[Blau Vogel]

Class 4A state semifinal: Highlands (13-0) at Lexington Catholic (11-2)
WHEN/WHERE: 7:30 p.m. today at Joseph K. Ford Stadium, Lexington.

WHAT TO WATCH: Both teams like to throw the ball, but it was Highlands' ground game that dominated in its win over Covington Catholic last week and it was Lexington Catholic's defense that led the way in its 10-7 win over Boyle County last week. Highlands rushed for 352 yards in its 49-14 win over CovCath after averaging 153 yards per game on the ground in its first 12 games, and has shown it can beat teams passing, running and with defense. Patrick Towles still threw for 242 yards despite missing his top target, Austin Sheehan, who is out for the season with an injury after catching 29 passes for 1,013 yards and eight touchdowns. Highlands needs 37 points to break the single-season state team record for points of 801 held by the 1998 Highlands team and five touchdowns to break the single-season state record for team touchdowns of 113 held by the same Highlands team. That may prove to be a little tougher than usual against a Lexington Catholic defense that has allowed 18 points or fewer in nine of its last 11 games, but Highlands hasn't scored less than 34 points in a game this season and has tallied 42 or more points against 11 of its 12 Kentucky opponents. Lexington Catholic's two losses came to two Class 5A teams that are both still alive in the playoffs and are both undefeated: Bowling Green and John Hardin, which face each other in a semifinal game tonight.

BOTTOM LINE: Highlands is simply a machine that steamrolled its last hurdle, CovCath, on the way to a fifth straight state championship, which after tonight will be a win away.

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/201...news|text|

Highlands at Lexington Catholic

Radio: WMJR-AM 1380, WMJR-FM 94.9, WVLK-FM 101.5

Records: Highlands 13-0 (beat Covington Catholic 49-14); Lexington Catholic 11-2 (beat Boyle County 10-7)

History lesson: Highlands is 3-1 against the Knights, including a 31-24 win in the 2002 playoffs. LexCath beat the Bluebirds 17-0 in the 2005 playoffs. That was the last time Highlands was shut out. It has scored in 85 games in a row since then.

Points 'R' Them: Highlands' 1998 state champs scored a state-record 801 points. This year's Bluebirds, averaging 59 points a game, are 37 points shy of breaking that record.

Big numbers: Highlands quarterback Patrick Towles, who has committed to Kentucky, has accounted for more than 100 TDs in his career. He's thrown for 6,896 yards and 70 TDs, and run for 1,369 yards and 32 TDs.

Towles has amazing passing stats this year, despite sitting out the second half of several blowouts. He's thrown for 3,287 yards and 39 TDs and been intercepted just once. LexCath Coach Bill Letton is wary of Towles' ability to go deep. "We think a 40-yard pass is a long pass, but that's nothing for him. It's nothing for him to drop one out there 60 yards. He's got a strong arm." Highlands Coach Dale Mueller said Towles "has gotten better every single game. But I think our whole team has."

Even though leading receiver (and UK commitment) Austin Sheehan is out with an injury, Mueller said Highlands still has a rotation of six talented wideouts.

Knight moves: LexCath junior quarterback Kyle Bolin, who's committed to Louisville, has thrown for 5,259 yards and 44 TDs in his career. Adam Bush and David Bouvier are the top receivers. They've combined for 113 catches, 1,763 yards and 18 TDs. Mueller is impressed. "(Bolin) is a heck of a high school football player, a real talent," and he has a number of good receivers. And they've got a fast, athletic defense. They're similar to us like that. They play fast guys on defense that run to the ball."

Letton said his Knights have to mix up their offense against Highlands.

"We got too predictable against Boyle County," he said. Lexington Catholic ran the ball whenever Bolin was under center and always threw it out of the shotgun. "We've got to be able to run it out of the shotgun against Highlands," Letton said.

Next up: The winner earns a trip to the state finals in Bowling Green to play either Collins or Franklin-Simpson for the 4A title on Dec. 3.



Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/11/25/19723...z1eiRlleqs