cougars' offense. That was evident in the 7-on-7 as about 85-percent of the plays ran had Smith rolling out to make his throws.
"It's more my style to roll out. I'm not a pocket passer," Smith said after the scrimmage. "I trust my legs and know they can get it done."
The other big concern for this team that will have a big part in how successful Smith can be is the offensive line. The Cougars' signal-caller isn't worried about that though. He quickly points to two returners off of last year's team that will be a big help in bolstering the line.
"That's where it all starts out. We're looking good. We've got Max (Ingram) and Johnny (Gripshover) coming back. Look for us to have a good O-Line this year."
Again, Smith understands why people aren't expecting a good season in Hebron, but it doesn't mean he agrees with them. Given the choice though, he wouldn't change it.
"I definitely like it. I'd rather have that then have high expectations," He said. "It gives us that opportunity to make people like, 'Whoa, where did Conner come from?' We just have to use that as motivation and work hard everyday."
Wednesday Notes - 8/3/10
A few random things to get caught up on today so it's time for a notes post...
- First Ryan Ernst has been posting about realignment for the last week if you haven't been on his blog. He broke down where all the schools would fit in based on enrollment. Check that out here - Ernst: Kentucky Football Alignment. Obviously that's not how it will end up because teams will play up. Kind of interesting that Cooper could drop all the way to 4A if they wanted. Anyone else have any thoughts on that?
- In some basketball recruiting news that's only loosely related to NKy...Stevie Taylor, point guard for Lincoln High School in Gahanna, Ohio, committed to Ohio University yesterday. Stevie is a high major point guard in every facet of his game except for his size. Anyways, the 2011 recruit should be a great addition to the Bobcats and it will definitely be nice to see Ricardo Johnson and him take the court together. Ohio could be on their way to a few more NCAA tournament births in the near future.
- File this one under the I suck department... Last week I was talking about the Campbell County backup quarterback and was saying it was sophomore Tyler Durham. It is in fact not Durham but instead senior-to-be Jake Ritter. I apologize to both.
- If you missed it over the weekend I was tweeting that the NKy Bulldogs won the USSSA National Championship in Ft. Wayne. This is big time for the Bulldogs and great exposure for the kids on that team. Again the NKy kids who play on that team are Bobby Stauffer and Todd Vollet of Ryle, Tyler Hodges and Jacob Flesch of Conner, Travis Montgomery of Boone, Jack Stewart of Highlands, Chris Hayes of Holmes, and Matt Trammel of Dixie. Robbie Barber from Scott County is the lone non-NKy kid on the team. There should be an up date coming on a couple of those kids recruitments here in the near future as a few of them are starting to garner some looks.
- Over at TriStateFootball I had posted my 1A Conference Preview but the 1A coverage continues and there is some great content by our other contributors. Greg Shoemaker visited Bishop Brossart and talked to Coach Reinhart for this Q&A, then interviewed Kyle Reinhart, Jesse Orth and John Schack for this video and finally Dan Clasgens has a feature story on Beechwood's Joey Staten.
- If you're getting pumped up like I am for the start of the season at the Skyline Showdown at Nippert Stadium here in a few weeks (or you just like coneys) then this might be up your alley... Tom Gamble and his crew are hosting a Skyline Coaches Tour for the teams that are going to be playing in the Showdown. You missed CovCath which was yesterday (Aug 3) but you can still catch the Simon Kenton stop with Coach Jeff Marksberry at the Skyline on Declaration Road in Independence next Tuesday (Aug 10). Here's the complete list of showdown stops - Skyline Chili Coaches Tailgate Tour
- TriStateFootball has also announced the dates for our preview shows. Wednesday (Aug 11) will be the first NKy show at Longnecks in Wilder. That show will feature Brossart, Bellevue, Highlands, Ryle, Simon Kenton and NewCath. The second show will be a night later on Thursday (Aug 12) at Willie's in Covington. That show will feature Beechwood, CovCath and Holmes, as well as some teams from across the river. Anyone is more than welcome to attend and listen in on these interviews with the players and coaches while you eat some great food.
- Finally an update on some other NKy kids on the AAU circuit... The Shining Star team with Kellen Smith, Jake Geisler, Jake Thelen traveled down to Orlando last week. The team went 6-3 during the two events that they played in and all three losses came against top programs with elite talent. Smith had a good showing down at the event and perhaps his best performance came in a one-point win over North Carolina Force where he had 10 points and seven assists. Thelen also had a good showing at the event scoring in double-figures in four out of the nine games against good competition.
- Smith made a visit to Saginaw Valley State (DII) and enjoyed that. He has an official visit planned there in September. He holds an offer from them. Samford (DI) is looking to get into the mix in his recruitment a little bit after Orlando. Also University of Charleston WV (DII) has contacted him. Smith will have his pick of DIII schools, will have some great DII offers and there still might be a DI school that decides they could use his services as a pure point guard in the age of everybody is a "combo" or "scoring" guard. The good thing about his game is you know what you're going to get every time out as he plays with a level of consistency not often seen at this level.
- Geisler is still getting a lot of big DII looks. Ashland is one of the schools that has been really active in his recruitment. There are still a few DI schools taking a look at him. Wright State is one of the teams who have been watching him recently. I think there will be a school or two in the MAC that regret not taking him if he ends up at a DII school.
- Thelen really helped himself in front of the college coaches in Orlando. That should get him some more attention in the recruiting process here in the near future. There are some solid DII schools who were looking at CovCath's big man, including St. Ansulum in Boston. Be on the lookout for some updates on Thelen's recruitment in the near future as things start to heat up.
