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Covington Catholic football players have watched the play several times on film, the one in which they came up just short in the final minute of a 42-37 regular-season home loss to archrival Highlands.

On 4th-and-9, at the Highlands 17-yard line, CovCath quarterback Blake Bir, surrounded by great protection, threw too high to receiver Michael Best in the end zone with 52 seconds remaining. The pass fell incomplete. The Bluebirds took over on downs and ran out the clock.

"For a high school football play, a lot of things have to work for it to go well, and that's not an easy thing to do with a lot of good football players running around you," Highlands coach Dale Mueller said. "But we're fired up to play CovCath again for the regional championship. That's as big as it gets."

If it comes down to a similar last-minute scenario in another close contest when Highlands (12-0) hosts the Colonels (10-2) in a 7:30 p.m. Class 4A regional championship game today in Fort Thomas, the Colonels believe they will emerge the winners and snap their five-year losing streak against the Bluebirds.

"I've seen that play three or four times now, and nine times out of 10, Blake completes that pass," said CovCath offensive tackle Bradley Way. "It just went a little too high that time."

Bir completed 22 of 32 for 194 yards and three touchdowns in the Sept. 24 meeting. Best was the Colonels' leading receiver with eight catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. They can't help but think that had they connected for one more score, CovCath would have beaten Highlands for the first time since 2006.

"It was a mechanical and patience issue," Bir said of the play that sealed the Colonels' sixth straight loss to the Bluebirds. "I didn't follow through very well on the throw and I should have waited on (Best) to get a little more open, because we had good protection."

Colonels coach David Wirth said everything on the play went as planned, except for the throw. But he doesn't blame Bir, who has been a key figure in CovCath's reemergence as a state power.

"The pass was a foot over our receiver's hands, but we felt pretty confident walking off the field that we can play with them," Wirth said of the Bluebirds, who are riding a 17-game winning streak. "I felt like we outplayed them in the second, third and fourth quarters. We're really fortunate to get a second shot at them, even though we'll be a significant underdog."

Little by little, the Colonels have closed the gap on the perennially powerful Bluebirds since losing 61-0 in the 2008 regular-season meeting. CovCath, which beat Highlands twice while winning a state title in 2006, has been outscored by the Bluebirds 234-78 since winning the championship.

The losing margins for the Colonels in the matchup since 2008 have been 29 in 2009 (36-7), seven in 2010 (27-20) and the five-point loss this year, all under the direction of Wirth, who in his three years as coach, has put the Colonels on near-equal footing with Highlands, a winner of the past four Class 5A crowns.

Tonight's winner will have a good chance to claim the Class 4A title. The Bluebirds and Colonels are ranked 1-2 statewide in the Litkenhous Ratings. The winner advances to next week's state semifinals.

"There's not a bigger game in town," Wirth said.