'What we have is something special.' Unshakeable defense leads Highlands football

Every fall Thursday morning before the hallways at Highlands High School are filled with students, the Bluebirds football team takes the field at David Cecil Memorial Stadium. The one-hour walkthrough to preview each week's game is part of the tradition that has carried Highlands to 23 state championships.

"I think it's peaceful to get out here in the morning, just focus on football and have nothing else to worry about," senior Tommy Ferring said.

The Bluebirds use their Thursday morning sessions to focus on wacky game scenarios, anything from special teams to schemes their opponent might show them on Friday nights.

The experience that Highlands returns also helps to eliminate those worst-case scenarios.

'There's really no drop off anywhere.'

Junior quarterback Rio Litmer is taking over for Brody Benke. Through two games, Adam Surrey has proved to be a dual-threat offensive weapon, compiling 98 receiving yards, 49 rushing yards, one touchdown and two two-point conversions.

"There's really no drop off anywhere. If anything, I think we got better as a team. Chemistry-wise, what we have is something special and it's going to be able to take us a long way this year," Litmer said.

Litmer and the running back trio of Jack White, Deven James and Gabe Williams are operating behind one of the best offensive lines in Northern Kentucky, if not the state. Headlined by Torin Bryant and Max Merz, the group that head coach Bob Sphire calls the "big uglies" cleared the way for Highlands to run for 290 yards against Covington Catholic.

"We've got a group chat. We call ourselves the hogs. We're like trench hogs. We do the dirty work so the quarterback can stay clean and running backs can get a lot of yards," Bryant said.

White added: "I'm just finding them and running behind them. I think I've got pretty good vision, so I'm getting in that second level and trying to weave in and out because I'm quick."

Senior Tommy Ferring played tight end for the majority of the 2023 season before switching to defensive end in the postseason. He credits defensive line coach Mark Dill for helping him develop the skills in the offseason that led to three sacks in Week 1.

"He helped me learn all the new sets and all the new plays we had to run, and getting my hands better and footwork better," Ferring said.

In Sphire's fourth year, the defense looks the best it has since he came to Fort Thomas. The defensive line has emphasized controlling the trenches while the linebackers and secondary are flying all over the field, as Bluebirds do.

"I feel like we're a little bit ahead of the curve where we normally are, but there's still dramatic improvement that will be made," Sphire said.

The thing about the defense: a different player steps up each week. Ethan Grimm led the way with six tackles against Covington Catholic. Highlands allowed 153 yards of offense as the Colonels jumped out to a 14-0 lead in less than five minutes; the Bluebirds allowed 137 yards of offense in the final 28 minutes of the game.

"They played a lot more intense today, and I feel like we had a lot more heart in it because it was a rivalry," linebacker Isaac Niemann said after the Week 2 win.

When the defense gets punched in the mouth, it doesn't flinch. After a Lexington Catholic touchdown in Week 1 cut Highlands' lead to 8-7, the Knights didn't score again. After Highlands took a 25-14 lead over CovCath in the third quarter, the Colonels cut the lead to 25-22 but didn't score again.

The Bluebirds abide by tradition, not superstition

Since Sphire took over at Highlands, he said players have clamored for an alternate black jersey. He responded by saying that he is a traditionalist. The Bluebirds' simplistic look of white jerseys on the road and blue at home with a block 'H' on the helmet gives them one of the best uniforms in Northern Kentucky.

When it comes to practices and games, the players and coaches go around the goalposts when entering and leaving the field, an analogy for not taking shortcuts in the sport or life.

Another aspect of the Bluebirds program that they don't consider a tradition but has become a normality is their large senior classes. They graduated 17 seniors from their Class 5A state semifinal team in 2023 and have 16 on the current roster. There are 32 juniors in line to take over in 2025, following the mantra of "get old and stay old."

"I'd like to think our program is at a point to where losing 17 starters is kind of the norm, and then you still turn around the next year with guys who got a lot of experience during the course of that year," head coach Bob Sphire said.

Kentucky Wildcats , New York Giants and Highlands legend Jared Lorenzen's son is now a sophomore on the football team

Tayden Lorenzen, the son of the late Highlands, University of Kentucky and New York Giants quarterback, completed five passes for 104 yards and ran the ball three times for 44 yards as a freshman. So far in 2024, he scored a two-point conversion against Lexington Catholic in Week 1.

While Tayden will receive the majority of his reps at running back, he could line up at quarterback in certain scenarios.

Jared threw for over 6,000 yards and 82 touchdowns in two seasons and led Highlands to an undefeated state championship in 1998. He set records for passing yards and touchdowns at Kentucky before winning a Super Bowl ring as a backup for the New York Giants.

What does the rest of Highlands High School's football schedule look like?

Sept. 6 at Campbell County, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Ryle, 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 vs. Raceland, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 27 vs. Cooper 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 vs. Dixie Heights, 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 at Boone County, 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 at Conner, 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 vs. Scott 7 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'What we have is something special.' Unshakeable defense leads Highlands football