Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
Louisville, Kentucky
November 30-December 1, 2006
©2007 by Ron Harrison
Class A Championship
Newport Central Catholic (9-5) vs. Danville (13-1) December 1, 2006
Coach Bob Schneider's Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds gained 2507 yards on the ground and 1787 yards through the air. They averaged 29.7 ppg on offense and gave up 14.1 ppg. 5-11 175 pound Sr. RB Michael Vicars led the ground attack with 1612 yards and 22 touchdowns on 254 carries. 6-2 200 pound Jr. QB Jared Harris completed 116 of 239 passes for 1733 yards with 12 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. 5-10 160 pound Jr. WR Brian Wrobleski caught 32 passes for 490 yards and three touchdowns. The defense was led by 6-1 190 pound Sr. LB Chip Burks and 5-11 185 pound Sr. LB John Hellman. Burks recorded 72 solo and 64 assisted tackles and Hellman added 86 solo and 49 assisted tackles.
Coach Sam Harps' Danville Admirals gained 3454 yards on the ground and 2076 yards through the air. The Admirals offense averaged 43.1 ppg this season and their defense gave up 13.9 ppg. 5-6 170 pound Sr. RB Berrac Strode led the ground attack with 1121 yards and 15 touchdowns on 134 carries. 5-5 190 pound Sr. RB Darren Ross added 768 yards and 15 touchdowns on 92 carries. 6-0 165 pound Jr. QB Rich Witten completed 73 of 151 passes for 1786 yards with 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. 6-1 195 pound Sr. TE Jacob Bryant caught 18 passes for 499 yards and six touchdowns. 6-1 171 pound So. WR Derrik Henderson added 17 receptions for 331 yards and three touchdowns. 5-6 137 pound Sr. LB David Harlan led the defense with 88 solo and 21 assisted tackles. 6-1 225 pound Sr. DL Gerald Hughes added 76 solo and 18 assisted tackles.
Newport Central Catholic trailed 34-17 after three quarters but roared back to defeat Danville 37-34. Turnovers plagued Danville tonight as they fumbled six times and lost possession three times. The Admirals also had two passes intercepted. Newport Central Catholic also had two passes intercepted.
The victors held a 498-337 edge in total offense and enjoyed a 22-14 margin in first downs. NCC was penalized eight times for 47 yards while Danville was flagged seven times for 51 yards.
Michael Vicars led the Newport Central Catholic ground game with 199 yards and a TD on 22 carries. Jared Harris completed 14 of 38 passes for 257 yards with four TDs and one interception. George Gardner caught seven passes for 87 yards and two TDs. Vicars had two receptions for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Z. Niedzielski led the defense with seven solo and five assisted tackles. Zack Kiernan added four solo and six assisted tackles.
Berrac Strode led the Danville ground game with 106 yards on 21 carries. Rich Witten completed seven of 15 passes for 164 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Daylen Morris caught five passes for 81 yards and a TD. David Harlan led the defense with five solo and three assisted tackles. Three of Harlan's tackles accounted for losses totalling nine yards. Gerald Hughes and Darren Ross added five solo tackles each.
