REGULAR SEASON GAME REPORTS
Aug. 23 -- BOONE COUNTY, 10 a.m.
Aug. 30 -- DIXIE HEIGHTS, 9:30 a.m.
Sept. 5 -- at Cincinnati Moeller, 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 -- HENDERSON COUNTY, 1 p.m.
Sept. 26 -- at Highlands, 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 -- BEECHWOOD, 1 p.m.
Oct. 10 -- at Ryle, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 18 -- HARRISON COUNTY, 1 p.m.
Oct. 24 -- at Holmes, 7 p.m.
Oct. 31 -- at Conner, 7 p.m.
2014 Schedule
CovCath Colonels
Class: 4A / District: 7
Current Records: 6-4 overall, 2-1 district
Head Coach: Dave Wirth Jr.
Varsity Assistants: Matt Roberts, Andrew Nichols, Tyler Conrad, Grant Groneck, Pat Burke, Chase Floyd, Derek Roedig, Tyler Hardin, Terry Regan, Lynn Ray. Tim Hobbs, Steve Bailey, Jim Koch, Dave Wirth Sr.
AUG. 22 -- COVINGTON CATHOLIC 39, BOONE COUNTY 6
Senior quarterback Adam Wagner threw five touchdown passes in the second quarter to lead CovCath to victory in the season-opening game that was called at halftime due to excessive heat.
Logan McDowell caught the first three touchdown passes with one covering 44 yards. Lee McClure pulled down the last two TD passes, including a catch-and-run that went 52 yards. Wagner ended up completing 12 of 15 passes for 230 yards to account for most of CovCath’s 317-yard total.
Boone County put together a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive that ended with Jerry Marshall’s 1-yard run into the end zone. That made the score 13-6 with 7:18 left in the second quarter, but CovCath ran off 26 straight points behind the passing of Wagner. The Rebels had 175 total yards (122 passing, 53 rushing).
AUG. 30 -- COVINGTON CATHOLIC 41, DIXIE HEIGHTS 7
Covington Catholic seniors Lee McClure and Logan McDowell scored touchdowns on punt returns in the first four minutes of the game to give their team a 13-0 lead before the offensive unit took its first snap.
The Colonels went on to score four more touchdowns and picked up 308 yards in total offense with senior quarterback Adam Wagner leading the way. He completed 17 of 29 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a team-high 46 yards and one TD.
Dixie Heights senior quarterback Drew Moore scored his team’s only touchdown on a 2-yard run that cut CovCath’s lead to 20-7 with 3:53 left in the second quarter. But CovCath came right back with an 84-yard scoring drive that ended with McDowell catching a 13-yard pass from Wagner.
McDowell also threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Jake Erpenbeck on a reverse option play in the fourth quarter.
SEPT. 5 -- MOELLER 39, COVINGTON CATHOLIC 0
Moeller’s offense gained 504 yards and the defense forced three turnovers in the shutout victory.
CovCath finished with 243 yards (189 passing, 54 rushing), but one interception and two fumbles stymied the offense. The Crusaders returned one of the fumbles for a touchdown that gave them a 32-0 lead in the third quarter.
CovCath senior quarterback Adam Wagner completed 17 of 29 passes for 189 yards and rushed for 30 yards on 15 carries. Lee McClure caught one pass for 69 yards and Jake Erpenbeck had a 36-yard kickoff return, but those were the only big plays for the Colonels.
SEPT. 13 -- COVINGTON CATHOLIC 49, HENDERSON COUNTY 28
CovCath scored 35 straight points in the second half to come from behind and take the victory. Senior quarterback Adam Wagner led the Colonels' comeback by rushing for one touchdown and throwing three TD passes to Logan McDowell during the second half.
Wagner also threw scoring passes to Ben Darlington and Lee McClure in the first half. His five touchdown passes had a combined total of 116 yards. The longest one was a 42-yarder to McDowell, who has scored a team-high 48 points in four games.
