Royals fall to Ashland 48-8 in the first round of the Class AAAA football playoffs

The Mason County Royals' season came to end with a 48-8 loss to the Ashland Tomcats in the first round of the Class AAAA football playoffs on Friday night at historic Putnam Stadium in Ashland.

The start of the game was delayed 45 minutes by lightning.

Ashland (7-4) led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter and 34-0 at halftime.

Mason County (3-8) got on the scoreboard when Reid Anderson ran 11 yards for a touchdown with 9:21 remaining in the third quarter. Quarterback Camden Gregory ran in the two-point conversion. 

The Tomcats answered with two touchdowns in the third quarter to lead 48-8. The final 12:47 of the game was played with a running clock.

Ashland will play the Highlands Bluebirds in the second round next week in Fort Thomas.

A 1st Q 10:56 Cameron Davis 17 yard run  (Troy Barnett kick) A 7, MC 0

A 1st Q 5:44 Cameron Davis 3 yard run (Troy Barnett kick) A 14, MC 0

A 2nd Q 9:18 Tanner Stutler 13 yard run (kick failed) A 20, MC 0

A 2nd Q 2:42 Trevonte Taylor 3 yard pass from Tanner Stutler (Troy Barnett kick) A 27, MC 0

A 2nd Q 00:33 Justin Hughes 23 yard pass from Tanner Stutler (Troy Barnett kick) A 34, MC 0

MC 3rd Q 9:21 Reid Anderson 11 yard run (Camden Gregory run) A 34, MC 8

A 3rd Q 7:13 Bordy Simpkins 3 yard run (Troy Barnett kick) A 41, MC 8

A 3rd Q 00:47 Dylan Duckwyler 61 yard pass from Tanner Stutler) Troy Barnett kick) A 48, MC 8

First round matchups for Class AAAA football

The Mason County Royals will travel to Ashland on Friday to play the Ashland Tomcats in the first round of the Class AAAA football playoffs.

Here are all of the first round matchups in Class AAAA:

Taylor County at Paducah Tilghman 

Franklin-Simpson at John Hardin

Calloway County at Elizabethtown

Marion County at Logan County

Grant County at North Oldham 

Breckinridge County at Spencer County

Waggener at Franklin County

Western Hills at Valley

Greenup County at Highlands

Mason County at Ashland

Harrison County at Johnson Central

Boyd County at Covington Catholic

Whitley County at Boyle County 

Wayne County at Harlan County

Russell County at Corbin

Perry County Central at Lincoln County

The winners of the two games grouped together will meet in the second round. 

For the third round and semifinals, the matchups will be determined by the end of the regular season Ratings Performance Index.

Royals fall to Newport Central Catholic 42-21

The Mason County Royals fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter and lost to the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds 42-21 in the final game of the regular season on Thursday night at Covington Catholic.

Mason County scored two touchdowns in the second quarter. Lennie Avery rushed for the first touchdown and Camden Gregory, playing for the first time since suffering an injury on October 3, threw a touchdown pass to Micah Payne.

Newport Central Catholic (6-4) led 28-14 at halftime and extended the lead to 42-14 before Gregory ran three yards for Mason County's third touchdown.

Newport Central Catholic running back Eddie Bivens rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass.

Mason County (3-7) will play the Ashland Tomcats in the first round of the Class AAAA playoffs on November 7 in Ashland. 

(Game statistics courtesy of JT Teegarden and Drew Spangler of WFTM radio.)

Royals will play Newport Central Catholic at CovCath on Thursday night

This is the final week of the regular season for Kentucky high school football season.

The Mason County Royals will play the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Covington Catholic in Park Hills.

Newport Central Catholic's new stadium is still under construction.

Mason County has a 3-6 record. Newport Central Catholic has won four straight games to run its record to 5-4.

The two football programs have not played each other since 1990.

Here is the link to purchase tickets.

