Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
Louisville, Kentucky
December 2 & 3, 2005
©2007 by Ron Harrison
Class A Championship
Mayfield (11-3) vs. Newport Central Catholic (12-2) December 3, 2005
Mayfield averaged 34.4 ppg this season and the defense only allowed 10.9 ppg per game. The offense rolled up 3413 yards on the ground and 1421 yards through the air. Coach Joe Morris' squad has ben led on the ground by Blake Rust with 1231 yards and 19 touchdowns on 163 carries. 6-2 230 pound Sr. Josh Hatchell gained 764 yards and 11 touchdowns on 132 carries while 6-2 175 pound Sr. Tristan Dumas added 607 yards and eight touchdowns on 107 carries. 6-0 165 pound Jr. QB Adam Shelton completed 91 of 169 passes for 1421 yards with 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. 5-9 165 pound Sr. Fred Brown caught 23 passes for 499 yards and six touchdowns. Tristan Dumas added 22 receptions for 308 yards and four touchdowns. Josh Hatchell led the defense with 55 solo and 60 assisted tackles.
The Newport Central Catholic Coach Bob Schneider's squad features a balanced attack that rolled up 2418 yards on the ground and 2319 yards through the air. They averaged 37.9 ppg this and the defense yielded 12.3 ppg. The ground game was led by 5-11 175 pound Jr. Michael Vicars with 1366 yards and 14 touchdowns on 198 carries. 6-1 185 pound Sr. QB Sam Diehl completed 125 of 198 passes for 2246 yards and 33 TDs with only five interceptions. Diehl also ran for 365 yards and eight touchdowns. 6-0 162 pound Sr. Josh Canafax was Diehl's favorite target as he caught 62 passes for 1099 yards and 14 touchdowns. 6-0 170 pound Sr. LB Jordan Grainger led the defense with 63 solo and 77 assisted tackles. 6-3 247 pound Sr. DE Justin Smith added 74 solo and 60 assisted tackles.
Newport Central Catholic raced out to a 21-0 first quarter lead on their way to a 42-7 victory over Mayfield to claim the championship. The victors held a 397-210 edge in total offense including a 256-64 edge through the air. Mayfield was penalized six times for 71 yards while Newport Central Catholic was flagged five times for 35 yards.
Michael Vicars led the Newport Central Catholic ground game with 87 yards on 24 carries. Sam Diehl added 51 yards and a three yard TD run on nine carries. Diehl piloted the passing attack as he completed 13 of 24 passes for 256 yards and four TD passes with one interception. Scott Gesenhues caught five passes for 91 yards with scoring receptions of 16 and 35 yards. Kevin Bueter caught two passes for 82 yards including a 66 yard scoring reception. 6-1 185 pound Sr. LB Brandon Kohrs led the defense with six solo and six assisted tackles. Kevin Bueter recorded three solo and four assisted tackles. Kohrs and Bueter each intercepted a pass.
Blake Rust led Mayfield's ground game with 84 yards on 15 carries. Adam Shelton completed eight of 18 passes for 64 yards with two interceptions. Tristan Dumas caught five passes for 40 yards. Tristan Dumas led the defense with seven solo and one assisted tackles. Josh Hatchell added five solo and two assisted tackles.