- First Ryan Ernst has been posting about realignment for the last week if you haven't been on his blog. He broke down where all the schools would fit in based on enrollment. Check that out here - Ernst: Kentucky Football Alignment. Obviously that's not how it will end up because teams will play up. Kind of interesting that Cooper could drop all the way to 4A if they wanted. Anyone else have any thoughts on that?
- In some basketball recruiting news that's only loosely related to NKy...Stevie Taylor, point guard for Lincoln High School in Gahanna, Ohio, committed to Ohio University yesterday. Stevie is a high major point guard in every facet of his game except for his size. Anyways, the 2011 recruit should be a great addition to the Bobcats and it will definitely be nice to see Ricardo Johnson and him take the court together. Ohio could be on their way to a few more NCAA tournament births in the near future.
- File this one under the I suck department... Last week I was talking about the Campbell County backup quarterback and was saying it was sophomore Tyler Durham. It is in fact not Durham but instead senior-to-be Jake Ritter. I apologize to both.
- If you missed it over the weekend I was tweeting that the NKy Bulldogs won the USSSA National Championship in Ft. Wayne. This is big time for the Bulldogs and great exposure for the kids on that team. Again the NKy kids who play on that team are Bobby Stauffer and Todd Vollet of Ryle, Tyler Hodges and Jacob Flesch of Conner, Travis Montgomery of Boone, Jack Stewart of Highlands, Chris Hayes of Holmes, and Matt Trammel of Dixie. Robbie Barber from Scott County is the lone non-NKy kid on the team. There should be an up date coming on a couple of those kids recruitments here in the near future as a few of them are starting to garner some looks.
- Over at TriStateFootball I had posted my 1A Conference Preview but the 1A coverage continues and there is some great content by our other contributors. Greg Shoemaker visited Bishop Brossart and talked to Coach Reinhart for this Q&A, then interviewed Kyle Reinhart, Jesse Orth and John Schack for this video and finally Dan Clasgens has a feature story on Beechwood's Joey Staten.
- If you're getting pumped up like I am for the start of the season at the Skyline Showdown at Nippert Stadium here in a few weeks (or you just like coneys) then this might be up your alley... Tom Gamble and his crew are hosting a Skyline Coaches Tour for the teams that are going to be playing in the Showdown. You missed CovCath which was yesterday (Aug 3) but you can still catch the Simon Kenton stop with Coach Jeff Marksberry at the Skyline on Declaration Road in Independence next Tuesday (Aug 10). Here's the complete list of showdown stops - Skyline Chili Coaches Tailgate Tour
- TriStateFootball has also announced the dates for our preview shows. Wednesday (Aug 11) will be the first NKy show at Longnecks in Wilder. That show will feature Brossart, Bellevue, Highlands, Ryle, Simon Kenton and NewCath. The second show will be a night later on Thursday (Aug 12) at Willie's in Covington. That show will feature Beechwood, CovCath and Holmes, as well as some teams from across the river. Anyone is more than welcome to attend and listen in on these interviews with the players and coaches while you eat some great food.
- Finally an update on some other NKy kids on the AAU circuit... The Shining Star team with Kellen Smith, Jake Geisler, Jake Thelen traveled down to Orlando last week. The team went 6-3 during the two events that they played in and all three losses came against top programs with elite talent. Smith had a good showing down at the event and perhaps his best performance came in a one-point win over North Carolina Force where he had 10 points and seven assists. Thelen also had a good showing at the event scoring in double-figures in four out of the nine games against good competition.
- Smith made a visit to Saginaw Valley State (DII) and enjoyed that. He has an official visit planned there in September. He holds an offer from them. Samford (DI) is looking to get into the mix in his recruitment a little bit after Orlando. Also University of Charleston WV (DII) has contacted him. Smith will have his pick of DIII schools, will have some great DII offers and there still might be a DI school that decides they could use his services as a pure point guard in the age of everybody is a "combo" or "scoring" guard. The good thing about his game is you know what you're going to get every time out as he plays with a level of consistency not often seen at this level.
- Geisler is still getting a lot of big DII looks. Ashland is one of the schools that has been really active in his recruitment. There are still a few DI schools taking a look at him. Wright State is one of the teams who have been watching him recently. I think there will be a school or two in the MAC that regret not taking him if he ends up at a DII school.
- Thelen really helped himself in front of the college coaches in Orlando. That should get him some more attention in the recruiting process here in the near future. There are some solid DII schools who were looking at CovCath's big man, including St. Ansulum in Boston. Be on the lookout for some updates on Thelen's recruitment in the near future as things start to heat up.
Holmes' Oden ready for breakout year
Oden's season was a personally successful one, but the team reaped the benefits as well. Holmes went 9-3 and won a district championship in their first year of 4A football. The taste of success brought the players back into the weight room during the off-season forming what Oden called, "a bigger team than we ever had before."
"We had a lot of people in the weight room and the work ethic was great. All the young guys came out," Oden said. "Everybody just gets in there and works to their full potential."
While the result can be seen throughout the team, Oden is the poster boy for their off-season weight program. Last year Oden came in at around 5-foot-9, 160-pounds. His running style relies on his speed and agility but there's no doubt that the, "like 15-20 pounds" that he gained from his workout plan will benefit him. In 7-on-7 scrimmages, the weight didn't slow him down at all... In fact, he might have been quicker. Despite not feeling the advantages of the added weight on offense with no tacklers in 7-on-7, he did feel the benefits in another way.
