By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Beechwood football coach Noel Rash said he expected Friday’s game against Covington Catholic to be like a heavyweight championship fight and his team won the final round to come away with the decision.
The Tigers put together a 69-yard touchdown drive during the last four minutes to defeat CovCath, 42-35, in Park Hills. The drive ended with Beechwood senior running Nathan Pabst scoring his fifth touchdown of the night on a 3-yard run with 21 seconds remaining.
The annual game between the neighboring rivals drew a large crowd. In the latest statewide media poll, Beechwood was ranked No. 1 in Class 2A and CovCath was ranked No. 3 in Class 4A.
“To be a head coach and give your players an opportunity to play in something like this, you can’t ask for more,” Rash said. “This is a playoff atmosphere in week five of the season, the fourth game for us, so to be able to do that is incredibly special.”
It was Beechwood’s first win over CovCath since 2021. Both teams had balanced offensive attacks and neither of them committed a turnover.
CovCath finished with 418 total yards (164 rushing, 254 passing). Beechwood’s total was 381 yards (189 rushing, 192 passing).
Pabst rushed for 161 yards and four touchdown. He also caught four passes for 40 yards from quarterback Emmett Queen, including a 5-yarder that he took across the goal line.
“I told everybody if we score in the first drive of the game we’d have all the confidence in the world,” Pabst said. “I never had a losing mindset. That’s what happens here at Beechwood. It’s just win, win, win.”
The Tigers actually scored on their first two possessions, covering 65 and 73 yards, to take a 14-0 lead. On the first play of the second quarter, however, CovCath wide receiver Owen Pitzer caught a pass cutting across the field and raced to the end zone on a 67-yard play.
Late in the second quarter, a 15-yard penalty gave Beechwood a first down at the CovCath 28-yard line. Six plays later, Pabst scored his second TD and Jack Mercer kicked the extra point to give the Tigers a 21-7 lead.
But CovCath responded with a touchdown in the closing seconds of the first half to make it 21-14. On a fourth-down play, junior quarterback Dylan Courtney launched a 29-yard pass that Jamir Kirtley caught in the end zone and Rocco Gillette kicked the extra point.
Both teams scored on their first two possessions of the third quarter, but CovCath missed an extra point kick and trailed, 35-27, going into the fourth quarter.
The Colonels tied the score on a pair of passes by Courtney. On a fourth-down play he was being tackled as he threw a 32-yard TD pass to Kirtley. Courtney then tied the score, 35-35, with a two-point conversion pass to Pitzer.
There were four minutes left on the clock when Beechwood started its game-winning 69-yard touchdown drive. The key play was a diving catch made by senior Tyler Fryman on a 41-yard pass from Queen that put the ball at the 16-yard line.
After a face mask penalty moved the ball to the 7, the Tigers ran three plays before Pabst bulled his way into the end zone for the winning touchdown.
“It’s the big boys up front,” Pabst said of his rushing success. “(Assistant) coach (Greg) Hergott came into the game saying, ‘It’s going to be won up front. We’re going to have to put the ball sideways and run it right down their throats.’ And that’s what we did.”
Fryman caught 13 passes for 127 yards and rushed 11 times for 27 yards, mostly on direct snaps from center. He and Pabst accounted for 355 of their team’s 381 total yards.
“I give those two kids credit,” said CovCath coach Eddie Eviston. “They play hard and they run hard. I think everyone in the stadium knew they were probably going to get (the ball) to them.”
The offensive leader for CovCath was Miller with 112 yards rushing, 61 receiving and two touchdowns. Kirtley had five catches for 86 yards and two TDs.
BEECHWOOD 14 7 7 14 — 42
COVCATH 0 14 13 8 — 35
B — Tyler Fryman 1 run (Jack Mercer kick)
B — Nathan Pabst 6 run (Mercer kick)
CC — Owen Pitzer 67 pass from Dylan Courtney (Rocco Gillette kick)
B — Pabst 3 run (Mercer kick)
CC — Jamir Kirtley 29 pass from Courtney (Gillette kick)
CC — Kiyan Miller 71 run (kick blocked)
B — Pabst 5 pass from Emmett Queen (Mercer kick)
CC — Miller 12 run (Gillette kick)
B — Pabst 7 run (Mercer kick)
CC — Kirtley 32 pass from Courtney (Pitzer pass from Courtney)
B — Pabst 3 run (Mercer kick)
RECORDS: Beechwood 4-0, CovCath 3-2.