'A little bit more excitement': Covington Catholic, Cooper ready for state championship

Northern Kentucky has two football teams in the state championships in the same year for the first time since 2018. With Covington Catholic playing in Class 4A and Cooper advancing in Class 5A, the region has two big schools playing at Kroger Field for the first time since Dixie Heights and Highlands did so in 2014.

The Colonels have won a total of eight state championships, the most recent coming in 2019. Cooper is making its second state championship appearance; the other was in 2012.

Ahead of CovCath's game on Friday at 8 p.m. and Cooper's title tilt on Saturday at 8 p.m., here's what to watch for in each contest.

Vote: Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky high school athlete of the week, Nov. 27

Covington Catholic hopes to break 4-year title drought

Head coach Eddie Eviston took the Colonels to three straight state championships from 2017 to 2019, winning two titles in three years. In contrast, none of the players on the Colonels' 2023 roster have ever played in the season's final weekend.

Quarterback Evan Pitzer has said throughout the season that every game is "just another game." Eviston is using his prior experience to keep his squad centered as they approach their ultimate goal.

"There's a little bit more excitement in the air. There's all these things that surround this game, which is good. It's fun. It's great for our school. It's great for our program, our community. But at the same time, when it comes down to the football aspect of things, we're creatures of habit," Eviston said.

Looking at Boyle County, one stat that sticks out is its 11-2 state championship game record. The Rebels have won a trophy in three different classes with back-to-back Class 2A titles in 1999 and 2000, four in Class 3A (2001, 2002, 2003, 2017), and five in Class 4A (2009, 2010, 2020, 2021, 2022).

For all of the history the Rebels and Colonels have contributed, they have never played one another.

"Kind of cool, you know? It's been something that's been brought to our attention. We never really thought about it," Eviston said. "If you're a high school football enthusiast, especially in the state of Kentucky, I think people will get excited about this matchup. So we're excited to be a part of it."

Boyle County has senior Sage Dawson at quarterback. He has thrown for 2,378 yards and 28 touchdowns. Their top offensive weapon, though, is receiver Montavin Quisenberry. The junior has rushed for 717 yards and 17 touchdowns and caught 40 passes for 818 yards and 12 touchdowns.

"He's a great athlete, but we've got some great athletes, too," senior Ben Reeves said. "We're just going to play our game, and then obviously we'll have our eyes out for him."

On defense, the Rebels have held opponents to 11.8 points per game and 204 yards per game. Six players have at least four sacks and they have forced 17 fumbles, returning three for touchdowns.

CovCath has enjoyed a home-field advantage throughout the playoffs thanks to the best RPI in Class 4A. After cruising through most of the regular season, they faced tough tests against Ashland Blazer and Paducah Tilghman.

The defense came up big in the second half of both games, but that defense will need to show up in all four quarters against a potent Boyle County team.

"We pride ourselves on just coming out and being the tougher team and being able to come out and set the tone, especially for the second half. Also, our coaches do a great job making adjustments and putting us in the right position to make plays," Reeves said.

Cooper football is 'back to where we want it to be'

The Jaguars have only faced Bowling Green once in the school's 16-year history. That game was the 2012 Class 5A state championship, a game the Purples won 34-20.

This is a rematch 11 years in the making. Bowling Green and Cooper are similar in many ways, which makes this game very enticing, at least on paper.

"When you look at it paper, we're two very evenly-matched teams. To me, the difference between the two teams, the biggest thing is they've been here before," head coach Randy Borchers said.

Both teams are scoring over 35 points per game. Quarterbacks Cam O'Hara and Deuce Bailey have both thrown for over 3,000 yards and 40 touchdowns. On defense, the Jaguars and Purples are allowing 16 points per game and less than 300 yards per game.

Bowling Green is 7-5 in its state championship appearances. It won in 1995 as a member of Class 3A and in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2020 as a member of Class 5A. It was also the runner-up against Frederick Douglass in 2022.

The Purples own three losses this year: a 56-52 shootout against Lexington Christian, a 27-12 loss to Louisville St. Xavier, and a 38-35 defeat to Bryan Station, who is in the Class 6A state championship.

"They're a very athletic team. They like to throw the ball a lot, so it's going to be very different from Highlands, who we played last week, who liked to run a lot. We're going to be facing a different type of offense, but I think our defense can handle that," senior lineman Jack Lonaker said.

Borchers said before the season that the Jaguars' tough schedule would prepare them for the playoffs. An 8-2 regular season has paid dividends in ways Cooper couldn't have imagined. After beating Collins at home in the first round, the Jaguars went on the road to defeat Scott County, Southwestern and Highlands.

Saturday night will be Cooper's first neutral site game of the season. They are trying to keep this week's preparations as normal as possible. With a 7-1 road record so far this season, another bus trip will be nothing new.

"We like traveling. It's fun. We feel very classy and very professional. We leave dressed up, go out to eat. It feels like a college program what we're doing, and I think we play really well on the road. We kind of like to be in that position where maybe we're not favored," Lonaker said.

After going to the state championship in 2012, the Jaguars appeared in the state semifinals in 2014 and the regional final in 2015. But in each season from 2017 to 2020, they finished with a .500 record or worse. This season is the result of those teams enduring rough seasons in order to help build the program.

"Things were kind of going south for us. We weren't winning a lot of football games. There was some scutterbug and kids were questioning or leaving or whatnot. We had a great group of seniors come through about two or three years ago that bought into what we wanted to do, bought into our culture and got this train back on the track and since then, we've got it back to where we want it to be," Borchers said.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kentucky state football championships: CovCath, Cooper both ready