LIFE
2B • COMMUNITY RECORDER • NOVEMBER 26, 2015
Regional Continued from Page 1B
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Lexie Aytes, left, is the top returner for Villa Madonna.
Girls hoops stars ready to tip off James Weber jweber@communitypress.com
Dixie Heights was 15-14 last year and won the 34th District for returning head coach Tara Smith. The Colonels graduated standout center Liza Tibbs but has a lot of depth coming back. Junior guard Brooke Davis averaged nine points a game and sank 30 3-pointers and is the top returning scorer. Junior guard Kylie Brock posted 8.6 points a contest and made 20 treys. Junior guard Riley East adds a lot of experience. Smith is excited about her team’s overall depth and ability to get up and down the court in an uptempo attack. Lloyd Memorial was 12-16 last year for head coach Tyler Teke, who returns for his fourth season with a 31-56 record. His top five players are sophomore forward ShaMaya Behanan, junior guard Alyssa Binkley, junior guard Devin Cheatum, sophomore guard Addison Viox, and sophomore guard Jordan Yates. Cheatum, a junior shooting guard and Behanan, a sophomore small forward, are the two returning starters. Behanan ranked fourth in the state in rebounding with 12.8 a contest and also led the team in scoring at 12.6 ppg. Cheatum scored nine a game and sank 24 3-pointers. “This is a really smart team. What they lack in experience, they make up for in knowledge and retention,” Teke said. “They are also extremely athletic and quick. We also do not have a senior on this year’s team so we know we can really build for two years. We have really changed the culture in the middle school and retaining those girls as they come to the high school in order to build this into a bigger program.” Notre Dame was 13-17 last season for head coach Wyatt Foust, who returns for his third season with a 35-28 record. Top players to watch start with junior point guard Jenna Martin, sophomore guard Sophie Hagen, junior guard Kennedy Baugh, senior forward Emily Zimmerman and junior center Allison Gribben. Martin and Baugh are returning starters. NDA graduated three of its top four scorers, with Martin averaging nine points per game as the lone returner from that group. She sank 20 3-pointers. Baugh averaged 3.5 ppg. “This year’s team has set a goal for itself to be the hardest working team in the state,” Foust said. “That is an expectation they have absolutely lived up to at this point. As always we will pride ourselves on our halfcourt defense and look to dominate both ends of the rebounding battle.”
BRANDON SEVERN FOR THE RECORDER
Devin Cheatum of Lloyd passes it to her teammate underneath in a game with St. Henry last January.
Beechwood was 11-17 last season for returning head coach Todd Houston. Junior guard Allison Johnson averaged 16 points per game and hit 56 3pointers. She made an outstanding 87 percent of her free throws (117-135) and also posted four rebounds a contest. Junior guard Kimi Stokes averaged 10 points per game. Senior guard Olivia Stokes posted eight points and six rebounds a game and senior guard Macy Stuempel seven points a contest. Scott was 20-11 last season and 37th District runner-up before losing a one-point heartbreaker in the 10th Region semifinals to George Rogers Clark. The Eagles return three starters in sophomore guard Lexi Stapleton, sophomore guard Anna Clephane and senior guard Holly Kallmeyer. Clephane averaged 13.7 points a game last season, Stapleton 12.5 and Kallmeyer 10.4. Stapleton is the top returning 3point shooter with 34 makes. The group each averaged more than four rebounds per game as well. The team’s other senior, forward Tori Dant and junior guard Morgan Wagner are others to watch early on in the preseason. Scott’s fast-paced attack should be a strength for the team once again, said 12th-year head coach Rhonda Klette. Scott has a 5-11 player and one 6-foot. “We have a lot of experience coming back this season and team depth,” she said. “We can go 9-10 deep and keep up the same style of play. Our kids have been working really hard this summer and preseason to make a run at the region title. They like to play fast and really push the tempo of the game.”
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Macy Stuempel is Beechwood’s top returner.
