Two up, two down in Kentucky football title games
Pair of local teams bring home state championships
December 14, 2008, 1:03 a.m.
STAFF REPORT
Saturday didn't go as well as Friday did for northern Kentucky teams playing in state title games in Louisville.
The Simon Kenton Pioneers' improbable run in Class 6A came to an end with a 48-0 loss to Louisville Trinity, which won its state-best 19th (and fourth consecutive) high school football title.
Simon Kenton sophomore quarterback Chad Lawrence suffered a helmet-to-helmet hit late in the first half. He laid motionless on the ground and was eventually taken off the field on a stretcher to a local hospital.
"He's OK," Simon Kenton head coach Jeff Marksberry said afterward. "He's got a Grade 2 concussion."
Last week, the Pioneers knocked off heavily favored Louisville Male 28-10 in the semifinals to reach the first football state title game in school history and become the first No. 4 seed to reach the state final in Kentucky in any classification since 1995.
Also Saturday, Fort Campbell edged Newport Central Catholic 26-23 in the Class 2A championship game.
On Friday, quarterback Tony Guidugli ran for 85 yards and a touchdown and passed for another to help top-ranked Highlands beat Christian County 35-15 and take its 18th state title in the KHSAA Class 5A football championship.
And earlier in the day, in the Class 1A championship game, Beechwood won its 11th state football title with a 14-7 win against Hazard.