Tonight's football game has been canceled. Game has been rescheduled for tomorrow at 9:00 am at Sycamore Middle School.

COVINGTON CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

ANNOUNCES SEVEN NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS

Covington Catholic, a Blue Ribbon School, is proud to announce that seven seniors have been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as Semifinalists in the 61^st annual National Merit® Scholarship Program. Last spring, roughly 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools across the country entered the 2016 program by taking the PSAT/NMSQT Qualifying Test. Of those juniors, only 16,000, or about 1%, were named National Merit Semifinalists, based on their scores on this exam. These academically talented students now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,400 scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered in the spring of 2016. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

The seven CovCath seniors who have been named National Merit Semifinalists (and the home parish / parents of each) are:

Principal Robert Rowe commented, "Our administration and faculty, and the Covington Catholic community are extremely proud of these seven students on being named National Merit Semifinalists. Every one of these young men are exceptional students with a diligent work ethic. Covington Catholic High School takes great pride in our academics as illustrated by our consistently high ACT scores and educational accolades, but more importantly, we are proud of the well-rounded community leaders we produce."

Covington Catholic High School is a Blue Ribbon of Excellence award winning college preparatory high school within the Diocese of Covington. It is an all-male school of 604 whose mission is to embrace the Gospel message of Jesus Christ in order to educate students spiritually, academically, physically and socially.

Front Row L to R: Lucas Timmerman, Peter Schaefer, Mitchell MacKnight.

Back Row L to R: Adam Flynn, Sean (Chris) Fagin, Benjamin Darpel, and Logan Boyle.

The NKyTribune is offering focused coverage of NKY high school football throughout the season, thanks to support from St. Elizabeth Healthcare Sports Medicine. See all our pre-season features on each of NKY's 21 high school football teams and follow our coverage, including roundups each week at Northern Kentucky High School Football.

By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

There are no excuses for the Covington Catholic football team's 0-4 start this season, according to senior linebacker Ethan Sammons.

CovCath senior linebacker Ethan Sammons (Photo by Terry Boehmker)

He doesn't want to hear about the Colonels adjusting to a new coaching staff or how several starting players have missed games due to injuries. The fact that three of CovCath's first four opponents are from schools with much larger enrollments doesn't mean much to him either.

"There's no real excuses for anything that's gone down so far," Sammons said. "We all expected to perform better. The learning curve, I don't think it really exists. With what we have installed, we should be able to do more than what we've been doing."

The last time CovCath opened the season with four consecutive losses was 1991. That team went on to win nine consecutive games and claim a district title before losing in the semifinals of the Class 3A state playoffs.

Sammons believes this year's team is capable of making a similar turn-around. And he would like to get it started this Friday when CovCath visits down-the-road rival Beechwood in a game set for 7:30 p.m.

CovCath has a 9-3 record against Beechwood since the schools renewed the annual game in 2003. But the Tigers won last year's game, 28-13, and they're entering Friday's game with a perfect 3-0 record compared to the Colonels' 0-4 mark.

"I think it's the perfect opportunity for us to turn the tide," Sammons said. "In the games we've played so far, we've kind of performed less than we expected. But everyone's been excited for this game (against Beechwood) since last year, so this is the perfect time for us to come around."

Like many of his CovCath teammates, Sammons has several friends who attend Beechwood and play on the football team. He had to take a lot of ribbing from them after the Tigers won last year's game, and he doesn't want to go through that again.

"I am heated," he said. "I'm really looking forward to playing Beechwood this week. "Everybody knows we've got to work hard in practice this week, and I think we are."

The CovCath senior's positive outlook on Friday's game is puzzling when you compare the won-loss records of the two teams. But he knows the four teams that beat CovCath have a combined record of 9-5, while Beechwood's first three opponents are 5-6 at this point.