Royals shutout 52-0 by Covington Catholic

The Mason County Royals trailed 28-0 less than eight minutes into the game and lost to the Covington Catholic Colonels 52-0 on Friday night at home.

Covington Catholic (7-3) returned the opening kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown and scored touchdowns on its first two plays from scrimmage.

After leading 28-0 at the end of the first quarter, the Colonels scored on the first play of the second quarter. The rest of the game was played with a running clock.

Covington Catholic scored another touchdown before the half ended and added a field goal and a touchdown in the third quarter.

Mason County (3-6) will close out the regular season next week vs. Newport Central Catholic. That game will be played at Covington Catholic's Dennis Griffith Stadium in Park Hills.

CC 1st Q 11:47 Charlie Reeves 74 yard kickoff return (Logan Zembrodt kick) CC 7, MC 0

CC 1st Q 9:40 Dylan Gaiser 46 yard run (Logan Zembrodt kick) CC 14, MC 0

CC 1st Q 7:52 Logan Sanning 40 yard pass from Cash Harney (Logan Zembrodt kick) CC 21, MC 0

CC 1st Q 4:19 Zach Brooks 14 yard pass from Cash Harney (Logan Zembrodt kick) CC 28, MC 0

CC 2nd Q 11:49 Dylan Gaiser 48 yard run (Logan Zembrodt kick) CC 35, MC 0

CC 2nd Q 4:52 Dylan Gaiser 47 yard run (Logan Zembrodt kick) CC 42, MC 0

CC 3rd Q 2:11 Logan Zembrodt 40 yard field goal CC 45, MC 0

CC 4th Q 3:18 William Timmerding 3 yard run (Logan Zembrodt kick) CC 52,MC 0

Royals routed by Highlands 42-6

The Highlands Bluebirds showed why they are one of the top teams in the state by routing the Mason County Royals 42-6 on Friday night at Mason County.

Highlands scored 28 points in the first quarter. 

After the Bluebirds scored their fifth touchdown with 8:57 remaining in the second quarter, the rest of the game was played with a running clock.

Highlands led 42-0 at halftime.

Jvion Tennel scored Mason County's touchdown on a five-yard run with 5:35 left in the game.

Mason County, 3-5 overall and 1-1 in district play, will host Covington Catholic next week.

H 1st Q 10:30 Rio Litmer 6 yard run (Kai Anderson kick) H 7, Mc 0

H 1st Q 6:04 Cale Harris 10 yard pass from Rio Litmer  (Kai Anderson kick) H 14, MC 7

H 1st Q 4:03 John Feldbrugge 42 yard punt return (Kai Anderson kick) H 21, MC 0

H 2nd Q 10:07 Tayden Lorenzen 4 yard pass from Rio Litmer (Kai Anderson kick) H 28, MC 0

H 2nd Q 8:57 Brady Carnohan 13 yard pass from Tayden Lorenzen (Kai Anderson kick) H 35, MC 0

H 2nd Q 4:30 Aidan Duncan 14 yard pass from Rio Litmer (Kai Anderson kick) H 42, MC 0

MC 4th Q 5:35 Jvion Tennel 5 yard run (pass failed) H 42, MC 6

Royals beat Harrison County 35-7 in district opener

Kyson Fox passed for 173 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score as the Mason County Royals defeated the Harrison County Thorobreds 35-7 in their district opener on Friday night in Cynthiana.

Mason County led 14-0 at halftime on a one-yard touchdown run by Lennie Avery and a 25-yard touchdown pass from Fox to Carter Roark.

Harrison County cut the Royals' lead in half by scoring a touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter, but Mason County responded by scoring 21 unanswered points.

Fox rushed four yards for a touchdown and threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Micah Payne. Kenyon Walton capped off the scoring with a two-yard touchdown run.

Taten Carrington had two interceptions for Mason County.

The Royals, 3-4 overall and 1-0 in the district, will host the Highland Bluebirds next week.

