What you must understand
- Ryle defeated Covington Catholic 26 20 in a physical Week 1 matchup.
- Raiders RBs Jacob Savage and Dameyn Anness combined for 174 rushing yards
- Dylan Lee made two interceptions for Ryle, one setting up a touchdown
- CovCath s Dylan Gaiser (58-yard TD reception) and Cash Harney (173 passing yards, 145 rushing, 2 TDs) kept them in the game.
- Mistakes (penalties, bad snap) hurt CovCath s comeback chances.
Friday Night Lights’ buzz. It was a very unusually cold August evening. Regardless of class, two teams had a preseason top 15 ranking and a chance to win the state championship.
On the first night of the KHSAA prep football season at Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, you couldn’t ask for much more.
Ryle and Covington Catholic put on a hard duel that felt more like a late November match than Week 1 with the stands packed on both sides. As the closing seconds passed, the Raiders had won 26–20 and were returning to Union.
According to Raiders coach Mike Engler, this is a fantastic victory. We triumphed over hardship. We put up a fierce fight. The changes had to be made.
The identities of the two teams are somewhat similar. Use quarterbacks who can prolong plays with their feet to rely on the run game; the passing game will essentially become an extension of the run game.
Early on, Ryle’s identity was made clear: he had the strength to bruise back Jacob Savage. He scored two touchdowns on the run and dominated his way to 82 rushing yards that evening. The timing of his second touchdown was crucial. The Raiders faced a fourth and goal from the Colonels one with the score tied at 14 seconds before halftime. Everyone in Dennis Griffin Stadium was aware that No. 21 would receive the ball. The Raiders led 20–14 at the half when he ran around the left end of their line and struck paydirt.
Just blessed to have coaches that believe in me so much and trust in me so much, Savage said. I got guys around me that I m super confident they re gonna do their jobs. And they know I m gonna do my job. We re so close and we all know we have trust in each other. I didn t have a doubt I wasn t gonna get that in the end zone.
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Another bruiser entered the game when he collapsed due to cramps in the second half. With ten minutes left in the game, Dameyn Anness surged to 92 rushing yards, gaining crucial yardage to help the Raiders maintain possession and the lead after two field goals from Gavin Moses made it 26-14.During Friday’s game against Ryle, the Colonels gather. Pete Coleman donated the photo.
For the 6A state finalists, CovCath was ready. They had already fallen behind 14-0 when senior running back Dylan Gaiser made a screen pass from 58 yards out, ducked under a few tacklers, and took it to the end zone to make it 14-7. At 14 in the second quarter, quarterback Cash Harney tied the score with a 28-yard rush of his own.
Eddie Eviston, the coach of the Colonels, stated, “Our guys were there.” The fact that we weren’t in sync is just one of those situations where we need to perform better. We know it exists and have demonstrated its promise; we just need to be more consistent.
After the break, the Colonels found fewer solutions and struggled to come up with additional offensive ideas. Moses’ second attempt was made possible by Ryle’s advantageous field position, which was created by expensive mistakes on a punt and late penalties.
Quite comparable to the previous season. Eviston remarked, “Very good game, back and forth, and we’re playing from behind.” Going backwards when you have the chance to move the ball is not a good way to increase your chances of winning. In the end, we need to perform better.
Moses made the Colonels drive 80 yards almost the entire evening with many touchbacks on kickoffs, in addition to the two spectacular field goals, the 42-yarder having at least 10 yards left.Gavin Moses of Ryle tries a field goal. Image courtesy of Raider Sports Network
According to Engler, having him is a weapon.
The Raiders, who were trying to replace record-setting Landon Lorms when he graduated, then added senior Dylan Lee, whose receiving prowess was the talk of the season. However, Lee’s defense and two interceptions—the first of which was followed by a seven-yard touchdown to the senior from Nathan Verax—were what made his night.
Just intuition. I’m only responding; I’m not seeing much. “I made those plays, and God is on my side,” Lee remarked.
Despite only completing two passes that night, Verax’s ability to scramble caused the Colonels a lot of trouble as he ran for 65 of the Raiders’ 277 yards.
CovCath scored a late goal, but Harney’s 8-yard touchdown run made it 26–20 as the game clock read zero in the fourth quarter. With two running touchdowns and 328 yards, 183 passing, and 145 rushing, Harney’s stat line demonstrated his ability to scramble.Money Harney passed for 183 yards and ran for 145. Pete Coleman donated the photo.
Although there were several wasted opportunities that disappointed both teams, Ryle saw it as the ideal test to begin a season with high expectations.
“We had to play football for four quarters,” Engler stated. That is what we desire. That football team is excellent. Since we won’t be able to outscore every club we play against, especially in the playoffs, we must deal with those issues if we want to remain a good football team in the future. We need to be able to play on strong football teams and have to persevere till the end.
CovCath loses to 1-0 as Ryle leaves Park Hills with a 1-0 victory.
Hopefully, this marks the start of a long journey. According to Eviston, “it just depends on how we react, and hopefully we respond correctly, because half of the teams lost tonight.”
Next week, Covington Catholic will go across the River to the Pit to play Elder, while the Raiders will host Conner. The time of both kickoffs is set for 7 p.m.
COLONELS 20; RAIDERS 26
RYLE14-6-3-3 26
COVCATH0-14-0-6 20
Plays That Score Points
1st Quarter
(R) Savage 3-yard run (Moses kick) 9:20
(R) Verax 7-yard pass to Lee (Moses kick) :47
The Second Quarter
(CC) Harney 58-yard pass to Gaiser (Zembrodt kick) 10:43
(CC) Harney 28-yard run (Zembrodt kick) 6:16
(R) Savage 1-yard run (Pass failed) :02
Third Quarter
(R) Moses 42-yard FG 5:02
4th Quarter
(R) Moses 34-yard FG 10:10
(CC) Harney 8-yard run :00
Stats for the Game
Passing Yards: Ryle 19 (Verax 2/9, TD, INT), CovCath 183 (Harney 13/18, TD, 2 INT)
Rushing Yards: Ryle 277 (Anness 13-92, Savage 12-82, Verax 8-65, Collins 2-14, Lyons 4-11, Unknown 1-13), CovCath 192 (Harney 16-145, Gaiser 10-37, Sanning 1-9, Payne 1-1)
Receiving: Ryle (Lee 2-19), CovCath (Gaiser 5-81, Brooks 5-45, Sanning 2-32, Bradshaw 2-20, Pitzer 1-5)
Turnovers: Ryle 1, CovCath 2
Penalties: Ryle 4-37, CovCath 5-23
Records
: Ryle 1-0, Covington Catholic 0-1
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