Introduction

Four quality football programs will have the opportunity to showcase their talents on the beautiful synthetic turf at Joseph K. Ford Stadium.  

Game One will pit Class 4A powers St. Xavier against Scott County.  St. Xavier is coached by Mike Glaser and enters the season ranked #2 in 4A.  St. Xavier features a strong defense, speed, and an excellent kicking game.  6-1 203 pound Sr. LB Dan Bick blocked nine kicks (five punts and four field goals) last season.  The Tigers also have one of the state's best players in 6-0 187 pound Sr. DB Justin Deeley, who intercepted nine passes last season.  They also return PK Leo Fante and punter Patrick Mossholder.  6-1 181 pound Sr. Brian Bishop will open at QB and he has the luxury of handing the ball off to 5-11 213 pound Sr. RB K. J. Austin-Bruce.  St. Xavier finished 10-3 last season and veteran coach Mike Glaser (221-53 in 21 years) has a brutal early schedule including Scott County, Cincinnati Moeller, Lexington Catholic, Male, and Trinity. 

The Scott County Cardinals, coached by Jim McKee, finished 11-1 last season and are ranked #5 in pre-season 4A rankings.  Coach McKee must replace nine players along the offensive and defensive line but has plenty of talent returning to meet the challenge.  Sr. QB Chris Cronin returns for his final campaign and the Cardinals are 20-4 when he starts under center.  The Cardinals have an excellent stable of running backs returning, including 5-11 180 pound Sr. Phillip Ray (645 yards last season), 5-9 240 pound Jr. Percy Hargrove (637 yards), and 5-10 159 pound Jr. Ted Sberna (569 yards).  The Cardinals add additional speed in Dunbar transfer 6-0 160 pound Jr. C. T. Trumbo.  The defense will be led by one of the best in the state, 6-2 235 pound Sr. LB Courtney White.  5-11 165 pound Sr. DB Dustin Current, SS Phillip Ray, and FS Ted Sberna are also expected to be big contributors on defense. 

Game Two will match 2A power Prestonsburg against traditional 3A power Lexington Catholic.  The Prestonsburg Blackcats, coached by John DeRossett, finished 8-4 last season and are ranked #5 in pre-season 2A polls.  The Blackcats offense will have a good mix of returning veterans and talented newcomers.  Jr. Trevor Compton will open at QB after playing flanker and backup QB last season.  Sr. WR Nick Jamerson had over 1000 yards receiving last season and tied the state record by returning six punts for touchdowns.  Sr. RB Chat Yates transferred from Johnson Central where he gained over 1500 yards. The Blackcats return some quality starters and the newcomers will have to contribute immediately considering the Prestonsburg schedule. 

Coach Bob Sphire's Lexington Catholic Knights finished 11-2 last season and enter the season ranked #7 in the 3A polls.  Lexington Catholic has some big shoes to fill on offense including finding a replacement for graduated stars QB Jacob Doss, WR John Logan, WR Matt Beavin PK Tripp Eckerline, etc.  The QB job will be handled by either Jr. Tanner Doss or So. Justin Burke.  Sr. RB Phillip Martin should have a break-out season if he can avoid the injury bug.  The defense returns eight starters and should be led by a strong LB corp of 6-1 185 pound Sr. Kevin Lattner, 6-1 190 pound Jr. John Logan, and 5-10 190 pound Jr. Matt Walton.  The Knights have a tough early schedule with Prestonsburg, St. Xavier, and Scott County, which should test the young but promising offense. 

Bowl History

Game One

St. Xavier (0-0) vs. Scott County (0-0)

St. Xavier capitalized on early Scott County miscues and the hard running of K. J. Austin-Bruce to take a 21-0 first quarter run on their way to a 38-6 victory.  St. Xavier held a 342-240 yard edge on total offense and averaged 8.7 yards per carry on 34 rushing attempts.  St. Xavier was penalized eight times for 97 yards while Scott County was flagged three times for 31 yards. 

St. Xavier was led on the ground by K. J. Austin-Bruce, who carried the ball 15 times for 192 yards with scoring runs of one, 68, 18, and two yards.  QB Brian Bishop tallied 90 yards and scored on a 71 yard run on six carries.  St. Xavier's offensive line did an excellent job opening up the holes and the St. Xavier offensive backs did a great job following the blocks.  K. J. Austin-Bruce was named MVP for St. Xavier.

Scott County was led by Ted Sberna, who carried the ball 13 times for 75 yards.  Sberna also caught three passes for 28 yards and was credited with six solo and one assisted tackles on defense.  Percy Hargrove added 72 yards and one TD on 15 carries.  Chris Cronin completed eight of 17 passes for 76 yards and Kyle Tucker had four receptions for 45 yards.  The Cardinals got a spark from Jr. DB Derrick Ritchie, who was credited with a fumble recovery which led to a Scott County TD and an interception.  Ted Sberna was named MVP for Scott County.  Scott County was dealt a blow early in the game when one of their more versatile players, Phillip Ray, was injured attempting to punt.  Ray was taken to the hospital to have the injury evaluated. 