Scoring Summary
| Newport Central Catholic | 37 | Danville | 34 | |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Newport Central Catholic | 7 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 37 |
| Danville | 0 | 13 | 21 | 0 | 34 |
| NCC | - | Michael Vicars 17 yard pass from Jared Harris (Dustin Zink kick) |
| NCC | - | Zink 20 yard field goal |
| D | - | Daylen Morris 95 yard kickoff return (Jordan Gay kick) |
| NCC | - | Vicars 76 yard run (Zink kick) |
| D | - | Darren Ross 76 yard pass from Rich Witten (Jordan Gay kick fails) |
| D | - | Jeffrey Guest 5 yard run (Gay kick) |
| D | - | Zach Dawson 25 yard blocked punt return (Gay kick) |
| D | - | Morris 23 yard pass from Witten (Gay kick) |
| NCC | - | George Gardner 31 yard pass from Harris (Zink kick) |
| NCC | - | Gardner 16 yard pass from Harris (Zink kick) |
| NCC | - | Vicars 52 yard pass from Harris (Phil Horan run fails) |
Selected Statistics
| Newport Central Catholic | Danville | |||||||||
| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | |||
| Michael Vicars | 22 | 199 | 9.0 | Berrac Strode | 21 | 106 | 5.0 | |||
| Jared Harris | 9 | 30 | 3.3 | Jeffrey Guest | 8 | 32 | 4.0 | |||
| Chip Burks | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | Darren Ross | 5 | 21 | 4.2 | |||
| team | 2 | -2 | -1.0 | Tyrell Johnson | 4 | 16 | 4.0 | |||
| Daylen Morris | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | |||||||
| Michael Cline | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | |||||||
| Rich Witten | 1 | -9 | -9.0 | |||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Jared Harris | 38-14-2 | 257 | 4 | 52 | Rich Witten | 15-7-2 | 164 | 2 | 76 | |
| team | 1-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | |||
| George Gardner | 7 | 98 | 2 | Daylen Morris | 5 | 81 | 1 | |||
| Michael Vicars | 2 | 69 | 2 | Darren Ross | 1 | 76 | 1 | |||
| Wes Diehl | 2 | 31 | 0 | D. Henderson | 1 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Alex Pangallo | 1 | 32 | 0 | |||||||
| Brian Wrobleski | 1 | 27 | 0 | |||||||
| Burke Beiting | 1 | 11 | 0 | |||||||
Russell (13-1) vs. Mercer County (14-0) December 1, 2006
Coach Ivan McGlone's Russell Red Devils rolled up 3900 yards on the ground and 1430 yards through the air. The Red Devils averaged 40.9 ppg and gave up and average of 9.1 ppg. 6-1 200 pound Sr. RB Kasey Clark led the ground game with 1526 yards and 37 touchdowns on 199 carries. Clark also caught 28 passes for 555 yards and five touchdowns. 6-0 210 pound Jr. QB Tyler Jones completed 60 of 105 passes for 1234 yards with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. 5-10 165 pound Sr. SE Marcus Frazier caught 27 passes for 677 yards and 10 touchdowns. 6-0 192 pound Sr. LB Josh Willis led the defense with 18 solo and 87 assisted tackles.
Coach Marty Jaggers' Mercer County Titans rolled to a 14-0 record and averaged 53.2 ppg this season. The Titans rushed for 5573 yards and added 598 yards through the air. 5-8 160 pound Sr. RB Brandon Ford led the high octane ground game with 2158 yards and 32 touchdowns on 155 carries. 5-7 160 pound Sr. TB Cory Jackson added 1796 yards and 29 touchdowns on 149 carries. 6-3 215 pound Sr. LB Chris Lewis led the Titan defense with 26 solo and 79 assisted tackles.
Mercer County took a 15-12 halftime lead and held on for the victory. Russell held a 305-196 advantage in total offense, a 14-7 edge in first downs, and a 63-42 edge in offensive plays. However, the Red Devils lost two fumbles and had three passes intercepted. Mercer County fumbled the ball four times but never lost possession.
Cory Jackson led Mercer County's ground game with 140 yards and a TD on 12 carries. Freeman Edwards and Andrew Goetch led the defense, each recording six solo and three assisted tackles. Rashaad Buster added five solo and three assisted tackles.
Kasey Clark led the Russell ground game with 78 yards and a TD on 22 carries. Aaron Beekman added 56 yards and a TD on eight carries. Tyler Jones completed nine of 18 passes for 145 yards with two interceptions. Kasey Clark added six receptions for 114 yards. The Red Devils defense was led by Seth Haney with four solo and three assisted tackles. Marcus Frazier and Kasey Clark each recorded five solo tackles. Three of Clark's tackles resulted in losses totalling 20 yards.
