2024 Prep Football Previews: Beechwood players motivated to make amends for last season’s loss in semifinals


By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

Winning a playoff game on the day after Thanksgiving is something Beechwood football teams had done seven times in eight years going into last season. But the Tigers lost to Mayfield, 31-28, in the Class 2A semifinals in late November and didn’t make it to the state championship game that they had won the three previous years.

With most of the starters on last year’s 12-2 team returning, Beechwood should be a leading contender for the Class 2A state title once again. And the players are drawing motivation from the painful playoff loss that came on a field goal in the final seconds.

Beechwood quarterback Clay Hayden, one of the state’s top passers last season. is willing to throw the ball less to achieve a balanced offense.

“Coming up short at the end like that, you know, it just really stung,” said senior Luke Erdman. “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.”

Erdman was the Tigers’ leading pass receiver last season. The team also has quarterback Clay Hayden, leading rusher Chase Flaherty and senior linemen Jack Meier, Chance Baugh and Mattox Kelly among its returning starters on offense. 

The addition of 6-foot-4, 260-pound senior tackle Cole Howard, a transfer from Moeller, gives Beechwood another veteran up front. The unit’s primary goal during practice is developing a more balanced offensive attack than last year when the Tigers threw the ball on 71 percent of their plays and averaged 287 passing yards per game. 

“You have to be able to run the ball to win a state championship,” said Beechwood’s second-year head coach Jay Volker. “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 coach Jay Volker

Hayden was one of the best drop-back passers in the state last season with 3,910 yards and 48 touchdowns in 14 games. But the senior is willing to throw the ball less if it’ll help the Tigers win their 18th state title this year.

“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.”

Flaherty rushed for 676 yards last season, but that total was surpassed by three returning pass receivers. Erdman caught 50 passes for 1,133 yards, followed by sophomore Tyler Fryman (47 catches, 1,052 yards) and senior James Cusick (46 catches, 706 yards). That trio also has 38 of the team’s 49 touchdown receptions.

“Our (receiving) stats might take a hit this year because of the linemen coming back and I think Chase is going to be really good for us.” Erdman said. “He was coming off an injury in the state (semifinal) game, so I feel like this is going to be his breakout year.”

Mattox Kelly

Beechwood also has a veteran place kicker in junior Colson Lair, who converted 81 of 82 extra-point tries and three field goals for 90 points.

The Tigers’ top returning player on defense is Kelly, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound edge rusher recruited by Illinois State. The other senior veterans up front are Meier and Jordy Wagner with Brody Waddell returning at linebacker. In the secondary, Erdman, Cusick and Fryman were all starters last season. 

Stopping the run was a recurring problem for Beechwood’s defense during the 2023 campaign. The Tigers’ eight in-state non-district opponents averaged 189 rushing yards per game and scored 20 touchdowns on the ground.

“The games we struggled with last year, we couldn’t stop the run and we couldn’t run the ball,” coach Volker said. “That’s our No. 1 and No. 2 priorities right there.”

Beechwood’s first four games will be against Class 5A and 6A teams. The fifth game is at Covington Catholic, last year’s Class 4A state runner-up. CovCath has won eight of the last 10 games between the down-the-road rivals. 

BEECHWOOD TIGERS
2023 SEASON:  
12-2, lost in Class 2A state semifinals.
STARTERS RETURNING:  8 offense, 7 defense.
DISTRICT:  
Class 2A, District 5 with Bracken County, Carroll County, Gallatin County, Owen County, Walton-Verona.
HEAD COACH:  
Jay Volker (12-2 record in one season at Beechwood, 15-18 in three seasons overall)

2024 SCHEDULE
Aug. 23 – vs. Pulaski County at Corbin, 5:45 p.m.
Aug. 30 – CAMPBELL COUNTY, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 6 – DIXIE HEIGHTS, 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 – at Simon Kenton, 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 – at Covington Catholic, 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 – GALLATIN COUNTY, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 4 – at Walton-Verona, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 11 – at Owen County, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 18 – CARROLL COUNTY, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 25 – at Bracken County, 7:30 p.m.


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