MC 2nd Q 7:13 Lennie Avery 1 yard run (Micah Payne kick) MC 7, HC 0

MC 2nd Q 00:02 Carter Roark 25 yard pass from Kyson Fox (Micah Payne kick) MC 14, HC 0

HC 3rd Q 7:58 Karsyn Sumpter 11 yard run (Logan Harris kick) MC 14, HC 7

MC 3rd Q 2:06 Kyson Fox 4 yard run (Micah Payne kick) MC 21, HC 7

MC 4th Q 5:18 Micah Payne 19 yard pass  (Micah Payne kick) MC 28, HC 7

MC 4th Q 3:27 Kenyon Walton 2 yard run (Micah Payne kick) MC 35, HC 7

(Game statistics courtesy of Travis Scaggs and Drew Spangler of WFTM radio.)

Royals fall to Lawrence County 41-13

A short-handed Mason County Royals football team stayed with the Lawrence County Bulldogs for a half before being outscored 27-0 in the second half in a 41-13 loss on Friday night in Louisa.

With first-string quarterback Camden Gregory lost for the season with an injury and running back Lennie Avery sidelined with an injury, sophomore quarterback Kyson Fox, in his first varsity start, threw two touchdown passes to Micah Payne and the Royals only trailed 14-13 at halftime.

The second half was all Lawrence County.

The Bulldogs scored on the opening drive of the third quarter, added another score in the third quarter and two more in the fourth quarter.

Fox left the game with an injury in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Payne took over at quarterback, but he also left the game with an injury. Freshman Brylee Gardner was the next man up.

Mason County (2-4) will open district play next week vs. the Harrison County Thorobreds in Cynthiana.

LC 1st Q 3:01 Cavin Williams 9 yard run (Brayden Queen kick) LC 7, MC 0

MC 2nd Q 9:53 Micah Payne 24 yard pass from Kyson Fox (Micah Payne kick) LC 7, MC 7

LC 2nd Q 9:01 Cavin Williams 6 yard run (Brayden Queen kick) LC 14, MC 13

MC 2nd Q 00:13 Micah Payne 9 yard pass from Kyson Fox (kicked failed) LC 21, MC 13

LC 3rd Q 8:08 Cavin Williams 11 yard run (run failed) LC 20, MC 13

LC 3rd Q 2:02 Chandler Preece 1 yard run (Brayden Queen kick) LC 27, MC 13

LC 4th Q 11:08 Kaden Johnson 49 yard pass from Luke Fetherolf (Brayden Queen kick) LC 34, MC 13

LC 4th Q 1:01 Brennan Blankenship 7 yard run (Brayden Queen kick) LC 41, MC 13

(Game statistics courtesy of Travis Scaggs and Drew Spangler of WFTM radio)

News and notes

 Here are a few news and notes to start off the week:

• Two Mason County volleyball players recently reached milestones: Kyleigh Kirk with career 500 assists and Hayley Allison with 500 career digs.

• Augusta, Bracken County, Mason County and St. Patrick were among the 74 schools with no disqualifications during the 2024-25 school year.

• Kentucky High School Athletic Association member schools voted last week to allow athletes who have participated in less than 20% of their team's games to transfer to another school without having to sit out for a year.

• Trinity quarterback Zane Johnson completed 12 of 16 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns as the Shamrocks routed the Bulldogs 46-0 on Friday. Johnson is the son of former Mason County Royal Jordan Johnson.

Royals get 21-13 road win over Boone County

Camden Gregory threw for a touchdown and ran for another score to lead the Mason County Royals to a 21-13 victory over the Boone County Rebels on Friday night in Florence.

After Boone County scored on the opening drive of the game, Mason County (2-3) took its first lead when Gregory threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Carter Roark and Lennie Avery scored on a conversion run with 6:25 left in the first quarter.

Boone County (3-2) answered with a touchdown in the second quarter to lead 13-8 at halftime.

The Royals opened the third quarter with a 14-play, 60-yard scoring drive capped off by a one-yard quarterback sneak by Gregory.

