Beechwood’s season opener looked just like you would expect from a defending state champion: sharp, dominant and in complete control.
The Tigers rolled to a 53-6 victory over Newport Central Catholic at Covington Catholic, starting their season with a statement win. They had to wait a week to get things going, their bye week coming in Week 1.
The list of standouts was long, but it began with junior quarterback Emmett Queen. A transfer from Covington Catholic, Queen made an impressive debut, completing all 10 of his passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns.
“I thought we were all clicking,” Queen said. “I took what the defense gave me, settled in pretty nicely and had a good day. I’d say my accuracy is one of my biggest attributes.”
While Queen shined on the field, he also came away impressed with the atmosphere around his new program.
“It’s so fun,” he said. “It’s so fun to have all these guys around me, then the student section and the fans behind us. That’s what it’s supposed to be. Football is supposed to be a fun game.”
Then came the playmakers, and plenty of them. Leading the way was Tyler Fryman, whose name echoed through the PA system all night. Fryman made his presence felt in every phase of the game. He returned a punt near midfield for a touchdown, intercepted a pass on defense and added three scores on offense. He caught two touchdown passes, flashing Tyreek Hill’s trademark peace sign on one, and ran for another.
“My teammates were what was working well,” he said. “Arrasmith was giving us energy on defense, Emmett was throwing it really well. All-around everybody, we have good dudes everywhere. When you have good dudes around you it helps.”
Nathan Pabst led the team in receiving yards with four catches for 123 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown reception. He also added a two-yard rushing touchdown.
Even special teams stood out as Colson Lair went 6-for-6 on extra points and connected on a 35-yard field goal.
The list of contributors goes on, but that is what you would expect from a team ranked among the state’s top 25 regardless of class.
“With 2A football, you’re going to have guys playing both ways,” Beechwood head coach Jay Volker said. “We have to spread the ball out, and they’re going to have to take away Pabst, (Caleb) Arrasmith, (Brody) Aylor, Fryman. We’re willing to take whatever somebody is going to give us, and our guys know on any given day, it could be any one of them. Whoever they’re going to take away, we can easily hurt them with somebody else.”
Defensively, the Tigers came up with two takeaways, Fryman’s interception and a forced fumble with a recovery late in the game.
NewCath caught Beechwood off guard on the first drive. Several penalties and a nine-play possession ended with an 11-yard touchdown run by quarterback Emmanuel Miles. Miles finished with 119 passing yards and 14 rushing yards. Eddie Bivens led the team with 22 rushing yards, and Jack Stevie had five catches for 38 yards to pace the receiving corps.
The Tigers were not caught off guard again. They finished the first quarter up 22-6 and scored 24 more in the second quarter to lead 46-6 at halftime. The final touchdown came in the third quarter.
Starting 0-2 for the first time since 2015, the Thoroughbreds will look for their first win next week in Park Hills against Boone County at 7 p.m.
Beechwood (1-0) stays on the road for its next game against Dixie Heights at 7 p.m.
TIGERS 53, THOROUGHBREDS 6
BEECHWOOD — 22-24-7-0— 53
NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC — 6-0-0-0— 6
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(B) Queen 28-yard pass to Fryman (11:08) Lair kick
(NCC) Miles 11-yard run (9:11) Stevie kick blocked
(B) Queen 35-yard pass to Pabst (8:14) Pabst run
(B) Queen 73-yard pass to Fryman (5:49) Lair kick
2nd Quarter
(B) Lair 35-yard field goal (11:55)
(B) Sowder 8-yard run (9:15) Lair kick
(B) Pabst 2-yard run (5:38) Lair kick
(B) Fryman 45-yard run (3:51) Lair kick
3rd Quarter
(B) Fryman 50-yard punt return (8:10) Lair kick
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Beechwood 278 (E. Queen 10/10, Coppage 1/1), NewCath 119 (Miles 12/23)
Rushing Yards: Beechwood 73 (Fryman 1-45, Ritter 2-16, Wilson 4-12, Sowder 1-8, Pabst 2-5, Aylor 1-(minus)6, Coppage 1-(minus)7), NewCath 61 (Bivens 8-22, League 1-15, Miles 7-14, Anderson 6-5, Ramirez 1-5)
Receiving: Beechwood (Pabst, 4-123, Fryman 3-116, Ritter 1-21, Sowder 2-18, Ritter 1-21, Aylor 1-zero), NewCath (Stevie 5-38, Bivens 2-35, Messmer 1-33, Schirmer 2-7, Anderson 2-6)
Turnovers: Beechwood 0, NewCath 2
Penalties: Beechwood 4-35, NewCath 7-50
Records: Beechwood 1-0, NewCath 0-2
