Leading up to the start of the regular season, we will be doing a "countdown to kickoff" with teams and coaches from around Northern Kentucky. The segment continues today with the Class A Ludlow Panthers who finished last season with a 5-7 record and a district championship loss in the second round of the playoffs to the eventual state champion, Beechwood Tigers. The win in the first round over Eminence (35-20) marked the program's first playoff victory since 1999 when they defeated Nicholas County in the first round of the Class A state playoffs. The Panthers lost 11 seniors from last years team but will try to improve this upcoming season.
One of the first things Coach Rick Hornsby will try to do is replace the 904 yards rushing that his backfield of Josh Montooth and Ronnie Banks combined for. Both are gone now, but with dual threat QB Zach Stegemoller back under center this coming season, the Panthers should be able to do some things offensively. Stegmoller rushed for 318 yards last season while throwing for 690 yards. Gone are his two favorite targets, Brett Betz and Kyle Williamson, so Stegemoller will need some of his young receivers to step up. Senior TE Chris Mackay is the only receiver that returns who caught more than one pass last season.
When asked which players Hornsby thought would have a break out year that we didn't hear about last season, he replied "Jake Ashcraft and Matt Stolt." Ashcraft should be the featured back this year for the Panthers. He rushed for 135 yards last season on 22 carries for a 6 ypc average. Stolt on the other hand is a newcomer to the team that didn't play last year. Leading the way up front for the Panthers on both sides of the ball will be 6'1 233 lb Justin Carlotta and 6'1 205 lb Drew Rice who both return as starters from last season.
When I asked Coach Hornsby what were the keys to success for his team to be successful, he replied with the following:
"We are young and inexperienced. We need to cut down on mental
mistakes to be competitive."
It could be a long year for the Ludlow squad but only time will tell.
Schedule:
Aug 21, 09 Open home
Aug 28, 09 Taylor, OH home 7:30 PM
Sep 4, 09 Carroll County away 7:30 PM
Sep 11, 09 Bracken County away 7:30 PM
Sep 18, 09 Shawnee home 7:00 PM
Sep 25, 09 Bishop Brossart home 7:00 PM
Oct 2, 09 Dayton away 7:00 PM
Oct 9, 09 Beechwood away 7:30 PM
Oct 16, 09 Bellevue home 7:00 PM
Oct 23, 09 Walton-Verona home 7:00 PM
Oct 30, 09 Pendleton County away 7:30 PM
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