Trailing 41-27 with under four minutes to play, Beechwood was a play away from doing the unthinkable.
The Tigers came up short however on a two-point conversion with time expired, losing Friday’s Class 2A state semifinal matchup with Owensboro Catholic, 41-40 on the campus of Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro.
Emmett Queen’s pass fell incomplete as the Tigers opted to not kick an extra point and go to overtime, rather go for the win from two yards out. With what Aces quarterback Dre’Mail Carothers did the entire game, it was hard to blame them.
Carothers threw for 355 yards in the victory and two touchdowns. The Tigers had no answer for him until the game’s final five minutes when the Aces pretty much took it out of his hands and Beechwood stuffed the run six straight times to get the ball back and score twice in the final three and a half minutes.
The final score came with no time left after the Aces were whistled for back-to-back pass interference calls. Queen hit Brody Aylor from five yards out for the score on the untimed down. Beechwood’s final drive started at their own 17 with 41 seconds left and no timeouts. Facing a 4th and 10 at their own 35, Queen completed a pass for 20 yards to the Aces 45 with 10 seconds to go. After getting to the 21 on a completion to Tyler Fryman, the Aces had pass interference calls on two straight plays, creating two plays with no time left on the clock as the game cannot end on a penalty.
Fireworks started early in this one in a rematch from last year’s state championship game as Carothers hit Xavier Maddox for a 56-yard touchdown pass on the Aces opening possession. Beechwood answered with a Nathan Pabst rushing touchdown and a Queen 69-yard strike to Tyler Fryman to make it 13-10 Tigers after one.
After the Aces responded with a score, Nathan Pabst returned a kickoff 75 yards for a score before Owensboro Catholic responded with 17 unanswered for a 34-20 lead in the third quarter.
Fryman caught another touchdown pass from Queen before Jude Evans 3-yard run made it 41-27 in the early stages of the fourth.
After the Tigers ensuing possession was stopped in the Aces red zone, they were pretty much left for dead with six minutes to play. The first Tigers stop was responded with a Queen 7-yard run followed by Queen’s pass to Aylor.
The loss ends Beechwood’s season at 12-2, denying them a shot at a second straight state championship and 19th overall as a program. Aylor headlines an 11-member senior class set to graduate, but the Tigers will be loaded with talent next year as Queen, Fryman, Pabst and Sowder are all set to return a key core.
Owensboro Catholic will be playing in their third straight state championship next week at Kroger Field on Friday at 4 p.m. against Lexington Christian Academy, a 34-29 winner over Belfry on Friday.
Beechwood was Northern Kentucky’s last hope for a team to play for a state title with Lloyd Memorial and Ryle coming up short earlier in the night. It’s the first year since 1978 that a Northern Kentucky team won’t be in a state championship game, according to stat guru David Hartman.
ACES 41, TIGERS 40
BEECHWOOD — 13-7-7-13 — 40
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC — 10-17-7-7 — 41
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(OC) Carothers 56-yard pass to Maddox (Garvin kick)
(B) Pabst 2-yard run (kick blocked)
(OC) Garvin 31-yard FG
(B) Queen 69-yard pass to Fryman (Lair kick)
2nd Quarter
(OC) Carothers 4-yard pass to Ebelhar (Garvin kick)
(B) Pabst 75-yard kickoff return (Lair kick)
(OC) Edge 1-yard run (Garvin kick)
(OC) Garvin 29-yard FG
3rd Quarter
(OC) Edge 5-yard run (Garvin kick)
(B) Queen 12-yard pass to Fryman (Lair kick)
4th Quarter
(OC) Evans 3-yard run (Garvin kick)
(B) Queen 7-yard run (Lair kick)
(B) Queen 5-yard pass to Aylor (pass failed)
Game Stats
Passing Yards: (B) Queen 22/35, 301 yds, 3 TD (OC) Carothers 26-34, 355 yds, 2 TD
Rushing Yards: (B) Pabst 9-46, Aylor 5-31 (OC) Edge 28-138, Evans 3-15
Receiving: (B) Fryman 7-143, Pabst 5-57, Aylor 4-31, Sowder 3-41 (OC) Maddox 4-139, Thomas 6-77, Woodward 7-66
Records: Beechwood 12-2, Owensboro Catholic 13-1