SEPT. 26 -- HIGHLANDS 42, COVINGTON CATHOLIC 7
Highlands rushed for 316 yards and senior quarterback Beau Hoge completed 16 of 23 passes for 221 yards in the Class 4A district win. The Bluebirds' leading rusher was senior Josh Watson with 107 yards on 19 carries. He scored one of his team's rushing touchdowns and Hoge crossed the goal line twice. Hoge also threw TD passes to Alex Veneman and Mitchell Cain.
CovCath's offense totaled 362 yards with 217 coming on the ground. But the Colonels had three turnovers in the first half and
didn't score until late in the fourth quarter when Jake Erpenbeck caught a short pass from backup quarterback Ben Dressman and raced 55 yards for a touchdown. Starting quarterback Adam Wagner completed 10 of 22 passes for 90 yards and had 98 rushing yards on 15 carries for the Colonels.
OCT. 4 -- BEECHWOOD 28 COVINGTON CATHOLIC 13
Beechwood junior Brett Slusher scored three consecutive touchdowns in the second and third quarters to provide the spark the Tigers needed to beat CovCath for the first time since 2008.
Slusher started his scoring streak with an 88-yard kickoff return in the second quarter. His other two touchdowns came on a 77-yard pass play in the second quarter and a 35-yard pass play in the third quarter that gave Beechwood a 28-6 lead. Senior running back Joe Studer threw the first TD pass to Slusher on an option play and quarterback Kyle Fieger threw the second one. Fieger also connected with Jonathan Stokes on a 12-yard pass for the game's first touchdown.
CovCath finished with a 378-328 advantage in total yardage, but junior quarterback Ben Dressman had two passes intercepted and the Colonels turned the ball over on downs deep inside Beechwood territory twice in the second half. Junior receiver Ryan McGinness scored both of CovCath's touchdowns on a 5-yard pass from Dressman and a 49-yard run.
OCT. 10 -- RYLE 21, COVINGTON CATHOLIC 14
With 36 seconds left, senior quarterback Ryan Rytlewski scored on a 1-yard run up the middle to win the game for the Raiders and hand CovCath it’s third consecutive loss.
Rytlewski threw a 26-yard TD pass to Alex Brownell to give Ryle a 14-0 lead. But CovCath tied the score with TD passes from junior quarterback Ryan McGinness to seniors Alex Wagner and Lee McClure in the third quarter. The score remained tied until Rytlewski’s game-winning quarterback sneak in the final seconds capped a 10-play, 64-yard drive for the Raiders.
McGinness completed seven of 10 passes for 200 yards in his first start as CovCath’s quarterback. Ryle junior running back Colin England also had a big game, rushing for 221 yards and one TD.
OCT. 18 -- COVINGTON CATHOLIC 56, HARRISON COUNTY 0
CovCath snapped a three-game losing streak in the Class 4A district game and junior quarterback Ryan McGinness played a key role in the high-scoring victory. McGinness scored two rushing touchdowns and threw a pair of TD passes to Logan McDowell during the first half when the Colonels took a 42-0 lead.
McGinness completed 7 of 10 passes for 149 yards before being replaced by sophomore Tony Hentz late in the second quarter.
Hentz also had one rushing and one passing touchdown for the Colonels. The team’s leading rusher was Alex Wagner with 116 yards on 6 carries.
OCT. 24 -- COVINGTON CATHOLIC 38, HOLMES 0
CovCath took a 30-0 lead in the first half and coasted to victory in a game that decided second place in the Class 4A district.
Senior quarterback Adam Wagner returned to action after sitting out three games with an injury and threw touchdown passes to three receivers. His twin brother, Alex, scored CovCath’s other two TDs on runs of 30 and 15 yards.
OCT. 31 -- COVINGTON CATHOLIC 28, CONNER 7
After being shut out in the first half, Covington Catholic scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to end the regular season with a victory. The Colonels’ comeback began with short touchdown runs by Ryan McGinness and Alex Wagner in the third quarter. The team’s last two touchdowns were scored by senior quarterback Adam Wagner on runs of 70 and 20 yards in the fourth quarter.
Conner quarterback Kyler Padgett, who had two passes intercepted in the first quarter, connected with Cody Buckler on a 16-yard scoring pass in the second quarter. That turned out to be the only touchdown of the game for the Cougars, who finished with 192 yards in total offense compared to CovCath’s 350-yard total.