Oden was "lockdown" good at the cornerback position in scrimmages against Campbell County and Highlands. He could notice the difference the extra bulk made on that side of the ball.
"I can notice it. It seems kind of easier when I jam the receiver he backs up and I knock him off his route," he said. "...and they usually don't throw the ball to that receiver."
Oden's play on the defensive side of the ball looked like he was taking it personally. As a matter of fact, most of the Holmes' squad looked that way. Oden said playing sound defense was a theme heading into the season.
"That's a theme because it's embarrassing to get beat. We don't want to get beat deep because you win by scoring touchdowns," Oden said. "... And we don't want to give up ANY touchdowns."
After a successful 2009, it's tough to imagine the Bulldogs not improving in 2010. They have all the main components back from last season along with a few other youngsters ready to step up. Sophomore wide receiver DeSean Peterson and junior running back Greg Clemons look like they are ready to step up and provide the Bulldogs with a few more threats offensively. Junior tight end Charles Knox could be another guy ready to make a difference. Oden welcomes the idea of spreading the ball around.
"It eases the pressure because I can get a rest when they throw the ball to DeSean or hand it to Greg. That way I can run at my full potential every time."
With the team-first attitude and work ethic that Oden possesses, there's no doubt that 2010 will be a big senior year for the Holmes running back.
Travis Montgomery Finishes 2nd in Dunk Contest
Montgomery came in second in the dunk contest, but after watching the video I'm not so sure that the dunk that beat him was better. In fact, in my opinion it wasn't better. Here decide for yourself...
Here's the dunk contest in it's entirety. Montgomery's dunks start at 4:38 and then his dunk in the finals is at 5:45:
Conference Preview: NKy 1A
Posted to TriStateFootball.com
Ever since NewCath moved up a class to 2A, Northern Kentucky 1A has been a race for second place as the Beechwood Tigers have dominated the district. This year looks to be no exception as the Tigers are once again the class of Northern Kentucky 1A.
After Beechwood though, the picture is very muddy as the rest of 2A is filled with unknowns, underclassmen and unrealized potential. A case can be made for literally any of the five other teams to finish in that second place spot.
Who will step up and surprise in 2010? Who will be the difference makers that separate the top of the district from the bottom?
Here is a complete overview of Class 1A, District 3:
BEECHWOOD TIGERS
Class 1A, District 3
Head Coach: Noel Rash
2009 Record: 9-5, 6-0 NKY1A, District 3
Overview: It’s tough to say the Tigers were in a rebuilding year last season when they finished 9-5, but most would agree that it wasn’t as dominating a Beechwood team as the area has grown accustomed to seeing.
The Tigers look like they could be back to their old form this season as lots of the youngsters from last season return with as players ready for breakout seasons. Running back Cameron Vocke will be one of the most electrifying playmakers in Northern Kentucky regardless of class for the Tigers. At the quarterback position Michael Colosimo has waited his turn behind Matt Rigdon, but now it’s his time to shine.
The offense could look a little different as Colosimo is not the dual-threat quarterback the Tigers have had recently, but he will be a better drop-back passer. With weapons like Vocke, wide receiver Josh Smith, tight end Corey Kruse and athletes like Joe Staten and Jake Kremer, the 2010 version of the Tigers’ offense could be explosive...
CONTINUE READING
After Beechwood though, the picture is very muddy as the rest of 2A is filled with unknowns, underclassmen and unrealized potential. A case can be made for literally any of the five other teams to finish in that second place spot.
Who will step up and surprise in 2010? Who will be the difference makers that separate the top of the district from the bottom?
Here is a complete overview of Class 1A, District 3:
BEECHWOOD TIGERS
Class 1A, District 3
Head Coach: Noel Rash
2009 Record: 9-5, 6-0 NKY1A, District 3
Overview: It’s tough to say the Tigers were in a rebuilding year last season when they finished 9-5, but most would agree that it wasn’t as dominating a Beechwood team as the area has grown accustomed to seeing.
The Tigers look like they could be back to their old form this season as lots of the youngsters from last season return with as players ready for breakout seasons. Running back Cameron Vocke will be one of the most electrifying playmakers in Northern Kentucky regardless of class for the Tigers. At the quarterback position Michael Colosimo has waited his turn behind Matt Rigdon, but now it’s his time to shine.
The offense could look a little different as Colosimo is not the dual-threat quarterback the Tigers have had recently, but he will be a better drop-back passer. With weapons like Vocke, wide receiver Josh Smith, tight end Corey Kruse and athletes like Joe Staten and Jake Kremer, the 2010 version of the Tigers’ offense could be explosive...
CONTINUE READING
Recap: Conner/Campbell County/CovCath 7-on-7
Ok, Ok you're right Lakota West was there too, but this is an NKY blog and I'm not writing about them. Anyway they basically had two teams going on each side of the field, so I was only able to see each team twice.
I think it was a good 7-on-7 for these teams to play as they were very similar when it comes to talent and athleticism. That being said, Conner was the best team there. Keep in mind, that does not mean they're the best team when the pads come on in a real football game, but that at the skill positions they were the best out of the three in a 7-on-7 contest.
Here's what I saw out of the three teams:
Conner
- The Cougars are being discounted by a lot of people and it's tough to blame anyone for thinking they'll be down. They lost 22 seniors last season and lose any proven production on either side of the ball. After getting a good look at them in 7-on-7 I'm not ready to say that they're going to be a great team or anything like that but I do think they have more talent at the skill positions than anyone knows.