Scoring Summary

St. Xavier

38

Scott County

6

School	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
St. Xavier	21	7	3	7	38
Scott County	0	0	0	6	6

ST.X	- K. J. Austin-Bruce 1 yard run (Leo Fante kick)
ST.X	- Austin-Bruce 63 yard run (Fante kick)
ST.X	- Austin-Bruce 18 yard run (Fante kick)
ST.X	- Brian Bishop 71 yard run (Fante kick)
ST.X	- Fante 33 yard field goal
ST.X	- Austin-Bruce 2 yard run (Fante Kick)
SC	- Percy Hargrove 2 yard run (run fails)

 
 

Game Two

Prestonsburg (0-0) vs. Lexington Catholic (0-0)

Lexington Catholic held a 377-99 edge in total offense and their rebuilt offense never missed a beat as they rolled up a 35-0 lead at the half on their way to a 49-6 victory.  Soph Justin Burke had an impressive debut as the starting QB by completing 14 of 19 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns.  Phillip Martin rushed for 96 yards and scoring runs of two, 21, 19, and two yards on 15 carries.  Burke also rushed for 42 yards on seven rushing attempts.  Kevin Vogelsang caught five passes for 52 yards and one TD.  Tyler Hinkel snared four passes for 104 yards including a 64 yard scoring strike.  The Lexington Catholic defense was equally impressive, holding the Blackcats to minus one yard in the first half and only 99 yards for the entire game.  RB Phillip Martin was named MVP for Lexington Catholic tonight. 

Prestonsburg was led on the ground by QB Trevor Compton, who had 22 yards and a TD on 16 rushing attempts.  Compton also completed five of nine passes for 46 yards.  Nick Jamerson had three pass receptions for 15 yards and returned three kickoffs for 115 yards.  Nick Jamerson was named MVP for Prestonsburg. 

Scoring Summary

Lexington Catholic

49

Prestonsburg

6

School	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Prestonsburg	0	0	0	6	6
Lexington Catholic	21	14	14	0	49

LC	- Phillip Martin 2 yard run (Brian Behr kick)
LC	- Martin 21 yard run (Behr kick)
LC	- Martin 19 yard run (Behr kick)
LC	- Martin 2 yard run (Behr kick)
LC	- Kevin Vogelsang 8 yard pass from Justin Burke (Behr kick)
LC	- Tyler Hinkel 64 yard pass from Burke (Behr kick)
LC	- Marvin Devers 3 yard pass from Burke (Behr kick)
P	- Trevor Compton 1 yard run (run fails)

 
  Selected Statistics
 

Prestonsburg						Lexington Catholic
Rushing	No.	Yds.	Avg.	Long		Rushing	No.	Yds.	Avg.	Long
Trevor Compton	16	22	1.4	24		Phillip Martin	15	96	6.4	21
Chat Yates	10	14	1.4	7		Justin Burke	5	42	8.4	26
Nick Jamerson	2	13	6.5	9		Truitt Donnelly	1	1	1.0	1
Joe Blackburn	4	4	1.0	4		Tanner Doss	2	0	0.0	5
						Branden Logan	1	8	8.0	8
						John Damron	1	-7	-7.0	0
Passing	A-C-I	Yds.	TD	Long		Passing	A-C-I	Yds.	TD	Long
Trevor Compton	9-5-0	46	0	27		Justin Burke	19-14-0	218	3	64
David Shaffer	2-0-0	0	0	0		Tanner Doss	2-2-0	19	0	16
Receiving	No.	Yds.	TD	Long		Receiving	No.	Yds.	TD	Long
Nick Jamerson	3	15	0	7		Kevin Vogelsang	5	52	1	19
Jessie Chaffin	1	27	0	27		Tyler Hinkel	4	104	1	64
John Stephens	1	4	0	4		Cornell Burbage	2	36	0	30
						Marvin Devers	2	22	1	19
						Michael Rumpke	1	11	0	11
						Phillip Martin	1	9	0	9
						Will Osborne	1	3	0	3

Acknowledgements

A special thanks to Lexington Catholic athletic director Greg Todd for the hospitality extended me during my stay.  Also, a special thanks to the WL Stats crew for the comprehensive stats provided for both games tonight. 

Other Games of Interest

Paducah Tilghman

47

Henry Clay

26

Joe Casey carried the ball 19 times for 184 yards and two touchdowns to lead Paducah Tilghman to victory. 

Montgomery Bell Academy (TN)

17

Trinity

13

MBA knocked off the #1 ranked team in Kentucky despite Trinity QB Brian Brohm completing 34 of 53 passes for 414 yards and a touchdown. 

Mason County

48

Breathitt County

6

QB Dustin Grutza completed eight of 13 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for another score.  Chris Lofton caught six passes for 254 yards and scoring receptions of 79 and 32 yards. 

Woodford County	40		Anderson County	6
Lexington Christian	56		Louisville Evangel Christian	6
Paul Dunbar	20		Garrard County	6
Danville	22		Manual	7
Estill County	62		Montgomery County	6
Pineville	13		Berea	12
Bell County	62		Marion County	7
Bowling Green	41		Southwestern	0
Boyd County	18		Belfry	0
Lawrence County	26		Pikeville	0
Louisville Christian	39		North Oldham	14
Cincinnati Colerain	42		Boone County	6
Middlesboro	25		Ashland Blazer	21
Male	48		Oldham County	35
Warren Central	42		Central Hardin	10
St. Pius X	21		Covington Catholic	16
Muhlenberg South	46		Muhlenberg North	12
Murray	35		Lone Oak	7
Rockcastle County	21		LaRue County	8

Please send your comments and questions to Ron Harrison at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.

Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.