Lady Raiders Down St. Henry in OT

Big win for the Lady Raiders soccer team as they improve their record to 5-4-2 overall and 2-0 in the district.  Go Lady Raiders!

By John Lachmann, KY Post.com

Senior Jessica Evans scored in overtime to lift Ryle to a 5-4 win over St. Henry on Wednesday.  Evans scored less than four minutes into the extra session off a direct kick by senior center midfielder Lauren Zembrodt.  Junior midfielder Meredith Murphy added two goals for the Raiders, who have lost just one of their last seven matches.

St. Henry junior Libby Leedom was injured in the game. Leedom, who scored her team-high 12th goal in the match, likely has a broken wrist, Crusaders coach Steve Lorenz said.

HALFTIME: 3-3. GOALS: R—Murphy 2, McGlasson, Duggins, Evans. SH—Garcia 2, Leedom, own goal. RECORDS: Ryle 5-4-2, St. Henry 6-3.

Read more: http://www.kypost.com/dpp/sports/9_7-gsoc%3A-ryle-edges-st.-henry-in-ot#ixzz1XVT5zLSb

Beating Boone bodes well for Ryle

By Marc Harden, Enquirer Contributor

Ryle girls' soccer coach Edmundo Echeverria is wary of high-scoring Boone County as the Raiders and Rebels attempt to unseat three-time defending district champion St. Henry, which lost eight starters from last season's state championship team.

Ryle, which hasn't won a 17th District crown since 2006, and Boone, without one since 2007, view 2011 as a year of opportunity. The Raiders enhanced their chances of district success by defeating the Rebels 1-0 on Wednesday in a seeding game at Ryle.

Lauren Zembrodt scored the lone goal off a pass from Lauren Duggins at the 30:44 mark of the first half.

"Lauren had three people on her and I told her to lay it off middle, and I came down with nobody on me and shot it," said Zembrodt, who scored for the third time this season.

Ryle's reconfigured defense and goalkeeper Lindsay Otis, who turned aside four shots, made the lead stand up over the final 50 minutes.

"I thought we played great defense and did a good job of controlling pace," Echeverria said. "We can't get into a kickball match with Boone because it'll hurt you, so I'm proud of the girls for having moments of brilliant soccer."

To read more go to Beating Boone bodes well for Ryle

Ryle rides Elliott, defense to 43-8 win over Tates Creek

By Mike Fields — mfields@herald-leader.com

Travis Elliott was the offensive star for Ryle, but the Raiders' defense earned the spotlight, too, in a 43-8 victory over Tates Creek in the iHigh Football Frenzy at Lafayette late Saturday night.

Tates Creek's loss meant that Lexington's five public schools went 0-for-5 in the weekend showcase.  Elliott distinguished himself as one of the MVPs. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound bruiser rushed 21 times for 164 yards and four touchdowns. He took direct snaps on quite a few plays, leaving no doubt he was going to keep the ball.

Tates Creek still couldn't stop him.

Elliott only ran once in the second half — 25 yards for a touchdown.

Elliott, who has committed to Western Kentucky, has a shot at eclipsing former Boone County (and NFL) star Shaun Alexander as Northern Kentucky's all-time leading rusher. Elliott is about 2,000 yards shy of Alexander's career total of 6,662 yards.  Elliott also completed two passes for 34 yards.
Elliott is also a linchpin on defense at linebacker, along with Mac Vollett, Daniel Osborne and Jake Nutter.

Tates Creek had all kinds of problems moving the football against the Raiders. The Commodores' first-half stats had them with 10 yards, including minus three passing. 

Elliott got the Raiders off to a strong start with two TDs and a two-point conversion in the first quarter.  His 8-yard score in the second quarter staked Ryle to a 22-0 halftime lead. It would've been more, but Elliott had a 43-yard punt return for a TD wiped out by a roughing-the-kicker penalty.  Quarterback Nathan Davis had a long run that set up his short TD in the third quarter to make it 29-0.   Tates Creek had 11 total yards at that point.

The Commodores finally moved the chains in the fourth quarter against Ryle's reserves and wound up with 161 yards.  Casey Grimes got Tates Creek's TD on an 11-yard run. Martrell Berry threw to Taiwan Hart for the two-point conversion to make it 43-8.

Ryle finished the night just shy of 400 yards, 288 on the ground.


Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/08/28/1860166/ryle-rides-elliott-defense-to.html#ixzz1WITXOyle

Men's Soccer Team Defeats Scott HS 1-0

Last night at Borland Stadium the Raider soccer team shutout Scott HS 1-0 in front of a great student section decked out in neon.

A good win for the Raiders as they improve to 5-1 on the season.  Next up is a home game on Tuesday against NewCath. 

Go Raiders!

Ryle hands NewCath first loss in girls' soccer

By Marc Harden, NKY Enquirer contributor

Ryle girls' soccer coach Edmundo Echeverria did something Wednesday that three coaches before him could not do - he guided the team to a win over Newport Central Catholic.