- We'll start as always with the QB Cy Smith(pictured left). Smith is a player much like Holmes QB Jesse Jenson that I've talked about who is a dual-threat guy and is really going to make a lot of plays with his feet. I think 7-on-7 is a great opportunity for quarterbacks like this in one sense because it gives them a ton of repetitions on roll-out passes. The roll-out pass on the short out route is one that Smith is going to HAVE to hit this year to be successful. He was inconsistent on hitting that pass early, but he got better and better as he got in a rhythm throughout the night as you'd expect. I was really surprised with the amount of arm strength Smith has. He had some good zip on the long out and really threaded the needle over the middle a couple of times.
- At wide receiver the Cougars are small. They don't really have any tall targets or guys that stand out physically. That being said they have two small receivers that are really flying under the radar. One of those guys is sophomore-to-be Cameron Fogle(pictured below, right). Fogle is slight in stature but he makes up for it with athleticism. He has great burst in and out of his cuts which separates him from defenders when running routes. Good leaping ability and great hands round out this youngsters ability. He's definitely a guy to keep an eye on in the Cougars' pass-happy offense.
- The other guy who was really really solid was senior-to-be Jared Simpson. Another smaller receiver, Simpson really has exceptional ball skills. He goes up and gets it at his highest point and has really good hands. I really like his leaping ability and also the consistency with which he plays. He wasn't taking plays off and it showed. At one point he had a series where he caught a long touchdown pass, then he caught a 15-yarder over the middle and then a play later caught another touchdown.
- I also got to get a look at Smith's backup at QB freshman Drew Barker. The first thing you notice about Barker is he looks the part. He has good size at about 6-foot-2, 190-pounds and really has a presence to him in the pocket. He has that sort of downhill throwing motion that most "big" quarterbacks seem to have. He is very mature for his age both physically but also mentally. He sees the field really well and makes good decisions with the football. His arm strength is good for his age but when it catches up to the rest of the body I expect him to be pretty special. His most impressive moments were a scoring drive that he led against CovCath where he made two good reads on back to back plays and then threw a bullet to a receiver between two converging defenders for the touchdown.
- Overall the offense looked pretty good when the No. 1's were in, however when they started subbing there were a lot of drops and the "flow" just wasn't the same. As I said, the Cougars have more talent than most know about and I'm sure Coach Trosper is fine with flying under the radar for now.
- Defensively I was very impressed with what the Cougars have. Again their linebacking corp was on the smaller side weight wise, but they have good speed at the position. Logan Kremer(pictured left), son of former UK linebacker Jeff Kremer, looks really good after missing over a year of time with a detached hamstring. He's by far their thickest linebacker but he has good athleticism and speed as well. He had a lot of deflections and was good in coverage with an interception against CovCath. Kremer will be a senior.
- The other linebacker that stuck out to me was senior-to-be Wes Walters. Walters is on the thin-side for a linebacker but in coverage he moved like a defensive back. He had his hands on everything thrown in his vicinity. These linebackers really have great ball skills and with they way they drop in coverage I expect a lot of interceptions out of them.
- As good as Simpson and Fogle were on offense, they were equally good if not better on defense. They each had an interception in the first scrimmage against Campbell County and may have had more that I missed in the other scrimmages as I was walking back and forth. One thing is for sure... A quarterback is taking a big risk if you throw the ball to a receiver that is covered by one of these two, because their hands and ball skills are really good for defensive backs. I also liked junior-to-be Jake Mullderink. He seemed to be in the right place more often than not and also had an interception against Lakota West.
CovCath
- The Colonels were killing me as I went to get a look at a lot of their guys and half of them were standing on the sidelines. All in all I'm not sure exactly how many starters were out but I did notice these guys' absences: Alex Connelly (top WR), Christian Schulte(WR), Michael Best(WR) and Travis Conner(DB). I really wanted to see the Colonels' QB situation and while I did get that opportunity it was without three wide receivers, so that has to be considered as well.
- Let's start with the guy that has been basically named the Colonels' starter at this point and that's sophomore-to-be Blake Bir. Bir is without a doubt the best option for the Colonels as far as passing goes. When it comes to arm strength Bir's is the strongest out of the three and it's not even close. He had some flashes of brilliance, particularly a 40-yard pass down the middle that he had to put some zip on and fit between a cornerback on the outside and a converging safety. Overall I'd say it was a solid outing for Bir. He missed some guys that he'll have to hit as he progresses and he wasn't getting a lot of help with guys dropping passes but overall he was pretty good.
- Bir is going to be the starter for the Colonels, but if I had to guess Brady Reese is going to see some time as a signal-caller as well. He has the ability to get out and make plays with his legs that neither Bir nor the other QB Matt Summe have and is more like last year's QB Brayden Erpenbeck who was successful in the offense a season ago.
- Reese was also probably the top receiver that I saw. The bottom line is the kid has great speed and that makes him a weapon no matter where the Colonels put him.
- The most impressive player on the Colonels team was without a doubt Paul Ritter. He looks pretty cut-up from the weight room with some added bulk and has good speed. On defense he showed great ball skills and had at least one interception that I saw, but I was told that he had a second as well. Ritter will be one of the top DB's in NKY this season.
- The rest of the defense left a TON to be desired. Constantly against both Campbell County and Conner they let those teams throw the ball right down the middle of the field for 40-yard touchdowns without a defender in sight. I'm not sure if there was a cross up with safeties and corners or what but it was a major problem while I was watching. At one point Campbell ran the same play three straight times for 40 yard touchdowns and it was just a post right over the middle with the same receiver. The Colonels' secondary was lacking a lot of speed yesterday, but keep in mind that they were missing people.