Scoring Summary
| Newport Central Catholic | 42 | Mayfield | 7 |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Mayfield | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Newport Central Catholic | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| NCC | - | Scott Gesenhues 16 yard pass from Sam Diehl (Gesenhues kick) |
| NCC | - | Kevin Bueter 66 yard pass from Diehl (Gesenhues kick) |
| NCC | - | Josh Canafax 54 yard punt return (Gesenhues kick) |
| NCC | - | Diehl 3 yard run (Gesenhues kick) |
| NCC | - | Gesenhues 35 yard pass from Diehl (Gesenhues kick) |
| NCC | - | Brandon Kohrs 32 yard pass from Diehl (Gesenhues kick) |
| M | - | Josh Hatchell 1 yard run (Tommy McNutt kick) |
Selected Statistics
| Mayfield | Newport Central Catholic | |||||||||
| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | |||
| Blake Rust | 15 | 84 | 5.6 | Michael Vicars | 24 | 87 | 3.6 | |||
| Josh Hatchell | 8 | 36 | 4.5 | Sam Diehl | 9 | 51 | 5.7 | |||
| Tristian Dumas | 6 | 26 | 4.3 | Ben Dorger | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | |||
| Adam Shelton | 8 | 0 | 0.0 | Pat Collopy | 2 | -1 | -0.5 | |||
| team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Adam Shelton | 18-8-2 | 64 | 0 | 16 | Sam Diehl | 24-13-1 | 256 | 4 | 66 | |
| Chip Burks | 1-0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | |||
| Tristian Dumas | 5 | 40 | 0 | Scott Gesenhues | 5 | 91 | 2 | |||
| Fred Brown | 2 | 12 | 0 | Kevin Bueter | 2 | 82 | 1 | |||
| Caleb Garascia | 1 | 12 | 0 | Phil Horan | 2 | 23 | 0 | |||
| Josh Canafax | 2 | 10 | 0 | |||||||
| Brandon Kohrs | 1 | 32 | 1 | |||||||
| Michael Vicars | 1 | 18 | 0 | |||||||
Class 2A Championship
Owensboro Catholic (13-1) vs. Russell (13-1) December 3, 2005
Coach John Edge's Owensboro Catholic team rolled up 3214 yards through the air and 2588 yards on the ground. Owensboro Catholic averaged 414.5 yards per game and scored 39.4 ppg while giving up an average of 15.5 ppg. 5-9 175 pound Sr. Houston Kamuf led the ground attack with 1256 yards and 17 touchdowns on 177 carries. 6-1 195 pound Jr. Stewart Ijames added 640 yards and eight touchdowns on 88 carries. 6-1 174 pound Sr. QB David Woodward completed 231 of 354 passes for 3157 yards with 40 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions. 5-10 171 pound Jr. Neil Holland caught 75 passes for 1060 yards with 11 touchdowns. 5-9 160 pound Jr. Jared Johnson added 62 receptions for 865 yards and 15 touchdowns. 6-0 180 pound Sr. LB Adam McBride led the defense with 100 solo and 112 assisted tackles. 5-10 215 pound Sr. LB David Jarboe added 63 solo and 122 assisted tackles. 6-1 170 pound So. FS Brian Winklespleck recorded 14 interceptions.
Russell Coach Ivan McGlone's ground attack gained 4164 yards while the air game added 995 yards. Russell averaged 38.4 ppg while the defense gave up 18.4 ppg. 6-0 190 pound Jr. RB Kasey Clark carried the ball 194 times for 1381 yards with 30 touchdowns. 5-10 180 pound Sr. QB Tommy Brown added 668 yards and seven touchdowns on 96 carries. Brown also completed 44 of 87 passes for 922 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Kasey Clark caught 19 passes for 418 yards and five touchdowns. 5-10 219 pound Sr. Derek Timberlake recorded 26 solo and 97 assisted tackles. 5-10 199 pound Jr. Josh Willis added 22 solo and 75 assisted tackles.
Russell utilized a solid ground attack led by three TD runs by Kasey Clark and two pass interceptions to defeat Owensboro Catholic 27-14. Owensboro Catholic actually held a 337-296 edge in total offense but Russell held a 31:03-16:57 advantage in possession time. Russell gained 285 yards on 60 rushing attempts with no turnovers. Russell also converted on five of seven fourth-down opportunities.
Kasey Clark led the Russell ground game with 190 yards and three touchdowns. Clark also scored on an 11 yard pass reception. Tommy Brown added 63 yards on 14 carries. 5-10 170 pound Jr. Nick Lewis led the defense with nine solo and one assisted tackles.
Houston Kamuf led the Owensboro Catholic ground game with 121 yards and a TD on 15 carries. David Woodward completed 18 of 32 passes for 178 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Jared Johnson caught eight passes for 84 yards with a TD. Neil Holland added seven receptions for 72 yards. Adam McBride led the defense with 12 solo and 12 assisted tackles.