After opening the season with a 35-28 loss to Ryle, the Colonels lost lopsided games to Ohio Division I teams St. Xavier, 57-7, and Sycamore, 42-7. The losing streak continued last week when Lexington Catholic edged CovCath, 15-14. The CovCath defense has given up an average of 415 yards per game in its first four games while the offense is averaging 229 yards.

"We can't pinpoint one part of the team," Sammons said of the Colonels' disappointing start. "It's a team game and we've all just got to go out and play harder."

During Beechwood's 3-0 start, the Tigers outscored Lloyd, Somerset and Ironton (Ohio) by a combined total of 151-55, but the yards-per-game margin is much closer, 411-340.

Sammons expects a close game on Friday if CovCath's offensive and defensive units manage to perform better than Beechwood's talented two-way starters.

"We've been competing against those guys for three or four years now and we should know what they have to offer," Sammons said. "We're looking at most of them playing both ways, so we're going to try and play as hard as we can and I think they might start to slip late in the game."

Tonight's football game has been canceled. Game has been rescheduled to tomorrow at 9:00 am at Sycamore Middle School.

Covington Catholic knew it was better than its 0-4 start, with losses coming against some of the best teams in Ohio and Kentucky.

That start is no more after CovCath came into Fort Mitchell and beat Beechwood 41-21 Friday, handing the Tigers their first loss after three wins.

"It feels great," said CovCath senior Ryan McGinness. "It's a great weight off our shoulders. No one gives up. The amount of adversity we've had, injuries and our schedule and the losses we've had, nobody's quit. Everybody has kept their heads up and we're rolling now."

The Tigers came out of the gates determined to be the ones doing the rolling, going 80 yards in just five plays, scoring when senior Ethan Stringer rushed for 37 yards for the first touchdown of the game just 95 seconds into the contest. The drive featured two passes from senior Kyle Fieger to senior Brett Slusher of 29 and 12 yards.

The Colonels responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive, with McGinness finishing if off by scoring on a 4-yard rush. Sophomore quarterback AJ Mayer started the drive with an 18-yard run on a keeper. McGinness had a 10-yard drive and two receptions for nine yards in addition to the touchdown, and sophomore Grant Dyer a 12-yard gain in addition to four other carries. It was 7-7 midway through the first quarter.

CovCath outgained Beechwood 213-140 in the first half, with 80 of Beechwood's yards coming on the initial drive. The Colonels put good pressure on Fieger and all night and focused on stopping the run. Beechwood's Stringer finished with 41 yards for the game, 37 on that first TD.

"They're a good football team," Eviston said.

"They've got some great football players who can break a play like that. We just had to play disciplined football and as we got stops, our offense got rolling. We knew we had to contain and keep the pressure on them. They have so many weapons they're going to be there in the end, for sure."

CovCath finished with 261 yards rushing, 94 by Dyer, 84 from McGinness and 82 from Mayer, who completed 8-of-13 passes for 98 yards. Fieger completed 17-of-32 passes for 207 yards for the Tigers. Fieger also rushed for 63.

"We did great," McGinness said. "Our o-line did great and everything starts with them. AJ had a great game passing and putting the ball where it needed to be."

The Colonels will host Columbus (Ohio) St. Francis DeSales next week and Beechwood will host Holy Cross. Both teams hope to be at their best for a postseason run.

"We're starting to gel," Eviston said. "It was our best week of practice. It shouldn't matter who we're playing and that's something we have to fix, but the guys had a better approach to practice this week."

CovCath 7-21-6-7 – 41

Beechwood 7-0-7-7 – 21

B-Stringer 37 run (German kick)

C-McGinness 4 run (Kloska kick)

C-Toebbe 10 run (Kloska kick)

C-Dyer 1 run (Kloska kick)

C-Shelton 2 run (Kloska kick)

C-McGinness 41 pass from Mayer (kick blocked)

B-Justice 18 pass from Fieger (German kick)

B-Justice 36 pass from Fieger (German kick)

C-Dyer 1 run (Kloska kick)

Records: CCH 1-4, BEE 3-1

Click here to vote. TriStateFootball.com

TriStateFootball.com wanted to let you know that Covington Catholic has been nominated for the Gold Star Chili Team of the Week.