Campbell County
- The Camels looked better than they did a week ago against Holmes, but they also weren't playing as good of athletes as they did at Holmes. Even still their receivers were much crisper and QB Michael Kremer (pictured right) looked really good as the night went on.
- Kremer looked closer to mid-season form than preseason 7-on-7. He was pretty sharp as he was nailing his open receivers and fitting the ball in some tight windows as well. Here's the bottom line on Kremer...He's the most established passer in NKy returning with 3,147 career yards. He can sling the ball around but it's up to the offensive line and the consistency of the receivers to make the offense go this year.
- The wide receivers were better this time around than they were a week ago against Holmes. Even still, there were just WAY too many drops for a varsity football team. It'd be one thing if they weren't on the same page with the QB or he wasn't getting the ball where it needed to be, but they are just flat-out dropping well thrown balls right to them. I'm guessing Coach Styer isn't worried yet as it's too early but there's no doubt that it's at least becoming a concern and will be an area of emphasis when camp opens up.
- One guy who really emerged during the scrimmages was Matt Smith(pictured left). He started to look like a go-to guy for Kremer as the night went on and he continued to catch the ball. He made some nice grabs in traffic. He was also the best defensive back on the field for the Camels. He is just one of those guys who makes play when you need someone to step up and make one.
- The other receiver who did a nice job looked more like a tight end and is listed as a running back on last year's roster, but that's Michael Teegarden. He got a lot of targets, especially during the first scrimmage against Conner. He gave Kremer a big target over the middle and proved to be reliable when it came to catching the ball. He will be a matchup problem when matched with linebackers for sure.
I think it was a good 7-on-7 for these teams to play as they were very similar when it comes to talent and athleticism. That being said, Conner was the best team there. Keep in mind, that does not mean they're the best team when the pads come on in a real football game, but that at the skill positions they were the best out of the three in a 7-on-7 contest.
Here's what I saw out of the three teams:
Conner- The Cougars are being discounted by a lot of people and it's tough to blame anyone for thinking they'll be down. They lost 22 seniors last season and lose any proven production on either side of the ball. After getting a good look at them in 7-on-7 I'm not ready to say that they're going to be a great team or anything like that but I do think they have more talent at the skill positions than anyone knows.
- We'll start as always with the QB Cy Smith(pictured left). Smith is a player much like Holmes QB Jesse Jenson that I've talked about who is a dual-threat guy and is really going to make a lot of plays with his feet. I think 7-on-7 is a great opportunity for quarterbacks like this in one sense because it gives them a ton of repetitions on roll-out passes. The roll-out pass on the short out route is one that Smith is going to HAVE to hit this year to be successful. He was inconsistent on hitting that pass early, but he got better and better as he got in a rhythm throughout the night as you'd expect. I was really surprised with the amount of arm strength Smith has. He had some good zip on the long out and really threaded the needle over the middle a couple of times.
- At wide receiver the Cougars are small. They don't really have any tall targets or guys that stand out physically. That being said they have two small receivers that are really flying under the radar. One of those guys is sophomore-to-be Cameron Fogle(pictured below, right). Fogle is slight in stature but he makes up for it with athleticism. He has great burst in and out of his cuts which separates him from defenders when running routes. Good leaping ability and great hands round out this youngsters ability. He's definitely a guy to keep an eye on in the Cougars' pass-happy offense.
- The other guy who was really really solid was senior-to-be Jared Simpson. Another smaller receiver, Simpson really has exceptional ball skills. He goes up and gets it at his highest point and has really good hands. I really like his leaping ability and also the consistency with which he plays. He wasn't taking plays off and it showed. At one point he had a series where he caught a long touchdown pass, then he caught a 15-yarder over the middle and then a play later caught another touchdown.- I also got to get a look at Smith's backup at QB freshman Drew Barker. The first thing you notice about Barker is he looks the part. He has good size at about 6-foot-2, 190-pounds and really has a presence to him in the pocket. He has that sort of downhill throwing motion that most "big" quarterbacks seem to have. He is very mature for his age both physically but also mentally. He sees the field really well and makes good decisions with the football. His arm strength is good for his age but when it catches up to the rest of the body I expect him to be pretty special. His most impressive moments were a scoring drive that he led against CovCath where he made two good reads on back to back plays and then threw a bullet to a receiver between two converging defenders for the touchdown.
- Overall the offense looked pretty good when the No. 1's were in, however when they started subbing there were a lot of drops and the "flow" just wasn't the same. As I said, the Cougars have more talent than most know about and I'm sure Coach Trosper is fine with flying under the radar for now.
- The other linebacker that stuck out to me was senior-to-be Wes Walters. Walters is on the thin-side for a linebacker but in coverage he moved like a defensive back. He had his hands on everything thrown in his vicinity. These linebackers really have great ball skills and with they way they drop in coverage I expect a lot of interceptions out of them.
- As good as Simpson and Fogle were on offense, they were equally good if not better on defense. They each had an interception in the first scrimmage against Campbell County and may have had more that I missed in the other scrimmages as I was walking back and forth. One thing is for sure... A quarterback is taking a big risk if you throw the ball to a receiver that is covered by one of these two, because their hands and ball skills are really good for defensive backs. I also liked junior-to-be Jake Mullderink. He seemed to be in the right place more often than not and also had an interception against Lakota West.
CovCath
- The Colonels were killing me as I went to get a look at a lot of their guys and half of them were standing on the sidelines. All in all I'm not sure exactly how many starters were out but I did notice these guys' absences: Alex Connelly (top WR), Christian Schulte(WR), Michael Best(WR) and Travis Conner(DB). I really wanted to see the Colonels' QB situation and while I did get that opportunity it was without three wide receivers, so that has to be considered as well.