Scoring Summary
| Russell | 27 | Owensboro Catholic | 14 |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Owensboro Catholic | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Russell | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
| R | - | Kasey Clark 11 yard pass from Tommy Brown (Dwaine Evans kick) |
| OC | - | Jared Johnson 20 yard pass from David Woodward (Johnson kick) |
| R | - | Clark 10 yard run (Evans kick fails) |
| R | - | Clark 9 yard run (Evans kick) |
| R | - | Clark 2 yard run (Evans kick) |
| OC | - | Houston Kamuf 4 yard run (Evans kick) |
Selected Statistics
| Owensboro Catholic | Russell | |||||||||
| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | |||
| Houston Kamuf | 15 | 121 | 8.1 | Kasey Clark | 36 | 190 | 5.3 | |||
| Steward Ijames | 5 | 24 | 4.8 | Tommy Brown | 14 | 63 | 4.5 | |||
| David Woodward | 5 | 14 | 2.8 | Chad Edwards | 6 | 23 | 3.8 | |||
| Jared Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | Nick Lewis | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | |||
| team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Adam Shelton | 32-18-2 | 178 | 1 | 24 | Tommy Brown | 6-1-0 | 11 | 1 | 11 | |
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | |||
| Jared Johnson | 8 | 84 | 1 | Kasey Clark | 1 | 11 | 1 | |||
| Neil Holland | 7 | 72 | 0 | |||||||
| Stewart Ijames | 2 | 15 | 0 | |||||||
| Nick Norcia | 1 | 7 | 0 | |||||||
Class 3A Championship
Bowling Green (13-1) vs. Lexington Catholic (13-1) December 3, 2005
Coach Kevin Wallace's Bowling Green Purples have averaged 43.6 ppg while only yielding 3.9 ppg this season. They have only given up 54 points and have posted eight shutouts this season. The Purples have gained 3952 yards on the ground and 1229 through the air. 5-10 175 pound Jr. Avery Hibbitt gained 1485 yards with 29 touchdowns on 158 carries. 5-10 178 pound Sr. Chris Reynolds carried the ball 101 times for 888 yards and nine touchdowns. The Purples alternate QBs with 5-11 165 pound So. Trent Steelman and 6-2 200 pound So. QB Rondale McMillan Steelman completed 32 of 62 passes for 728 yards with seven touchdown passes and four interceptions. McMillan completed 27 of 56 passes for seven TD passes and two interceptions. Avery Hibbitt caught 15 passes for 360 yards and five touchdowns. 6-0 195 pound Jr. LB Chris Tucker led the defense with 67 solo and 44 assisted tackles. 6-2 240 pound Jr. LB Tucker Jackson added 63 solo and 32 assisted tackles.
Coach Bob Sphire's Lexington Catholic Knights have averaged 48.3 ppg while yielding 19.0 ppg. The Knights have passed for 3663 yards and gained 2310 yards on the ground. 6-3 195 pound Sr. QB Justin Burke completed 210 of 338 passes for 3568 yards and gained 2310 yards on the ground with 62 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Burke also rushed for 461 yards and six touchdowns on 80 carries. 5-5 160 pound So. Shane Israel gained 1157 yards and 17 touchdowns on 178 carries. 5-11 185 pound Sr. Cornell Burbage caught 67 passes for 1156 yards with 16 touchdowns. 6-1 170 pound Jr. Wes Caldwell caught 57 passes for 1082 yards with 21 TDs. 5-11 180 pound Jr. LB Jacob Locknane led the defense with 57 solo and 52 assisted tackles. 5-10 175 pound Sr. SS Will Osborne added 49 solo and 33 assisted tackles. 6-2 210 pound Sr. LB Davis Page chipped in with 43 solo and 37 assisted tackles.
Lexington Catholic defense scored two touchdowns on fumble recoveries and the offense rushed for five TDs to give the Knights a 49-21 victory over Bowling Green. The Purples fumbled the ball seven times, losing three and had a pass intercepted. Lexington Catholic lost two fumbles and had a pass intercepted. Lexington Catholic held a 346-267 advantage in total yardage. Lexington Catholic was penalized seven times for 70 yards while Bowling Green was flagged 12 times for 98 yards.
Shane Israel led the Lexington Catholic ground game with 90 yards and three TDs on 17 carries. Justin Burke completed 15 of 27 passes for 221 yards with one interception. Wes Caldwell caught seven passes for 109 yards. Cornell Burbage added four receptions for 85 yards. 5-11 175 pound Sr. FS Patrick Schwendeman led the defense with seven solo and three assisted tackles. Jacob Locknane added four solo and eight assisted tackles. 6-0 160 pound So. SS Winston Guy chipped in with six solo and two assisted tackles. WGuy also scored on a 22 yard fumble recovery.