Mason County tacked on another touchdown with 9:21 to play in the fourth quarter on an eight-yard run by Reid Anderson.

That touchdown was set up by an interception return to the 12- yard line by Kyson Fox.

Boone County advanced to the Mason County 33-yard line in the closing minute, but a penalty pushed the Rebels back to the 50-yard line. Following a 16-yard pass play, Boone County was unable to convert on 4th down and 11 with 11 seconds remaining.

The Royals have a bye week next week before playing at Lawrence County on October 3.

BC 1st Q 8:09 Steven Johnson 4 yard run (Eric Lipps kick) BC 7, MC 0

MC 1st Q 6:25 Carter Roark 31 yard pass from Camden Gregory (Lennie Avery run) MC 8, BC 7

BC 2nd Q 3:50 Steven Johnson 17 yard run (run failed) BC 13, MC 8

MC 3rd Q 5:23 Camden Gregory 1 yard run (pass failed) MC 14, BC 13

MC 4th Q 9:21 Reid Anderson 8 yard run (Micah Payne kick) MC 21, BC 13

(Game statistics courtesy of WFTM radio's Travis Scaggs and Drew Spangler)

Another big performance by Trinity QB Zane Johnson

Trinity junior quarterback Zane Johnson completed 15 of 29 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns as the Shamrocks defeated Carmel, Indiana 41-28 on Friday night in Louisville.

Zane, the son of former Mason County Royal Jordan Johnson, has passed for 688 yards and 11 touchdowns with only one interception this season.

Trinity (3-1) will head across town this Friday to play the Male Bulldogs.

Royals lose to Boyd County 42-6 on Homecoming

The Mason County Royals fell behind 21-0 and lost to the Boyd County Lions 42-6 on Homecoming Friday night.

Boyd County (3-1) led 14-0 at halftime and 21-0 in the third quarter.

Mason County (1-3) got on the scoreboard with 27 seconds left in the third quarter when Camden Gregory threw a 28 yard touchdown pass to Micah Payne.

The Lions scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Boyd County outgained Mason County 337-153 in total yards.

The Royals will travel to Florence next week to play the Boone County Rebels.

BC 1st Q 11:48 Blake Sexton 10 yard run (Ryan Crank kick) BC 7, MC 0

BC 1st Q 3:51 James McDaniels 5 yard run (Ryan Crank kick) BC 14, MC 0

BC 3rd Q 8:35 Blake Sexton 1 yard run (Ryan Crank kick) BC 21, MC 0

MC 3rd Q 00:27 Micah Payne 28 pass from Camden Gregory (kick failed) BC 21, MC 6

BC 4th Q 7:31 Kaleb Kelly 12 yard run (Ryan Crank kick) BC 28, MC 6

BC 4th Q 5:09 Ian Branham 32 yard pass from Jace Manning (Ryan Crank kick) BC 35, MC 6

BC 4th Q  1:35 Cameron May 39 yard pass from Jace Manning (Ryan Crank kick) BC 42,  MC 6

(Game statistics courtesy of WFTM radio's Travis Scaggs and Drew Spangler)

Royals beat Fleming County 36-20

Camden Gregory completed 7 of 10 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another touchdown as the Mason County Royals gave coach Bradley Boone his first win by beating the Fleming County Panthers 36-20 on Friday night at Mason County.

Gregory threw two touchdown passes to Micah Payne and one to Macen Grooms.

Payne had four receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns.

Joey Staggs rushed for 82 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries.

The Royals had no turnovers after committing a total of nine turnovers in their first two games.

Mason County (1-2) will host the Boyd County Lions next week on Homecoming.

Fleming County (2-1) will play at Rowan County next week.

