By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Beechwood’s first season as a Class 2A football team ended with a loss to a perennial contender in that division.
Mayfield defeated the visiting Tigers, 35-7, in the Class 2A semifinals on Friday and advances to the championship game for the fourth time in the last five years.
Big plays carried the Cardinals (12-1) to their 10th straight victory. Their first touchdown came on an 80-yard pass and junior running back Kylan Galbreath had a pair of 80-yard touchdown runs. Those three plays netted 240 of the team’s 496 total yards.
Beechwood’s lone touchdown came on a 43-yard pass from junior quarterback Cameron Hergott to sophomore wide receiver Parker Mason in the second quarter. The Tigers finished with less than 200 total yards.
Mayfield now has an 8-0 record against Northern Kentucky opponents in post-season playoff games over the last 11 years. The first five wins in that streak came against Beechwood when both teams were in Class 1A. When the Cardinals moved up to Class 2A in 2015, Beechwood was Class 1A state runner-up and then won three consecutive state titles.
The Tigers finished this season with an 8-6 record after getting off to a 1-4 start. They had mostly underclassmen in the starting lineup and expect to make another run at the Class 2A state title in 2020.
BEECHWOOD 0 7 0 0 — 7
MAYFIELD 14 7 7 7 — 35
M — Neely 80 pass from Stinson (Haley kick)
M — Galbreath 80 run (Haley kick)
M — Neely 12 pass from Stinson (Haley kick)
B — Mason 43 pass from Hergott (Graman kick)
M — Galbreath 10 run (Haley kick)
M — Galbreath 80 run (Haley kick)
RECORDS: Mayfield 13-1, Beechwood 8-6
Football state semifinal scores
CLASS 1A
Paintsville 44, Kentucky Country Day 20
Pikeville 36, Louisville Holy Cross 7
CLASS 2A
Mayfield 35, Beechwood 7
Somerset 40, Breathitt County 25
CLASS 3A
Bell County 46, Taylor County 28
Belfry 15, Louisville DeSales 14
CLASS 4A
Boyle County 31, Louisville Central 14
Johnson Central 52, Madisonville-North Hopkins 14
CLASS 5A
Covington Catholic 28, Bowling Green 0
Fredrick Douglass 28, Owensboro 17
CLASS 4A
Louisville Male 48, Lexington Tates Creek 18
Louisville Trinity 54, North Hardin 7
State championship games at University of Kentucky
FRIDAY, DEC. 6
Class 1A — Pikeville (13-0) vs. Paintsville (11-3), 2 p.m.
Class 3A — Belfry (10-3) vs. Bell County (14-0), 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, DEC. 7
Class 2A — Mayfield (12-1) vs. Somerset (13-1), 1 p.m.
Class 4A — Johnson Central (14-0) vs. Boyle County (14-0), 4:30 p.m.
Class 5A — Covington Catholic (14-0) vs. Fredrick Douglass (14-0), 8 p.m.
SUNDAY, DEC. 8
Class 6A — Louisville Male (14-0) vs. Louisville Trinity (12-2), 2 p.m.