Topic: Football
2023FBPABCC
Ashland Blazer vs. Covington Catholic
Class 4A 2023 UK HealthCare Sports Medicine State Football Finals Round 2
Covington Catholic High School
Park Hills, KY
November 10, 2023
© 2023 by Ron Harrison
Covington Catholic defeated Ashland Blazer by the score of 35-28. Covington Catholic recorded 19 first downs and 361 yards of total offense. The Colonels were penalized four times for 26 yards. Ashland Blazer recorded 18 first downs and 431 yards of total offense. The Tomcats were penalized three times for 25 yards and lost a fumble.
Owen Leen led the Covington Catholic ground game with 103 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Evan Pitzer carried the ball nine times for 44 yards. Andrew Bessler recorded 20 yards on one carry and Braylon Miller chipped in with 14 yards on one rushing attempt. Evan Pitzer completed 11 of 14 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Willie Rodriguez caught six passes for 115 yards and three touchdowns. Braylon Miller added four receptions for 56 yards. Owen Leen recorded one reception for nine yards. Dylan Gaiser, Braylon Miller, and Brady Guard each returned one kickoff for 32, 19, and 14 yards respectively. Josh Flood led the defense with nine solo and two assisted tackles. Tate Kruer added eight solo and one assisted tackles. Logan Sanning recorded seven solo and one assisted tackles. Ben Reeves chipped in with four solo and three assisted tackles. Cash Harney added four solo and two assisted tackles.
Brqaxton Jennings led Ashland Blazer’s ground game with 78 yards on 11 carries. LaBryant Strader carried the ball 16 times for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Atayveon Thomas recorded 72 yards on 10 carries. LaBryant Strader completed 10 of 15 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Braxton Jennings caught two passes for 86 yards. Asher Adkins added three receptions for 56 yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Houston recorded two receptions for 49 yards. Cameron Davis returned one punt for eight yards and returned three kickoffs for 25 yards with a long return of 14 yards. Braxton Jennings returned two kickoffs for 26 yards including a long return of 23 yards. Sawyer Edens led the defense with nine solo tackles. Tucker Rogers added five solo tackles. Maverick Ashby, Jackson Billup, and Jake Sexton each recorded four solo tackles.
Scoring Summary
School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
Ashland Blazer | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
Covington Catholic | 14 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 35 |
COVCATH | - | Willie Rodriguez 14 yard pass from Evan Pitzer (Andrew Weitzel kick) |
COVCATH | - | Owen Leen 11 yard run (Andrew Weitzel kick) |
ASHLAND | - | Asher Adkins 32 yard pass from LaBryant Strader (Jake Sexton kick) |
COVCATH | - | Willie Rodriguez 21 yard pass from Evan Pitzer (Andrew Weitzel kick) |
ASHLAND | - | LaBryant Strader 2 yard run (Jake Sexton kick) |
COVCATH | - | Owen Leen 1 yard run (Andrew Weitzel kick) |
ASHLAND | - | LaBryant Strader 9 yard run (Jake Sexton kick) |
COVCATH | - | Willie Rodriguez 45 yard pass from Evan Pitzer (Andrew Weitzel kick) |
ASHLAND | - | Asher Adkins 5 yard pass from LaBryant Strader (Jake Sexton kick) |
Selected Statistics
Ashland Blazer | ||||
| ||||
Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
Braxton Jennings | 11 | 78 | 7.1 | 20 |
LaBryant Strader | 16 | 73 | 4.6 | 16 |
Atayveon Thomas | 10 | 72 | 7.2 | 17 |
Cameron Davis | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 3 |
| ||||
Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
LaBryant Strader | 15-10-0 | 205 | 2 | 68 |
| ||||
Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
Braxton Jennings | 2 | 86 | 0 | 68 |
Asher Adkins | 3 | 56 | 2 | 32 |
Brandon Houston | 2 | 49 | 0 | 34 |
Cameron Davis | 2 | 10 | 0 | 5 |
Atayveon Thomas | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| ||||
Covington Catholic | ||||
| ||||
Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
Owen Leen | 21 | 103 | 4.9 | 17 |
Evan Pitzer | 9 | 44 | 4.9 | 13 |
Andrew Bessler | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 |
Braylon Miller | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 |
| ||||
Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
Evan Pitzer | 14-11-0 | 180 | 3 | 45 |
| ||||
Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
Willie Rodriguez | 6 | 115 | 3 | 45 |
Braylon Miller | 4 | 56 | 0 | 22 |
Owen Leen | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to the Ashland Blazer and Covington Catholic Stat Crews 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.