Beechwood’s offense has been its calling card, but the way the Tigers have played defense through the first two games suggests this team might be even tougher than last year’s Class 2A state champions.
The Tigers overwhelmed Dixie Heights on both sides of the ball Friday night, rolling to a 48-7 victory while holding the Colonels to just five first downs — three of which came after Beechwood’s starters had exited. By then, the outcome was long decided.
“We always talk about we want to get five. We talk about turnovers and three and outs, if we can get five of those, that means we’re getting the ball back to our offense quickly,” Tigers coach Jay Volker said. “I have a lot of confidence in our offense. They know that we should be able to score on every drive, and we have that ability if we don’t mess up.”
Beechwood struck quickly, scoring on two of its first four plays to jump out to a 14-0 lead in less than four minutes. Quarterback Emmett Queen threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns, with Nathan Pabst the primary target, catching six passes for 183 yards. Brody Aylor added balance with 96 rushing yards on 13 carries and a receiving score. Pabst and Aylor were all over the field, Pabst opening the game with a one-handed 44-yard catch on the first play from scrimmage.
“We practice it every day,” Pabst said. “When you get that ball, you better start running. So every day we’re running full speed. No off days.”
Aylor added an eight-yard receiving touchdown, making defenses frustrated for how multi-dimensional the team is offensively.
“When we get the ball in our hands, we’re looking at the big colored rectangle, the end zone,” Aylor said. “We’re trying to get in there every play, no matter what. So that’s the expectation.”
While the offense piled up 444 yards, the defense and special teams stole just as many headlines. Kolten Craycraft and Caleb Arrasmith both intercepted passes, with Arrasmith returning his 50 yards for a touchdown. Kingston Brockett blocked a punt, and kickers Colson Lair and John Mercer each connected on field goals, Mercer’s 31-yarder closing the scoring.
By halftime, Beechwood led 31-7, with Dixie’s lone touchdown coming with one second left in the half on Mason Fields six-yard touchdown pass to Nishawn Golsby. Arrasmith’s pick-six midway through the third quarter triggered a running clock, and the Tigers cruised from there.
Through two games, Beechwood has outscored opponents 101-13, showing an all-around strength that makes them appear even deeper than a year ago.
“We have to continue to get better. I think you’ve only seen a little bit of what we can do offensively,” Volker said. “We left some things out there tonight and I think our guys will tell you that.”
For Dixie Heights, now 0-3, the struggles continued. The Colonels managed just 42 rushing yards on 18 carries and saw Fields complete 8-of-18 passes for 90 yards with two interceptions.
“Our inability to run the football has been an issue this year,” Colonels coach Pat Burke said. “It’s frustrating. We’ve got seven games left, we got to practice and get back to the drawing board and make corrections and play for each other. We’re looking to gel as a team and develop an identity.”
With Covington Catholic up next, the schedule offers no relief.
Beechwood will host Simon Kenton in its home opener next week.
TIGERS 48, COLONELS 7
BEECHWOOD — 14-17-14-3 — 48
DIXIE HEIGHTS — 0-7-0-0 — 7
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(B) Queen 8-yard pass to Aylor (9:19) Lair kick
(B) Queen 73-yard pass to Pabst (8:13) Lair kick
2nd Quarter
(B) Pabst 3-yard run (10:38) Lair kick
(B) Lair 23-yard FG (6:42
(B) Queen 10-yard pass to Fryman (:59) Lair kick
(DH) Fields 6-yard pass to Golsby (:01) Niemeyer kick
3rd Quarter
(B) Queen 1-yard run (5:47) Mercer kick
(B) Arrasmith 50-yard INT return (3:51) Mercer kick
4th Quarter
(B) Mercer 31-yard FG (6:00)
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Beechwood 295 (Queen 12/23 3 TD), Dixie 96 (Fields 8/18, 2 INT, Niemeyer 1/3)
Rushing Yards: Beechwood 149 (Aylor 13-96, Fryman 2-25, Ritter 5-15, Pabst 5-10, Sowder 1-2, Queen 1-1) Dixie 42 (Brown 3-22, Golsby 7-8, Roaden 3-8, Niemeyer 2-7, Fields 3-(minus) 3,)
Receiving: Beechwood (Pabst 6-183, Fryman 4-86, Sowder 1-18, Aylor 1-8) Dixie (Linville 1-34, Vonderhaar 3-21, Waters 1-13, Morris 1-14, Golsby 2-8, Hall 1-6)
Turnovers: Beechwood 0, Dixie 2
Penalties: Beechwood 4-35, Dixie 4-35
Records: Beechwood 2-0, Dixie Heights 0-3