By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
After having passes intercepted on back-to-back possessions in the first half, Beechwood decided to rely on its running game Friday and rolled to a 48-12 win over Campbellsville in the semifinals of the Class 1A football playoffs.
The Tigers rushed for 451 yards and scored all seven of their touchdowns on the ground in the victory that puts them in the state championship finals for the fourth consecutive year.
Beechwood (11-2) will play Pikeville (11-2) in the Class 1A title game at 2 p.m. Friday at Kroger Field on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington.
Pikeville defeated Beechwood, 42-28, in the 2015 state championship game, but the Tigers claimed the last two small-school state titles.
“It feels really nice,” Beechwood senior running back Logan Castleman said of returning to the championship game. “We’ve just got to work hard this week, watch some game film and see what we have to do to win.”
When the Pikeville coaches watch film of Castleman’s performance in Friday’s game, they’re going to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to contain him. He rushed for 264 yards and five touchdowns, which are both career-highs for the senior captain.
“He is unbelievable,” said Beechwood coach Noel Rash. “He runs very physical and on top of that he’s very fast. That’s a very special combination.”
Castleman scored the Tigers’ first two touchdowns, but Campbellsville pulled to within 14-13 on a trick play in the second quarter.
The Eagles intercepted a pass and returned it to the Beechwood 20-yard line. After a bad snap, quarterback sack and penalty moved them back to their own 42, they sent in the punting unit.
But the snap from center went to running back Charlie Pettigrew instead of the punter. He lobbed a quick pass over the middle to Reggie Thomas, who took it to the end zone on a 58-yard scoring play that made it a one-point game.
That play seemed to fire up the Beechwood players. They scored two touchdowns in the final five minutes of the second quarter to extend their lead to 27-13 and did it without completing a single pass.
“We knew we had to come on strong after that,” Castleman said of the trick scoring play. “That’s what coach Rash builds in our heads. We had to face adversity.”
On the next possession, the Tigers ran the ball on nine consecutive plays. Castleman picked up 33 yards on five carries and quarterback Cameron Hergott scored on a 1-yard keeper.
An interception by senior linebacker Tyler Donohoo gave the ball back to Beechwood with 1:42 left in the half. After moving it to the 18-yard line with 10 seconds left, Hergott rolled out to the right and couldn’t find an open receiver. So he tucked the ball under his arm and weaved his way to the end zone.
Sophomore kicker Colin Graman converted the extra point with no time left on the clock to give the Tigers a 27-13 halftime lead.
The running game was working so well that the Tigers didn’t even attempt a pass during the entire second half. On their last three scoring drives, Castleman carried the ball on 12 of the 17 plays, including touchdown runs of 34, 11 and 13 yards.
“(Campbellsville) did some things defensively that forced us to run the ball and we took advantage of that,” coach Rash said. “The o-line did a great job and Logan Castleman is just something special.”
Beechwood ended up with 475 total yards. Campbellsville finished with 302, but the Eagles managed to get only 66 yards in the second half.
“I think our players just wore them down,” Rash said. “With the type of training we do, it’s tough for other teams to match up with us for four quarters, and that’s a credit to our players.”
BEECHWOOD 7 20 7 14 — 48
CAMPBELLSVILLE 7 6 0 0 — 13
B – Castleman 3 run (Graman kick)
C – Corley 18 pass from Hash (Rigsby kick)
B – Castleman 18 run (Graman kick)
C – Pettigrew 58 pass from Thomas (kick failed)
B – Hergott 1 run (Graman kick)
B – Hergott 18 run (kick failed)
B – Castleman 34 run (Graman kick)
B – Castleman 11 run (Graman kick)
B – Castleman 13 run (Graman kick)
RECORDS: Beechwood 11-2, Campbellsvile 11-2