Scoring Summary
| Mercer County | 15 | Russell | 12 |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Russell | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Mercer County | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| R | - | Aaron Beekman 16 yard run (Dwaine Evans kick fails) |
| MC | - | Devin Patton recovers fumble in end zone (Brandon Ford run) |
| R | - | Kasey Clark 8 yard run (Tyler Jones run fails) |
| MC | - | Cory Jackson 53 yard run (Josh Ewing kick) |
Selected Statistics
| Russell | Mercer County | |||||||||
| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | |||
| Kasey Clark | 22 | 78 | 3.5 | Cory Jackson | 12 | 140 | 11.7 | |||
| Aaron Beekman | 8 | 56 | 7.0 | Brandon Ford | 18 | 28 | 1.6 | |||
| Daryl Wells | 5 | 17 | 3.4 | Nathan Griffith | 6 | 25 | 4.2 | |||
| Tyler Jones | 8 | 8 | 1.0 | Daryl Smith | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | |||
| Donald Walker | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | |||||||
| team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Justin Morgan | 2 | -7 | -3.5 | |||||||
| Devin Patton | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Tyler Jones | 18-9-2 | 145 | 0 | 54 | Justin Morgan | 1-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jacob Sizemore | 1-0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | |||||||
| Kasey Clark | 6 | 114 | 0 | |||||||
| Marcus Frazier | 1 | 18 | 0 | |||||||
| Corey Hall | 1 | 9 | 0 | |||||||
| Aaron Beekman | 1 | 4 | 0 | |||||||
Covington Catholic (11-3) vs. Bowling Green (13-1) December 1, 2006
Coach John Rodenberg's Covington Catholic Colonels showed excellent balance on offense, running for 2559 yards and passing for 2386 yards. The Colonels averaged 33.4 ppg on offense and gave up 15.8 ppg on defense. 6-0 160 pound Sr. RB Brandon Brown led the ground game with 952 yards and 11 touchdowns on 135 carries. 6-2 155 pound Jr. RB Brent Buckley added 912 yards and 15 touchdowns on 144 carries. 6-2 195 pound Sr. QB Josh Bleser completed 144 of 286 passes for 2279 yards with 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. 6-4 240 pound Sr. TE Peter Sutton caught 47 passes for 775 yards and 12 touchdowns. 6-1 175 pound Sr. WR Kurt Bovard added 42 receptions for 633 yards and seven TDs. 6-0 215 pound Sr. LB Sam Flynn led the defense with 157 solo and 68 assisted tackles. 6-0 190 pound Jr. LB Joe Brueggemann added 67 solo and 62 assisted tackles.
Coach Kevin Wallace's Bowling Green Purples rushed for 2537 yards and added 1888 yards through the air. The Purples averaged 37.2 ppg and gave up 7.9 ppg on defense. 5-10 179 pound Sr. RB Avery Hibbitt led the ground game with 1168 yards and 16 touchdowns on 154 carries. 6-0 175 pound Jr. QB Trent Steelman added 370 yards and 10 touchdowns on 97 carries. Steelman completed 109 of 177 passes for 1800 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. 6-1 171 pound Sr. WR Ryan Beard caught 33 passes for 575 yards and five touchdowns. 6-6 175 pound Jr. WR D. L. Moore added 26 receptions for 453 yards and three TDs. The defense was led by 5-7 171 pound Sr. LB Jeremy Mitchell, 6-0 200 pound Sr. LB Chris Tucker, and 6-0 184 pound Jr. SS Jared Carpenter. Mitchell led the defense with 60 solo and 40 assisted tackles. Tucker added 66 solo and 28 assisted tackles, and Carpenter recorded 63 solo and 21 assisted tackles.
Covington Catholic defeated Bowling Green 27-8 to capture the Class 3A Championship. Covington Catholic held a 373-219 advantage in total offense and enjoyed a 20-11 margin in first downs. The Colonels suffered one interception while Bowling Green gave up the ball twice on fumbles and was intercepted three times.
Brent Buckley led the Covington Catholic ground game with 135 yards and a TD on 24 carries. Brandon Brown added 83 yards 21 carries. Josh Bleser completed 11 of 15 passes for 150 yards with one TD and one interception. Kurt Bovard caught three passes for 52 yards and a TD. Peter Sutton added three receptions for 45 yards. Sam Flynn led the defense with five solo and seven assisted tackles.