The Raiders beat the Thoroughbreds 3-1 for their first win of the season and dropped their nemesis from the ranks of the unbeaten.  "I know we haven't beaten them in a long time," Echeverria said. "So it's a good win for us."

Junior Elise Duggins became the first player to score against NewCath this season when she connected from 15 yards with 30:47 to play in the second half.  Lauren Zembrodt made it 2-0 with 7:43 to play with a goal in the box off a pass from Meredith Murphy.  Duggins scored again for Ryle (1-3-1) with no time remaining after NewCath (3-1) closed to 2-1 in the final five minutes.

Senior goalkeeper Lindsay Otis collected seven saves for the Raiders. She received help from Olivia Coleman, who has stepped in as a replacement for all-region stopper Ellie Schmalzl. Center midfielder Jaclyn Zembrodt also made things difficult for the NewCath offense.

Schmalzl is out for the season with a knee injury. Zembrodt suffered a concussion during a July practice, her second in two years.  "We've had to change things around on defense and at stopper, but I think the girls have really stepped up with Ellie out," Otis said.  Both teams recorded seven shots on goal.

"Scoring keeps me going," said Duggins, who took four shots. "It shows I can do it and help my team win."  The Thoroughbreds had outscored their opponents 15-0 this season. They were coming off a 2-0 win against Holy Cross, which followed a 9-0 rout of Russell.

"I think we won because we've been trying to play basic soccer," Echeverria said. "We want the girls to attack the way they're facing. Before tonight, we had a lot of empty crosses. But we were more successful with them tonight."

Duggins' first score, off a crossing pass, was just the fourth Ryle goal against NewCath in 10 years. Duggins has three goals on the season.  "I thought we played hard, played a really good game," Duggins said. "We were looking for scores."  Duggins, who plays for the Kings Soccer Academy club team, led Ryle with 11 goals last season, accounting for a third of the team's scoring.

NewCath and Ryle played to a 1-all score last season, their second tie in four years. They played to a scoreless tie in 2007. Even when the Raiders won back-to-back district titles in 2005-06, NewCath was able to come up with victories over them by a combined score of 5-1.

From 2001-06, NewCath won six consecutive matches, including four shutouts.  "We haven't had a lot of success against (NewCath)," Echeverria said. "I'm not even sure when the last time we beat them, but I know it's been a long time."

Ryle hands NewCath first loss in girls' soccer

Five questions with Travis Elliott

Written by Richard Skinner, NKY Enquirer contributor

Ryle senior running back Travis Elliott has been playing varsity football since his freshman year. Thanks in part to that early start, he is within reach of passing former Boone County standout Shaun Alexander for the most career rushing yards in Northern Kentucky high school history.

The 5-foot-11, 215-pound Elliott combines power and deceptive speed (he's been timed at 4.58 in the 40-yard dash). After rushing for 173 yards in three quarters in a season-opening win over Cooper Friday, he needs 2,087 yards to eclipse the record of 6,662 yards set by Alexander, the former Seattle Seahawk, from 1991-94.

Elliott, who rushed for 2,215 yards and 32 touchdowns last season, has committed to playing college ball at Western Kentucky.

The Enquirer caught up with Elliott after practice Monday to discuss his pursuit of Alexander's record.

Question: When did you first play running back?

Answer: Back in the third grade. I was a quarterback before that.

Click on the link to read the entire story . . .  Five questions with Travis Elliott

Elliott, Ryle overpower Cooper 41-17

Senior star scores five TD's by run, catch, return
Written by Richard Skinner, NKY Enquirer Contributor 
To read the entire article Elliott, Ryle overpower Cooper 41-17

UNION - After sitting out the entire first quarter and doing very little for much of the second quarter, Ryle standout senior running back Travis Elliott turned around his team’s fortunes Friday night against Cooper on two touches of the football: on the final play of the first half and first play of the second half.

Two plays after Cooper junior Tyler Morris returned an interception for a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7 with 14 seconds left in the first half, Elliott raced 62 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the half, then returned the second-half opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown as Ryle went on to post a 41-17 win at Borland Stadium.

Boys' golf rivals expect to keep on rolling

CovCath, Ryle set to vie for regional again

By Marc Hardin, Enquirer Contributor

Expect the neck-and-neck golf rivalry between Covington Catholic and Ryle to continue unimpeded this season.  "It's us and them every year for the title," Ryle senior Blake Hamilton said. "Last year, they beat us in the regional after we won three years in a row. We definitely don't want them to win twice in a row."