- Let's start with the guy that has been basically named the Colonels' starter at this point and that's sophomore-to-be Blake Bir. Bir is without a doubt the best option for the Colonels as far as passing goes. When it comes to arm strength Bir's is the strongest out of the three and it's not even close. He had some flashes of brilliance, particularly a 40-yard pass down the middle that he had to put some zip on and fit between a cornerback on the outside and a converging safety. Overall I'd say it was a solid outing for Bir. He missed some guys that he'll have to hit as he progresses and he wasn't getting a lot of help with guys dropping passes but overall he was pretty good.
- Bir is going to be the starter for the Colonels, but if I had to guess Brady Reese is going to see some time as a signal-caller as well. He has the ability to get out and make plays with his legs that neither Bir nor the other QB Matt Summe have and is more like last year's QB Brayden Erpenbeck who was successful in the offense a season ago.
- Reese was also probably the top receiver that I saw. The bottom line is the kid has great speed and that makes him a weapon no matter where the Colonels put him.
- The most impressive player on the Colonels team was without a doubt Paul Ritter. He looks pretty cut-up from the weight room with some added bulk and has good speed. On defense he showed great ball skills and had at least one interception that I saw, but I was told that he had a second as well. Ritter will be one of the top DB's in NKY this season.
- The rest of the defense left a TON to be desired. Constantly against both Campbell County and Conner they let those teams throw the ball right down the middle of the field for 40-yard touchdowns without a defender in sight. I'm not sure if there was a cross up with safeties and corners or what but it was a major problem while I was watching. At one point Campbell ran the same play three straight times for 40 yard touchdowns and it was just a post right over the middle with the same receiver. The Colonels' secondary was lacking a lot of speed yesterday, but keep in mind that they were missing people.
Campbell County
- The Camels looked better than they did a week ago against Holmes, but they also weren't playing as good of athletes as they did at Holmes. Even still their receivers were much crisper and QB Michael Kremer (pictured right) looked really good as the night went on.- Kremer looked closer to mid-season form than preseason 7-on-7. He was pretty sharp as he was nailing his open receivers and fitting the ball in some tight windows as well. Here's the bottom line on Kremer...He's the most established passer in NKy returning with 3,147 career yards. He can sling the ball around but it's up to the offensive line and the consistency of the receivers to make the offense go this year.
- The wide receivers were better this time around than they were a week ago against Holmes. Even still, there were just WAY too many drops for a varsity football team. It'd be one thing if they weren't on the same page with the QB or he wasn't getting the ball where it needed to be, but they are just flat-out dropping well thrown balls right to them. I'm guessing Coach Styer isn't worried yet as it's too early but there's no doubt that it's at least becoming a concern and will be an area of emphasis when camp opens up.
- One guy who really emerged during the scrimmages was Matt Smith(pictured left). He started to look like a go-to guy for Kremer as the night went on and he continued to catch the ball. He made some nice grabs in traffic. He was also the best defensive back on the field for the Camels. He is just one of those guys who makes play when you need someone to step up and make one. - The other receiver who did a nice job looked more like a tight end and is listed as a running back on last year's roster, but that's Michael Teegarden. He got a lot of targets, especially during the first scrimmage against Conner. He gave Kremer a big target over the middle and proved to be reliable when it came to catching the ball. He will be a matchup problem when matched with linebackers for sure.
Recap: Holmes at Highlands - 7-on-7
It was a nice morning for football in Fort Thomas and apparently the players thought so as well. These two teams went the hardest I think I've ever seen in a 7-on-7 competition, which was kind of weird considering they're not rival schools or anything like that. Regardless of why, it was nice to see kids really trying to make themselves better.
As for the obligatory answer as to, "who won?" I would say that Highlands had a few more scores than the Bulldogs did. As always though, score means nothing in 7-on-7and really can't even be charted fairly.
Let's get to the important stuff, also known as my opinions and thoughts...
- The 7-on-7 was done in my favorite format. Varsity on one half of the field. JV on the other. Each team plays offense for a set period of time regardless of what happens and then they switch.
- Dale Mueller and Jared Lorenzen were spending their time with the offenses. When varsity was up on offense they'd be on that side and then when JV was up on offense they'd turn around and coach on that side.
- Let's talk a little bit about Highlands QB Patrick Towles(pictured left). There has been a lot of talk about his added size in the off-season. I always expect that kind of talk to be blown out of proportion, but in this case I don't think it is. The kid is very big and has an imposing presence in the pocket. The difference between him and a lot of the kids I watch is the strength. He effortlessly flicks it on the run and zips it to a receiver on a 15 yard out... That is a college throw. Not saying other guys can't make that throw, but he does it with ease. He was money on the long ball. If Highlands gets a receiver open down the field this year then Towles is not going to miss him. A lot of Highlands success came on the long passes today. Two different times they had back to back 40-yard touchdown passes and on their final possession they scored 40-yard touchdowns on three of the last four plays. That being said, the Bluebirds didn't see a lot of success on the intermediate routes today due in large part because Holmes defense was very good in coverage for the first 15 to 20 yards. This forced Towles to have to hold the ball for 6-8 seconds a fair amount. I really liked Towles decision-making. He made good reads and only threw one interception by my count.
