The Greater Cincinnati area features seven schools in Kentucky’s Class 1A. Four of those theams won a game in the state playoffs last season, and the schools that didn’t seem to have reasons to hope for a breakout. There are plenty of interesting storylines among these schools going into 2024, plus questions that won’t get answered until the teams hit the field later this month.
Below, with teams listed alphabetically, is a preview of each Greater Cincinnati squad in Kentucky Class 1A for 2024.
Bellevue Tigers
2023: 4-7, lost in Class 1A round of 32
Head coach: Chad Montgomery
Returning players: QB Tristan Woodyard, RB Jordan Pendleton, RB/QB/LB Stephen Specht, RB/LB Will Lear, WR/DB Brayden Sizemore, OL/DL Derrick Fortner, DB/WR Kayne Ross, DB/WR Peyton Hopper
Outlook: Bellevue will be thrilled to return Jordan Pendleton, who rushed for 1,061 yards (7.7 yards per carry) and 14 touchdowns in 2023. Pendelton added another 472 yards and four touchdowns receiving. Starting quarterback Tristan Woodyard will also return, as will Brayden Sizemore, the team’s top receiver. Bellevue finished 24th in Kentucky’s Class IA in points per game in 2023, but in 2024 the unit will be much more experienced.
On defense, the Tigers lose arguably their two best defensive players from last season in linebacker Landon Corley and defensive back Wyatt Messman. Pendleton, Sizemore and Woodyard figure to play a big role in the defense though, and rising junior linebacker Will Lear is poised for a breakout after finishing top five on the team in tackles in 2023. Stephen Specht worked into the rotation as a running back and linebacker as a freshman, and there’s a good chance he steps up further in his sophomore season.
Bishop Brossart Mustangs
2023: 5-6, lost in Class 1A state round of 32
Head coach: Adam Kozerski
Returning players: QB Keegan Gulley, QB Tyler Holtz, RB/DB Cameron Mandel, RB Landon Geyer, WR Timothy Kitt, WR/DB Nicholas Cozzi, WR Nate Geiman, WR Anthony Schuck, DL Shane Willike, DL Nolan Kruse, DL Joe Schroeder, LB Quinten Tischner
Outlook: Bishop Brossart will have to deal with the loss of its top two receivers, but other than that the Mustangs will have strong continuity on offense. Keegan Gulley and Tyler Holtz both threw for over 300 yards last season, and both will be seniors in 2024. It will be interesting to see how new coach Adam Kozerski shapes his quarterback room. Rising senior Timothy Kitt should be a strong weapon in the receiving game, and the team has four more players returning who caught at least six passes last season.
Bishop Brossart allowed the fourth-fewest passing yards per game in 2023, and the Mustangs return multiple top players from the passing defense, including Nicholas Cozzi (3 interceptions in 2023), Cameron Mandel and Quinten Tischner (57 tackles, seven tackles for loss, one interception). Three players who had at least three sacks will be back, so the passing defense for the Mustangs appears it will be in good shape. The loss of Alex Amin, who led the team in solo tackles and had two interceptions, will hurt, but the Mustangs defense seems poised to lead the team again in 2024.
Dayton Greendevils
2023: 5-7, made Class 1A state round of 16
Head coach: Jesse Herbst
Returning players: QB/LB Chad Nickell, RB/DB Matte Hinkle-Bonham, TE/LB Blake Puchta, OL/DL Jordan Kennedy, WR/DB Conner Hurtt
Outlook: Dayton’s offense was almost exclusively a rushing attack in 2023, with three different players recording 450 or more rushing yards. Two of those three players will be gone in 2024, leaving question marks for the Dayton offense. Chad Nickell, who started at quarterback and rushed for 450 yards in 2023, will look to lead the offense this year. With the Greendevils’ top two running backs having graduated and even more contributing rushers further down the list not returning, watch for Matte Hinkle-Bonham to step into a larger offensive role after rushing for more than 11 yards per carry on eight rushes in 2023. Every player who caught more than two passes for Dayton in 2023 has graduated, so their receiver room hopes to see a few players step up.
Dayton finished in the top-half of the class for points allowed per game in 2023. Dangelo Jiminez was the star of the unit, recording more than 110 tackles, three tackles for loss and six forced fumbles. He won’t return. Neither will any of the team’s other five leading tacklers. Nickell, Puchtua and a few other players have experience on defense for Dayton, but it will be a new-look unit in 2024.
Holy Cross Indians
2023: 5-6, lost in Class 1A round of 32
Head coach: Curt Spencer
Returning players: QB/DB Maddox Thomas, RB/DB Ulysses Porter, RB/LB Trevin Figgs, WR/DB Braylon Thornberry, TE/DL Max Hunt, OL/DL Zach Chalfin, OL/DL Felipa Tremble, OL/DL Litello Johnson, DB/WR Jordan Fabre
Outlook: Holy Cross football has a new head coach for the first time in 20 years after longtime head coach and former Bengal Bruce Kozerski stepped down following the 2023 season. New coach Curt Spencer was a football official around Northern Kentucky from 2008 to 2017. From 2017-2021, he was the linebackers coach for Holy Cross before becoming the head coach of Holy Cross’s middle school program. He inherits a roster with a few question marks but also some very strong returning players.