Villa Madonna was 13-17 last season for head coach Brian Coburn, who returns for his second year at Villa and his seventh overall. He was 98-52 in five seasons at St. Henry and collected his 100th career win early last season with the Blue Lightning. VMA hopes to regain the NKAC conference title in Division III after finishing third last year. The team returns all five starters in Lexie Aytes, Madison Perry, Sarah Ernst, Abby Hengge and Brooke Meier. Perry was the top scorer last year at 8.8 points per game and hit a team-high 45 3-pointers. Aytes posted 7.7 points per contest. Ernst, Hengge and Meier scored five a game. Ernst pulled down seven rebounds a game and Aytes and Meier five each. “We have much more experience and depth than last season,” Coburn said. “In addition, as we have many younger players we should show significant improvement as the season progresses.” Calvary Christian has a new head coach in Isaac Speicher. The Cougars were 5-19 last season. Sophomore center Rebekah Fryman is the top returning scorer after averaging five points a contest last year. She also pulled 5.3 rebounds a game. Sophomore guard Kaelin Clemens averaged three points a contest. Covington Latin was 7-18 for returning head coach Tim Heil. guards Kennedy Senior McGuire and Katherine Meyer are the top returners after averaging six points and five rebounds apiece per game last year. Junior Gabrielle Krumpleman also pulled down five boards a contest. Follow James Weber on Twitter @JWeberSports
Senior running back Roberto London rushed for 136 yards and scored three touchdowns for Scott, including a 78-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter that gave Scott a 26-14 lead, and Danny Fitzgerald threw two touchdown passes but the Eagles couldn’t continue the longest playoff run in school history. Johnson Central got the ball back at its own 45-yard line with 2:20 left to play and a chance to win. Workman completed a fourth-down pass to Blanton to keep the drive alive. Scott had not won a playoff game since 2002 before beating Rowan County and Ashland Blazer to reach the regional championship. The Eagles end the season 10-3. “This was a game where a lot of people didn’t give us a chance and we were right there until the last play,” said Scott coach Dan Woolley. “Sometimes you make the play, sometimes you don’t. There were plenty of opportunities earlier in the game. People will look at that last play but we made mistakes at other points, junctures, too that cost us. That’s why you play 48 minutes. They played 48 minutes. Hats off to them, they got it in the end.” Johnson Central had outscored its opponents 411-119 coming into the game, including 90-6 in its two playoff games, but Scott took advantages of a series of mistakes by the Golden Eagles to build a 20-6 halftime lead. The Eagles got interceptions by Perrin and senior Jordan Velasquez late in the fourth quarter after Johnson Central had pulled to within 26-21 but the JC defense was able to get the ball back for its offense each time. Fitzgerald was 5-of-6 for 95 yards and the two scores. London had 192 total yards and two TDs. Perrin rushed eight times for 83 yards. “This senior class has done things that have never been done here before and hopefully put this program on the right path to where we will be a successful program and not just a successful team,” said Wooley. “That’s what my vision has been. This is a special group of seniors. I challenged them last year for leadership and they stepped up.” The Covington Catholic defense contained Highlands running back Nick Kendall for much of the first half, but couldn’t keep up with him later in the game. In the second half, he raced his way to another 200-yard performance and scored three times. With the 44-22 win, Highlands ad-
BRANDON SEVERN FOR THE RECORDER
Lloyd quarterback Jordan Fann looks deep for the Juggernauts.
vances to the next round and has won seven games in a row. CCH finishes 5-8. CovCath cut the deficit to 30-22 on a 68-yard TD pass from AJ Mayer to Ian Summe with 4:44 to go in the game, but Highlands controlled the ball after that and scored twice on TD runs by Kendall. Junior wide receiver Trent Wrobleski had three touchdowns all season for the Newport Central Catholic football team. He nearly doubled his output in 90 seconds on defense Nov. 20 during the first quarter while keying NewCath’s 41-0 rout of Lloyd in the local Class 2A regional final at Newport Stadium. Lloyd finishes 9-4 on the season. It was Wrobleski’s playmaking, and NewCath’s dominating defense that kept the ‘Breds on track for their first state crown since 2012. Wrobleski’s 34-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown with 6:49 to play in the opening quarter was the first score of the game, and helped give the Thoroughbreds a 7-0 lead. His 30-yard interception return for a touchdown with 5:19 left in the quarter, and Ryan Hans’ extra-point kick gave NewCath a 20-0 lead. At that point in the contest, NewCath had more defensive scores (3) than total yards (minus-1). Lloyd miscues and NewCath’s opportunistic defense set the early tone. In between Wrobleski’s scores from his safety position, linebacker John Harris returned an interception 40 yards for a score to give the Thoroughbreds a 13-0 lead. The Thoroughbreds, 8-5, limited Lloyd (9-4) to 146 total yards while posting their first shutout of the season. The Juggernauts had five fumbles, losing three, and totaled six turnovers, compared to none for the ‘Breds, who were held to 168 total yards, 154 on the ground. Lloyd’s top producer was running back Justin Durham, who carried 14 times for 57 yards. The Juggernauts totaled eight first downs, while holding NewCath to six first downs. Follow James on Twitter @JWeberSports
GEOFF BLANKENSHIP FOR THE RECORDER
Cameron Pitzer (35) of CovCath makes a leaping catch for a Colonel touchdown Nov. 20.