- As for his receivers they had their ups and they had their downs. Austin Sheehan was one guy who played really well the whole time. Already looking like one of Towles favorite targets, Sheehan seems to be a weapon all over the field. What makes him good is his route running ability coupled with his speed. He ran very crisp routes today and was very sure handed which resulted him being open often and receiving a lot of targets from Towles.
- Another guy who was great for the Bluebirds was Daniel Gold(pictured right). Gold has more size than Sheehan and can really go up and get the ball. He also has some good shiftiness that he displayed on a 20-yard touchdown that came on a catch-and-run over the middle on an underneath route. Gold and Sheehan were definitely the top two targets for Towles and it's easy to see why... They get open and they catch the ball when it's thrown their way.
- After those two guys the Bluebirds have guys who are capable but inconsistent is the best way to put it. There were other guys who made some plays, but those same guys also had drops. Overall there were way too many drops out of the Bluebird receivers, especially on some of the balls that Towles was throwing their way.
- It was also cool to see the interaction between Jared Lorenzen (new QB coach at Highlands) and Towles. They joke around a lot and Lorenzen stays on him, but on just about every throw Lorenzen had some good advice or some positive reinforcement for Towles. I'll admit it... I learned a few new things just listening to what Lorenzen was telling him today.
- On the defensive side of the ball I'd have to say the biggest thing that stuck out to me was the work that these kids have done in the weight program. Brendan Sullivan(pictured left) is an absolute monster at the linebacker position. Billy Huddleston, another linebacker, was ripped up also. For the most part the entire defense looked like they had put in serious work in the weight room. In the secondary no one really stood out but they held their own. Holmes made a lot of plays but Highlands made there fair share of defensive plays as well. The one problem they had was accounting for DeSean Peterson... and there's not a whole lot of shame in that.
- Onto the Bulldogs... The biggest thing that Holmes and Coach Lickert take away from this is a lot of confidence. It was one thing to have a solid showing against Campbell County last week, but to come out and do the same things and have a similar level of success against the defending state champs and best team in NKY it's definitely got to make the Bulldogs feel good.While talking to a few of the Highlands people who have been at the other 7-on-7's they said that Holmes was by far the best competition they've faced.
- Jesse Jenson was once again pretty sharp. He's definitely getting a good feel for the roll out pass and getting his foot work down to help his consistency while throwing on the run. Along with the rest of the offense, Jenson started out slow. He had three interceptions by my count but all of them were early on and one came on a ball that a receiver dropped. After the Bulldogs settled in though, Jenson was good with his decision-making and kept the ball away from the Blue jerseys.
- DeSean Peterson(pictured right)... What more can I say about the kid. As I'm sure you've picked up on, I expect this kid to be very very special. he was once again the go-to guy for Jensen... and why not? He runs solid routes that get him open and if he's not then he's got the size and athleticism to go get the ball over top of the defender. One thing I noticed today was how strong his hands are... He doesn't drop balls that can be caught and there were a few times where he had Highlands defenders pounding at his hands trying to knock the ball away and not once did he lose it. There was a sequence where he caught a touchdown on a 20-yard post then came back with a 40-yard touchdown on a vertical route in the corner of the endzone two plays later. Then he followed that up by shaking his defensive back and catching a 15-yard pass over the middle. He is really going to cause defenses problems... period.
- Another guy that really impressed me today and actually made some nice plays last week as well is tight end Charles Knox. Knox is a really big target and will be an absolute load to tackle, but the impressive part is his feet. He has great speed, agility and athleticism for a guy his size. His hands might be his best attribute though as he made some really good catches over the middle on balls that I didn't think he'd get to. He will really help keep defenses honest in the middle of the field this year for the Bulldogs.
- Damian Oden didn't play as much on offense today and I'm guessing that was to try and keep some guys fresh as the Bulldogs were playing guys both ways and Highlands was platooning their offense and defense. When he was in, Oden was once again making plays. The one thing that I really don't think you see in 7-on-7 is how effective guys will be in the flats. Oden just has a natural feel for finding the open spot in the defense and making himself available for his quarterback. He is also really shifty with the ball in his hands. I mean this kid was making people miss in two hand touch.
- On the defensive side the Bulldogs were pretty darn good. They have great speed in their secondary and it showed as Highlands had trouble getting open on any intermediate routes. There were some breakdowns in coverage as time went on which allowed Towles to hook up with receivers for the long scores. Overall though the Bulldogs effort was good.
- The best lineup I saw was when Jenson (albeit very briefly) lined up at safety with Peterson and Oden and Tyrique Simpson were lined up at the corners. Oden seems to have stepped up as the leader on the defensive side. Not only is he locking receivers up, but vocally he is constantly relaying the formations to the rest of the team and also trying to keep the intensity level of his teammates up. He really seems to have a presence out on the field that makes him stand out. Watching him and Sheehan go at it was a great match-up. Simpson was another guy who, despite giving up some size, was good in coverage and should see a lot of time at corner.
- Another guy who is a sophomore-to-be that you should keep an eye on is Rayshawn Coston. He played a lot of JV, where he was one of the better players on the field, but as the scrimmage wore on and guys tired out he got some time on the varsity defense. His natural instincts and athleticism is off the charts. He isn't that big but he may be the best athlete in that class... and that includes Peterson.
As for the obligatory answer as to, "who won?" I would say that Highlands had a few more scores than the Bulldogs did. As always though, score means nothing in 7-on-7and really can't even be charted fairly.
- The 7-on-7 was done in my favorite format. Varsity on one half of the field. JV on the other. Each team plays offense for a set period of time regardless of what happens and then they switch.