You can vote (once per hour/per IP address) between now and Friday morning at 9:00 am when the voting ends and winners will be announced.

Here are the details:
The voting opens no later than Monday afternoon each week and ends each Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. Voting is limited to one vote per hour, per IP address. Networks that share a single IP may experience problems in repeating voting, so please be aware of that while casting your vote.

All winning teams will be recognized by Gold Star Chili, a proud sponsor of high school football and supporter of the community.

Teams are only eligible to win once during the season and will not be nominated again after winning the award the first time.

Thanks and congratulations!

The Covington Catholic golf team is back on top of the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference with a big helping hand from a player who wasn't in the Colonels' top five just a week ago.

CovCath took down three-time defending champion Ryle at Monday's NKAC Division I boys' golf tournament at par-71 Hickory Sticks with a team score of 311 and a medalist performance by Neal Schroer. The junior carded 76, several strokes better than his 18-hole average, for his first medal at an exclusively big-school event. Ryle was runner-up at 313.

"He's normally our sixth man, but we rested a player," CovCath coach Robb Schneeman said of Schroer. "He's done what we told him, and now he's really been making decisions on our end pretty tough because he's been playing so well."

Schroer was consistent and avoided big numbers while carding a pair of birdies on 155-yard, par-4 No. 5 and 400-yard par-3 No. 16. The surprise win is a testimony to his own perseverance and CovCath's depth.

"He made it as a freshman, but he had a bad tryout as a sophomore, and he didn't make the team because we were so strong," Schneeman said. "He stuck to it, and improved his game, and made the team this year. He's come a long way because he's coachable. I'm really happy for him."

Schroer was thrilled to be involved on the course instead of from the sidelines. "When I got cut, I told my coach as politely as possible that I was going to be a part of this team, so I was very happy with the opportunity to play with my teammates," he said. "I'm pretty excited about it, and I want to keep playing well so I can go back out there again."

The regional tournament is Monday beginning at 8 a.m. at Boone Links. Ryle is defending champion. Schneeman hopes his Colonels can come up big one more time and topple the Raiders.

Schroer wants to be part of the plan, but there's also team scoring leader Griffin Flesch, lone senior Evan Thompson, No. 3 Paul Thelen, No. 4 Tyler Chandler and No. 5 Patrick Kennedy. Thelen and Kennedy were next for the Colonels at conference with scores of 77. Chandler hurt his back at a previous CovCath event. As a precaution, he was rested Monday and replaced by Schroer.

"We're young, but we have a lot of talent, and sometimes our biggest road block has been ourselves," the coach said. "When things aren't going right, we need to move on to the next hole. If we can do that at the regional, we should be in pretty good shape."

PARK HILLS – An elf looking slapped silly, a googly-eyed snowman and a laughing Christmas tree are three of nine designs featured on the packaging of Topps' Baby Bottle Pops candy.

These designs are creations of Covington Catholic High School students.

CovCath graphic design teacher Craig Cleveland established a relationship with baseball card maker Topps and Tung Toos, a company that makes candy-flavored temporary tattoos for the tongue, to provide an opportunity for students in his graphic design class to submit designs for the Baby Bottle Pops project.

A total of 150 designs were submitted and judged by executives from both companies. Nine students' work was selected by Topps to be published and included in limited-edition packages of the candy.

Students whose designs were selected include: Tanner Chadwick, Kyle Cosby, Clay Crowe, Jared Clark, Parker Duell, Daniel Mounir, Ben Pohlabeln, Luke Shields, Adam Stegman and CJ Voorhees.

The candy will be released this holiday season in Target, Walmart and Rite-Aid stores around the world.

Cleveland said it has been a great opportunity for the students.

"They got a real-world experience," he said. "They also now have their work in print and it will be seen all over the world. That's something nice to add to their resume and it's a good conversation starter when you're talking to a potential employer."

