By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Logan Castleman is one of several two-way starters on the Beechwood football team. He was on the field for nearly every snap in Friday’s game at Simon Kenton and still managed to make big plays in the fourth quarter that secured a 28-21 win for the Tigers.
In the final nine minutes of the game, Castleman scored a 7-yard rushing touchdown that put his team ahead, stopped a breakaway run by a Simon Kenton player that would have tied the score and then ripped off a 82-yard touchdown run that gave his team a 14-point lead with 3:15 remaining.
Simon Kenton managed to score with 1:08 left and tried an onside kick, but Castleman batted the loose ball out of bounds and his team was able to run out the clock.
“He’s one tough son of gun who has a great sense of this game and plays it until there’s nothing left in him,” Beechwood coach Noel Rash said of Castleman’s effort.
Simon Kenton is a Class 6A team with a much larger roster than Beechwood, the two-time defending Class 1A state champion. The Pioneers have enough talented players to run a two-platoon system with separate offensive and defensive units, but they couldn’t take down the Tigers.
“It shows our grit,” Castleman said after the win. “It shows Beechwood football and what it’s about.”
Simon Kenton was missing four starters on offense and one on defense due to injuries, according to coach Jeff Marksberry. He said that showed late in the fourth quarter when his team turned the ball over on downs twice inside the 20-yard line.
“We made mistakes at inopportune times and it cost us in the end,” Marksberry said. “We just didn’t execute when we needed to make plays. At times we did, but I think more times than not we didn’t. We’ve got to find a way to make those plays.”
Beechwood finished with 495 total yards and Castleman accounted for over half that total. He rushed for 220 yards on 21 carries and caught four passes for 37 yards. One of his receptions was a 7-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Cameron Hergott, who completed 13 of 22 passes for 174 yards and two TDs.
Simon Kenton had 386 total yards with senior quarterback Caleb Farfsing leading the way. He completed 14 of 25 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 118 yards.
After Beechwood took a 21-14 lead in the fourth quarter, Farfsing broke free on a quarterback keeper and appeared to have a clear path to the end zone. But Castleman, who plays safety on defense, sprinted across the field and pushed Farfsing out of bounds at the 28 yard line.
“I just knew that I needed to be out there (making plays) on defense pretty much more than I am on offense because they have so many weapons,” said Castleman. “I’m just playing fast and nasty every play.”
The Pioneers moved the ball to the 19 on the next play before two false start penalties pushed them back 10 yards. Farfsing was then sacked on a fourth-down play.
On his team’s possession, Castleman had muscle spasms in his leg and limped off the field. He wasn’t able to punt and missed a couple of downs on defense before returning.
Simon Kenton ended up turning the ball over on downs at the 18-yard line. On the next play, Castleman took a handoff and sprinted 82 yards for a touchdown to extend his team’s lead.
“I just saw a big hole and I put the jets on,” he said of the game-clinching score.
The only complaint Beechwood’s coach had after the game was the penalties called against his team. He didn’t agree with a few of them, but that was beside the point.
“Let me tell you right now, if we don’t get the penalties and don’t get our discipline cleaned up it isn’t going to happen for us,” Rash said. “We made it happen (Friday) by sheer will, but man did we make it hard on ourselves.”
BEECHWOOD 0 14 0 14 — 28
SIMON KENTON 0 7 7 7 — 21
B — Castleman 7 pass from Hergott (Graman kick)
SK — Sergent 10 run (Seger kick)
B — Sherron 31 pass from Hergott (Graman kick)
SK — Brown 61 pass from Farfsing (Seger kick)
B — Castleman 7 run (Graman kick)
B — Castleman 82 run (Graman kick)
SK — Kaiser 18 pass from Farfsing (Seger kick)
RECORDS: Beechwood 4-2, Simon Kenton 5-2
High school football scores
FRIDAY
Beechwood 28, Simon Kenton 21
Newport 35, Bellevue 25
Ludlow 21, Brossart 20
Clark County 24, Boone County 12
Indianapolis Cathedral 42, Ryle 20
Cooper 20, Dixie Heights 16
Eminence 56, Dayton 18
Harrison County 19, Scott 18
Holmes 46, Holy Cross 6
Conner 34, Lloyd 22
Mount Healthy (Ohio) 28, Campbell County 20
Paintsville 27, Walton-Verona 15