Class: 4A / District: 7
Current Records: 8-2 overall, 3-0 district
Head Coach: Brian Weinrich
Varsity Assistants: Matthew Reed, Jason Lynch, Scott Turner, Ryan Leopold, Shelby Jones, Mark Dill, Wayne Hall, Dan Court, Zach Deaton, Nick Behymer, Brady Dowling, Jim Dierig
REGULAR SEASON GAME REPORTS
Highlands Bluebirds
Aug. 29 -- at Campbell County, 7 p.m.
Sept. 5 -- at Lexington Bryan Station, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 12 -- JOHN HARDIN, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 20 -- PADUCAH TILGHMAN, 3 p.m.
Sept. 26 -- COVINGTON CATHOLIC, 7 p.m.
Oct. 3 -- at Harrison County, 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 -- CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (Fla.), 1 p.m.
Oct. 17 -- at Holmes, 7 p.m.
Oct. 24 -- CINCINNATI ELDER, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 31 -- at Warren Central, 8 p.m.
2014 Schedule
AUG. 29 -- HIGHLANDS 23, CAMPBELL COUNTY 16
Highlands did all of its scoring in the first quarter and held off a fourth quarter rally by Campbell County to come away with
the victory.
Senior quarterback Beau Hoge scored two rushing touchdowns and threw a 40-yard scoring pass to Alex Veneman in the
first quarter when the Bluebirds opened up a 23-0 lead. The score didn’t change until the fourth quarter when Campbell
County junior quarterback Carson Plessinger scored 16 points on two rushing touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions.
Plessinger ended up rushing for 135 yards and completing 3 of 9 passes for 80 yards. Hoge had 96 yards rushing and completed 15 of 25 passes for 183 yards in his debut as Highlands’ starting quarterback.
SEPT. 5 -- HIGHLANDS 47, LEXINGTON BRYAN STATION 41
The Bluebirds scored the winning touchdown on a 42-yard pass from Beau Hoge to Alex Veneman with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter of the offensive shootout.
Highlands finished with 577 yards in total offense (352 rushing, 225 passing). Hoge completed 13 of 25 passes for 225 yards and rushed for 105 yards on 10 carries. He scored on runs of 19, 7 and 50 yards.
Veneman caught two TD passes and Griffin Urlage rushed for 111 yards on 23 carries for the Bluebirds.
SEPT. 12 -- HIGHLANDS 49, JOHN HARDIN 7
Highlands had more than 500 yards in total offense with senior quarterback Beau Hoge completing 14 of 16 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns.
Alex Veneman caught eight passes for 94 yards and two TDs. The Bluebirds’ leading rusher was Griffin Urlage, who picked up 129 yards on 15 carries and scored twice.
SEPT. 20 -- HIGHLANDS 49, PADUCAH TILGHMAN 17
Senior quarterback Beau Hoge had a combined total of 427 yards in passing and rushing to lead the potent Highlands offense. Hoge completed 23 of 35 passes for 352 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 75 yards on five carries and scored twice.
The leading pass receiver for the Bluebirds was senior Alex Veneman with eight catches for 100 yards. Veneman caught two TD passes while juniors Mitchell Cain and Eric Miller each caught one.
Tilghman finished with 298 total yards (173 passing, 125 rushing). The Blue Tornado's biggest play was an 81-yard TD pass late in the fourth quarter.
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. 3 -- HIGHLANDS 46, HARRISON COUNTY 13
Senior quarterback Beau Hoge threw six touchdown passes in the first half and ended up completing 16 of 20 for 273 yards in the Class 4A district game. Alex Veneman had nine receptions for 171 yards and 2 TDs. Justin Weyer also caught a pair of scoring passes for the unbeaten Bluebirds.
The state record for most touchdown passes in a half is eight. Two former Highlands quarterbacks -- Patrick Towles and Gino Guidugli -- threw seven TD passes in one half.
OCT. 11 -- CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 38, HIGHLANDS 34
Highlands scored 27 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough for the Bluebirds to beat the visiting team from Florida.
The third quarter ended with Columbus holding a 28-7 lead. Highlands mounted a comeback behind senior quarterback Beau Hoge, who scored on a 1-yard run and threw touchdown passes to three diffferent receivers in the fourth quarter. But the Florida team scored on a 94-yard kickoff return after one of those touchdowns to offset the Bluebirds' late charge.
Hoge completed 24 of 38 passes for 330 yards and four TDs. Alex Veneman caught seven balls for 133 yards, including scoring plays of 47 and 44 yards. Nick Kendall and Chandler New caught the other two TD pass from Hoge.
It was the first loss of the season for the Bluebirds, who finished with 415 total yards (344 passing, 71 rushing). Columbus had 465 total yards (248 passing, 217 rushing).
OCT. 17 -- HIGHLANDS 36, HOLMES 0
Highlands did all of its scoring in the first half and clinched the Class 4A district title with the win. The Bluebirds’ defense also played well, allowing 126 total yards and posting its first shutout of the season.
Highlands quarterback Beau Hoge scored on a 5-yard run and completed 9 of 19 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Both of Hoge's touchdown passes went to wide receiver Alex Veneman, who had a big night compiling 119 yards on 6 catches. James Grau had two rushing touchdowns for the Bluebirds.
Holmes was limited to 79 yards rushing and 47 yards passing. Austin Beal had a pass interception for the Bluebirds.
OCT. 24 -- ELDER 49, HIGHLANDS 35
After falling behind, 35-7, in the second quarter, Highlands attempted a comeback but couldn’t get any closer than the final
14-point margin.
Senior quarterback Beau Hoge scored two touchdowns and completed 23 of 37 passes for 261 yards and two TDs for the Bluebirds. Both of his touchdown passes went to senior wide receiver Alex Veneman, who had 10 catches for 144 yards on the night.
OCT. 31 -- HIGHLANDS 42, WARREN CENTRAL 0
Highlands got off to another strong start, taking a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, and went on to win its eighth game of the season.
The Bluebirds got their first TD on a 23-yard pass from senior quarterback Beau Hoge to senior wide receiver Alex Veneman. It was the 17th time that pass combination has scored this season.
Two rushing touchdowns by Griffin Urlage were followed by two from Hoge to give Highlands a 36-0 halftime lead. The score remained the same until the fourth quarter when Jared Pulsfort got his first TD of the season on a 1-yard run.
Highlands finished 382 total yards compared to 248 for Warren Central.