Class 4A second round: Miller, Colonels move past Tomcats: Covington Catholic builds early lead, advances to next round
· Yahoo Sports
ASHLAND Kiyan Miller literally carried the load for Covington Catholic Friday night.
The sophomore had 19 carries for 149 rushing yards and three touchdowns during a 57-28 victory at Ashland in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.
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When the Tomcats had a momentous start to the second half, opening with a touchdown and cutting the deficit to two possessions, Miller quashed the rally on his own.
The ensuing Colonels’ drive featured five Miller runs, including a 28-yard gain while dragging multiple Ashland defenders downfield.
“It’s who he has been all year,” Covington Catholic coach Eddie Eviston said. “He’s the guy that sets the tone for us. He does a nice job along with those guys up front. They allow us to be very balanced in what we do. We have some weapons on the outside and with our quarterback, but those guys get the much-needed yards”
Compounding the situation, Antonio Rodriguez put the home team behind the sticks on the next drive with a pair of sacks, and the Tomcats had to punt deep in their own territory. Jamir Kirtley collected a short kick on the run and sprinted away from the defense for a 45-yard return to the house.
Ashland could not escape an early 21-point deficit, but coach Chad Tackett hopes his team won’t forget the fight and character they showed with their season on the line.
“I am super proud of them,” Tackett said. “Our whole thing this week was empty your tank, and they did that Friday night. Our seniors did a phenomenal job leading this football team this year. I was proud of how we played. We played hard. We made mistakes, but we couldn’t cut it close enough to get back in it. … It was a tough loss, but I thought the game was a lot closer than the score indicated.”
Covington Catholic (8-4) opened the game with a scoring drive. The seven-play possession ended with Miller’s first trip to the end zone on a 9-yard run.
Ashland followed with a three-and-out, assisted by a Jonny Lind sack. The Colonels wasted no time attacking with the resulting good field position. Quarterback Dylan Courtney hit Brandon Smith in stride down the middle of the field for a 45-yard touchdown pass.
“Our coaches did a great job of getting our guys prepared on both sides of the ball,” Eviston said. “We knew they were explosive with their offense. Our defense did a nice job of getting a couple of negative plays early and put them in a third-and-long situation. It really helped build that lead.”
Covington Catholic needed just one snap to score again before the opening quarter ended. Owen Pitzer found a running lane to the end zone on a 36-yard screen pass. Kirtley added to the quick-strike barrage with a short TD run in the first half. Miller supplied another touchdown to give the Colonels a 22-point lead at halftime.
“We knew he was a good back,” Tackett said of Miller, “but we were really concerned about their quarterback and tight end. Those two guys on film were outstanding. Cov Cath’s four losses are to Beechwood, Highlands, Indianapolis Cathedral and Elder, one of the top teams in their division in Ohio. And they competed in all of those games. We knew they were a good team. We just hoped that we could slow them down enough.
“We started clicking on offense,” he added. “We found out we could run the ball and kept them off-balance with our passing game. I thought we moved the ball better than anybody outside of those four teams.”
Justin Hughes caught five balls for 108 yards. He collected two TD catches, matching the Tomcats’ single-season mark.
Tre Taylor had 48 rushing yards. Mav Ashby saw more carries late in the season after battling injuries for two years. He led Ashland (10-2) in rushing in his final game. Ashby tallied 62 ground yards and scored twice.
“He’s coming back from the knee injury, and then he had an ankle injury,” Tackett said. “We were using him exclusively on defense. The other guys got rolling, and we tried to get him back in. He’s a great back, and his best football is ahead of him. He’s going to mid-enroll at Georgetown and he will be an outstanding player for them.”
Courtney finished 6 of 8 through the air with 151 passing yards for the Colonels. Mac Cogswell added a late 43-yard touchdown catch.
“We’ve always built our offense around getting multiple people touches,” Eviston said. “The guys that got touches tonight did great things with the ball. It’s good to see. It was a fun night offensively.”
Covington Catholic’s playoff path doesn’t get easier, as they travel to Boyle County next week for the state quarterfinal. A convincing road win gives them added momentum.
“It’s one thing we talked about,” Eviston said. “We would probably be on the road most of the time. We talked about that mentality. It’s something that we can’t control. Wherever we go, we will kick the ball off and line up. Our guys did a great job of handling that mentality.”
C. CATHOLIC 21 15 14 7 — 57
ASHLAND 0 14 7 7 — 28
FIRST QUARTER
CC—Kiyan Miller 9 run (Roco Gillette kick), 7:47
CC—Brandon Smith 45 pass from Dylan Courtney (Gillette kick), 6:06
CC—Owen Pitzer 36 pass from Courtney (Gillette kick), 1:14
SECOND QUARTER
A—Mav Ashby 4 run (Max McAlister kick), 11:03
CC—Miller 7 run (Miller run), 6:57
A—Justin Hughes 44 pass from Tanner Stutler (McAlister kick), 6:38
CC—Jamir Kirtley 2 run (Gillette kick), 5:19
THIRD QUARTER
A—Ashby 5 run (McAlister kick), 7:54
CC—Miller 1 run (Gillette kick), 5:15
CC—Kirtley 45 punt return (Gillette kick), :43.4
FOURTH QUARTER
A—Hughes 39 pass from Stutler (McAlister kick), 9:41
CC—Mac Cogswell 43 pass from Courtney (Gillette kick), 8:40
CC A
First Downs 13 13
Rushes-Yards 27-185 41-138
Comp-Att-Int 6-8-0 12-16-1
Passing Yards 151 153
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Punts-Avg. 1-37.0 3-39.0
Penalties-Yards 5-60 3-21
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Covington Catholic rushing: Miller 19-149, Kirtley 2-13, Timmerding 4-9, Clukey 1-5, Courtney 1-9.
Ashland rushing: Farrow 5-26, Christian 1-0, Simpkins 7-17, Woodman 1-6, Ashby 10-62, Strader 1-8, Taylor 7-48, McCoy 3-2, Stutler 6-(minus-31).
Covington Catholic passing: Courtney 6 of 8 for 151 yards.
Ashland passing: Stutler 12 of 16 for 153 yards and 1 interception.
Covington Catholic receiving: Cogswell 1-43, Fedor 1-9, Pitzer 2-47, Smith 2-52.
Ashland receiving: Hughes 5-108, Strader 6-35, Taylor 1-10.