Vote Now for All-Tristate Football Team

The polls have been opened over at TristateFootball.com for the annual All-Tristate Football team.

The team is chosen by the contributors at TSF (including yours truly) and the fans. The TSF staff will make up 60% of the vote with the fans making up the remaining 40%.

Vote early and vote often... You are allowed to vote once per day per IP address, so make sure you start voting for your favorite NKy guys and don't stop until voting ends. Voting starts now and runs through July 29th.

The team will be formally introduced in a 40-page full color Season-Guide magazine schedule to hit tri-state Goldstar Chili and SportClips locations in mid-august.

VOTE NOW FOR THE ALL-TRISTATE TEAM

NKy Players on the Ballot:

QB
Matt Rigdon-Beechwood
Nick West- Conner

RB
Austin Collinsworth- Highlands
Charles Quainoo- Boone County
Miles Simpson- Simon Kenton

WR
Nick Buten- Highlands

OL
Kevin Connaughton- CovCath
Tyler Grubbs- Highlands
Jordan Hansel- Simon Kenton
Hunter Schlosser- Highlands

TE
Tate Nichols- Ryle
Brandon Roller- Highlands

LB
Chris Kelly- NewCath

P
Ryan Wilson- Dixie

KR/PR
Austin Collinsworth- Highlands
Austin Johnson- Campbell County
Brandon Thornton- Dayton

VOTE NOW FOR THE ALL-TRISTATE TEAM

Adidas Take 5ive Final Day: K-Y Players Rebound

The K-Y Players got off to a rough start in day one of the Adidas Take 5ive as you read in my last post. I figured they were down and out for the most part, plus I had other guys to scout so I quit following them. However, on Wednesday I looked up at the brackets to see that the Players had rebounded and made it to the semifinals of the gold bracket.

For those of you that don't know, there was a platinum bracket at the tournament which was basically the winner's bracket and then the gold bracket was the consolation bracket. The players played very well in that semifinals game. Ricardo was the best player on the court for either team as he showed a more well-rounded offensive game than we've seen. Demetrius Avery really stood out in the semifinals game. The Conner wing showed off his athleticism on both ends of the court snatching rebounds, playing solid defense, and finishing at the rim.

The finals though, is where the Players really picked up their game. They played against a solid team from Ohio by the name of Mustang Ballers. The Ballers had a very good point guard by the name of Rob Brandenberg from Lincoln High School. However, it wasn't enough as Johnson was the best player on the court once again. The versatile senior-to-be played off the ball on the wing as well as ran the point and excelled in both scenarios. Johnson had 14 points at the half. In the second half it was all of the Players stepping it up. Johnson hit two more threes, Avery had a few nice cuts to the basket to finish around the rim, Elijah Pittman hit a few jumpshots and had a nice and-one, and Jeremiah gave his usual solid effort on defense and rebounding. The Players won by a final score of 69-63, rebounding all the way from afterthought in the tournament to winning the bracket... Albeit not the Platinum bracket but an admirable job nonetheless.

Notes:

- Demetrius Avery looked very good Wednesday. He is a solid athlete and if he can shoot the ball more consistently from the outside he could be a legitimate prospect.

- I also talked to Avery about his rumored transfer to Holmes. He told me he would let everyone know when he makes his decision about where he is playing next year, but his family and he would appreciate it if everyone stopped spreading the rumors.
- Ricardo Johnson was playing at a high level Wednesday. He showed the ability to shoot off the dribble and create his own shot, which is huge for his game. He also showed an explosive side when finishing around the rim including a MONSTER tip dunk during the second game. He helped himself in those two games, but unfortunately a lot of coaches had left for Cleveland by that time.
- I did talk to a coach from Akron who basically told me they were going to offer Ric and were surprised that he only currently held an offer from Bradley.

Adidas Take 5ive Day One Notebook

One of the biggest AAU events of the summer is taking place on the Campus of UC this week. There are teams from all over the country playing in it, but there are several local kids trying to make their impression on the college coaches in attendance. Here's some notes on the NKy kids that played in the event:

The one team I watched was the KY Players. This team is made up mostly of Covington kids and most notably members of the Holmes' State Champion team from last season. The Players got pounded in both games, but it was somewhat expected considering they haven't played in any national tournaments yet this AAU season. Here's the notes on those Holmes' players:

Ricardo Johnson- Ricardo's arms have gotten noticeably bigger since the high school season. He finished strong at the rim on a few different occasions resulting in And-ones. He also ran the point position a fair amount, which Holmes' fans will find interesting since they don't know who their PG will be next season.

