[Stardust]

By Richard Skinner

Enquirer contributor

Covington Catholic (1-0) at Dixie Heights (0-1)

WHEN/WHERE: 6 p.m. today in Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown at Dixie Heights

WHAT TO WATCH: A duel between two standout quarterbacks: Dixie senior Zeke Pike, who has committed to Auburn University and sat out last week’s 42-13 loss to Newport Central Catholic due to a suspension, and CovCath junior Blake Bir, who completed 14 of 20 passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns (all in the first half) in last week’s 42-2 win over Campbell County.

BOTTOM LINE: The biggest questions are how much of a difference will Pike make and is CovCath’s defense really as good as it played last week? CovCath won a shootout last season, 40-36, with Bir completing 20 of 29 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns while Pike rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns and completed 7 of 10 passes for 133 yards.

Beechwood (0-0) vs. Simon Kenton (1-0)

WHEN/WHERE: 8:30 p.m. today in Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown at Dixie Heights

WHAT TO WATCH: Simon Kenton’s defense forced five turnovers in last week’s 34-9 win over Casey County, but allowed 247 yards rushing and now must find a way to contain Beechwood senior standout Cameron Vocke, who rushed for 1,841 yards on only 154 carries (an astounding 11.9 yards per carry average) and 32 touchdowns. Beechwood’s defense was great last season against Class A schools, but allowed 33.8 points per game in its five games against bigger schools.

BOTTOM LINE: Despite the fact Beechwood is a Class A school (albeit a perennial state power) and Simon Kenton is a Class 6A school (and one that has made deep runs in the playoffs the last three years) this should be a very good game and possibly a low-scoring one. Simon Kenton is still adjusting to the graduation loss of quarterback Chad Lawerence and Beechwood’s defense returns almost everyone and should be much improved.

Boone County (1-0) at Conner (0-0)

WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. today at Conner

WHAT TO WATCH: It’s the starting debut for highly-regarded Conner sophomore quarterback Drew Barker, who is already being recruited by Division I colleges after an impressive combine this summer. He’ll be going against a Boone County defense that dominated Southwestern in a 28-6 win last week in which it allowed just 212 yards, including 29 on the ground.

BOTTOM LINE: The county rivals are no longer in the same district (Conner is Class 5A and Boone County Class 6A), but most of the players have known each other for a long time, Conner coach Dave Trosper is a Boone County grad and it’s still a great rivalry. Boone County’s defense will certainly be tested more than it was last week, but the Rebels showed some offensive balance too with senior quarterback Kameron Schwartz completing 6 of 12 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns and the team rushing for 136 yards. Conner’s defense struggled last season, allowing 34.0 points per game against six Class 6A foes.

Holy Cross (1-0) at Cooper (0-1)

WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. today at Cooper

WHAT TO WATCH: The Holy Cross offense was dynamic in overwhelming Dayton in its 65-13 win last week, but it will face a much tougher test from the Cooper defense, which played great for a half in last week’s 41-17 opening loss to Ryle before Travis Elliott took charge.

BOTTOM LINE: The teams enter this game from opposite ends of the difficulty spectrum so it’s hard to call this one. Holy Cross, which is a Class 2A team, manhandled Class A Dayton, while Cooper played Class 6A Ryle, which is arguably the second-best team in Northern Kentucky behind Highlands. It’s a good test for both teams.

Holmes (0-0) at Scott (0-0)

WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. today at Scott

WHAT TO WATCH: It’s the first game for new Holmes head coach Terry Liggin and according to the team’s roster on Kentucky High School Athletic Association website the Bulldogs have standout junior wide receiver DeSean Peterson back after he transferred late last school year to Dixie. Scott counters with underrated running back Ryan Sowder, who rushed for 969 yards last season.

BOTTOM LINE: Holmes won last year’s matchup 47-16, but the Eagles rushed for over 300 yards in that game with Sowder racking up 156. Scott will have to make significant defensive improvement from last season, when it allowed 38.3 points per game, to keep this one close.

Dayton (0-1) at Lloyd (0-1)

WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. today at Lloyd

WHAT TO WATCH: Both programs are looking to rebuild with new coaches (Dayton with Chad Montgomery and Lloyd with Mike Stratton) and both are coming off season-opening losses (Dayton, 65-13 against Holy Cross and Lloyd, 28-13 against Owen County).

BOTTOM LINE: Dayton enters the game having lost 13 straight dating back to 2009, while Lloyd has won just two of its last 16 games dating back to 2009 with one of those wins coming over Dayton last season, 36-22. Lloyd turned the ball over seven times in last week’s loss and if it holds onto the ball this week the Juggernauts should win.

Bellevue (1-0) at Newport (0-1)

WHEN/WHERE: 8 p.m. Saturday at Newport Stadium

WHAT TO WATCH: A rivalry in which the two teams’ stadiums are located just a couple of miles apart separated only by I-471 running between them. Both teams’ defenses played extremely well last week, with Bellevue shutting out Walton-Verona, 21-0, and Newport losing to Frankfort, 14-8, despite allowing just 208 total yards.

BOTTOM LINE: Bellevue won last year’s matchup, 35-34, but this should be a much lower-scoring affair and while Newport is coming off a loss it was against a team that was considered to be among the top five or six in the state in Class A in the preseason, while Bellevue isn’t in the top 10.

Milford (0-0) at Campbell County (0-1)

WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. today at Campbell County Middle School.

WHAT TO WATCH: It was a tough debut for Stephen Lickert as Campbell County head coach as his team was dominated by much improved Covington Catholic in its opener last week, 42-2. The Camels, who allowed 30 points per game last season, were outgained 321-108 in the first half alone and trailed 35-0 at halftime. The bright spot was junior quarterback Tyler Durham rushing for 101 yards on 12 carries. He split time with junior Tyler Walsh, who completed 6 of 12 passes for 55 yards.

BOTTOM LINE: Campbell County has the advantage of having at least played a game and Milford should be a significantly easier opponent. The Eagles went 3-7 last season.

Newport Central Catholic (1-0) vs. McNicholas (0-0)

WHEN/WHERE: 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown at University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium.

WHAT TO WATCH: Newport Central Catholic was extremely impressive in its opener, whipping Class 6A Dixie Heights, 42-13, behind 230 yards and three touchdowns passing and 116 yards and a touchdown rushing from senior quarterback Brady Hightchew. McNicholas lost 18 starters from last season and is playing its first game under new coach Mike Orlando.

BOTTOM LINE: Hightchew had a huge game in this event last year in a comeback win over Dixie so he and his teammates should have a lot of confidence in addition to their opening win last week. McNicholas advanced to the Ohio Division III (out of six divisions) state semifinals last season, but with so many new starters it may take awhile for the Rockets to get going.

Ryle (1-0) at Tates Creek (1-0)

WHEN/WHERE: 9 p.m. Saturday at Lexington Lafayette High School in Fayette County Schools iHigh.com Football Frenzy.

WHAT TO WATCH: Let’s see what Ryle senior running back Travis Elliott can do this week in four quarters. Last week after sitting out the first quarter, he accumulated 330 all-purpose yards (173 rushing) and scored five touchdowns in leading the Raiders to a 41-17 win over Cooper. Class 6A Tates Creek held off Class 4A Jessamine County, 14-7, in its opener.

BOTTOM LINE: Tates Creek played superb defensively last week, allowing just 167 yards, but Elliott will still be tough to stop. The Ryle defense also played well in its opener and Tates Creek struggled offensively, gaining just 197 yards, so even if Elliott is held in check, the Ryle defense should be enough to lead the way.

[rebel 4 life]

llyod turned the ball over nine time broke a school record for owen county