Friday, August 25, 2000

Highlands has national goals

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Bluebirds as high as 4th in U.S. ratings

By Ray Schaefer
Enquirer contributor

Lineman Ben Scott (Michael E. Keating photos) | ZOOM |

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        It's almost appropriate for the Highlands football team to wear royal blue and white. The Bluebirds' 14 state titles — the most by any Kentucky program — qualify the Bluebirds for gridiron royalty. And this year, The Enquirer's top Northern Kentucky team is receiving preseason national notice.

        The Tony Bianco national poll has Highlands ranked fourth. The Bluebirds are fifth in the Dick Butkus Football Network survey, 10th in the Street and Smith's and ESPN polls and 14th in the Fox Sports Fab 50.

        “We're not the biggest school,” senior lineman Ben Scott said. “But we try the hardest.”

        Highlands finished 18th in the Bianco poll and 16th in the Dick Butkus. Yet senior linebacker Brent Grover says there's no pressure to live up to all that.

Linebacker Brent Grover | ZOOM |

        “We think football's fun,” Grover said. “We're working as hard as we can, and we think if we work as hard as we can and we play as hard as we can, there's not going to be any pressure because we're going to do well.”

        Coach Dale Mueller said competition breeds the success, even among those who long ago won starting jobs.

        "Even though they have a spot won, they need to get a lot better,” Mueller said. “I think our seniors are leading the way in continuing to improve.”

        Senior quarterback Gino Guidugli says being famous in Fort Thomas helps with discipline.

        “Everybody's going to know about if you screw up,” Guidugli said. “It works to keep you in line.”

HIGHLANDS HIGHLIGHTS

Coach: Dale Mueller (76-10, 1994-present at Highlands; 135-41 overall at Highlands, Sycamore and Withrow)   Overall school record (1915-2000): 681-201-26; 44 straight winning seasons (1956-99)   Class AA state titles: 1960, '61, '64, '68, '70   Class AAA state titles: 1975, '77, '81, '82, '89, '92, '96, '98, '99   Undefeated and untied seasons: 1930, '57, '60, '61, '64, '68, '70, '82, '96, '98

BEST IN THE U.S.

<   Top 10 winningest teams in U.S., through 1999 season (length of program)   1. Valdosta, Ga., 773-155-33 (1913-99)   2. Massillon Washington (Ohio), 715-200-35 (1894-1999)   3. Canton McKinley (Ohio), 699-276-49 (1894-1999)   4. Louisville Male (Ky.), 692-276-49 (1893-1999)   5. Mount Carmel (Pa.), 690-254-57 (1893-1999)   6. Little Rock Central (Ark.), 686-250-44 (1907-99)     7. HIGHLANDS, 680-201-26 (1915-99)   8. Parkersburg, W.Va., 668-248-33 (1906-99)   9. (tie) Brockton, Mass., 659-313-62 (1897-1999)   Pine Bluff, Ark., 659-265-50 (1901-99)     Source: National Federation of State High School Associations.

               It's not just the 2000 team as a whole that is getting rave reviews:

        • Grover is listed among the top linebackers in the nation according to ESPN, CNN/Sports Illustrated, Prep Football Report, Dick Butkus Football Network and SuperPrep. He said Penn State, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Michigan and Georgia Tech are the six finalists for college next year.

        • Senior lineman Ben Scott has orally committed to Kentucky.

        • Senior receiver/cornerback Brett Hamblen is considering UK, Southern California, Tennessee, Ohio State, UCLA and Auburn.

        • And Guidugli is looking at LSU, Purdue, Kentucky, Tennessee and Harvard.

        In fact, just about the only team this year's Highlands team can use as a yardstick is the '98 squad that featured Kentucky starting quarterback Jared Lorenzen, UK starting tight end Derek Smith and running back Brian Ulbricht, now at Cornell.

        Hamblen, like Grover and Scott a three-year starter, said this year's team has the edge.

        “(The '98 team) had big marquee names like Smith and Lorenzen, but I think we have more total talent overall,” Hamblen said.

Brett Hamblen | ZOOM |

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        Facing Highlands on a football field is as fun as root canal surgery with no anesthesia. And not just because of the cannon that turns Fort Thomas' David Cecil Memorial Stadium into a replica Civil War battlefield whenever the Bluebirds score.

        The Bluebirds have won three of the last four state AAA titles (Covington Catholic spoiled the string in 1997). They scored 730 and 801 points in 1999 and '98, respectively, while giving up just 258 and 203.

        “(The cannon) should still be hot from when I went there two years ago,” said Campbell County coach Mike Corson, who suffered a 57-20 loss last year in Alexandria. “I think they spread the defense out to cover the pass. Then you open up the running attack.”

        If Highlands has a question mark this year, it's the running game.

Gino Guidugli | ZOOM |

        In the past, the Bluebirds could counter the passing attack with running backs like Justin Frisk (1996), Ulbricht (1998) and Brenden Zenni (1999). This year, it's running by committee - senior Brian Barre and juniors Nick Behymer and Eamon Mueller share the time.

        But Highlands nearly blew up against Louisville Trinity last week. The Bluebirds won, 42-29, but the Shamrocks scored 29 unanswered points before Mueller's 38-yard TD run clinched the victory.

        The rest of Highlands' 2000 schedule is tough.

        Elder, which handed the Bluebirds a 35-14 loss in “The Pit” last year, comes to Fort Thomas on Sept. 15, followed by Lexington Paul Dunbar on Sept. 22 and CovCath on Sept. 29.

        Mueller said the main goal is to become the first AAA school to win three consecutive state titles (Beechwood is the only program to win four in a row, having done it from 1991-94). Regardless of what happens this year, Highlands' football tradition appears in good hands.

        Ben Schneider is a 10-year-old ball boy and equipment manager now, but he can't wait to don the No. 33 jersey his cousin, senior receiver Chris Schneider, now wears. It's the same number Ben's dad Tim, grandfather Duke and uncle Danny had.

        “A lot of those players are mentioned throughout the town,” Ben said. “You want to be mentioned around town. It feels like you're a superstar or something.”

       

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