No. 1 Boyle County completes 4A title four-peat, tops No. 3 Covington Catholic in historic fashion

In just under a quarter of a century, Boyle County has cemented themselves as one of the greatest powerhouses in the history of Kentucky high school football, regardless of class. The Rebels have now won 12 state championships in their program’s history, surpassing Danville’s 11. Of course, with Danville being just over two miles down the road from Boyle County, it has always been heated between those two schools. However, with Boyle County’s historic win over Covington Catholic, they can now hold bragging rights over their arch rivals for (at least) the next year.

On top of having bragging rights over Danville, Justin Haddix and the Rebels can also boast that they are only the fourth program in Kentucky to ever successfully complete a four-peat. The others are Beechwood (1991-94), Highlands (2007-10), and Belfry (2013-16). Boyle County has won 20 straight games, their last loss coming against Frederick Douglass on October 28, 2022. There’s no other way to put it, Class 4A runs through Boyle County. Just absolute, pure domination.

The #1 Boyle County Rebels (15-0) took down the #3 Covington Catholic Colonels (14-1) 41-0 on Friday night in the Class 4A finals to secure their twelfth state championship, and of course, their fourth straight.

Montavin Quisenberry puts the Rebels on his shoulders

In just the first half alone, Montavin Quisenberry probably did enough to win MVP of the game. At the break, Quisenberry had 75 rushing yards and a touchdown on just seven carries on top of three receptions for 46 yards as well. Then, with 5:16 to go in the second quarter, Quisenberry returned a short Cov Cath punt for a touchdown.

@MontavinQuisen1 returns a short punt for a TOUCHDOWN! The extra point is good!

#1 Boyle 20 | #3 Cov Cath 0 | 5:16 2Q pic.twitter.com/SIa7rRARmN

— Phoenix Stevens (@PStevensKSR) December 2, 2023

The three-star athlete finished the game with 93 rushing yards, 46 receiving yards, and two total touchdowns. When Justin Haddix and the Boyle County Rebels needed someone to lean on, they knew Quisenberry would be the one to come through in the end.

Quisenberry has received offers from the likes of Michigan and Ole Miss, as well as Kentucky. As of right now, the ‘Cats are the perceived favorites to land the Boyle County junior, and just based off of his performance against Cov Cath, he would be highly welcomed addition to the roster.

Justin Haddix is a defensive mastermind

With this four-peat, Boyle County Head Coach Justin Haddix has to be in the mix as one of the greatest coaches to ever do it in Kentucky high school football. Covington Catholic came into Friday night’s game ranked at No. 3 in KSR’s latest Kentucky High School Football Rankings, but they were no match for the ultra red-hot Rebels.

Covington Catholic’s offense has been highlighted all season long by three-star tight end and UK commit Willie Rodriguez. Heading into the Class 4A state championship game, Rodriguez had caught 28 passes for a total of 485 yards and 12 touchdowns. However, the script was completely flipped against Boyle County.

Justin Haddix and the Rebels were able to contain Rodriguez to about as much of an extent that a team can contain him. Rodriguez had just one reception for a grand total of three yards on the night. It seemed like Boyle County was in the backfield every single play (like on the one below), and the Colonels were never able to find any sort of rhythm offensively.

Evan Pitzer of @CovCathFootball is bottled up and brought down to force 4th down. Then, Boyle gets a sack to force a turnover on downs, which has been the recurring theme of the first half.

#1 Boyle 20 | #3 Cov Cath 0 | HALF pic.twitter.com/JMyoZZWcHF

— Phoenix Stevens (@PStevensKSR) December 2, 2023