Trent Steelman led the Bowling Green ground game with 61 yards on 10 carries. Avery Hibbitt added 40 yards on 14 carries. Steelman completed five of 18 passes for 92 yards with one TD and three interceptions. D. L. Moore caught two passes for 15 yards. Anthony Davis added a 46 yard receptions for a touchdown. Jeremy Mitchell led the defense with 12 solo tackles. Chris Tucker added 10 solo and one assisted tackles.
Scoring Summary
| Covington Catholic | 27 | Bowling Green | 8 | |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Covington Catholic | 9 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
| Bowling Green | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| CC | - | Shane Popham 33 yard field goal |
| CC | - | Nathan Kater 14 yard fumble recovery (Josh Bleser run fails) |
| CC | - | Kurt Bovard 16 yard pass from Bleser (Peter Sutton pass from Bleser) |
| CC | - | Brent Buckley 6 yard run (Popham kick) |
| BG | - | Anthony Davis 46 yard pass from Trent Steelman (Chris Johnson pass from Steelman) |
| CC | - | Popham 25 yard field goal |
Selected Statistics
| Covington Catholic | Bowling Green | |||||||||
| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | |||
| Brent Buckley | 24 | 135 | 5.6 | Trent Steelman | 10 | 61 | 6.1 | |||
| Brandon Brown | 21 | 83 | 4.0 | Avery Hibbitt | 14 | 40 | 2.9 | |||
| Alex Wise | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | Chase Carpenter | 4 | 14 | 3.5 | |||
| Josh Bleser | 3 | -5 | -1.7 | Anthony Davis | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | |||
| Chris Johnson | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | |||||||
| team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Josh Bleser | 15-11-1 | 150 | 1 | 23 | Trent Steelman | 18-5-3 | 92 | 1 | 46 | |
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | |||
| Kurt Bovard | 4 | 52 | 1 | D. L. Moore | 2 | 15 | 0 | |||
| Peter Sutton | 3 | 45 | 0 | Anthony Davis | 1 | 46 | 1 | |||
| Alex Wise | 2 | 23 | 0 | Chris Johnson | 1 | 16 | 0 | |||
| Brent Buckley | 1 | 20 | 0 | Ryan Wallace | 1 | 15 | 0 | |||
| Jace Ganshirt | 1 | 10 | 0 | |||||||
Trinity (13-1) vs. Ryle (12-2) November 30, 2006
Coach Bob Beatty's Trinity Shamrocks have gained 2459 yards on the ground and 3021 yards through the air. The Shamrocks have averaged 42.3 ppg and given up 14.6 ppg this season. 5-9 185 pound Sr. QB Nick Petrino has completed 162 of 238 passes for 2751 yards with 35 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Petrino has also carried the ball 101 times for 469 yards with nine TDs. 5-5 145 pound So. RB Tim Phillips led the ground attack with 1159 yards and 21 touchdowns on 118 carries. 5-8 160 pound Sr. WR Kyle Flynn has 41 receptions for 721 yards with 12 touchdowns. The leaders on defense have been 6-2 225 pound Sr. DL Luke McDermott, 6-0 210 pound So. LB Jordan Whiting, and 5-8 160 pound So. DB Bobby Petrino.
Coach Bryson Warner's Ryle Raiders have gained 3725 yards on the ground and 970 yards through the air. The Raiders averaged 31.6 ppg on offense this season while their defense yielded 13.6 ppg. Ryle had two 1,000 yard rushers this season in 6-2 210 pound Sr. Vince Murray and 5-11 190 pound Sr. Scott Gray. Murray carried the ball 217 times for 1681 yards and 21 touchdowns. Gray added 1005 yards and 16 touchdowns on 196 carries. 6-0 180 pound Jr. QB Kyle Benke has completed 45 of 96 passes for 880 yards with 13 TDs and two interceptions. 5-10 175 pound Jr. WR Josh Morgan caught 18 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns. 5-11 195 pound Jr. LB Adam Schmitz led the defense with 78 solo and 51 assisted tackles.