Daniel Mounir, 16, of Independence, said he appreciates the real-world experience.

"I feel like this is a great accomplishment," he said. "I've enjoyed creating something that others will see and enjoy. It's been a real great opportunity."

Mounir said when he was thinking of a design he wanted something fun and "completely silly." He designed a Christmas elf with giant eyes with a huge tongue hanging from his mouth..

"I like doing artistic things," said Mounir, who is considering a career in design. "I like creating things."

Luke Shields, 18, of Park Hills, said he enjoyed the opportunity to work with real companies.

"It was interesting," he said. "I learned a lot. It's also neat that everyone in the world will see what we made."

By: RiverCityNews

Covington Catholic is has announced that two Covington Catholic students received the Commended Student recognition.

The two CovCath seniors who have been named National Merit Commended Students are Nick Stegman, son of Gary and Traci Stegman, and Sam Romes, son of Timothy and Janelle Romes.

Last spring, roughly 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools across the country entered the 2016 program by taking the PSAT/NMSQT Qualifying Test. Of those juniors, the 50,000 highest scorers are identified. 16,000 of them are designated as Semifinalists on a state representational basis, and have the opportunity to continue in the Merit Scholarship competition.

The other 34,000 high performers are now being named Commended Students as recognition of their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2016 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of the more than 1.5 million students who took the Qualifying Test.

"The young men and women being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success," commented a spokesperson for NMSC. "These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success."

"Our administration and faculty, and the Covington Catholic community are very proud of these students on being named National Merit Commended Students," said Principal Robert Rowe. "This is a highly significant achievement for these students and we congratulate them. Covington Catholic High School takes great pride in our academics as illustrated by our consistently high ACT scores and educational accolades, but more importantly, we are proud of the well-rounded community leaders we produce."

The JV soccer team competed in the JV regional tournament this weekend and beat Ryle 3-0 in the finals to capture back to back regional titles.

Game 1 vs St. Henry 1-0 (PK's)

Game 2 vs Covington Holy Cross 6-0

Game 3 vs Conner 2-1

Finals vs Ryle 3-0

Congratulations to the following young men for winning the JV regional tournament and going undefeated this season.

Andrew Belton

Timothy Belton

Tony Billot

Jacob Blom (Regional All-Tournament Team)

Thomas Bradley

Thomas Cody (Regional All-Tournament Team)

Erik Curk

Nathan Diemling

Max Dierig

Avery Dietz

John Dietz (Regional All-Tournament Team)

Reese Foster (Regional All-Tournament Team)

Will Harmeling

Tyler MacKnight

Evan Moon

Dominic Russo

Alex Schneider

Joel Schneider (Regional All-Tournament Team)

Sam Schroeder

Patrick Seibert

Kennedy Suraski

Luke Ventre

Ben Wessels

Noah Wulfeck

Head Coach - Matthew Hansman

Assistant Coach - Andy Deimling

By: James Weber.

James Weber/The Community Recorder

Cov Cath senior Ben Darpel, No. 22, and senior Ben Thieman, No. 10, middle, face off with St. Henry junior Nick Tolbert, No. 4.

PARK HILLS – Ask Jeremy Robertson what the Covington Catholic High School boys soccer team needs to improve on, and he struggles to find an answer.

The Colonels have had a cohesive and complete team so far in the 2015 season, pleasing their head coach with a 13-1-2 heading into the final stretch of the regular season. They have been a determined group after being eliminated from the Ninth Region Tournament in penalty kicks the last two seasons.

"Our mindset is good," Robertson said. "We've got a point to prove. Our region is packed with talented teams. The last few years, losing in a PK shootout leaves a bad taste in your mouth. We want to go after teams and take it one game at a time, play one good half at a time."

Robertson considers his Colonels to be balanced all the way around, and he used the tried-and-true phrase "Defense wins championships" as the backbone of the squad. CovCath has only allowed seven goals all season.

