Topic: Football
Highlands vs. Lexington Catholic
Lexington Catholic High School
Lexington, KY
September 14, 2018
© 2018 by Ron Harrison
Highlands dominated the second half on their way to a 44-27 victory over Lexington Catholic. Lexington Catholic led 20-17 at halftime but Highlands made adjustments at halftime and scored the first 28 points after intermission until Lexington Catholic added a final touchdown with 50 seconds remaining in the game. Highland played an aggressive, physical defense and timed their blitzes perfectly and found the open gaps to pressure Lexington Catholic’s highly ranked QB Beau Allen the entire second half. Allen put up good statistics but he was harassed all night and his receivers were covered closely and leveled when they caught the ball. Lexington Catholic held the advantage in first downs and total yardage and actually ran 87 offensive plays compared to 49 for Highlands. Nick Bowman proved to be a lethal weapon for the Bluebirds as he connected on three field goals and kicked off nine times for an average of 58.8 and six touchbacks. Hunter Ahlfeld and Nate Roberts also made some key catches for Highlands tonight.
Highlands recorded 16 first downs and 348 yards of total offense. The Bluebirds were penalized eight times for 67 yards and lost a fumble. Lexington Catholic recorded 25 first downs and 416 yards of total offense. The Knights were penalized 10 times for 63 yards, lost two fumbles, and had a pass intercepted.
Cooper Schwalbach led Highlands ground game with 47 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. Joe Buten carried the ball six times for 18 yards and a touchdown. Grady Cramer completed 18 of 25 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown. Hunter Ahlfeld caught five passes for 102 yards. Nate Roberts added four receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown. Brycen Huddleston led the defense with 11 solo and two assisted tackles with 3.5 of his tackles resulting in losses totaling eight yards and recovered a fumble he returned 52 yards for a touchdown. Jacob Brass added seven solo and two assisted tackles. Tyler Bracken recorded five solo and four assisted tackles with 2.5 of his tackles resulting in losses totaling 14 yards. Casey Greene recovered a fumble and J. Hagedorn intercepted a pass he returned 22 yards.
Ryan Nichols led Lexington Catholic’s ground game with 79 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Beau Allen carried the ball nine times for 24 yards and a touchdown. Beau Allen completed 29 of 48 passes for 309 yards with one interception. Nathan Schnurr caught nine passes for 70 yards. Tommy Knopp added six receptions for 74 yards. Jackson Corbett recorded four receptions for 55 yards. Luke Powell caught four passes for 51 yards. Trenton Neuer returned three kickoffs for 83 yards with a long return of 29 yards. C. Coulter led the defense with five solo tackles. Clay Callahan added three solo and three assisted tackles. Sam Vaughn recorded four solo tackles with one of his tackles resulting in a four yard loss. John Simms recovered a fumble.
Scoring Summary
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Highlands | 3 | 14 | 10 | 17 | 44 |
| Lexington Catholic | 14 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| HIGHLANDS | - | Nick Bowman kicks a 23 yard field goal |
| LEXCATH | - | Ryan Nichols 5 yard run (Trey Woody kick) |
| LEXCATH | - | Philippe Ilumva 4 yard run (Trey Woody kick) |
| HIGHLANDS | - | Joe Buten 11 yard run (Nick Bowman kick) |
| LEXCATH | - | Trey Woody kicks a 28 yard field goal |
| HIGHLANDS | - | Cooper Schwalbach 3 yard run (Nick Bowman kick) |
| LEXCATH | - | Trey Woody kicks a 22 yard field goal |
| HIGHLANDS | - | Nick Bowman kicks a 27 yard field goal |
| HIGHLANDS | - | Cooper Schwalbach 3 yard run (Nick Bowman kick) |
| HIGHLANDS | - | Nick Bowman kicks a 20 yard field goal |
| HIGHLANDS | - | Nate Roberts 31 yard pass from Grady Cramer (Nick Bowman kick) |
| HIGHLANDS | - | Brycen Huddleston 52 yard fumble recovery (Nick Bowman kick) |
| LEXCATH | - | Beau Allen 24 yard run (Trey Woody kick) |
Selected Statistics
| Highlands | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Cooper Schwalbach | 12 | 47 | 3.9 | 15 |
| Joe Buten | 6 | 18 | 3.0 | 11 |
| Grady Cramer | 6 | 9 | 1.5 | 5 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Grady Cramer | 25-18-0 | 274 | 1 | 44 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Hunter Ahlfeld | 5 | 102 | 0 | 44 |
| Nate Roberts | 4 | 92 | 1 | 34 |
| Adam Weyer | 3 | 30 | 0 | 14 |
| Cooper Schwalbach | 3 | 12 | 0 | 6 |
| Austin King | 2 | 33 | 0 | 26 |
| Ben Sisson | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
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| Lexington Catholic | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Ryan Nichols | 22 | 79 | 3.6 | 16 |
| Beau Allen | 9 | 24 | 2.7 | 24 |
| Philippe Ilumva | 6 | 10 | 1.7 | 7 |
| Team | 1 | -6 | -6.0 | 0 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Beau Allen | 48-29-1 | 309 | 0 | 37 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Nathan Schnurr | 9 | 70 | 0 | 24 |
| Tommy Knopp | 6 | 74 | 0 | 37 |
| Jackson Corbett | 5 | 55 | 0 | 15 |
| Luke Powell | 4 | 51 | 0 | 28 |
| Trenton Neuer | 3 | 19 | 0 | 9 |
| John Woodall | 2 | 40 | 0 | 36 |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to WL Stats for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's games.
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.