By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Beechwood’s football team continued its recent run of dominating performances with a 45-0 win over Newport Central Catholic on Friday at Newport Stadium.
After winning three straight Class 2A district games by margins of 42 points or more, the Tigers whipped a NewCath team that came into Friday’s game with a 6-0 record and ranked No 2 in the Class 1A state poll.
Beechwood, ranked No. 4 in the Class 2A state poll, finished with 365 total yards while limiting NewCath to 122. It was the first time in 27 games that the Thoroughbreds lost in a shutout.
Beechwood senior quarterback Cameron Hergott had a perfect passing night. He completed all 13 of his throws for 212 yards and three touchdowns. He was also the game’s leading rusher with 67 yards on 10 carries and one TD.
The Tigers took a 3-0 lead on a 40-yard field goal by Colin Graman with 6:37 left in the first quarter and then scored touchdowns on their next four possessions to push the margin to 31-0 at halftime.
Hergott got the first touchdown on a 4-yard run and threw TD passes to junior receivers Parker Mason and Liam McCormack to account for most of the first-half scoring. The other touchdown came on a 2-yard run by sophomore Mitchell Berger.
NewCath wasn’t able to get a first down until late in the second quarter, but the Thoroughbreds ended up turning the ball over on downs with 50 seconds left on the clock.
That was enough time for the Tigers to put together a five-play, 64-yard touchdown drive with its hurry-up offense. On the final play, Hergott threw a 34-yard pass into the end zone and McCormack made a leaping catch over a NewCath defender.
Beechwood had a 225-39 advantage in total yards at the halftime break. Hergott completed 11 passes for 148 yards and picked up 67 of the team’s 77 rushing yards in the first 24 minutes.
The senior quarterback connected on all three of his passes in the third quarter to close out his perfect night. His final pass went to Brady Moore, who eluded tacklers and raced to the end zone for a 56-yard score that made it 38-0 with 5:18 left in the third quarter.
Officials instituted a running clock after that touchdown and the teams began replacing starters with reserve players. Beechwood’s final touchdown came on a 5-yard run by sophomore Bomani Hughes with 1:52 remaining.
NewCath’s offensive leader was senior quarterback Malaki Herndon, who completed 11 of 25 passes for 94 yards with one interception. He also rushed for 27 yards on 13 carries.
Both teams have one game left on their schedule before the playoffs begin. Beechwood will visit Meade County, and NewCath will host Holmes next Friday.
BEECHWOOD 10 21 7 7 — 45
NEWCATH 0 0 0 0 — 0
B – Graman 40 FG
B – Hergott 4 run (Graman kick)
B – Mason 25 pass from Hergott (Graman kick)
B – Berger 2 run (Graman kick)
B – McCormack 34 pass from Hergott (Graman kick)
B – Moore 56 pass from Hergott (Graman kick)
B – Hughes 5 run (Graman kick)
RECORDS: NewCath 6-1, Beechwood 6-2.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD
Brossart 41, Pendleton County 12
Carroll County 32, Dayton 0
Moeller (Ohio) 50, Highlands 14
Holmes 54, Bellevue 14
Holy Cross 63, Ludlow 30
Ryle 35, Cooper 14
Covington Catholic 38, Simon Kenton 3
Walton-Verona 40, Louisville Holy Cross 28
Woodford County 62, Boone County 20