The Colonels and Raiders have represented the region at the state tournament each of the past nine years. Last season, CovCath ended Ryle's run as three-time Seventh Region champion, but Hamilton became the Raiders' fifth individual winner in nine years. CovCath won the team crown from 2001-06, but did not make the first-day cut at last year's state event, in which Ryle placed tied for eighth.  The Colonels, winners by four shots at the regional, lost three of their top five scorers. The Raiders are returning their top four players. Hamilton, 20th at state, is joined by fellow senior Chris Desmarais, junior Paul Clancy and sophomore Zach Adams. Sophomores Davis McNichol and Hunter Hughes and freshman Logan Gamm comprise a strong top seven.

"I like how a lot of our guys are younger," Desmarais said. "It means we'll still be strong after the seniors leave."

Ryle coach Jonathan Ehlen won the region as a Raider in 2002 before embarking on a successful golf career at Northern Kentucky University. He has been exposed to a variety of ways to improve play and evaluate talent. His Wednesday team tryouts at the Golf Ranch in Burlington involved a skills test featuring 15 playing stations at which each golfer had three swings to score. Each shot received a score of 1-3.

"Davis had the best score, so that says how deep we are," Ehlen said. "I think our top seven or eight guys are pretty close in ability and that allows me a lot of flexibility for all these tournaments we're going to be playing in."

By the time they reach the regional, the Raiders will have been tournament-tested. Ryle is slated to participate in 13 tournaments and an Aug. 17 18-hole event against CovCath at Triple Crown.

"We are not playing one 9-hole match all season," Ehlen said. "In college, I learned how tournaments help you get better. One of the things about a tournament setting is it allows kids to play against other golfers and on other courses that they don't see as much, in a college setting. And college coaches come to these tournaments."

The Raiders will begin their season Monday at the Shelbyville Invitational at Weissinger Hills Golf Course, and they will play in six events the first two weeks. They will have new uniforms and new gear.

"We let the team pick out everything, from shirts and pants to bags and shoes, and we let them design the bags," Ehlen said. "Everything is trendy, right down to the white belt that (PGA golfer) Rickie Fowler likes to wear. We think it boosts their confidence when they step to the tee and look the part of a successful golfer."

Also new is the Raiders' conditioning program, which focuses less on lifting weights and more on running and building range of motion and power through compound movements that simulate a golf swing. Workouts will begin at 6 a.m. each school day.

"The kids don't like me for it, but it will pay off in the end," Ehlen said.

Boys' golf rivals expect to keep on rolling

Heat Advisories

Please be careful during the next few weeks as we are predicted to have some extremely hot weather.

Our athletic programs will follow the KHSAA policies on heat.  You can view them and other heat related information at http://www.khsaa.org/sportsmedicine/heat/.

During the day our athletic trainer will be taking taking heat and humidity measurements in order to calculate the heat index.  The head coaches will then be notified of the conditions.  The steps taken at that point may vary from a simple precaution to water breaks every 30 minutes to the cancellation of activities until the conditions improve.

NKY Enquirer Spring Sport All-Stars

The NKY Enquirer recently named their annual spring sport all-stars.  The article link is attached below: 
NKY spring all-stars named

Special congratulations go to Haylee Smith of the Lady Raider softball team.  She was named the NKY Enquirer Softball Player of the Year in addition to being a NKAC Division 1 first team selection.

Congratulations also goes to the following Ryle student-athletes that were named NKY Equirer All-Stars:

Cassie Hamilton - Softball
Honorable Mention Softball: Kate Cremer, Kate Rouse, Bella Steinle
Yushi Okita - Boys Tennis
Honorable Mention Boys Tennis: Logan North, Kento Akita, Evan Wagner
Honorable Mention Girls Tennis:  Harlee Hornsby, Maddie Lucas
Honorable Mention Girls Track:  Gabby Gonzales, Ashlee Howe
Travis Elliott - Boys Track
Jeff Huntley - Boys Track
Honorable Mention Boys Track:  Tanner McConvey
Honorable Mention Baseball:  Matt Gorbandt, Conner Hempel, Caleb Lonkard, Leiff Clarkson, Tyler O'Bryan

Congratulations also go out to Patti Oliverio for being named the NKY Enquirer Softball Coach of Year.  She led the Lady Raiders to a 32-10 record, their second consecutive 9th region championship and second consecutive top 8 finish at the state tournament.

Congratulations to these award winners and to all of our spring sport student-athletes for a great year.  Thanks to all of our parents, community members, and coaches for their hard work in supporting our students!

Athletic News and Notes

This from the Friday morning Lexington Herald-Leader:

Ryle was the only school in the state that won at least 10 games in football, and at least 20 in baseball, softball, and boys' and girls' basketball. The Raiders were most successful in football (12-2), making it to the Class 6A semifinals before losing to eventual state champ Trinity, and softball (32-10), reaching the quarterfinals of the state tournament.

We are very proud of the performance of all of our athletic teams during the 2010-11 school year.  This may have been one of the strongest overall years in school history.  We all know that academic performance is our top priority but having strong athletic programs is important also as it teaches our students the value of teamwork, sacrifice, hard work, courage, and perseverence. 

Congratulations to our students, parents, and coaches for a great year!