I8 SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014 /// THE ENQUIRER KENTUCKY

TOP 20 SENIORS1. Drew Moore, QB (6-3, 180),

Dixie Heights: The dual-threat quar-terback racked up 1,462 yards throughthe air and 1,069 on the ground lastyear to go with 21 total touchdowns.

2. Beau Hoge, QB (6-1, 195), High-lands: The senior signal-caller threwfor 735 yards and 11 touchdowns withonly two interceptions while complet-ing 64.2 percent of his passes as DrewHouliston’s backup last year.

3. Adam Wagner, QB (6-1, 155),CovCath: The athletic QB looked likeone of the most promising playmak-ers in the area before getting injuredin the second game last season.

4. Barry Deaton, LB (6-4, 220),Simon Kenton: The big linebackerled a talented Simon Kenton defensewith 92 tackles last season and wasnamed to the Northern KentuckyFootball Coaches Association’s secondteam.

5. Branden Johnson, OL/DL (6-3,295), Dixie: The physical lineman wasnamed to the NKFCA first team de-fense last year and has committed toplay at Eastern Michigan next year.

6. Alex Veneman, WR (5-11, 175),Highlands: The speedy wideout hadsome explosive games while compil-ing 890 yards and 11 touchdowns as ajunior in a crowded Highlands’ widereceiver corps. His production shouldonly increase as the go-to receiver.

7. Mason Compton, RB/LB (5-8,190), Walton-Verona: The hard-nosedrunning back led the team with 1,157rushing yards last year and 14 touch-downs. He also had two interceptionsand 29 tackles on defense.

8. Christian Olmstead, OL (6-3,310), Simon Kenton: The imposingpresence up front for the Pioneers’

running game has been receivingDivision-I interest from schools suchas Purdue, Akron, Eastern Kentucky,Kent State, Miami and Ohio.

9. Griffin Urlage, RB (6-2, 185),Highlands: The senior led Highlands’secondary with three interceptionsand a fumble recovery last year as adefensive back, but this year he’staking his playmaking talents to theother side of the ball.

10. Logan Winkler, WR (6-1, 175),Simon Kenton: The vertical threatracked up 719 yards and 11 touch-downs on 51 catches to go with a kick-off return for a touchdown while be-ing named to the NKFCA second teamlast year.

11. Breandon Johnson, OL/DL (6-2,325), Newport: The massive linemanis a disruptive force on the offensiveand defensive lines when he’s playinghis hardest. Transferred to Newportfrom Holmes in the offseason.

12. Brady Murray, LB, Highlands:The two-year starter at linebackerflew all around the field on defenseand special teams last year, adding tohis reputation as one of the area’shardest hitters.

13. Joe Studer, RB/DB (5-8, 160),Beechwood: The senior does a littlebit of everything on both sides of theball and special teams. He had 655total yards of offense and eight touch-downs as a junior, plus he returned apunt for a touchdown.

14. Ryan Woolf, LB/RB, Ryle: Thetwo-way starter led Ryle with 543rushing yards and 112 tackles lastyear while earning his way onto theNKFCA first team.

15. Brandon Gray (5-9, 172), WR/DB, NewCath: The speedy two-waystarter showed toughness and grit byplaying through injury late in hisjunior year while finishing second onthe team with 532 receiving yards andfour touchdowns. He had 75 tackles,two interceptions and two fumble

recoveries on defense. 16. Ethan Harrison,

DB/LB (5-11, 170), Dixie:The athletic defensiveback led Dixie’s second-ary with six intercep-tions, and was named tothe NKFCA secondteam.

17. Dominic Joseph, RB (6-0, 220),Newport: The power back ran for 668yards and three touchdowns whileaveraging over 5.0 yards per carryfor Newport as a junior.

18. Andrew Abner, DB (5-11, 170),Highlands: The rangy safety canmake plays in coverage, play in runsupport and has the experience ofalready starting for Highlands’ de-fense.

19. Blake Stephenson, WR/DB(5-10, 160), Bellevue: The big-playreceiver racked up 1,038 yards and 10touchdowns in Bellevue’s Air Raidspread offense last year. He’s closingin on Bellevue’s school record forreceptions and touchdowns.

20. Andrew Hedger, TE (6-5, 255),Dixie: The physically gifted tight endturned heads at offseason camps anddrew three college offers before com-mitting to Austin Peay in early Au-gust.

TOP 10 JUNIORS/UNDERCLASSMEN

1. Dillon Powell, RB (5-10, 185),Simon Kenton: The junior rushed for738 yards and nine touchdowns as asophomore, despite playing just eightgames due to injuries. If healthy,could be the top running back inNorthern Kentucky this season.

2. Jacob Smith, RB/DB (5-11, 180),NewCath: The junior led NewCathwith 1,020 rushing yards and 13 touch-downs on offense, and he recoveredthree fumbles on defense as a sopho-more.

3. Kyle Fieger, QB (5-11, 165),Beechwood: The junior threw for2,305 yards and 28 touchdowns whilecompleting 56.5 percent of his passeswhile leading Beechwood to the statequarterfinals as a sophomore.

4. Ben Dressman, QB/ATH (6-1,165), CovCath: The junior led Cov-Cath with 911 rushing yards and 10touchdowns on the ground to go with1,730 yards and 19 scores through theair as a sophomore after taking overfor the injured Adam Wagner in weektwo.

5. Ethan Stringer, RB (6-2, 185),Beechwood: The junior led Beech-wood with 737 yards and 10 touch-downs on the ground last year. He alsoreturned a kickoff 89 yards for atouchdown. Committed to play base-ball at Louisville.

6. Cam Pitzer, LB (6-3, 174), Cov-Cath: The junior emerged and devel-oped into one of the top defensiveplayers in the district while leadingCovCath with 70 tackles as a sopho-more.

7. Isaiah Ebarb, WR/DB (5-11, 191),Conner: The junior showed some rawability and athleticism as a sophomorewhile hauling in seven passes for 101yards and a touchdown. Conner needshim to step up in a big way this year.

8. Ben Darlington, RB (5-10, 175),CovCath: The junior ran for 391 yardsand six touchdowns while averaging5.1 yards per carry in 11 games as asophomore.

9. Desean Brumfield, QB (6-0,175), Holmes: The junior threw for1,024 yards and 10 scores as a sopho-more in 10 games. He has a feel formaking the big play, but needs to tonedown the turnovers (13 INTs lastyear).

10. Brayden Combs, OL/DE (6-3,230), Beechwood: The junior has aunique combination of athleticism andstrength that should allow him to be aforce as as an upperclassmen.

The top players to watch in 2014By Rick BroeringEnquirer contributor

Dixie Heights quarterback Drew Moore had more than 1,000 yards both through the air and on the ground last season. TONY TRIBBLE FOR THE ENQUIRER

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