Football Flashback: Highlands senior quarterback opened award-winning season with 300-yard performance

By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

In the opening game of his senior season, Highlands quarterback Jared Lorenzen put up some impressive numbers during his team’s 51-41 victory over Louisville Male in the St. Luke Hospital Champions Bowl on Saturday, Aug. 29 1998.

The left-hander completed nine of 18 passes for 225 yards. The Bluebirds also netted 356 rushing yards with Lorenzen and running backs Noah Gibson and Brian Ulbricht each picking up 100 yards or more.

That was the closest game of the season for the Bluebirds. They won their next 14 games by margins of 16 points or more, including a 56-7 victory over Louisville Waggener in the championship final of the Class 3A playoffs.

Lorenzen was named Mr. Kentucky Football for being the state’s top senior player. He ended up passing for 3,393 yards and 45 touchdowns and rushing for 904 yards and 15 TDs during the Bluebirds’ second 15-0 season in three years.

After high school, Lorenzen set passing records at the University of Kentucky and went on to become a backup quarterback for the New York Giants team that won the 2008 Super Bowl. He passed away in 2019 at the age of 38.

Here’s a look back at some other Northern Kentucky high school football games played between Aug. 25-31 over the last five decades.

Friday, Aug. 26, 1983 — Bryan Shotwell returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to give Conner a 14-7 win over Beechwood. That was one of three long scoring plays in the game. Conner scored its first touchdown on a 75-yard punt return by Melvin Miles. Beechwood tied it on a 78-yard pass play from Chris Bowling to Tim Seaman.

Saturday, Aug. 30, 2003 — Lee Wyman kicked a 31-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to give Boone County a 23-21 win over Covington Catholic in a game that took two days to complete. CovCath had a 14-13 lead when the game was suspended on Friday because of lightning. When the game resumed on Saturday, both teams scored a touchdown to make it 21-20 before Wyman decided the outcome with his third field goal of the game.

Friday, Aug. 25, 2017 — Nelson Perrin and his younger brother, Quincy, both had big games for Scott in a 42-27 win over Dixie Heights. Nelson rushed for two touchdowns and caught a TD pass from quarterback Chad Ohmer. Quincy picked up 211 yards on 15 carries and scored once. The Eagles trailed, 21-13, late in the third quarter and scored four touchdowns the rest of the way to defeat their county rival.

Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 — After falling behind, 7-0, early in the rain delayed game, Brossart scored a rushing touchdown in each of the next three quarters to come away with a 21-7 win over Newport. The last two TDs were scored by senior running back Jed Martin, who ended up with 167 yards on 28 carries. He intercepted a pass on defense to set up his first touchdown.

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