'We just like to fly around and have fun.' Lloyd Memorial football hitting stride in 2024

The Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts haven't been perfect this season, but after a Week 1 loss to Newport Central Catholic, they've dominated their competition thanks to balanced attacks on offense and defense.

In their latest conquest, a Week 6 victory over Newport, the Juggernauts fell behind, 7-6, after five minutes, but scored 33 straight points for a fifth straight victory.

"We just like to fly around and have fun," senior Tyler Copeland said.

Lloyd Memorial relies on a young defensive line and an old secondary

After Newport scored to take an early lead, the Lloyd defense responded by allowing just six plays of five yards or more over the final 43 minutes of game time.

The front line of Brandon Carter, KyRon Carter, David Dobbs, Gabe Elmore and Billy Lewis kept Newport quarterback Kyle Lee scrambling all night. The two sophomores, two juniors and one senior have made it their job to make the opposing quarterback uncomfortable.

Lee had seven incompletions on Thursday night. The majority of those were throwaway balls that landed on the sideline, the only option he was left with thanks to the job done in the secondary by Copeland, Elijah Collins, Camrin O'Donnel and Isaiah Sebastian.

"What we want to do is put the pressure on our secondary, bring some pressure with some linebackers, try to get the quarterback running a little bit," Lloyd head coach Kyle Niederman said.

When the Juggernauts bring that much pressure, it forces the secondary to stick to their assignments. Thankfully, that unit has had several years to perfect its craft.

Each Lloyd player is 'an unsung hero'

Four different players scored a touchdown for Lloyd against Newport and four different players were credited with at least half a sack.

Copeland had three scores against Newport, but the Juggernauts also feature Sebastian and Yurii Collins in the backfield. Having so many weapons makes them especially difficult to plan for and just as tough to stop during the game.

Having no weak links is what's led the Juggernauts to score at least 33 unanswered points in each of their five victories. They are allowing eight points per game during that winning streak.

"What the guys are starting to figure out is, 'Yeah, I want to get X amount of touches, but I've also got to help my buddy out.' They're all thick as thieves. Watch them walk down the hallway. They all sit next to each other in the cafeteria. They always hang out after practice. It's a really neat group. Very unselfish, and we make a big point about being an unsung hero," Niederman said.

Sebastian was a dual-threat quarterback for two years while Kaleb Evans was sidelined with a broken collarbone. Sebastian is still super versatile on both sides of the ball, but on Thursday night, he made the key block on Evans' 12-yard touchdown run.

What's next for the Juggernauts?

Lloyd has a week off before opening district play against Pendleton County on Oct. 10. The Juggernauts then take back-to-back 80-mile road trips to Lexington Catholic and Bourbon County.

LexCath won last year's contest, 41-0, but this year's game figures to be more competitive. The Knights are 0-5 after graduating a large number of seniors. The Juggernauts have one of the best scoring defenses in Northern Kentucky, allowing just 11.5 points per game .

Lloyd's district opponents have a combined record of 2-13 through Week 5.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'We just like to fly around and have fun.' Lloyd Memorial football hitting stride in 2024