MC 2nd Q 2:59 Joey Staggs 5 yard run (Micah Payne kick) MC 7, FC 0

MC 2nd Q 8.2 Micah Payne 52 yard pass from Camden Gregory (Micah Payne kick) MC 14, FC 0

FC 3rd Q 7:05 Jett Martin 1 yard run (run failed) MC 14, FC  6

MC 4th Q 11:55 Macen Grooms 10 yard pass from Camden Gregory (Micah Payne kick) MC 21, FC 6

FC 4th Q 11:34 Evan Conley 70 yard kickoff return (run failed) MC 21, FC 12

MC 4th Q 7:09 Camden Gregory 2 yard run (Micah Payne kick) MC 28, FC 12

FC 4th Q 2:20 Branson Hawkins 5 yard pass from Jett Martin (Blake Everidge pass from Jett Martin) MC 28, FC 20

MC 4th Q 2:04 Micah Payne 65 yard pass from Camden Gregory (Macen Grooms pass from Camden Gregory) MC 36, FC 20

MC 4th Q 7:09 Camden Gregory 2 yard run (Micah Payne kick) MC 21, FC 12

(Game statistics courtesy of WFTM radio's Travis Scaggs and Drew Spangler)

Joey Staggs with a 5 yard touchdown run.
Mason Co. 7
Fleming Co. 0
2:59 2nd Q. pic.twitter.com/sHvXKckP3y

— Danny Weddle (@DannyEWeddle) September 6, 2025

Camden Gregory tosses a 10 yard touchdown pass to Macen Grooms. pic.twitter.com/K7G8oGT4xv

— Danny Weddle (@DannyEWeddle) September 6, 2025

Mason County hosts Fleming County for Rae of Sunshine/Mental Health Awareness Night

The Mason County Royals football team will host the Fleming County Panthers tonight for the Rae of Sunshine/Mental Health Awareness Night.

Mason County is 0-2. The Royals have committed a total of nine turnovers in the first two games.

Fleming County is 2-0. The Panthers beat the Harrison County Thorobreds 50-27 last week.

Kickoff is at 7:30. Each paying adult can bring a Mason County student for free. Both adult and student must be in attendance at the time of the ticket purchase.

The special offer is brought to you by Mason County Athletics and the Smile Club.

Come out and support Rae of Sunshine night as the Royals take on Fleming! pic.twitter.com/y29RODZ1Db

— Mason Co. Athletics (@RoyalsAth1etics) September 2, 2025

Trinity routs Frederick Douglass in "Mason County connections" game

Zane Johnson completed 8 of 12 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns and the Trinity Shamrocks routed the Frederick Douglass Broncos 37-0 in Louisville on Friday night.

Frederick Douglass quarterback Brady Ross competed 4 of 7 passes for 21 yards and an interception.

Carter Ross rushed three times for zero yards.

Johnson is the son of former Mason County football player Jordan Johnson.

The Ross brothers are the sons of former Mason County basketball player Jon Ross.

Trinity returned the opening kickoff of 86 yards for a touchdown and rushed for 193 yards and two touchdowns.

Royals fall to Montgomery County 25-18

For the second straight game the Mason County Royals were doomed by turnovers.

Five turnovers on Friday night resulted in a 25-18 loss to the Montgomery County Indians in the Royals' home opener.

One of the turnovers was on the Montgomery County two yard line. 

Two of the Indians' touchdowns were scored by the defense.

Joey Staggs rushed for two Mason County touchdowns. Leonard Avery also rushed for a touchdown for the Royals.

Mason County (0-2) will host the Fleming County Panthers next week.

Mo. Co. 2nd Q 8:07 Adryan Alfaro 37 yard fumble return (run failed) Mo. Co. 6, Ma. Co. 0

Mo. Co. 3rd Q 8:08 Jeremy Hampton 65 yard interception return (Austin Bromagen kick) Mo. 13, Ma. Co. 0

Ma. Co. 3rd Q 4:19 Joey Staggs 7 yard run (kick failed) Mo. Co. 13, Ma. Co. 6

Mo. Co. 3rd Q 3:34 45 yard pass Rex Turner from Jaimen Caba (kick failed) Mo. 19, Ma. Co. 6