Trinity rolled up 424 yards of total offense in a 41-7 victory over Ryle. Trinity held a 3-0 lead in the first quarter when their defense forced a fumble and recovered the ball on the Ryle 20 yard line. QB Nick Petrino capitalized by firing a 20 yard TD pass to Alex Dutton with 1:53 remaining in the first quarter to give the Shamrocks a 10-0 lead. Trinity continued to roll, taking a 41-0 lead until Ryle scored late in the game to cut the deficit to 34, 41-7.
Trinity held a 424-200 yard advantage in total offense and enjoyed a 20-11 margin in first downs. Trinity averaged 7.2 yards per play while Ryle was held to 3.7 yards per play. Ryle lost two fumbles for the game. Trinity was penalized three times for 14 yards while Ryle was flagged three times for 25 yards.
Nick Petrino led the Shamrock ground attack with 79 yards on 13 carries. Tim Phillips carried the ball 13 times for 43 yards and a TD. Petrino completed 13 of 23 passes for 247 yards and four touchdowns. Alex Dutton caught five passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Kyle Flynn also caught five passes for 106 yards and a score. Jordan Whiting led the defense with seven unassisted tackles. Luke McDermott added five solo and three assisted tackles. Kicker Ryan Tydlacka had a very productive night with two field goals, five extra points, and three punts averaging 44.0 yards per kick.
Scott Gray led the Ryle ground game with 78 yards and a TD on 10 carries. Vince Murray carried the ball 21 times for 63 yards. Kyle Benke completed four of 13 passes for 47 yards. Adam Schmitz led the Raider defense with eight solo and four assisted tackles. Kris Pridgen added four solo and four assisted tackles with 3.5 tackles accounting for losses of seven yards.
Scoring Summary
| Trinity | 41 | Ryle | 7 | |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Trinity | 10 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 41 |
| Ryle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| T | - | Ryan Tydlacka 23 yard field goal |
| T | - | Alex Dutton 20 yard pass from Nick Petrino (Tydlacka kick) |
| T | - | Ryan Tydlacka 40 yard field goal |
| T | - | Tim Phillips 8 yard run (Tydlacka kick) |
| T | - | Nathan Dutton 20 yard pass from Petrino (Tydlacka kick) |
| T | - | Kyle Flynn 38 yard pass from Petrino (Tydlacka kick) |
| T | - | Alex Dutton 45 yard pass from Petrino (Tydlacka kick) |
| R | - | Scott Gray 14 yard run (Ross Uminger kick) |
Selected Statistics
| Trinity | Ryle | |||||||||
| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | |||
| Nick Petrino | 13 | 79 | 6.1 | Scott Gray | 10 | 78 | 7.8 | |||
| Tim Phillips | 13 | 43 | 3.3 | Vince Murray | 21 | 63 | 3.0 | |||
| Lance McGuire | 3 | 18 | 6.0 | Adam Schmitz | 4 | 13 | 3.3 | |||
| Will Stein | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | Kyle Benke | 6 | -1 | -0.2 | |||
| Kyle Flynn | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | |||||||
| Jeff Neagli | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | |||||||
| team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Nick Petrino | 23-13-0 | 247 | 4 | 45 | Kyle Benke | 13-4-0 | 47 | 0 | 15 | |
| Will Stein | 1-1-0 | 13 | 0 | 13 | ||||||
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | |||
| Alex Dutton | 5 | 107 | 2 | Vince Murray | 1 | 16 | 0 | |||
| Kyle Flynn | 5 | 106 | 1 | Scott Gray | 1 | 12 | 0 | |||
| Nathan Dutton | 1 | 20 | 1 | Trevor Burtraw | 1 | 10 | 0 | |||
| Rick Miller | 1 | 13 | 0 | Josh Morgan | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Nick Melillo | 1 | 9 | 0 | |||||||
| Will Stein | 1 | 5 | 0 | |||||||
A special thanks to the KHSAA for providing the rosters, records, statistics, etc. both pre-game and post-game on their very comprehensive website.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the event, teams, or players to me at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.