An all-senior back line is led by Sam Romes in goal. Three-year starter Austin Flynn anchors the defense with Ben Thieman, Ben Darpel and Ryan Massie. Jacob Nurre, another senior, gets quality time as a substitute.

"That definitely is a testament to them," Robertson said. "With their leadership and game knowledge that is definitely helping us. They've witnessed the PK shootouts right in front of them both years. They have a point to prove."

Senior Jacob Litzler paces the offense with 16 goals and 10 assists. Senior Brice Day has 12 goals and nine assists. Junior Griffin Lamb posts eight goals and six assists. Senior Michael Wessels and senior Nick Jacobs each have five goals, and 16 Colonels have found the net.

"This year, compared to the past, we're more well-balanced," Robertson said. "We have several players scoring goals, putting together a good offense. Our forwards are hitting on all cylinders, and we have good balance in the middle with Wessels and Day."

The Colonels were set to play three games in four days, playing Dixie Heights (Oct. 3), Conner (Oct. 5) and Summit Country Day (Oct. 6) with the Dixie game representing the home finale. Cov Cath is undefeated against Northern Kentucky teams and has beaten several of Cincinnati's better teams. CCH tied Louisville Trinity and Ryle and lost to Ohio power Elder 1-0.

The Colonels are the only boys team in Kentucky not to lose to an in-state opponent so far this year, and Robertson wants to extend that distinction into the postseason. He was expecting tough tests from all three opponents to end the regular campaign.

"I want a shutout every game if possible and put up some good numbers offensively," Robertson said. "Right now we are healthy, and we've got experience and leadership."

By: Marc Hardin (Cincinnati.com)

(Photo: The Community Recorder/James Weber)

Few high school athletes get to practice their craft every day in front of their own name, but that's the pleasure Covington Catholic soccer player Sam Romes receives when he steps onto the turf field for the Colonels.

A concession stand at Covington Catholic's stadium is named in honor of Romes' grandfather, Roy Romes, who has a birthday coming up.

"It's pretty cool to see your name up there, and an honor," said the CovCath senior. "My grandpa still does a lot for the school."

The elder Romes turns 90 Oct. 24. He and his wife have been generous CovCath benefactors for years, in part through the Pat and Roy Romes Scholarship, one of the private school's many endowed scholarships, which fund tuition assistance for students who otherwise could not afford to attend the school.

Sam Romes, a goalkeeper with a hand in 10 shutouts for the highly ranked CovCath defense, is one of the school's elite student-athletes, ranking in the top 10 of the 2016 graduation class with a 4.28 weighted grade-point average. He's pretty good with numbers, with an eye on the future in either engineering or medicine. A National Honor Society member, he scored 35 on his ACT test and received a national merit of commendation for a score of 202 on his PSAT.

On the field, the goal-oriented Romes has zero-tolerance for scores. Fortunately, he's working with like-minded defenders. "We have a very good defense," he said. "I've got four guys in front of me who know exactly what to do. They're smart, and they talk and communicate, and make my job easier."

Left back Ryan Massie, center backs Ben Darpel and Ben Thieman, and right back Austin Flynn are masters of angles while denying advances and shots. "We work well as a unit," Darpel said. "Our goal is not to let Sam touch the ball."

With Romes in between the posts, the Colonels allowed just seven goals the first 17 matches, putting them at the top of the state's scoring defense leaders with an average yield of less than one-half goal per game.

Not only is he smart with a knack for stopping shots, Romes also is mighty appreciative of the opportunity to excel at a school that his grandfather came to love so much. "He's had such an impact," the younger Romes said. "He's made our family look good. I'm just a soccer player."

The Colonels concluded the regular season Tuesday with a record 15-2-2 while outscoring the competition, 76-14.

They went unbeaten against 13 Kentucky opponents and outscored them, 68-7. The keeper credits quickness that never failed him even after an 8-inch growth spurt.