The best of the bunch of returners might be Ulysses Porter, who rushed for 954 yards (8.2 yards per carry) and 14 touchdowns as a freshman in 2023. Last year’s starting quarterback Donovan Ambrocio, who threw for 14 touchdowns in 2023, won’t return, but rising junior Maddox Thomas completed 13-of-26 passes as a sophomore in 2023. Thomas is more of a rushing threat than Ambrocio was; he ran for more than seven yards per carry last season. Backup running back Trevin Figgs also returns after a strong sophomore season. Holy Cross’ top two receivers from last year have graduated, but Braylon Thornsberry, Porter and Max Hunt all had more than 100 receiving yards as freshmen in 2023. The offense will be young but undeniably talented.
It appears that the same can be said about the defense. Three rising sophomores and two rising juniors had at least a sack in 2023. Felipa Tremble will be a sophomore in 2024, and he had eight tackles for loss and four sacks in 2023. Hunt had five tackles for loss and three sacks. The loss of Ambrocio will hurt, as he led the team in tackles from the linebacker position last season. Figgs will have a chance to step up as the leader of the defense after recording 63 tackles as a sophomore last season.
Ludlow Panthers
2023: 8-5, made Class 1A state quarterfinals
Head coach: John “Woody” McMillen
Returning players: QB Jackson Mays, RB/LB Dameyn Anness, RB/LB Aiden Smith Baxley, RB/DB Byron Conley, WR/DB Spencer Brandenburg, OL/DL Shawn Davidson, LB/WR Carson Evans, LB/OL Matt Brock
Outlook: Ludlow had quite a few question marks coming into last season. New head coach Woody McMillen was most recently a baseball coach. Not a single player who had completed a pass the year before was returning. Half of the defense’s top contributors were gone. Despite those questions, the Panthers managed to have a winning season and make it to the state quarterfinals.
There are question marks this year too, but nothing close to as serious as before last season. Ludlow’s starting quarterback Jackson Mays returns for his junior season after throwing for over 1,200 yards with 13 touchdowns last year. Ludlow’s second and third-leading rushers from last year won’t be back, but the Panthers still return four players who rushed for over 200 yards in 2023, including Dameyn Anness, who went for 1,251 yards (6.9 yards per rush) on the ground and 17 total touchdowns. Three of the four wide receivers who caught more than two passes last year won’t be back, so the Panthers will need some step-up performers there.
The defense returns six of its top seven tacklers from last season, including Anness, who had 99 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and three sacks. Aiden Smith Baxley and Carson Evans, who combined for 25 tackles for loss and eight sacks last season, will be back. Ludlow is poised for an even further breakout this season with a more experienced team and a more experienced head coach.
Newport Wildcats
2023: 8-4, made Class 1A state round of 16
Head coach: Paul Wiggins Jr.
Returning players: QB Kyle Lee, RB/CB Rodzion Thompson, RB/LB Ayden Stachel, WR/DB Amontae Lowe, WR/DB Kayveion Sharp, WR/DB Landon Stacks, WR/LB Keegan Farrell, WR/DB Kendall Buck-Barber, OL/DL Jaylan Hartness, OL/DL Bryan Hodge, LB/TE Sean Hurry, DB/WR Carvonta Roper, DB/WR Landon Stacks
Outlook: Newport is another team with a new head coach in 2024. Paul Wiggins Jr. graduated from Newport in 1986, where he starred as a defensive end and linebacker. In 2014, he took over as the coach at Bishop Brossart and when the team had just 21 players. Two years later his team won the school’s first district title. It will be interesting to see what he can do with a team that already saw success in 2023.
Newport should be ecstatic that quarterback Kyle Lee is back after he threw for over 2,500 yards and totaled 34 touchdowns last season. Both players who saw significant rush attempts in 2023, including Rodzion Thompson who averaged more than six yards per carry, will be back. All six players who caught more than 10 passes in 2023 are back as well. At the skill positions, Newport is basically running it back with the same offense it had in 2023.
The Wildcats will miss Khalil Buck-Barber, who had 103 tackles and 24 tackles for loss as a senior in 2023. His brother Kendall, a rising junior, was great last year too, with seven interceptions and eight tackles for loss. Linebacker Sean Hurry will return after an incredible freshman season, where he recorded 19 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. Newport returns eight of its top 12 tacklers from 2023.
Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds
2023: 8-5, made Class 1A state quarterfinals
Head coach: Stephen Lickert
Returning players: QB/S Louie Collopy, QB Miles Emmanuel, RB/LB Kaleb Cole, RB/DB Eddie Bivens, WR/DB Charlie Ford, WR/LB Landon Kraft, OL/DL Gabe Lyons, OL/DL Mason Baas, DB/WR Chris Meyer
Outlook: Kolton Smith, who threw the most passes for the Thoroughbreds last season, won’t be back, but Louie Collopy had a great year behind the center too. A rising senior, he completed over 60% of his passes for 11 touchdowns and just one interception. Newport Central Catholic’s star rusher from last season Demetrick Welch, who rushed for 1,125 yards and 22 touchdowns, won’t be back, but both rising senior Kaleb Cole and rising junior Eddie Bivens saw some success as backup running backs last year. Three of the team’s top five pass catchers return in 2024, and a few returners further down the depth chart saw success in more limited action last season.
Newport Central Catholic’s defense was its calling card in 2023, as the team finished eighth in the class for points allowed per game. The unit will miss quite a few graduated players, including Mitchel Doeker (four interceptions in 2023), Carter Sleet (77 tackles, 10 tackles for loss), Kameron Patterson (five sacks) and Noah Ohradzansky (two interceptions). Players like Landon Kraft, Charlie Ford and Cole form a strong core, but Newport Central Catholic will need some breakouts to fill the holes left by top graduated players.
Note: All stats are from the Kentucky High School Athletics Association website.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How do Cincinnati area football teams in Kentucky Class 1A stack up?
