By: Adam Baum, abaum@enquirer.com
Covington Catholic's Casey McGinness (13) is tackled by Nicholas Goldfuss (36) during their football game, Thursday, Aug. 25.(Photo: Tony Tribble for the Enquirer)
There was only one Ohio-Kentucky matchup on the billing for the 19th annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown, and Covington Catholic won it in a shootout over Oak Hills, 56-48, Thursday night in the first-ever Showdown game played at Mount St. Joseph University's Schueler Field.
A lackluster first quarter was all the motivation CovCath needed to avoid a 0-2 start to its season, behind the balanced attack of junior quarterback A.J. Mayer and sophomore running back Casey McGinness, who each finished the night with ridiculous numbers.
McGinness had 350 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns, while Mayer rushed for 81 yards and threw for 286 with five total touchdowns.
"It was good ... both teams fought hard," said CovCath coach Eddie Eviston. "You don't ever want to start the season 0-2. We made big plays when we had to."
Trailing Oak Hills 7-0 with 8:36 remaining in the second quarter, the Colonels started to heat up on both sides of the ball, rattling off 21 unanswered points to take a 21-7 lead at halftime.
Oak Hills got on the board first with a 1-yard touchdown run from junior quarterback Jake Woycke, set up by a tough 53-yard run by senior Kyle Montag.
But, the Highlanders' next offensive possession ended with a botched punt that served as a turning point for CovCath's comeback.
The Colonels turned a short field into a 30-yard touchdown pass from Mayer to senior Ryan O'Connell. Not even two minutes later, after an Oak Hills three-and-out, McGinness broke a 47-yard touchdown run to give the Colonels their first lead of the season.
After another Oak Hills three-and-out, CovCath cobbled together a 9-play drive, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Mayer with nine seconds left in the first half.
While the second half saw 74 combined points with four touchdowns longer than 50 yards, CovCath came out on the right side and Oak Hills exhibited a refusal to yield.
"We had four turnovers, we had two picks, a fumble, a muffed punt and then we had a mental breakdown on a kickoff return. Then we come back do what we gotta do and put 48 points on the board, but we had 10 situations tonight of third-and-nine (yards) plus and they got a first down," said Oak Hills coach Kyle Prosser. "It was frustrating, but promising for the future here.
"I was very excited about their effort. They didn't quit. To be down by 29 points at one point in time and to lose by eight is something you wouldn't have seen in previous years from this Highlander crew."
CovCath's offense carried its rhythm right into the second half. On its first possession, Mayer found McGinness for a 70-yard touchdown pass, before Oak Hills went back to work with a 9-play, 65-yard scoring drive that ended with Woycke hitting Jason Smith for a 3-yard score.
The Highlanders looked like they might wrangle some momentum early in the second half, but a fumbled punt inside their own 10-yard line gave CovCath a good look and the Colonels took advantage. Mayer tossed a 14-yard touchdown to senior Dave Reisiger to give the Colonels a 35-13 lead.
CovCath junior Kameron Butler then intercepted Woycke and set the Colonels up with another short field. This time, Anthony Best found pay dirt for a 1-yard score and CovCath extended its lead to 42-13.
In the fourth quarter, Oak Hills found a faint pulse with 29 points -- 21 coming in the final six minutes -- but it wasn't enough. Woycke hit Robby Record for a 50-yard touchdown, then after CovCath shanked a punt, and Woycke found Max Scherra for a 15-yard score.
But, McGinness took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards untouched to give CovCath a 49-28 lead.
Over the final 6:39 of the game, Oak Hills scored three unanswered touchdowns and nearly recovered a soft kickoff that checked up near the 20-yard line.
Woycke was 22 of 34 for 408 yards and seven touchdowns (two rushing). Kyle Montag had 80 yards rushing and 151 receiving to go with two touchdown catches.
"It's one of those things where you should never feel comfortable," said Eviston of the fourth quarter. "Things were going well there beginning of the second half. Fourth quarter we couldn't stop them.
"We gotta fight til the end. I think our guys relaxed too much. We need to fix that."
Prosser, whose team will welcome neighborhood rival Elder in Week 2, said, "Defensively we did some good things and some bad, but collectively as a group we were inconsistent. We're gonna get back at it."
Covington Catholic 0-21-21-14 – 56
Oak Hills 7-0-6-35 – 48
O-Woycke 1 run (Staubitz kick)
C-O'Connell 30 pass from Mayer (Kloska kick)
C-McGinness 47 run (Kloska kick)
C-Mayer 1 run (Kloska kick)
C-McGinness 70 pass from Mayer (Kloska kick)
O-J. Smith 3 pass from Woycke (kick failed)
C-Reisiger 14 pass from Mayer (Kloska kick)
C-Best 1 run (Kloska kick)
O-Record 50 pass from Woycke (Staubitz kick)
O-Scherra 15 pass from Woycke (Montag pass from Woycke)
C-McGinness 90 kickoff return (Kloska kick)
C-Best 8 pass from Mayer (Kloska kick)
O-Montag 85 run (pass failed)
O-Woycke 7 run (Montag run)
O-Smith 28 pass from Woycke (run failed)
Records: C 1-1, O 0-1.