Dixie Heights rolls past Ryle, will meet Simon Kenton

By Rick Broering, Enquirer contributor1:47 a.m. EST November 15, 2014

Ryle coach Mike Engler described Dixie senior quarterback Drew Moore as, "one of the best he's seen in a long time," heading into Friday night's KHSAA 6A second round playoff game that pitted his third-seeded Raiders against the top-seeded Colonels of Dixie Heights.

Moore lived up to that pre-game praise as he rushed for a career-high 256 yards and four touchdowns on just 11 carries while mostly utilizing the read-option keeper to lift his Colonels to a 46-14 win over Engler's Raiders. Dixie will host Simon Kenton next week in the third round of the playoffs, after the Pioneers beat Lafayette 35-21 Friday night.

"Drew has really done a lot of film study and we rep the (read-option) hard every week," Dixie coach Dave Brossart said. "He's just been incredible at it. He's grown up so much. He's a great leader, a playmaker, he can get tough yards or finesse yards… he just pulled our team away tonight."

While Dixie and Ryle are known for their power rushing attacks, this game was all about the big play and the quick-strike touchdown. Dixie had four touchdowns of over 65 yards, while one of Ryle's three touchdowns came on a one-play drive that resulted in a 59-yard touchdown pass.Three plays into the game, Moore did what he does best and made an outside defender bite hard on a 3rd-and-2 read-option fake to the running back before blazing past the second level of the Raiders defense for a 72-yard touchdown. The extra-point attempt was missed, leaving the score at 6-0 just 1:21 into the game."I thought (Ryle's defense) was going to load the box," Moore said. "They didn't, and my line… they've improved so much. They've grown up and they're just one of the best. I'd be afraid to play them."Ryle flipped field position on its opening 10-play drive and pinned the Colonels inside their own 10 to start their second possession, but after melting off the last six minutes of the first quarter Moore used his acceleration to shoot through a gap in the Ryle defense for a 15-yard touchdown to cap a 12-play, 93-yard drive.Late in the second quarter, Moore put three scores in between his Colonels and the Raiders when he froze the defense with another read-option keeper and sprinted for a 65-yard touchdown to make it 20-0 with 3:59 left in the half."It's absolutely demoralizing for a defense," senior offensive lineman Branden Johnson said of Moore's ability. "They try their hardest just to try and get our offense into a third down situation, and then they can't stop us on the third down because Drew is so elusive. It's great seeing their heads fall when we just keep scoring and scoring. A lot of our drives tonight were just long plays, and they couldn't stop it."

Ryle got on the scoreboard at the end of the first half when senior quarterback Ryan Rytlewski hit sophomore Bryce Ashley with a long pass up the left sideline, and then Ashley tight-roped his way to the endzone for a 59-yard touchdown to make it 20-7 at halftime.

On Dixie's first offensive play of the second half, senior Luke Zajac took off on an 88-yard touchdown run straight up the middle. After the Colonels' defense forced a three-and-out, Moore took the second play of the Colonels' next possession 82 yards on another read-option keeper to make the score 33-7 with 5:52 left in the third.

Moore lobbed a 31-yard jump ball into the endzone for one of his three completions on the night when senior Gunther Faeth wrestled it away from a Ryle defender for a touchdown to make it 40-7 to end the third quarter.

After a long run by Ryle senior Ryan Woolf moved the Raiders into Dixie territory to start the fourth quarter, Dixie senior Ethan Harrison picked off a pass at the Colonels' 22 to end any hopes of a fourth quarter Raiders' comeback.

Ryle eventually scored with 7:00 left on a 1-yard run by Woolf, after a long connection between Rytlewski and Ashley moved the Raiders into the redzone. They recovered the ensuing onside kick, but Jack Lohri dropped Rytlewski for a 7-yard loss on first down for his # sack of the game and the Raiders eventually turned the ball over on downs.

Both teams exchanged late fourth quarter touchdowns as Dixie sophomore Cameron Barrett scored on a 58-yard touchdown run with 4:07 left, and Rytlewski added a 1-yard touchdown for Ryle with 1:23 left to make the final score 46-21.

In addition to Moore's gaudy numbers, Zajac added 139 yards on 10 carries and Barrett added 73 on nine as the Colonels outgained Ryle 523-254 in total yards.

"You can't just prepare for Drew," Brossart said. "You have to prepare for our entire package, and that's what makes our offense so special right now.

Dixie's defense held junior standout running back Colin England to 51 yards on 18 carries. Rytlewski finished the game 4-of-13 passing for 128 yards. The Colonels rung up eight sacks, led by junior Jack Lohre, who finished with four.

Ryle 0 7 0 14 -- 21

Dixie 13 7 20 6 -- 46

D – Moore 72 run (Kick failed)

D – Moore 15 run (Schulte kick)

D – Moore 65 run (Schulte kick)

R – Ashley 59 pass from Rytlewski (Boulden kick)

D – Zajac 88 run (Schulte kick)

D – Moore 82 run (Kick failed)

D – Faeth 31 pass from Moore (Schulte kick)

R – Woolf 1 run (Boulden kick)

D – Barrett 58 run (Kick failed)

R – Rytlewski 1 run (Boulden kick)

Records: Dixie 11-1, Ryle 5-7