By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Covington Catholic’s football team ended the first half of its regular season schedule with a stunning home field victory that showed how far the Colonels have come with mostly first-year starters in the lineup.
CovCath defeated Beechwood, 31-14, on Friday to snap the Tigers’ 27-game winning streak over three seasons that included back-to-back Class 2A state championships. In this week’s Associated Press statewide media poll, Beechwood was voted No. 1 in Class 2A and CovCath was No. 5 in Class 5A.
“Our guys came out and executed tonight and it was good to see,” CovCath coach Eddie Eviston said after the win that gave both teams a 4-1 record. “Each week, we continue to grow up. Each week, we continue to fill some holes. It was an all-around good performance on both sides of the ball.”
Final statistics supported the coach’s claim. CovCath’s offense rolled up 342 total yards on 63 plays while the defense limited Beechwood to 117 yards on 34 plays.
After scoring three times in the second quarter, the Colonels put together a 78-yard touchdown drive on their first possession of the third quarter to take a 28-7 lead. The defense did its part by not allowing Beechwood to get a first down on its first three possessions of the second half.
“All props to our defense,” said CovCath junior running back Owen Leen. “They played a heck of a game and they gave us great field position on offense. I mean, they couldn’t have done any better.”
Leen rushed for 150 yards on 37 carries and scored the game’s first touchdown on a 3-yard run with 10:23 left in the second quarter. But Beechwood tied the score on the ensuing kickoff that senior Antonio Robinson returned 95 yards to the end zone.
CovCath responded with an 11-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 1-yard quarterback keeper by junior Evan Pitzer, who was wearing a brace on his left knee that was sprained in last week’s game.
“He was kind of day-to-day, just trying to see how he could progress,” Eviston said of Pitzer’s week in practice. “He felt good (Thursday) so we decided to go with him.”
Pitzer completed 11 of 14 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns during the game. He also rushed for 46 yards and the go-ahead touchdown.
After a three-and-out by Beechwood, CovCath got the ball back with 2:06 left in the second quarter. Pitzer ran for two first downs in that series and then threw a 9-yard pass to junior Willie Rodriguez, who made a leaping catch in the end zone.
At the halftime break, the Colonels had a 225-43 advantage in total yards with 100 yards rushing and 125 passing. In the second half, they relied mostly on the run with Leen picking up 86 of the team’s final 117 yards.
On his team’s first possession of the third quarter, Leen rushed for 58 yards during the 78-yard drive that ended with Braylon Miller catching a 13-yard TD pass from Pitzer to give the Colonels a 28-7 lead.
“The O-line played a heck of a game so we just ended up grounding and pounding and it worked out really well,” Leen said.
Beechwood’s offense scored its only touchdown on a 39-yard pass from Cash Harney to James Cusick with 5:11 left on the clock. After an onside kick failed, CovCath sophomore Andrew Weitzel booted a 33-yard field goal for the game’s final points.
“This definitely boosts our morale and brings us all together,” Leen said of the victory. “We’ll definitely cherish this one and keep working hard.”
BEECHWOOD 0 7 0 7 — 14
COVCATH 0 21 7 3 — 31
CC — Leen 3 run (Weitzel kick)
B — Robinson 95 kickoff return (Berger kick)
CC — Pitzer 1 run (Weitzel kick)
CC — Rodriquez 9 pass from Pitzer (Weitzel kick)
CC — Miller 13 pass from Pitzer (Weitzel kick)
B — Cusick 39 pass from Harney (Berger kick)
CC — Weitzel 33 FG
RECORDS: Beechwood 4-1, CovCath 4-1