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.

Four Highlands Seniors Headed to the Kentucky East-West All-Star Football Classic

Four Highlands seniors, Clay Cecil, Ryan Ball, Alex Hempfling and Luke Stein, will be participating in the 2008 Kentucky East-West All-Star Football Classic, which will be played at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky on June 13, 2008. These Highlands players will be playing for the East squad. This game features the top prep senior football players throughout the entire state of Kentucky. The last time these four Highlands seniors played at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (home of the University of Louisville's football team), the Bluebirds captured the 2007 Kentucky Class 5A state championship.

Highlands Honored by the City of Cincinnati, Ohio

For the next two weeks, the flag of Highlands High School will be flown over Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, in honor of the Bluebirds winning the 2007 Kentucky Class 5A state championship in football. On Saturday, February 9, 2008, a highlight tape of the Highlands football season will be shown on the large video screen displayed at Fountain Square, beginning at approximately 12:45pm.

Highlands Alumnus Jared Lorenzen: Super Bowl Champion!

Former Highlands quarterback Jared Lorenzen (Highlands Class of 1999) and his New York Giants are Super Bowl XLII champions, after defeating New England 17-14! Lorenzen, who is a back-up quarterback for the Giants, did not get a chance to play in the Super Bowl game but did see action as quarterback for the Giants during the regular season.

Highlands Football Honored by MaxPreps

MaxPreps, a national prep sports ranking service, recently presented the Fort Thomas Highlands Bluebirds football team with an award for finishing in the top 30 in the final MaxPreps national high school football rankings (Highlands finished 21st). This recognition was part of the MaxPreps Tour of Champions, sponsored by the Army National Guard. Of approximately 16,000 high schools participating in football, only 30 were recognized.

Highlands Football Banquet Recently Held

This past week, the annual Highlands Football Banquet was held to honor the 2007 varsity, junior varsity (JV) and freshman Highlands football teams. This event was held at the Newport Syndicate. Below is a list of the honors and awards presented during the ceremony, along with the award recipients:

Ryan Ball - Most Valuable Player (MVP)
Clay Cecil - Mr. Highlands Football
Drew Simons - Defensive MVP
Joe Fitzgerald - "Red Dog" Spirit Award
Luke Stein - State Champion Award
Drew Bathiany - HHS Football Tradition of Excellence Award
Brady Dowling - Leader of Champions Award
Jay Draper - HHS Football Greatness of Character Award
Zach Hurtt - Mr. Everything Award
Trey Jurgens - Dedication to Excellence Award
Terry O'Brien - Hail Terry Award
Matt Reed - Quinn Stapleton Award
Adam Reis - Enforcer Award for Best Defensive Lineman
Michael Buten - Coaches' Award for Perseverence
Will Coleman - Coaches' Award for Integrity and Improvement
Dan Court - Coaches' Award for Commitment
Jake Crothers - Ron Welch Coaches' Award for Persistence
Josh Frost - Coaches' Award for Courage
Jimmy Hall - Coaches' Award for "Not Breaking"
Alex Hempfling - Coaches' Award for Blocking Ownership
Jeremy Hickman - Coaches' Award for Reliability
Milton Peko - Coaches' Award for The Warrior Spirit
Jessie Richie - Coaches' Award for Dedication
Josh Conner - Underclassman MVP
Brandon Roller - Underclassman Mr. Highlands Football
Austin Collinsworth - Underclassman Mr. Highlands Football
Michael Laber - Underclassman Mr. Highlands Football
Oliver Head - JV Most Valuable Player
David Hogue - JV Mr. Highlands Football
Brian Beck - JV Mr. Highlands Football
Jake Turner - JV Mr. Everything
Nick Martin - JV "Red Dog" Spirit Award
Nick Buten - JV Mr. Playmaker Award
Tyler Combs - JV Best Offensive Lineman
Ryan Hahn - Freshman Mr. Highlands Football
Cherokee Meyer - Freshman Mr. Highlands Football

Congratulations to all the award recipients and to everyone associated with Highlands football in 2007!

Highlands Alumnus Jared Lorenzen is Super Bowl Bound!

Current New York Giants back-up quarterback and former Highlands great Jared Lorenzen is headed for Super Bowl XLII, after his Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. The Giants will play the New England Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl. Lorenzen led the Bluebirds to a perfect 15-0 record during the 1998 season (his senior year), and was named Mr. Kentucky Football, the only Highlands football player to earn this prestigious honor. After graduating from Highlands, he played starting quarterback for four years at the University of Kentucky before moving on to the professional ranks with the New York Giants. Good luck Jared!