By: Rick Broering (Enquirer Contributor)

(Photo: Tony Tribble for The Enquirer)

After missing the first two games of the season, CovCath senior Cameron Pitzer admits that he had been limited upon his return to the lineup while recovering from a foot injury. However, Saturday afternoon he looked fully healthy, and showed how much his presence means for the Colonels on both sides of the ball when he's operating at full capacity.

Pitzer hauled in four passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns, and recorded a team-high six solo tackles in the Colonels' 47-9 win over Grant County at Wooten Field in Park Hills. Sophomore running back Grant Dyer added 109 rushing yards and two TDs on 12 carries.

Pitzer, a linebacker, was CovCath's top defensive player on last year's team, but his strong play on offense was a new wrinkle for the Colonels.

Related: CovCath schedule, stats

"I definitely feel back to my full speed and athletic ability," Pitzer said. "I started off trying to play both sides of the ball, but my foot started bothering me again so I had to stick to just defense for a few games. Over the bye week (last week) I started back on the offensive side of the ball."

CovCath's offense had a big day, pilling up 425 total yards with sophomore quarterback AJ Mayer completing 11-of-21 passes for 184 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, but Grant County put a scare into Colonel fans to start the game.

The Braves forced a turnover on downs at the their own 36 on CovCath's opening drive, and then senior quarterback Joseph Knipp hit classmate Blake Johnson down the left sideline for a 54-yard gain to setup a 5-yard touchdown pass to Johnson a few plays later. A missed extra point left Grant County's lead at 6-0 with 7:30 to play in the first quarter.

Related: Grant Co. schedule, stats

The Colonels answered back on their ensuing possession. Mayer hit Pitzer for a 52-yard gain to move CovCath into scoring position, and then Dyer bullied his way into the endzone from 8 yards out. Junior Matthew Kloska's kick gave his team a 7-6 lead midway through the first.

"(Grant County) made some plays," CovCath coach Eddie Eviston said. "A Coach Siple team is going to have a couple threats and make some plays, and that's what they did on that opening drive. I was glad the way we responded and how we were able to kind of shut them down after that."

"(Kameron) is a tremendous talent with a lot of potential," Eviston said. "He's done a lot of things at a young age already. He needs to continue to be consistent, but he had a heck of a ballgame today."

Senior defensive back Adam Piccirillo also had an interception for the Colonels, giving them three total, as they held the Braves to 0-for-5 on third down conversions with just 40 yards of offense in the second quarter.

CovCath played add-on before halftime with a 4-yard touchdown run by McGinness and a 1-yard TD by junior Anthony Best.

Grant County scored its final points on a 33-yard field goal by junior Austin Smith to make the halftime score 34-9 after Knipp intercepted Mayer with under a minute to play.

Mayer was intercepted again on his first possession of the second half, but bounced back by hitting Pitzer for a 4-yard touchdown to cap a seven-play, 59-yard drive with 3:58 to play in the third quarter. He then used a stiff-arm to breakaway from the defense for a 66-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that set the running clock rule into effect with 10:12 to play.

Despite getting off to a 1-5 start, CovCath is excited about the opportunity that lies ahead. With Saturday's win, the Colonels sit at 1-0 in the district with two games coming up against district foes Highlands and Dixie.

"The most important thing is district play," Pitzer said. "We're definitely excited we started out 1-0 and have the chance to go undefeated in the district. Hopefully we continue on into the state playoffs and win a state championship. That's still our ultimate goal."

Grant County – 6 3 0 0 – 9

CovCath – 13 21 6 7 – 47

G – Johnson 5 pass from Knipp (Kick failed)

C – Dyer 8 run (Kloska kick)

C – Pitzer 32 pass from Mayer (Kick failed)

C – Dyer 6 run (McGinness run)

C – McGinness 4 run (Kloska kick)

C – Best 1 run (Kick failed)

G – Smith 33 field goal

C – Pitzer 4 pass from Mayer (Kick failed)

C – Mayer 66 run (Kloska kick)

Records: C 2-5, G 3-4

By: Cincinnati.com

Sam Romes and Nick Stegman were named National Merit Commended Students

Covington Catholic announced that two students received the Commended Student recognition, in addition to the seven seniors recently recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as Semifinalists in the 61st annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

The seniors who have been named National Merit Commended Students are Sam Romes of St. Agnes and Nick Stegman of Blessed Sacrament.