Avery Hibbitt led the Bowling Green ground attack with 87 yards on 18 carries. Chris Reynolds added 73 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Trent Steelman completed five of 11 passes for 88 yards with a touchdown. Bradley Barlow caught three passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. Chip Wilkins added two receptions for 29 yards. Chris Tucker led the defense with four solo and two assisted tackles. Tucker also scored on a 60 yard fumble recovery. 5-8 165 pound Sr. CB Carlos Fugate added four solo, two assisted tackles, and a fumble recovery.
Scoring Summary
| Lexington Catholic | 49 | Bowling Green | 21 |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Bowling Green | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Lexington Catholic | 7 | 20 | 15 | 7 | 49 |
| LC | - | Shane Israel 10 yard run (Brian Behr kick) |
| OC | - | Chris Reynolds 12 yard run (Casey Tinius kick) |
| LC | - | Israel 1 yard run (Behr kick blocked) |
| LC | - | Israel 8 yard run (Behr kick) |
| LC | - | Winston Guy 22 yard fumble recovery (Behr kick) |
| LC | - | Davis Page fumble recovery in end zone (Will Osborne pass from Justin Burke) |
| LC | - | Burke 1 yard run (Behr kick) |
| OC | - | Chris Tucker 60 yard fumble recovery (Tinius kick) |
| LC | - | Osborne 13 yard run (Behr kick) |
| OC | - | Bradley Barlow 20 yard pass from Trent Steelman (Tinius kick) |
Selected Statistics
| Bowling Green | Lexington Catholic | |||||||||
| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | |||
| Avery Hibbitt | 18 | 87 | 4.8 | Shane Israel | 17 | 90 | 5.3 | |||
| Chris Reynolds | 9 | 73 | 8.1 | Will Osborne | 5 | 25 | 5.0 | |||
| Anthony Davis | 8 | 28 | 3.5 | Justin Burke | 7 | 10 | 1.4 | |||
| Trent Steelman | 5 | -14 | -2.8 | team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | |||
| Rondale McMillian | 8 | -16 | -2.0 | |||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Trent Steelman | 11-5-0 | 88 | 1 | 26 | Justin Burke | 27-15-1 | 221 | 0 | 45 | |
| Rondale McMillian | 9-1-1 | 21 | 0 | 21 | ||||||
| D. L. Moore | 1-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | |||
| Bradley Barlow | 3 | 54 | 1 | Wes Caldwell | 7 | 109 | 0 | |||
| Chip Wilkins | 2 | 29 | 0 | Cornell Burbage | 4 | 85 | 0 | |||
| Avery Hibbitt | 1 | 26 | 0 | Will Osborne | 3 | 21 | 0 | |||
| Winston Guy | 1 | 6 | 0 | |||||||
Class 4A Championship
St. Xavier (14-0) vs. Trinity (12-2) December 2, 2005
Coach Mike Glaser's St. Xavier Tigers ran the table this season and are on a 26-game winning streak. They averaged 38.1 points per game and gave up 13.1 points per game. The Tigers gained 3583 yards on the ground and 1206 yards through the air. 5-8 172 pound Jr. Victor Anderson led the ground game with 1418 yards and 25 touchdowns on 166 carries. 5-9 190 pound Sr. Michael Beasley added 900 yards and 18 TDs on 166 carries. 6-0 179 pound Sr. QB Brent Curley completed 92 of 172 passes for 1226 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. 5-11 178 pound Sr. Colt Totten led the receivers with 29 receptions for 444 yards and five touchdowns. The Tiger defense was led by 5-11 214 pound Sr. LB Chris Dornbrook, 6-1 214 pound Sr. DT Kent Amshoff, and 5-10 160 pound Sr. DB Nick Schickel.
