2024 Prep Football Previews: CovCath’s starting quarterback remains a mystery two days before season opener

By Jake Dickman
NKyTribune sports reporter

Earlier this week, Covington Catholic football coach Eddie Eviston said his decision on the team’s starting quarterback for Friday’s opening game at Ryle would depend on who looked the best during practice sessions.

Cash Harney appears to be the leading candidate. He saw the most time at quarterback during the Colonels’ preseason scrimmage game. The senior also has previous varsity experience in the position. Two years ago, he was Beechwood’s starting quarterback in the first five games and passed for more than 600 yards.

Harney transferred to CovCath last year and played defensive back on a team that won 14 straight games before losing to Boyle County, 41-0, in the Class 4A state final.

The Colonels’ success this year depends on the players Eviston and his staff have trained to line up beside four returning starters on offense and six on defense.

“All you can do is work,” said Eviston. “That’s what our kids have been doing. We went 14-1 last season but not 15-0, so our kids aren’t complacent. Our kids are still hungry.”

One of those kids is senior Tate Kruer, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound tight end and linebacker who is getting college offers based on his athletic and academic skills. Kruer got a perfect score of 36 on the ACT and he seldom makes a mistake on the football field.

“He’s talented,” Eviston said. “He can do many different things and just seems to always be in the right place.”

Last season, Kruer made a team-high 112 tackles and 91 of them were solo stops. His blocking skills were also one of the reasons the CovCath offense averaged more than 350 yards per game.

The Colonels had a dual-threat quarterback in senior Evan Pitzer last season when he accounted for a combined total of 3,229 yards passing and rushing.

The other graduate hard to replace is Willie Rodriquez, a tight end and linebacker recruited by the University of Kentucky.

“Obviously, we’re going to miss that talent and physical presence that he brought,” Eviston said of Rodriquez. “But we have guys who have been waiting in the wings that are pretty good football players too.”

The returning starters on CovCath’s offensive line are seniors Mason Dietz (6-2, 265) and Andrew Huber (6-5, 270). The top returning pass receiver is junior Oliver Link and there will be an all-new backfield led by junior Dylan Gaiser.

If Harney isn’t the starting quarterback, he’ll still play another role on offense. He and Kruer are such versatile athletes that Eviston said he can “put them in different places to create off their talent and skill sets.”

Dietz and Huber will anchor the Colonels’ defensive line and Logan Sanning is a defensive back who made 58 tackles last season. Spencer Clukey, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound sophomore with two Division I college offers, will likely play defensive end.

Harney had 44 tackles and five interceptions as a defensive back last season. In a state semifinal game, he picked off two passes and returned them for a total of 98 yards. He’s such a dynamic defensive player for the Colonels that Eviston could decide to use someone else at quarterback.

The other candidates for that position are Gaiser and a trio of sophomores that includes Emmett Queen, a transfer student from Cincinnati Elder.

COVINGTON CATHOLIC COLONELS
2023 SEASON: 14-1 record, lost in Class 4A championship game.
STARTERS RETURNING: 4 offense, 6 defense.
DISTRICT: Class 4A, District 5 with Grant County, Harrison County, Holmes, Mason County.
HEAD COACH: Eddie Eviston (100-23 in nine seasons at CovCath, 134-31 in 11 seasons overall).

2024 SCHEDULE
Aug. 23 – at Ryle, 7 p.m.
Aug. 30 – HIGHLANDS, 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 – SIMON KENTON, 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 – at Dixie Heights, 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 – BEECHWOOD, 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 – at Holmes, 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 – GRANT COUNTY, 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 – at Harrison County, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 25 – MASON COUNTY, 7 p.m.
Nov. 1 – at Campbell County, 7 p.m.

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