Jeremiah Johnson- Jeremiah played a lot like the "glue" guy he always seems to be... He ripped down rebounds, played great defense, and got assists. However, he also in the second half of both games took over offensively in the free-for-all offense that their team runs. He was the best out of the three. I've said this before and it's still true... He WILL help a mid-major program out.

Elijah Pittman- Elijah was somewhat of a disappointment. He looked out of shape... struggling to get up and down the floor at times. He didn't show an improved aggressiveness on the inside, still floated around the perimeter, and settled for jumpshots. He did show flashes of major talent, but he has to become more consistent.

Willie Slusher- Willie Slusher unfortunately didn't get hardly any playing time. I was upset because I expect a breakout year out of Willie and was hoping to see how he's progressed since the high school season. Holmes will need some production from him this season.

The other team I watched with NKy kids on it was the NKy Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are made up of kids from Conner, Boone, St. Henry, Highlands, Ryle and Dixie.

Tyler Hodges- a 6-foot-7 forward at Conner, has improved his offensive game a lot. He was very aggressive on the offensive end finishing in traffic and getting second chance buckets. He blocked several shots on the defensive end and was a shot-changing presence on the inside.

Matt Trammel- The Dixie guard played a great game scoring 14 points. The 5-foot-9 point guard shot the ball well from the outside, was very poised against a press, and showed great maturity with his decision-making. He also hit four straight free throws in the last minute to ice the game for his team.

Zach Barnett- The St. Henry guard, who I've heard is playing hot, also had 14 points in the game. Zach shot the ball very well and fought hard on the defensive end to make up for his lack of size at 5-foot-9.

Travis Montgomery- The Boone guard has been a nice pickup for this team. The 6-foot-3 guard had a nice game scoring 12 points and doing a lot of the dirty work for the Bulldogs. He had a lot of rebounds and played well on the defensive end as well.

Zack Stewart- a 6-foot-5 forward, had some nice blocks and rebounds throughout the game. He was pretty active which is a good sign for Highlands fans as he will provide a lot of solid minutes and production on the inside next year.

Jacob Flesch- Coach Nick Dorning also told me that Jacob Flesch has really been playing well as of late. Jacob is a 5-foot-11 guard at Conner High School.

Talk about these kids on the message boards for FREE: The 275 Loop

Blowing Up

The 4th of July Holiday weekend is over, but that doesn't mean the talk of blowing up has to...

I've put together a list of two guys at each position that I thoroughly expect to blow up this year in NKy. Enjoy and as always leave me comments and let me know where I went wrong.


QUARTERBACKS

Will Bardo - QB - Highlands

The 6-foot-4 signal-caller was sitting behind one of the top quarterbacks in the area last year in Tony Guidugli. Bardo has a division-I lineman in front of him in Tyler Grubbs and other returning starters on the offensive line will make the transition for him easier. He also has the most electrifying playmaker in the area in his backfield in Austin Collinsworth. The lefty runs a 4.5 40-yard dash and has already heard from division-I schools. Expect Bardo to blow-up this year with the weapons and reliability he’ll have on offense.



Chad Lawrence- QB – Simon Kenton

Lawrence has the pressure of leading what everyone expects to be the top team in 6A back to the state playoffs. However, a division-I offensive lineman prospect in Jordan Hansel should help ease the pressure on Lawrence. He also has the benefit of having one of the top players the area has seen in running back Miles Simpson. Lawrence took over at as the starting quarterback as a sophomore last year and led the Pioneers to the state finals. This year expect him to get the opportunity to open things up a little bit more. Lawrence’s numbers will be limited a bit by the fact that Simpson will get so many carries, but I’d still expect him to be at the top of NKy in yards, and completion percentage on one of the top teams in the area.



RUNNING BACKS

Joe Colosimo- RB – Beechwood

Colosimo is the heir apparent at Running Back High. No matter who is running the ball in Fort Mitchell seems to have a great year. They face a weak schedule and have a run-heavy offense, which gives their running backs every opportunity to succeed. I expect Colosimo to make the most of it with his athleticism. He also has the benefit of playing with a quarterback in Matt Rigdon that is capable of taking some pressure off of him with his arm and his legs.



