By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Brian Weinrich will continue his high school football coaching career as defensive coordinator for the Beechwood team that won the Class 2A state championship last December.
Weinrich spent the last seven seasons as the head coach at Highlands, where his teams compiled a 51-36 record and won the 2014 Class 4A state title. He was not rehired after the Bluebirds finished the 2020 season with a 5-6 record.
“I am excited to be joining an amazing staff and to be part of an amazing program at Beechwood,” Weinrich said in an email.
Before he became head coach, Weinrich was defensive coordinator at Highlands from 2002 to 2013. The Bluebirds won seven state titles during the 12 years he was in charge of the defensive unit.
He’s joining a Beechwood team that has won six state championships and compiled a 167-41 record in the last 15 seasons under head coach Noel Rash. The Tigers won their first Class 2A title in 2000 after going 5-1 in Class 1A finals under Rash.
Eight of the 11 defensive starters on Beechwood’s 10-2 state championship team last season were underclassmen, including junior linebacker Michael Hatfield, junior defensive back Brady Moore and sophomore defensive back Mitchell Berger.
In the championship game, Hatfield made a team-high 9.5 tackles, Berger had a fumble recovery and pass interception and Moore blocked a point-after kick in overtime that secured Beechwood’s 24-23 win over Lexington Christian.
Highlands is still looking for a new head coach. Earlier this month, Franklin County coach Eddie James agreed to take the job, but he changed his mind and decided to stay with his current team.
Big games ahead for basketball teams that have started strong
Three local basketball teams that have gotten off to good starts after struggling for most of last season will play important district seeding games this week.
The Cooper girls (8-2) need one more win to equal the victory total they had last year when they posted a 9-19 record. The Jaguars’ first chance to do that comes at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when they host Ryle (7-2), the defending 33rd District and 9th Region champion.
Ryle has won the last six games between the two teams. The Raiders will be favored once again, even though they’re coming off a 49-43 loss to George Rogers Clark. In that game, Ryle shot just 24.5 percent from the field on their home court.
Cooper’s first-year head coach Justin Holthaus needs his young team to play good defense against the Raiders. The Jaguars have held five opponents to less than 40 points, including wins over Notre Dame (40-27) and Dixie Heights (40-35).
Scott’s girls will take a 9-1 record into a 37th District game at Brossart (7-0) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Last year, Scott posted a 3-25 record that included a loss to the Mustangs, who made it to the 10th Region semifinals.
Two of the area’s leading scorers will be featured performers in Thursday’s game. Scott senior forward Mya Meredith has a 21.6 average that’s slightly ahead of Brossart senior Maria Kiefer’s 20.9 average.
The Dixie Heights boys team that lost its first eight games last season and ended up with a 10-21 record will visit St. Henry in a 34th District seeding game at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Dixie Heights has won five straight games to run its record to 8-2. St. Henry has a 7-1 record with its only loss coming in overtime against Lexington Catholic, the top-ranked team in the Associated Press statewide media poll.
Scott graduate playing on college team that’s riding win streak
Scott graduate Anna Clephane is a starting guard on the Ball State women’s basketball team that has won four consecutive Mid-American Conference games to raise its record to 8-5 overall, 6-3 in the conference.
Clephane was a double-figure scorer in each of the four victories, starting with a 24-point effort against Ohio University. During the streak, she scored a total of 66 points with 16 rebounds, nine steals and eight assists.
In the Cardinals’ first 13 games, Clephane has averaged 10.6 points and 3.5 rebounds. She’s shooting 51.1 percent (45 of 88) from the field, which ranks second on the team.
A redshirt sophomore, Clephane missed most of the 2018-19 season following knee surgery. She returned last season, averaging 6.3 points and 3.0 rebounds while playing 19 minutes per game.