- Dale Mueller and Jared Lorenzen were spending their time with the offenses. When varsity was up on offense they'd be on that side and then when JV was up on offense they'd turn around and coach on that side.
- Let's talk a little bit about Highlands QB Patrick Towles(pictured left). There has been a lot of talk about his added size in the off-season. I always expect that kind of talk to be blown out of proportion, but in this case I don't think it is. The kid is very big and has an imposing presence in the pocket. The difference between him and a lot of the kids I watch is the strength. He effortlessly flicks it on the run and zips it to a receiver on a 15 yard out... That is a college throw. Not saying other guys can't make that throw, but he does it with ease. He was money on the long ball. If Highlands gets a receiver open down the field this year then Towles is not going to miss him. A lot of Highlands success came on the long passes today. Two different times they had back to back 40-yard touchdown passes and on their final possession they scored 40-yard touchdowns on three of the last four plays. That being said, the Bluebirds didn't see a lot of success on the intermediate routes today due in large part because Holmes defense was very good in coverage for the first 15 to 20 yards. This forced Towles to have to hold the ball for 6-8 seconds a fair amount. I really liked Towles decision-making. He made good reads and only threw one interception by my count.
- Another guy who was great for the Bluebirds was Daniel Gold(pictured right). Gold has more size than Sheehan and can really go up and get the ball. He also has some good shiftiness that he displayed on a 20-yard touchdown that came on a catch-and-run over the middle on an underneath route. Gold and Sheehan were definitely the top two targets for Towles and it's easy to see why... They get open and they catch the ball when it's thrown their way.
- After those two guys the Bluebirds have guys who are capable but inconsistent is the best way to put it. There were other guys who made some plays, but those same guys also had drops. Overall there were way too many drops out of the Bluebird receivers, especially on some of the balls that Towles was throwing their way.
- It was also cool to see the interaction between Jared Lorenzen (new QB coach at Highlands) and Towles. They joke around a lot and Lorenzen stays on him, but on just about every throw Lorenzen had some good advice or some positive reinforcement for Towles. I'll admit it... I learned a few new things just listening to what Lorenzen was telling him today.
- Onto the Bulldogs... The biggest thing that Holmes and Coach Lickert take away from this is a lot of confidence. It was one thing to have a solid showing against Campbell County last week, but to come out and do the same things and have a similar level of success against the defending state champs and best team in NKY it's definitely got to make the Bulldogs feel good.While talking to a few of the Highlands people who have been at the other 7-on-7's they said that Holmes was by far the best competition they've faced.
- Jesse Jenson was once again pretty sharp. He's definitely getting a good feel for the roll out pass and getting his foot work down to help his consistency while throwing on the run. Along with the rest of the offense, Jenson started out slow. He had three interceptions by my count but all of them were early on and one came on a ball that a receiver dropped. After the Bulldogs settled in though, Jenson was good with his decision-making and kept the ball away from the Blue jerseys.
- DeSean Peterson(pictured right)... What more can I say about the kid. As I'm sure you've picked up on, I expect this kid to be very very special. he was once again the go-to guy for Jensen... and why not? He runs solid routes that get him open and if he's not then he's got the size and athleticism to go get the ball over top of the defender. One thing I noticed today was how strong his hands are... He doesn't drop balls that can be caught and there were a few times where he had Highlands defenders pounding at his hands trying to knock the ball away and not once did he lose it. There was a sequence where he caught a touchdown on a 20-yard post then came back with a 40-yard touchdown on a vertical route in the corner of the endzone two plays later. Then he followed that up by shaking his defensive back and catching a 15-yard pass over the middle. He is really going to cause defenses problems... period.- Another guy that really impressed me today and actually made some nice plays last week as well is tight end Charles Knox. Knox is a really big target and will be an absolute load to tackle, but the impressive part is his feet. He has great speed, agility and athleticism for a guy his size. His hands might be his best attribute though as he made some really good catches over the middle on balls that I didn't think he'd get to. He will really help keep defenses honest in the middle of the field this year for the Bulldogs.
- Damian Oden didn't play as much on offense today and I'm guessing that was to try and keep some guys fresh as the Bulldogs were playing guys both ways and Highlands was platooning their offense and defense. When he was in, Oden was once again making plays. The one thing that I really don't think you see in 7-on-7 is how effective guys will be in the flats. Oden just has a natural feel for finding the open spot in the defense and making himself available for his quarterback. He is also really shifty with the ball in his hands. I mean this kid was making people miss in two hand touch.- On the defensive side the Bulldogs were pretty darn good. They have great speed in their secondary and it showed as Highlands had trouble getting open on any intermediate routes. There were some breakdowns in coverage as time went on which allowed Towles to hook up with receivers for the long scores. Overall though the Bulldogs effort was good.
- The best lineup I saw was when Jenson (albeit very briefly) lined up at safety with Peterson and Oden and Tyrique Simpson were lined up at the corners. Oden seems to have stepped up as the leader on the defensive side. Not only is he locking receivers up, but vocally he is constantly relaying the formations to the rest of the team and also trying to keep the intensity level of his teammates up. He really seems to have a presence out on the field that makes him stand out. Watching him and Sheehan go at it was a great match-up. Simpson was another guy who, despite giving up some size, was good in coverage and should see a lot of time at corner.
- Another guy who is a sophomore-to-be that you should keep an eye on is Rayshawn Coston. He played a lot of JV, where he was one of the better players on the field, but as the scrimmage wore on and guys tired out he got some time on the varsity defense. His natural instincts and athleticism is off the charts. He isn't that big but he may be the best athlete in that class... and that includes Peterson.