Last spring, around 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools across the country entered the 2016 program by taking the PSAT/NMSQT Qualifying Test, according to a press release. Of those juniors, the 50,000 highest scorers are identified, and 16,000 of them are designated as Semifinalists on a state representational basis, and have the opportunity to continue in the Merit Scholarship competition.

By: Marc Hardin, prepsports@enquirer.com

(Photo: The Community Recorder/James Weber)

Regional tournament championships and advancement toward state tournaments are on the line this week for area boys' and girls' soccer teams that have made it this far.

"It's tournament time, and anything can happen," said boys' coach Stephen Hahn of defending Ninth Region champion St. Henry.

Boys' tournaments with finals at Carroll County (Eighth Region), Dixie Heights (Ninth Region) and Pendleton County (10th Region) and girls' tournaments with finals at Simon Kenton (Eighth), St. Henry (Ninth) and Campbell County (10th) will be completed by Saturday evening.

The local girls' regionals and the Eighth Region boys' tournament started Monday. Boys' Ninth and 10th Region action begins today.

"It's so competitive nowadays, who knows who's going to be the champions," said Hahn, a surprise regional winner last season. "It's going to be an interesting Ninth Region again with the boys, but I think you have to have Covington Catholic at the top because of their talent, especially at the core."

Scoring talent abounds this week as teams sort out who's best.

St. Henry, led by scoring leader D.J. Sanders (22 goals), and Cooper, paced by Adam Snow (22 goals), help open the Ninth Region boys' tournament today with a 7 p.m. game at St. Henry.

The winner plays today's 7 p.m. CovCath-Highlands winner in Thursday's 6 p.m. semifinal at Dixie Heights. Jacob Litzler leads CovCath with 20 goals. Teammate Brice Day has 16 for the Colonels, 17-2-2 and ranked No. 1 in The Enquirer coaches' poll. Brady Gesenhues and Ethan Mills have 14 goals each for Highlands.

In today's 7 p.m. lower bracket contests, Andres Rivera (17 goals) and visiting Dixie Heights play Andrew Liles (20 goals) and No. 5 Newport Central Catholic, and Nate Doggett (15 goals) and No. 10 Holy Cross play at No. 2 Ryle, led by Nate Hoffman's eight goals. Winners play in Thursday's 8 p.m. semifinal at Dixie. The final is 5 p.m. Saturday. CovCath coach Jeremy Robertson may have to eliminate two former assistant coaches to reclaim a spot in the final. His Colonels open against a Bluebirds team coached by Matthew Winkler, once an assistant under Robertson at Highlands.

"Jeremy and I are great friends, but only one of us gets to move on," said Winkler, who guided No. 6 Highlands to a surprise 2013 regional crown. "They (the Colonels) got us, 1-0 last time. But we've prepared."

Hahn, whose No. 3 Crusaders knocked off CovCath 4-3 on penalty kicks in last year's final, also coached under Robertson at Highlands. "Every team has a chance, and it doesn't make it any easier coaching against friends," Roberston said.

Other teams to watch include No. 4 Bishop Brossart (12-2-4) and Campbell County in the 10th region, and Simon Kenton in the Eighth Region.

on the girls' side, returning Eighth Region semifinalist Simon Kenton, ranked No. 3 locally, was hoping to beat defending champ South Oldham. Top-ranked defending champ Notre Dame Academy and No. 2 Newport Central Catholic are favored to meet again in the Ninth Region final. Campbell County, ranked No. 5, is defending 10th Region champ.

