NewCath Thoroughbreds
Class: 2A / District: 6
Current Records: 4-5 overall, 4-0 district
Head Coach: Dan Wagner
Varsity Assistants: Dave Schneider, Mike Theisen, Chuck Faust, Bob Schneider, Pat Kallendorf, Justin Fussinger, Nat Rawe, Ben Kelly, Shawn Kelly
2014 Schedule
Aug. 22 -- at Ashland Blazer, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 29 -- at Cooper, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 5 -- CAMPBELL COUNTY, 7 p.m.
Sept. 12 -- SIMON KENTON, 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 -- DIXIE HEIGHTS, 1 p.m.
Sept. 26 -- at Lloyd, 7 p.m.
Oct. 10 -- at Newport, 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 -- BROSSART, 7 p.m.
Oct. 23 -- vs. Holy Cross at Scott, 7 p.m.
Oct. 31 -- BEECHWOOD, 7 p.m.
REGULAR SEASON GAME REPORTS
AUG. 22 -- NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC vs. ASHLAND BLAZER
Game cancelled due to hazardous weather
AUG. 29 -- COOPER 31, NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 0
Cooper senior quarterback Billy Prickett threw three touchdown passes and scored on a 9-yard run while the Jaguars' defense held NewCath scoreless for the first time since the 2009 season.
Prickett completed 12 of 16 passes for 184 yards with nearly half of that total coming on three scoring plays -- 50-yard pass to Chad Michels, 5-yard pass to Dante Hendrix and 35-yard pass to Cole Willging. The Jaguars also had 174 rushing yards with junior Torey Cordell-Armstrong picking up 136 on 16 carries.
NewCath finished with 97 yards passing and 48 rushing. The Thoroughbreds had two passes intercepted, but sustaining drives was the team's main problem. The offensive unit was 5-of-16 on third-down conversions and 2-of-5 on fourth-down conversions.
SEPT. 5 -- CAMPBELL COUNTY 30, NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 17
Junior quarterback Carson Plessinger rushed for 77 yards, scored three touchdowns and passed for 86 yards to lead the Campbell County offense.
Late in the second quarter, NewCath scored its first touchdown on a 1-yard run by Jacob Smith to make the score 9-7. But the Camels ran off 21 straight points to take control of the game.
Campbell County’s defense had eight quarterback sacks and scored the first points of the game on a safety.
SEPT. 12 -- SIMON KENTON 46, NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 13
Simon Kenton took a 30-0 lead in the first half and posted its fourth straight win by a margin of 19 points or more.
Sophomore quarterback Cameron Racke completed 16 of 20 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored on runs of 11 and 21 yards for the Pioneers, who finished with 484 yards of offense. Logan Winkler caught six passes for 84 yards and two TDs. He also ran in a pair of two-point conversions to raise his season scoring total of 48 points.
NewCath sophomore quarterback Patrick Henschen passed for 111 yards and two TDs, but the Thoroughbreds were held to minus-33 yards rushing.
SEPT. 20 -- DIXIE HEIGHTS 34, NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 13
Dixie Heights senior quarterback Drew Moore accounted for 372 of his team's 455 total yards in the victory. He rushed for 194 yards on 12 carries and completed 10 of 13 passes for 178 yards. Moore also scored two touchdowns and threw a TD pass to Gunther Faeth. Cameron Barrett scored the Colonels' other two touchdowns on short runs into the end zone.
NewCath scored twice in the fourth quarter on a 23-yard run by junior running back Jacob Smith and a 25-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Patrick Henschen to senior wide receiver Nate Enslen. Henschen completed 9 of 18 passes for 115 yard, but the Thoroughbreds had only 35 yards on the ground.
SEPT. 26 -- NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 28, LLOYD 0
NewCath junior running back Jacob Smith rushed for 148 yards and sophomore quarterback Patrick Henshen passed for 90 to lead the NewCath offense that picked up 336 yards in the Class 2A district win.
Smith had one rushing touchdown and John Harris had two for the Thoroughbreds. Griffin caught a TD pass from Henschen for the team's other score.
Lloyd turned the the ball over six times, including four interceptions. The Juggernauts were also penalized 12 times for 110 yards and finished with a net total of 132 yards in offense.
OCT. 10 -- NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 22, NEWPORT 17
Both teams ran the ball well in the rain with NewCath coming out on top to retain first place in the Class 2A district standings.
The game’s leading rusher was NewCath junior running back Jacob Smith with 170 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns. John Harris also scored a rushing touchdown for the Thoroughbreds.
Newport quarterback Paul Price had 100 yards on 19 carries in addition to throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Ochoa. That score cut NewCath’s lead to 22-17 with less than four minutes left in the game. The Wildcats got the ball back one more time, but they turned it over after coming up short on a fourth-down play.
OCT. 16 -- NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 36, BROSSART 0
NewCath scored 36 points in the first quarter and clinched first place in the Class 2A district for the eighth consecutive year with the shutout victory.
Big plays by senior Nate Enslen resulted in two of NewCath’s first-quarter touchdowns. He caught a 52-yard scoring pass from sophomore quarterback Patrick Henschen and returned a punt 55 yards for another TD. Junior running back Jacob Smith also scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and Erik Anderson got the other one on a 42-yard run.
OCT. 23 -- NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 50, HOLY CROSS 21
Junior tailback Jacob Smith rushed for 236 yards on 16 carries and scored a career-high five touchdowns in the victory that clinched NewCath’s eighth consecutive Class 2A district title. Smith got nearly half of his rushing total on two first-quarter touchdown runs that covered 53 and 60 yards. He followed that with scoring runs of 24 and 23 runs in the second quarter that gave NewCath a 35-7 halftime lead.
NewCath’s defense also played a key role in the victory with three pass interceptions and three fumble recoveries. The game’s first touchdown came on a 38-yard interception return by NewCath senior defensive back Nate Enslen less than two minutes after the opening kickoff.
NewCath finished with 372 yards (307 rushing, 65 passing) while Holy Cross had a 251 total (219 rushing, 32 passing). The Indians got much of their yardage in the fourth quarter when they scored twice after the Thoroughbreds replaced their starting defensive players with reserves.
Holy Cross sophomore running back Xavier Abernathy carried the ball on both of his team’s fourth-quarter touchdowns. He finished with a team-high 134 rushing yards on 23 carries.
OCT. 31 -- BEECHWOOD 30, NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 13
Junior running back Ethan Stringer rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns and junior quarterback Kyle Fieger threw a pair of TD pass to Jonathan Stokes in the Tigers’ victory. NewCath scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to pull within 20-13, but the Beechwood defense stepped up in the second half.
NewCath junior running back Jacob Smith had 158 rushing yards and scored on a 46-yard screen pass from Patrick Henschen. The team’s other TD came in a 16-yard run by Clint Bartels.
Fieger completed 10 of 19 passes for 241 yards to finish the regular season with 1,663 total passing yards.