2024 Prep Football Previews: Simon Kenton looking to become Class 6A playoff contender

By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter

No question with once-in-a-lifetime player Aba Selm having moved on to Kentucky and SEC football, Simon Kenton’s Pioneers will have someone to root for on Saturdays this fall.

But the hope is that the team will have someone to root for deeper into November in the Class 6A playoffs this year than last when they finished 5-5 with a first round 36-32 loss to Louisville Fern Creek.

“We were right there,” coach Roy Lucas says of his team that lost by four points to Beechwood (58-54), three points to Ryle (24-21) and seven points at Ashland Blazer (49-42). With that Fern Creek playoff loss, that’s four winnable games right there.

“Obviously we have to learn how to finish,” Lucas says. “We were ahead in the fourth quarter against both Ryle and Fern Creek and had two chances to score late against Ashland. We weren’t consistent in playing to our abilities all the time. That’s a big focus. We have to work hard.”

One thing they do have at the school in Independence: “really good support,” Lucas says, “and a great booster club.”

And one more thing: “We’ve got a good peewee program,” he says, able to sustain the Pioneers’ 80-man varsity roster. “Twenhofel Junior High and Summit View are helping us with some really good players.”

But now the young guys have to get it together. Just four starters return on offense with “four new offensive linemen and new running backs,” Lucas says. So the two scrimmages against Lexington Catholic and state 5A finalist Cooper will be crucial in getting the Pioneers where they want to go.

Start on offense with returning quarterback Brady Lee , a 6-foot, 184-pound senior coming off “a great season last year,” Lucas says of Lee, who threw for 2,245 yards on 147 of 226 passing for 17 TD, nine INT for 224.5 yards a game and 1.7 TD.

“The first thing that stands out about Brady is his strong arm … he can really throw the deep ball accurately and he really understands our offense,” Lucas says.” He can also run the ball, going for 442 yards on 117 carries, scoring 12 touchdowns on the ground.

He’ll have the top two receivers to back with him in returnees 5-11, 172-pound junior Grayson Harris (59 catches for 654 yards, two TD) and 5-11, 174-pound sophomore Tysin Weaver (27 catches for 603 yards, six TD). “We’re pretty good at the skill positions,” Lucas says of the pair. “We expect them to be leaders on offense.”

No question who the leader on defense is: 6-2, 227-pound senior linebacker Aven Bohms — “very tough, physical and athletic,” Lucas describes Bohms. “He even leads our offense from the defensive side of the football since our offensive kids respect him and respond to him. He’s a really smart kid, both football wise and academically. He’s really a key for us.”

“I like to push the offense,” Bohms says. “We can’t win without them and we’ve got a lot of young guys there.” That’s what happened for Bohms, going against Aba Selm every day. “He made me better, he was so much quicker than the average high school lineman.”

Last fall, Bohms recorded 46 solo tackles, assisted on 50 more, forced three fumbles, recovered two of them and had four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.

He’s getting some recruiting attention from NAIA and lower division NCAA schools, Bohms says, “But I plan to play higher than that. It’s a big motivator for me this season.”

As to the potential carryover of having a player with the talent of Selm among them for his high school career, Lucas looks at his loss more than anything. “I’m not sure there is one,” he says of the now 300-pound freshman offensive lineman at UK.” He was really good on defense, too.”

Now for this team, how to get back to that level of a year ago when the Pioneers ran off four straight wins in midseason – against Conner, Lexington’s Paul Dunbar, Georgetown’s Great Crossing and 6A district rival Campbell County. But getting deep into the playoffs is the goal.

“It’s a pretty big hump (to get over),” Lucas says of the challenge for Northern Kentucky’s 6A teams. “We’re looking for the perfect storm. Ryle’s been close a couple of times.”

But that is where the Pioneers are aiming: “We want to win a district championship and it’s been a few years since we made a regional . . . that’s what we’re shooting for.”

The one thing that makes that so challenging – and maybe within reach at the same time: “We play a tough schedule,” Lucas says, “we know every game will be challenging.”

“It starts in practice,” Bohms says. “You can’t just be there, but to be there to get better.”

SIMON KENTON PIONEERS
2023 SEASON: 5-5 record, lost in first round of Class 6A playoffs.
STARTERS RETURNING: 4 offense, 6 defense.
DISTRICT: Class 6A, District 6 with Campbell County, Great Crossing, Ryle.
HEAD COACH: Roy Lucas Jr. (23-40 in five seasons at Simon Kenton, 80-97 in 16 seasons overall).

2024 SCHEDULE
Aug. 23 – at Dixie Heights, 7 p.m.
Aug. 30 – vs. Mercer County at Woodford County, 6 p.m.
Sept. 6 – at Covington Catholic, 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 – BEECHWOOD, 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 – CONNER, 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 – LEXINGTON DUNBAR, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 11 – at Great Crossing, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 18 – at Campbell County, 7 p.m.
Oct. 25 – RYLE, 7 p.m.
Nov. 1 – ASHLAND BLAZER, 7:30 p.m.

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