Ma. Co. 3rd Q 00:14 3 yard run Leonard Avery (pass failed) Mo. Co. 19, Ma. Co. 12

Mo. Co. 4th Q 8:24 Duran Owens 44 yard pass from Jacob Gumm (run failed) Mo. Co. 25, Ma. Co. 12

Ma.Co 4th Q Joey Staggs 2 yard run (run failed) Mo. Co. 25, Ma. Co. 18

Sons of Mason County alums are quarterbacks at Trinity and Frederick Douglass

Two high school quarterbacks who are the sons of former Mason County athletes opened their junior seasons last week and will meet in a Class 6A showdown this Friday in Louisville.

Zane Johnson, the son of former Mason County football player Jordan Johnson, completed 4 of 5 passes for 114 yards and four touchdowns in Trinity's 62-0 win over Pleasure Ridge Park.

Brady Ross, the son of former Mason County basketball player Jon Ross, passed for 48 yards and one touchdown in Frederick Douglass' 21-20 double overtime loss to Highlands.

Brady's brothers, Carter and Jackson, are also on the team. The Ross brothers are triplets.

Carter, a running back, had three carries for 38 yards and a touchdown last week.

Jackson is a wide receiver.

Jon Ross is a 1998 graduate of Mason County High School. 

Jordan Johnson graduated from Mason County High School in 2000.

Bracken County beats Mason County 35-21

Daulton Tarter rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bracken County Polar Bears to a 35-21 win over the Mason County Royals on Friday night in Brooksville.

It was the first meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.

Mason County fell behind 21-0, but rallied to within seven points at 28-21 with 4:59 left in the game. The Royals got the ball back with 4:03 remaining but committed their fourth turnover and Bracken County tacked on a touchdown with 1:20 to play.

Mason County had two big scoring plays—a 73-yard run by Joey Staggs and a 67-yard pass from Camden Gregory to Micah Payne.

Staggs rushed for 103 yards. Gregory completed 12 of 21 passes for 160 yards.

Mason County will host Montgomery County next week while Bracken County will travel to Holy Cross.

BC 1st Q 9:30 Daulton Tarter 41 yard run (Witten Daugherty kick) BC 7, MC 0

BC 1st Q 7:11 Daulton Tarter 6 yard run (Witten Daugherty kick) BC 14, MC 0

BC 2nd Q 8:09 Andrew Kirk 29 yard pass from Greg Benedict (Witten Daugherty kick) BC 21, MC 0

MC 2nd Q 2:13 Camden Gregory 6 yard run (kick failed) BC 21, MC 6

MC 3rd Q 5:37 Joey Staggs 73 yard run (Micah Payne kick) BC 21, MC 13

BC 3rd Q 3:21 Daulton Tarter 51 yard run (Witten Daugherty kick) BC 28, MC 13

MC 4th Q 4:59 Micah Payne 67 yard pass from Camden Gregory (Camden Gregory run) BC 28, MC 21

BC 4th Q 1:20 Greg Benedict 1 yard run (Witten Daugherty kick) BC 35, MC 21 

(Statistics compliments of Travis Scaggs and Drew Spangler of WFTM radio.)

Royals host Conner tonight in a football scrimmage

The Mason County Royals football team will play its final preseason scrimmage tonight at 7 p.m. when they host the Conner Cougars.

The Royals will open the regular season a week from tonight at Bracken County. Mason County's home opener is two weeks from tonight vs. the Montgomery County Indians.

Royals will scrimmage Scott in Taylor Mill

The Mason County Royals football team will travel to Taylor Mill today to scrimmage the Scott Eagles at 6 p.m.

The Royals will host the Conner Cougars for a scrimmage on August 15.

"Two Northern Kentucky teams, two schools that I think are going to give us a good challenge going into the regular season," Mason County coach Bradley Boone said.

Mason  County will open the regular season on August 22 at Bracken County. The Royals' will play their home opener on August 29 vs. the Montgomery County Indians.

I wrote the Mason County preview for 10thRegion.com. Here is the link.