Chris Kelly- RB – NewCath

Kelly worked his way into the mix last year sharing carries with his older brother Mark, but this year the younger Kelly will be the man on the hill. The Thoroughbreds have plenty of holes to fill, including quarterback, but their line play should be pretty solid. The ‘Breds will make it easy on whoever their new quarterback is by handing the ball off to Kelly early and often. Expect the leader of this youthful edition of the ‘Breds to be among the leaders in an area stacked with running backs.



WIDE RECEIVERS

Michael Gill- WR – Conner

Gill was already a reliable target last season for the Cougars when he hauled in 36 passes, but with big-play man Scooter Englemon gone expect Gill to pick up some of the yardage and touchdowns. Conner runs a wide-open offense and allows standout quarterback Nick West to make plays with his strong and accurate arm. Last year West threw for 2,759 yards and 23 touchdowns, and one can only expect him to improve on those stats this year. Gill is the most explosive of the remaining receivers and his already existing relationship with West bodes well for him becoming the new favorite target of the best quarterback in the area.


Nick Buten- WR – Highlands

Buten already had a big year last year as far as big plays goes. The wideout only caught 17 balls, but seven of those were for scores and he averaged 38 yards per reception. The Bluebirds top receiver from last year, Austin Collinsworth, is moving to running back so Buten should be the main target of strong armed quarterback Will Bardo. Highlands faces a tough schedule so despite likely having a strong running game, they will need a balanced approach to be successful. Expect Buten to be among the leaders in all statistical categories for wide receivers.

NKySportsBlog's Initial Preseason Football Rankings

That's right... It's already time for the initial preseason rankings here at NKSB. This one comes even before the teams start summer practice, so obviously there are going to be some mistakes and you aren't going to agree. That's great.... but be sure to post comments telling me why I'm wrong. I love the feedback. I will also be posting an audio blog talking about the rankings and why I ranked the teams where I did. Please check back this weekend for that.... AND NOW THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR:

NKySportsBlog's Preseason Top Ten

1. Highlands
2. Conner
3. Simon Kenton
4. Ryle
5. Boone County
6. Beechwood
7. Dixie
8. Holy Cross
9. Campbell County
10. NewCath
    

Enquirer Releases All-Star Team

Ryan Ernst released his All-Star team for the Enquirer today. I'd say he pretty much nailed it. It's basically the same list I posted to QueenCityHigh but he has a few more players.

Here it is: Congratulations, Spring Standouts

QueenCityHigh Releases Top 10

QueenCityHigh.com released their preseason top 10 for NKy today.

1. Highlands
2. Simon Kenton
3. Conner
4. Beechwood
5. Ryle

SEE COMPLETE RANKINGS

Another year, another No. 1 preseason ranking for the Highlands Bluebirds, as they stand at the top of our newly released preseason poll.

The Bluebirds return so much talent on both sides of the ball and coming off of a second straight state title they were a no brainer for the top spot.

Five of six Northern Kentucky 6A teams made our top ten, which shows the depth of the conference once again.

Simon Kenton with Miles Simpson and their stout running game ranks the highest among those teams, just edging out the Conner Cougars and their wide-open offense led by Nick West.

CONTINUE READING

NKySportsBlog's Rankings will be coming out on Friday, so be on the lookout for that.

If you want to debate QCH's rankings for FREE on the message boards you can do that here:
the 275 Loop

Grubbs Commits to Miami(OH)

Tyler Grubbs committed to play at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio Sunday.

The decision came shortly after visiting the campus Sunday, and on the heels of a camp this past week on the campus of Illinois where he made good impressions.

Read the post below where I had talked about the update of Grubbs' recruiting process.