Trinity Shamrock Coach Bob Beatty's squad averaged 42.4 ppg while giving up 14.1 ppg. The Shamrocks gained 2369 yards on the ground and 3334 yards through the air this season. The ground game has been led by 5-10 195 pound Sr. Donald Barnett with 965 yards and 14 touchdowns on 122 carries. 5-11 190 pound Sr. Blayne Donnell added 578 yards and 10 touchdowns on 68 rushing attempts. 5-9 175 pound Jr. QB Nick Petrino completed 180 of 290 passes for 3013 yards with 30 touchdowns and only three interceptions. 6-1 185 pound Sr. Craig Kircher caught 49 passes for 943 yards and 13 touchdowns. 5-8 150 pound Jr. Kyle Flynn added 34 receptions for 489 yards with four touchdowns. 6-1 185 pound Sr. Eric Senn caught 31 passes for 493 yards and four touchdowns. Senn also intercepted nine passes with 148 yards on the return with a TD. The defense was led by 6-3 230 pound Sr. DL Tony Klausing, 6-1 214 pound Jr. LB Larry Taugher, and 5-11 185 pound Sr. DE Chris Wood.
Trinity defeated St. Xavier 14-6 to avenge a 48-16 regular season loss earlier this season. The Shamrocks claimed the 4A title before 21,424 fans. Trinity ensured the victory with a goal-line stand with a little more than two minutes left in the game. On a fourth-and-three from the Trinity four, Victor Anderson was stopped inches short of a first down. St. Xavier's chances were hurt when QB Brent Curley suffered an injury in the second half. Trinity led 7-6 in the fourth quarter when Trinity QB Nick Petrino scrambled for a 37 yard TD run to give the Shamrocks a 14-6 lead and a little breathing room with 7:22 remaining in the game.
Trinity held a 310-269 yard edge on total offense. Each team lost a fumble. St. Xavier was penalized 12 times for 83 yards while Trinity was flagged eight times for 55 yards. Both teams missed a field goal attempt and St. Xavier had an extra point attempt blocked.
Blayne Donnell led Trinity's ground attack with 77 yards on 18 carries. Nick Petrino added 72 yards and a 37 yard TD run on 12 carries. Petrino also completed 12 of 22 passes for 138 yards and one TD. Eric Senn caught six passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. 6-1 205 pound Jr. DE Eric Brady and 5-10 170 pound Sr. DB John Bennett each recorded seven solo and two assisted tackles.
Victor Anderson led the St. Xavier ground game with 94 yards on 19 carries. Michael Mattingly added 43 yards on 11 carries. Brent Curley completed five of 11 passes for 67 yards. Victor Anderson caught two passes for 30 yards. 6-0 175 pound Sr. DE John Bennett led the defense with seven solo tackles. Chris Dornbrook added five solo and two assisted tackles.
Scoring Summary
| Trinity | 14 | St. Xavier | 6 |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| St. Xavier | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Trinity | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| SX | - | Victor Anderson 3 yard run (Tim Dougherty kick blocked) |
| T | - | Eric Senn 10 yard pass from Nick Petrino (Eddie Webb kick) |
| T | - | Petrino 37 yard run (Webb kick) |
Selected Statistics
| St. Xavier | Trinity | |||||||||
| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | |||
| Victor Anderson | 19 | 94 | 4.9 | Blayne Donnell | 18 | 77 | 4.3 | |||
| Michael Mattingly | 11 | 43 | 3.9 | Nick Petrino | 12 | 72 | 6.0 | |||
| Brent Curley | 5 | 26 | 5.2 | Donald Barnett | 6 | 19 | 3.2 | |||
| Ben Zoeller | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | Steve Orndorff | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | |||
| Drew Eckman | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | |||
| team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Brent Curley | 11-5-0 | 67 | 0 | 23 | Nick Petrino | 22-12-0 | 138 | 1 | 28 | |
| Ben Zoeller | 6-1-0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | ||||||
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | |||
| Victor Anderson | 2 | 30 | 0 | Eric Senn | 6 | 53 | 1 | |||
| Alex James | 2 | 16 | 0 | Steve Orndorff | 2 | 52 | 0 | |||
| Michael Mattingly | 1 | 21 | 0 | Kyle Flynn | 2 | 19 | 0 | |||
| Dan Passafuime | 1 | 10 | 0 | Craig Kircher | 1 | 10 | 0 | |||
| Nick Melillo | 1 | 4 | 0 | |||||||
Acknowledgements
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 games, 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.
