Book on Highlands Football to be Released in August

On August 25, 2008 Arcadia Publishing of Charleston, South Carolina will be releasing a new book on Highlands High School football. The book, "Fort Thomas Highlands Football," is 128 pages in length and contains 216 photographs of former Highlands players and teams. Bill Thomas wrote the book. Mr. Thomas is also the author of "Images of America: Fort Thomas."

The new book is the first to be published about a high school football team in Kentucky. In addition, this is the first book about a high school or high school sports team to be released by Arcadia Publishing, the nation's leading local history publisher.

Autographed copies of this book can be ordered by contacting Bill Thomas at yourtown@fuse.net. Please include your mailing address and the number of copies you wish to order. Each copy costs $22 plus the cost of shipping.

7-on-7 Match-Ups Underway

For the past two weeks, Highlands has been facing off against the likes of Cincinnati Withrow, Cincinnati Shroder, Fairfield (Ohio), Indian Hill (Ohio), defending Kentucky Class A state champion Beechwood and defending Kentucky Class 6A state champion Louisville Trinity in 7-on-7 competition. The Bluebirds have looked impressive in these contests, led by senior quarterback Tony Guidugli. Highlands will also square off against Mason County, Hamilton (Ohio) and Cincinnati Withrow (again) in 7-on-7 action in July.

In other news, the West squad recently defeated the East squad 41-10 in the Kentucky East-West All-Star Football Classic, and in the Northern Kentucky Football Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game the West squad defeated the East squad 27-13. In this game, Ryan Ball of Highlands was named the East squad's Offensive Most Valuable Player for his solid performance at the running back position. In both of these all-star games, the Highlands players were on the East squad.

Upcoming Northern Kentucky Football All-Star Game

Five Highlands seniors, Clay Cecil, Luke Stein, Zach Hurtt, Drew Simons and Ryan Ball, will be participating in the 2008 Northern Kentucky Football Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game, to be held at 7pm on June 6 at Dixie Heights High School. These five players will be playing on the East squad for this annual event.

Highlands Players Participate in Football Combine

Four Highlands players, Tony Guidugli, Josh Conner, Austin Collinsworth and Will Bardo participated in the Under Armour/Scout.com Combine Series, held in Cincinnati on May 17. This invitation-only event featured football players from Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan and involved the players participating in NFL-style combine drills.

Highlands' 2008 College Football Commitments

Congratulations to the following ten Highlands football seniors who have committed to play collegiate football in 2008:

Clay Cecil - NCAA FBS (formerly Division I-A) University of Kentucky (Kentucky), as a preferred walk-on

Luke Stein - NCAA FCS (formerly Division I-AA) Gardner-Webb University (North Carolina)

Trey Jurgens - NCAA FCS Murray State University (Kentucky)

Drew Bathiany - NCAA FCS Western Carolina University (North Carolina)

Zach Hurtt - NCAA Division III Wittenberg University (Ohio)

Ryan Ball - NAIA Georgetown College (Kentucky)

Alex Hempfling - NAIA Union College (Kentucky)

Jake Crothers - NAIA Union College (Kentucky)

Milton Peko - NAIA Union College (Kentucky)

Terry O'Brien - NAIA Union College (Kentucky)

Best wishes to these young men!

Highlands Football Player Passes Away

Highlands sophomore Mitchell Waldenmeyer passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage on Thursday, April 17. Mitch was a member of the Highlands football team in 2007, playing defensive back and wide receiver. Rest in peace, Mitch.

Spring Football 2008 Begins

Today (March 11) marks the official beginning of Highlands Spring Football 2008! The school has 15 days to hold 10 football practices, and these sessions allow the players and coaching staff to get a feel for the upcoming season. The practices are full contact with pads, and this upcoming Friday (March 14) the first intrasquad scrimmage will be held. No interschool scrimmages (between different schools) are permitted during spring football.