Thoughts:
- This move shocked a lot of people including myself because the offers were really just starting to pick up for Grubbs and without a doubt he would have gotten "bigger" offers.
- Grubbs must have really just felt like Miami was the right fit, and that makes sense based off of what he was looking for in a school.
- He wanted a place where he would have a chance to contribute right away, which he has a great chance to start at Miami as a Freshman. He will flourish as a player there, because he won't be stuck behind other guys.
- Academics played a huge role in his recruiting process and Miami has a great business college which is his chosen field.
- He also wanted to be somewhere close enough that his family could come see him play, and he could make the trip home easily enough.
- Grubbs had said he wanted to get the recruiting process behind him, but this was even earlier than the first few weeks of the season time table he had laid out previously.
- I really liked the way Tyler has remain focused on Highlands and their goal of winning a third straight title. His commitment to the team is something any future coach would love.
- As far as Tyler's game translating to the next level, I really think he will become a big time player. His speed and agility really set him apart from a lot of guys his size. He obviously has the weight and the strength as any good lineman would, but his speed and the way he moves laterally is very impressive for a guy his size. How many stud offensive lineman play on their school's basketball team?

Tyler Grubbs Recruiting Update

Tyler Grubbs has been attending camps and working out for teams all off-season, but this week he was in Champaign, Illinois at the University of Illinois camp. Grubbs enjoyed the tour of the facilities, the tradition at Illinois, and the coaching staff. He confirmed that if Illinois were to offer a scholarship that they’d be at the top of his list.

Although he's been making rounds at camps trying to get more scholarship offers, Grubbs currently holds five. Troy, Western Kentucky, Miami (Oh.), Ohio and Central Michigan have all offered. Grubbs says that Miami and Central Michigan are currently his favorites.

He has also worked out for Kentucky and Cincinnati, but has not yet received scholarship offers. Grubbs hopes to be able to make a decision by the first few weeks of the high school season.

Talk about Tyler on the message boards for FREE: QueenCityHigh.com

Miles Simpson Recruiting Update

Coach Jeff Marksberry confirmed that Miles Simpson attended UC's camp for a day on Sunday, and would be traveling to Michigan this week to visit Michigan and Central Michigan.

Many have rumored that UC was Simpson's dream school and that he was theirs to lose, but Marksberry debunked that myth. He says Texas was Simpson's dream school where he had always wanted to go, but after sending video and inquiring many times Texas finally told them that they had their recruiting class set already.

Marksberry said that Simpson isn't necessarily enjoying the extra publicity and will be glad when the process is over. He is encouraging him to take his official visits... enjoy those. Also, he is telling Simpson to tell the schools that he knows he is not interested in "goodbye" to lessen the amount of spotlight with which he has to deal.

Simpson has offers currently from Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Purdue Central Michigan and Western Kentucky.

Free Message Board

With the popularity of online message boards, especially as it pertains to high school sports in the area, I feel like it's my duty to introduce everyone to the 275 Loop which is the free message board at QueenCityHigh.com.

QueenCityHigh is the Greater Cincinnati Rivals Hotbed site for prep sports. There is a common misconception that you have to pay for a Rivals membership, but that is only partly true. You do not have to pay for the actual membership. You do have to pay for premium content on Rivals' sites, but what that premium content consists of is decided by each individual site.

... and that is why we have FREE MESSAGE BOARDS at QueenCityHigh. Come in and chat, we have insider recruiting info about local players, stories from some of the coaches, great content or bits and pieces that don't make it into our actual stories, polls, you can ask the staff questions, or just come in to hype up your favorite team.

Registering for a membership is simple. Just go to this site and fill out the info and that's it... You're ready to chat in the 275 Loop. QueenCityHigh Registration Page

Here is the link to the actual message boards: The 275 Loop

Skyline Showdown Field Announced

UPDATE UNDER MY THOUGHTS

(via TristateFootball.com)
The schedule for the 12th Annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown was released on Tuesday and includes 16 teams from Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and the Dayton Area. It is the first time that the field includes teams from all three parts of the Tri-state.

The two-day event will take place on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29 and include games at both Nippert Stadium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati and Welcome Stadium in Dayton.

“We have had some outstanding fields before, but top to bottom, I don’t think we ever had the depth of quality programs,” said Tom Gamble of DSA Prep Sports, the event organizer.

Friday night will feature a two-site card with a doubleheader on the slate in both Cincinnati and Dayton.

