Quarterback Nathan Smith stood in his own end zone trying to find an open teammate.
Without much time and Mattox Kelly and Xavier Campbell closing in, Smith threw the ball away under pressure for a safety. It was that kind of night in Claryville as the Beechwood Tigers dominated in the trenches for a 50-7 road victory over the Campbell County Camels.
“Everyone filled in their gaps perfectly,” Kelly said. “On the safety, I went outside. Xavier cut up inside and hit (Smith) for the safety.”
Beechwood outgained Campbell County, 405-137. The Tigers came out throwing with Clay Hayden and he spread the ball around to seven different receivers. Hayden completed 19-of-23 passes for 282 yards and four touchdowns. Luke Erdman led all Tiger receivers with five catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Tyler Fryman added three catches for 52 yards and a touchdown and Tyson Hergott had a four-yard touchdown catch.
“We know we have skilled guys who can spread the field so we try to utilize it,” Erdman said. “We studied film on Campbell County and figured we’d be able to throw the ball on them. We got our athletes the ball and we made plays happen.”
The Tigers eventually mixed in the run later in the game going for 123 yards behind the dominant offensive line. Chase Flaherty led the way with 77 yards rushing on seven carries and two touchdowns with Shawn Sowder adding a 13-yard touchdown run.
“They’re definitely bigger than we are. We definitely pride ourselves on being great up front,” said Jay Volker, Beechwood head coach. “We played harder and quicker. We’re pretty fast off the ball. We proved it.”
Beechwood held the read-option Campbell County spread offense to just 87 yards rushing. Landon McNabb rushed for 42 yards on five carries and Smith had 36 on nine carries, helping the Camels avert the shutout with a 6-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
“We had talked about it all week. We had to keep the quarterback in the pocket,” Volker said. “We didn’t do a great job of it. He still made some plays. But we had some bad reads. But we had some guys on the back end that were actually there to save us.”
The Camels hoped to get the ball to their two speedy junior wide receivers in Jaiden Combs and Garyn Jackson, but the Tigers limited them to a combined three catches for 41 yards.
“I really just want to get the (opponent) on the ground,” Campbell said. “I feel like Campbell County and (Cincinnati) McNich were both heavy hitters. They started out driving the ball. It felt good to get them on the ground so they don’t make big plays.”
Beechwood wound up scoring on its first four possessions building a 37-0 halftime lead. Hayden hit Erdman with 38 seconds left in the half for a five-yard touchdown pass to enforce the running clock.
Campbell County head coach Brian Weinrich praised Campbell as the difference-maker in the game. The Camels are still learning how to stand toe-to-toe with opponents as solid as Beechwood.
“We have to be ready to respond in big games. When you have an opponent like Beechwood coming in, they’re going to play fast and you have to match their intensity and focus,” Weinrich said. “It’s a great learning experience. We had a lot of guys out there getting varsity experience for the first time. You have to build off it.”
Campbell County plays at Highlands (1-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. Beechwood plays at Dixie Heights (1-1) at the same time.
TIGERS 50, CAMELS 7
BEECHWOOD — 23-14-7-6 — 50
CAMPBELL COUNTY — 0-0-7-0 — 7
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(BW) Hayden 21-yard pass to Erdman (7:54) Lair kick
(BW) Safety, intentional grounding in end zone (5:59)
(BW) Hayden 5-yard pass to Fryman (3:49) Lair kick
(BW) Flaherty 7 run (1:17) Lair kick
2nd Quarter
(BW) Flaherty 10-yard run (8:30) Lair kick
(BW) Hayden 5-yard pass to Erdman (:26) Lair kick
3rd Quarter
(BW) Hayden 4-yard pass to Hergott (6:34) Lair kick
(CC) Smith 6-yard run (:38) Rose kick
4th Quarter
(BW) Sowder 13-yard run (2:15) took knee on two-point conversion run
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Beechwood 282 (Hayden 19/23), Campbell County 50 (Smith 5/14)
Rushing Yards: Beechwood 123 (Flaherty 7-77, Aylor 8-22, Sowder 1-13, Hayden 3-9, Erdman 1-2), Campbell County 87 (Smith 9-36, McNabb 5-42, Bertram 4-6, Jackson 1-6, Evers 4-4, Craddock 1-minus-7)
Receiving: Beechwood 282 (Erdman 5-89, Fryman 3-52, Flaherty 3-35, Cusick 3-13, Sleet 2-57, Linder 2-32, Hergott 1-4), Campbell County 50 (Jackson 1-21, Combs 2-20, Fancher 1-9, Evers 1-0)
Turnovers: Beechwood 0, Campbell County 1
Penalties: Beechwood 2-20, Campbell County 3-15
Records: Beechwood 2-0, Campbell County 1-1