A season unlike any other at Boyle County ended with a most unlikely defeat.

Nearly a year’s worth of work, several significant accomplishments and most importantly, the chance to add to a string of state championships were swept away Friday night with a stunning defeat.

The Rebels and their fans were left to come to grips with emotions they hadn’t felt in five years following a 31-28 loss to Covington Catholic in a Class 4A quarterfinal at Rebel Stadium.

Boyle was nationally ranked and widely regarded as the best team in Kentucky this season, and it was facing an opponent it had beaten handily in the state finals a year ago.

But CovCath came to Rebel Stadium with a plan to stop the Rebels and executed it brilliantly to pull off what is easily the biggest upset to date in a postseason that has been full of surprises.

The Colonels controlled the game by controlling the ball, using protracted scoring drives to slice through Boyle’s defense and keep its offense off the field.

“They had a great plan and we weren’t able to stop them,” Boyle coach Justin Haddix said. “I hate it for our guys. Our guys played their hearts out, and sometimes life isn’t fair and you don’t get everything you want and it is what it is.”

Boyle’s bid to win five consecutive championships for the second time in school history was halted, as were a handful of significant winning streaks:

• 32 consecutive wins, the 12th-longest streak in state history and the longest by any team since 2014.

• 27 consecutive home playoff wins since a loss to Mercer County in a second-round game in 2013.

• 19 consecutive playoff wins overall since a loss to Johnson Central in the 2019 state finals.

• 17 straight wins at Rebel Stadium since a loss to Frederick Douglass in the 2022 regular-season finale.

The Rebels were ranked as high as No. 11 in major national rankings, and they were No. 1 in Class 4A all season long in every ranking and poll you could find.

And while CovCath has a rich history of its own and has enjoyed success this season, the younger-than-usual Colonels weren’t expected to be up for the challenge.

They weren’t last year, when they lost to Boyle 41-0 in the Class 4A championship, but it was clear from the early stages of Friday’s game that this was not last year.

CovCath forced a turnover on Boyle’s first series, then possessed the ball for about 75 percent of the remainder of the game behind an offense that was both uncomplicated and unstoppable.

The Colonels used a power running game that featured quarterback Cash Harney, who carried the ball far more than he ever had. Harney, whose previous high was 20 rushing attempts, ran the ball 32 times – exclusively out of the shotgun – for 234 yards and two touchdowns.

That allowed them to put together four scoring drives of more than five minutes each and two that took more than eight minutes off the clock and to possess the ball for 33 minutes, 13 seconds – roughly 70 percent of the game.

“We’ve done a lot of different things this year offensively, but we’ve been able to adapt each week,” CovCath coach Eddie Eviston said. “Our kids did really well taking the plan and executing it almost exactly like we wanted to, and that was good to see.”

CovCath took the lead for good with 5:24 remaining on a 2-yard run by Owen Pitzer that came one play after Harney gained the 8 yards he needed to convert on fourth down.

The Colonels then forced a turnover that stymied Boyle’s attempt to answer and ran out the clock.

Several Boyle players were crying, while others were simply stunned in the moments after time expired.

“It’s the worst feeling in the world,” Boyle senior Montavin Quisenberry said.

Quisenberry did all he could to keep Boyle in the game, running for 246 yards and scoring three of the Rebels’ four touchdowns.

He took every snap from center and carried the ball on all 13 plays they ran in the second half and on 22 of 29 plays overall.

Boyle used Quisenberry almost exclusively after running back Demauriah Brown was injured in the first quarter. The Rebels passed only twice, and a 22-yard touchdown pass to Seneca Driver that got the Rebels on the board in the first quarter was the only completion.

Boyle had not trailed all season but was behind for much of this game. CovCath had only two possessions in the first half but scored on drives of nine and 17 plays to lead 14-6 at halftime.

“The first half hurt us, but in the second half we came out and gave everything we’ve got,” Quisenberry said. “They executed when they had the opportunity; we just couldn’t battle back from it.”

The Rebels finally got momentum on their side at the start of the third quarter when their defense forced a three-and-out on what turned out to be the only CovCath series that didn’t result in a score or the end of the game.

Two plays later, Quisenberry pinballed off three would-be tacklers and into the clear for a 39-yard touchdown run. He then threw a pass to Gage Feltner for a two-point conversion that tied the game at 14-all.

CovCath answered with its own two-play scoring drive when Link Oliver got behind the Boyle defense and caught a pass from Harney that became an 80-yard TD.

Quisenberry had another answer, however, this time returning the kickoff 85 yards to the end zone to make it 21-all.

After a CovCath field goal, Quisenberry’s 46-yard touchdown run gave Boyle its first lead at 28-24 with 10:49 remaining. The Colonels then drove 66 yards in nine plays to regain the lead on Pitzer’s TD.

Boyle drove from its own 29-yard line to the CovCath 18, and Quisenberry ran from there toward the end zone along the right sideline. He got to the 1, where the Colonels’ Logan Sanning forced a fumble that crossed the goal line and went out the side of the end zone, resulting in a touchback.

While the officials conferred, Boyle coaches argued that Quisenberry was down before the ball came free, but to no avail.

Harney broke free on CovCath’s next play, running for 66 yards before sliding to a stop at the Boyle 14. After the Rebels used all of their timeouts, the Colonels got one more first down that allowed them to run out the clock.

CovCath ran for 325 yards and had 423 in all, easily more than any other Boyle opponent this season. Boyle had 268 yards on the ground and 290 in all.

“They made more plays than we did and we lost the ballgame,” Haddix said. “I’m proud of our guys, the way they played. They fought hard every play. There’s nothing about effort, none of that. We took the ‘L.’”

Haddix said it was a difficult loss to take, particularly for a team that enjoyed so much success.

“We traveled out of state (and won), did things that nobody’s ever done here before, the national rankings. They did a lot of good things,” he said. “But it is what it is here. To be remembered, you’ve got to win a championship.”

 

Scoring summary

 

Covington Catholic 7 7 7 10 – 31

Boyle County 0 6 15 7 – 28

First Quarter

CovCath – Cash Harney 18 run (Ryan Urti kick), 3:37.

Second Quarter

Boyle – Seneca Driver 22 pass from Baylor Murphy (kick failed), 10:19.

CovCath – Harney 8 run (Urti kick), :59.

Third Quarter

Boyle – Montavin Quisenberry 39 run (Gage Feltner pass from Quisenberry), 9:29.

CovCath – Link Oliver 80 pass from Harney (Urti kick), 9:11.

Boyle – Quisenberry 85 kickoff return (Carr kick), 8:19.

Fourth Quarter

CovCath – FG Urti 33, 11:57.

Boyle – Quisenberry 46 run (Carr kick), 10:49.

CovCath – Owen Pitzer 2 run (Urti kick), 5:24.