Traditional powers headline Friday night’s slate as Colerain and St. Xavier clash for the second straight year to kick off the season at Nippert Stadium. That game will be preceded by West Side counterparts, Oak Hills and LaSalle, tangling in an intriguing match-up.... CONTINUE READING

NKy Games:
Saturday, August 29 (Nippert Stadium)
12:00 p.m. - Beechwood (14-1) vs. Dixie Heights (5-6)
2:45 p.m. - Simon Kenton (10-5) vs. Newport Central Catholic (13-2)

Thoughts:
- Beechwood versus Dixie could be an interesting game. It could be very high-scoring as Beechwood will still be figuring out a lot of personnel after losing a lot of key players, and Dixie is very capable of scoring but will have trouble stopping any other team from scoring.
- Simon Kenton versus NewCath will be a huge test for the 'Breds. They have a lot of question marks surrounding this year's team, and they will be going against a Simon Kenton team who is not only very talented but it also returns a lot. Chad Lawrence will be back at QB for the Pioneers and Division-I talent Miles Simpson will join him in the backfield again.
- Is it just me or is anyone else shocked that the Ryle/Highlands game wasn't part of this??? I have to imagine that it was a situation where Ryle didn't want to give up their home game against the Birds. Just pure speculation on that... Maybe I'll ask around.
- Anyone else have thoughts on this field?... If so sign up to talk for free on our message boards... That's right it's free to sign up for a Rivals profile and participate on our message board the 275 Loop

*UPDATE*
-Talked to someone who knew the situation tonight... The Highlands/Ryle game was the first choice, but Ryle refused due to not wanting to give up home field advantage against Highlands.


Here's the video of the presser:

Isler Named All-State

CovCath's Zach Isler received statewide recognition this week when he was named First Team All-State.

The UC signee was one of only two kids from Northern Kentuky to receive such honors. The other was his teammate Luke Maile who was named Kentucky Mr. Baseball.

Isler dominated his competition this year with an ERA of 1.22 and was also a proud owner of a perfet 12-0 record. He struckout 70 batters in just 63 innings, which was good for second in NKy.

The 6'4" Senior also had a solid year at the dish hitting .385 with three homers and 43 RBIs.

Isler will continue his career at the University of Cincinnati next year.


* NewCath's Jeramie Connor, Scott's EJ Murray, and Beechwood's AJ Smith were all named honorable mention as well for the all-state team.

Maile Named Ky. Mr. Baseball

After being named the 9th Region player of the year for the third straight season, there was only one accolade left for Luke Maile. Monday Maile was named Kentucky's Mr. Baseball.

The UK signee hit .514 this past season to go along with 12 homers, 55 RBIs and 56 runs scored. He was also the top defensive catcher in the area.

Maile was drafted last week by the Boston RedSox in the 43rd round of the draft. Maile slipped due to teams concerned with his signability.

The RedSox will basically be monitoring his play over the summer, and then could decide to give him a signing bonus equivalent to that of a higher round pick. At that point, Maile will have to decide whether the signing bonus matches up with what he is requiring to get him signed otherwise he will fulfill his scholarship commitment at UK.

East Wins 6-1 in Senior All-Star Game

Short Hops:
- Campbell County Catcher Matt Coffman was the star of the night knocking in four of the East team's six runs. Coffman had a two RBI single in the second inning and a two-run homer in the sixth.
- Pat Klass provided the rest of the offense for the east on a two run homer in the sixth.
- Dixie's Ryan Chamberlain had a sac fly to score Daniel Lokesak in the seventh to provide the West with their only run.
- It was fun to see some of the kids playing out of position. One of the biggest players on the field was the East's Zach Isler who found himself out in center field for two innings. Also Scott outfielder Nick Hiller spent an inning at third base, which wouldn't be weird except Hiller is left handed. There were several others but those two stuck out the most.
- Another pretty funny event was when Boone's Daniel Lokesak put on one of his teammates jerseys from Conner to get an at bat. He then proceeded to get a hit, steal two bases, and score his team's only run.
- Dixie's players were stylin' and raising awareness for a good cause with their white and hot pink jerseys. The jerseys were obtained by Coach Maxwell when a shirt company was going out of business. He put the numbers on them and had his team wear them as a cancer awareness game in the season. His players took a liking to them and decided to wear them in the all-star game.
- It was a good time talking to some of the players and coaches you don't get to see all the time. I think everyone had a good time and it was a nice night for baseball.
- There are more pictures from the game, but I am limited on what I can upload to the site. If you would like to know if I have a photo of your favorite player or more of someone who is already uploaded... Leave a comment or email me Nkysportsblog@gmail.com