Introduction

Four of the top teams in the state will have the opportunity to play on a beautiful newly installed synthetic turf at Joseph K. Ford Stadium.  It is hard to believe that only eight years ago coach Bob Sphire had only one home game for Lexington Catholic and that was on a soccer field.  The new field he calls home is a state-of-the-art surface and the only one of its kind in Kentucky.

Game One will feature St. Xavier, ranked No. 1 in pre-season 4A polls against No. 3 ranked 3A power Covington Catholic.  The second game features No. 4 Class A Harrodsburg against No. 1 2A power Lexington Catholic

Covington Catholic (0-0) vs. St. Xavier (0-0)

Coach Lynn Ray's Covington Catholic used his team's two-pronged attack of Brett Dietz's passing and an excellent running attack by tailback Cole Chadwick to upset St. Xavier 24-14.  Dietz connected on 16 of 25 passes for 194 yards and one touchdown pass.  Chadwick ran for 142 yards on 37 carries and scored twice.  Covington Catholic managed to control the line of scrimmage, opening holes for Chadwick and protecting Dietz in the pocket.

Covington Catholic  24         St. Xavier  14
 

School	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Covington Catholic	3	14	0	7	24
St. Xavier	0	14	0	0	14

CC - Andy Goetz 23 yard field goal
St. X - Ryan Payne 46 yard run (Justin Pickett kick)
CC  - Cole Chadwick 2 yard run (Goetz kick)
St. X - Eric Saling 2 yard run (Pickett kick)
CC - Brett Dietz 6 yard pass to Adam Burke (Goetz kick)
CC - Cole Chadwick 1 yard run (Goetz kick)

MVP's named were Cole Chadwick Covington Catholic and Ryan Payne St. Xavier
 

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

Bob Sphire, head coach of Lexington Catholic, has all the tenacity of a "junkyard dog".  He has played Harrodsburg seven times and has lost seven times, and is lining up for another shot at them tonight to inaugurate his new field.  Catholic has graduated a lot of linemen, but returns the "magician" Ryan Neff at QB and Mark Robinson and Stephen Jones at running backs.  Clay Wolford, a fleet wide receiver, adds the deep threat to the passing attack.

Coach Don Smith's Harrodsburg Pioneers are always blessed with speed.  QB Dan Hopewell, RB Keith Dunn, wide receivers R.J. Bartleson and Nicholas Short, and slot receiver James Yeast have speed to burn.

A crowd of 6,000 watched Lexington Catholic put this game away early. Stephen Jones returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a score and the rout had begun.  A combination of Harrodsburg turnovers and Catholic quick strikes resulted in a 62-13 win.  Ryan Neff passed for four TDs and Clay Wolford had three TD receptions to share MVP awards for Catholic.  R.J. Bartleson was named MVP for Harrodsburg.  Colin Barber, the star Lexington Catholic kicker, was out with a hamstring injury.  The kicking duties fell to 5'4" freshman Matt Beavin who coolly booted through 8 of 9 extra points.

Lexington Catholic  62         Harrodsburg  13
 

School	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Harrodsburg	7	6	0	0	13
Lexington Catholic	28	21	13	0	62

LC - Stephen Jones 91 yard kickoff return (Matt Beavin kick)
LC - Ryan Neff 1 yard run (Beavin kick)
LC - Ryan Neff 24 yard pass to Aaron Neff (Beavin kick)
LC - Ryan Neff 11 yard pass to Clay Wolford (Beavin kick)
H   - Keith Dunn 7 yard run (Brock Sims kick)
LC - Sam Christian 66 yard interception return (Beavin kick)
LC - Ryan Neff 5 yard pass to Wolford (Beavin kick)
H   - Dan Hopewell 27 yard run (kick blocked)
LC - Herb Sharber 4 yard run (Beavin kick)
LC - Ryan Neff 70 yard pass to Wolford (Beavin kick)
LC - Kevin Bailey 13 yard run (kick failed)

MVP's named were Ryan Neff  and Clay Wolford Lexington Catholic and R.J.  Bartleson Harrodsburg

Selected Statistics
 
 

Harrodsburg						Lexington Catholic
Rushing	No.	Yds	Avg	Long		Rushing	No.	Yds	Avg	Long
Keith Dunn	12	53	4.4	17		Mark Robinson	5	38	7.6	29
Dan Hopewell	15	22	1.5	27		Kevin Bailey	4	34	8.5	14
James Yeast	1	7	7.0	7		Herb Sharber	3	29	9.7	18
Lee Baker	1	6	6.0	6		Joseph Nallia	2	14	7.0	15
Passing	A-C-I	Yds	TD	Long		Passing	A-C-I	Yds	TD	Long
Dan Hopewell	20-11-3	105	0	23		Ryan Neff	10-7-0	190	4	70
						Jacob Doss	2-1-0	16	0	16
Receiving	No.	Yds	TD	Long		Receiving	No.	Yds	TD	Long
James Yeast	7	63	0	23		Clay Wolford	5	151	3	70
R.J. Bartleson	2	33	0	19		Aaron Neff	1	24	1	24
Andrew Hopewell	1	7	0	7		Greg Haydon	1	16	0	16
Keith Dunn	1	2	0	6		Adam Schenck	1	15	0	15

 

Other Area Games of Interest
 
 

Recreation Bowl		(Mount Sterling )
Madison Central	32	Scott Co.	28
Breathitt Co.	42	Montgomery Co.	15

Madison Central came from behind to defeat Scott County by a score of 32-28.  Joey Duff, a 6-2 210 Jr. fullback, rushed for 152 yards and three touchdowns to lead Madison Central.

Breathitt County used a potent passing attack to defeat Montgomery County 42-15 in the nightcap.  Allen Sperry completed 18 of 31 passes for 344 yards and 5 touchdowns.  He also carried the ball 9 times for 86 yards for a combined total yardage of 430 in his varsity debut.
 
 
 

Constitution Bowl
Franklin-Simpson	41	Danville	13
South Laurel	60	Clark Co.	30