[Stardust]

The coaches at Newport Central Catholic haven’t finished their research but they do know that senior Dylan Hayes has smashed at least one mark in the 77-year-old team record book during an iron-man performance this season for the football team.

“He’s having a great year in all areas and our line has done a great job clearing holes on offense,” NewCath head coach Eddie Eviston said. “We know for sure he broke his own record for punt return yards in a season and there’s probably going to be more.”

The Thoroughbreds (9-4) are one step away from the Class 2A state championship game. Host Somerset (11-2) looms as a formidable obstacle in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. state semifinal.

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NewCath will try to hurdle the Briar Jumpers with six outstanding two-way senior starters, including one special talent who plays every which way and gets loose. Hayes and the ‘Breds are seeking their second state title in three years.

The 5-foot-8, 185-pound dynamo has an interception and 33 tackles at cornerback. He’s rewriting the record books on offense and special teams.

Hayes has 1,476 rushing yards, on 8.3 yards per carry, for the 12th most in a season at NewCath. He also has 105 receiving yards, a record 432 punt return yards and 287 kickoff return yards for a total of 2,300.

“I love running the ball but I actually like special teams more because I can see more and I have more open field to make moves,” Hayes said.

He's scored 30 touchdowns, four on punt returns and two on kickoffs, giving him 10 career special teams returns for scores.

“When you can put your best on special teams, it makes you that much stronger and you always have a chance for a big play,” Eviston said. “There’s always the injury risk, but Dylan is in great shape and he’s pretty tough, and we’d be ignorant not to put him back there on special teams.”

Hayes’ 60 touchdowns and a two-point conversion put him at 362 career points, which ranks fourth all-time at NewCath. He’s scored 182 points this year and needs 19 to break Chris Kelly’s 2010 single-season record of 200. He is two TDs short of Kelly’s season record of 32.

Elsewhere, Hayes’ 46 career rushing TDs rank fifth all-time at NewCath and his 3,007 rushing yards rank eighth. With nearly 5,000 total yards, he’s poised to become the seventh player in school history to reach that milestone.

Hayes said the numbers are nice but his primary goal remains the same.

“I’d love to win a second state championship,” he said. “Somerset’s pretty big but I think we can take advantage of them with our speed. From the middle of the line to the receivers, we have a lot of speed.”http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...311200029/

[Image: http://cmsimg.nky.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bil...title-game]