By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

After losing penalty kick shootouts in the 9th Region boys' soccer tournament the last two years, Covington Catholic got the job done in Tuesday's first-round match against Highlands.

Sam Romes

With the score tied 1-1 at the end of overtime, the Colonels once again lined up for a shootout. This time, however, they finished with a 4-3 advantage in penalty kicks to come away with the victory.

Highlands missed the net on its third PK and CovCath senior goalkeeper Sam Romes blocked the Bluebirds' next attempt.

The two goals were scored by CovCath senior Nick Jacobs and Highlands sophomore Nick Gish in the first half.

In the regional semifinals, CovCath will play Cooper at 6 p.m. Thursday at Dixie Heights. Cooper eliminated defending regional champion St. Henry, 4-2, on Tuesday.

In last year's 9th Region final, St. Henry defeated CovCath in a penalty kick shootout. The Colonels lost a shootout against Newport Central Catholic in the 2013 regional semifinals.

Goals: CC – Nick Jacobs. H – Nick Gish.
Records: CovCath 18-2-2. Highlands 9-11-3.

By: John Lachmann, TriStateFootball.com

CovCath soccer players pose with regional championship trophy. (Photo by Brett Bibbins)

By Brett Bibbins
NKyTribune contributor

Pouring rain and gusting winds set the scene at Dixie Heights High School for the championship game of the 9th Region boys' soccer tournament Saturday night between the Ryle Raiders and Covington Catholic Colonels, a matchup of the two best defensive teams in Northern Kentucky.

Both teams were kept off the scoreboard through regulation and two periods of golden-goal extra time. The first time a ball managed to find the back of the net was in penalty kicks. The Colonels connected on all five of their PKs and the Raiders scored on four, giving CovCath the title of 9th Region champions.

Heading into the regional tournament, CovCath had not lost to a team from the state of Kentucky all season. The Colonels' worst results against state schools were ties with Trinity and Ryle. Just over a month ago, the Colonels and Raiders squared off in a defensive battle ending in a 0-0 tie.

Fast forward to the finals of the 9th Region tournament, and Cov Cath and Ryle were matched up yet again. This time, with a spot in the Sweet 16 of the state playoffs on the line.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game, especially with this being the 9th Region final," said CovCath goalkeeper Sam Romes, the tournament MVP. "We knew not to give them anything and just come out and give it all we got."

Defense hadn't been a problem all year for the Colonels. With their strong back line and goalkeeping, they had posted 13 shutouts and given up 15 goals in 23 games this season. Ryle's defense was no slouch either, giving up only 23 goals in 24 games, second best in the 9th Region behind CovCath.

The two teams traded offensive attacks all night long only to have every single one thwarted by strong defensive play from the opposing team.

After falling last year to St. Henry in the championship game of the 9th Region Tournament on penalty kicks, the Colonels managed to avoid the same fate this season, edging the Raiders in PKs thanks to a huge save by Romes on Ryle's second attempt.

CovCath was perfect in their round of penalty kicks with goals coming from all five shooters, Jacob Litzler, Griffin Lamb, Bryce Day, Michael Vogt and Cole Stava.

Covington Catholic plays at 10th Region champion Montgomery County in the sectional round of the state playoffs at 7 p.m. Monday.

"We played them earlier in the season and got a 4-0 win," Romes said. "But we're throwing that out the window. We're going to play them how we would any other team and hopefully we get that win."

This is the first time since 2009 that Cov Cath has been crowned regional champion and advanced to the state playoffs, a feat that they've worked so hard to accomplish.

"I'm so proud of these guys," Romes said. "It's something special. All of these teams want the spot we're in right now so we're going to go out and make the 9th Region proud and hopefully we can bring back some hardware."

The 9th Region all-Tournament team nominees from CovCath included Romes, Day, Michael Wessels and Ben Darpel. The nominees from Ryle were Victor Pastrana, Matt Roe and Kareem El-Gusain.