By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
During preseason practice, high school football players get their first taste of competition against other teams in 7-on-7 passing games where quarterbacks and receivers work against linebackers and defensive backs in non-contact plays.
On Tuesday, one of five teams playing 7-on-7 games at St. Henry was the Beechwood Tigers, who threw the ball on 71 percent of their plays last season and ended up averaging 287 passing yards per game that was sixth in statewide statistics.
Beechwood made it to the semifinals of the Class 2A playoffs with that air-it-out offense. But coach Jay Volker wants to have a more balanced attack, like the Mayfield team that got past the Tigers, 31-28, in the semifinals last November.
“You have to be able to run the ball to win a state championship,” Volker said on Tuesday. “We knew that last year and we couldn’t get the job done. We ran into a (Mayfield) team that could run the ball and they ended up winning the state championship.”
Beechwood senior quarterback Clay Hayden agrees with coach Volker’s assessment. Even though he was one of the best drop-back passers in the state last season with 3,910 yards and 48 touchdowns in 14 games, Hayden is willing to throw less if it’ll help the Tigers win their 18th state title.
“Running the ball was not necessarily a struggle for us, but we feel like we can do it better,” Hayden said. “And we feel like our pass game, we can even get better at that, too. We’ve just got to keep getting more well rounded as a team day by day.”
Beechwood has leading rusher Chase Flaherty and two veteran offensive linemen — Mattox Kelly and James Meier — returning from last season. The addition of senior tackle Cole Howard, a transfer from Moeller, will also help balance the offense.
The Tigers also have last season’s top three pass receivers returning in seniors Luke Erdman and James Cusick and sophomore Tyler Fryman. Erdman finished with team-high totals of 1,133 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. Fryman was next in line with 1,052 yards and 10 TDs.
In last year’s state semifinal game, Erdman caught a 24-yard TD pass from Hayden that tied the score, 28-28, with 2:17 left on the clock. But Mayfield was able to kick a game-winning field goal in the final seconds.
“Coming up short at the end like that, you know, it just really stung,” Erdman said. “We know what we can do and we’re ready to prove it to everyone else. Going out like that last year against that team down there with the history we’ve got, there’s really no more fuel that we need.”
At the Class 1A state track meet in May, Erdman led the Beechwood boys team to its first state championship in that sport by winning gold medals in the 100 and 200 dashes and as the anchor runner on the the 4×100 relay.
Hayden was also busy during the spring. He said he went to several quarterback camps to improve his skills and give college recruiters a chance to gauge his potential. He has already received a scholarship offer from the University of Indianapolis.
“This year, I’m definitely working on my touch,” Hayden said. “I feel like I can zip the ball into tight spaces whenever I need to, but even Luke (Erdman) will tell you I have to hit them in stride going down the field. I’ve got to get better at that.”
The 7-on-7 passing games give Hayden a chance to work on deep throws with his returning receivers. The Tigers will have preseason scrimmage games at home on Aug. 9 against Ryle and Aug. 16 against Cincinnati Purcell-Marian to mold the offense they want to use this season.
“It’s still the Beechwood offense. It still hasn’t changed,” coach Volker said. “It was a little bit different last year because of what our skill set was, but hopefully it’s going to be a little more balanced, which will be great.”