By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
It’s the way neighborhood rivals talk to one another.
And the way Friday’s overflow-and-then-some crowd from Beechwood and Covington Catholic, just two miles apart down the Dixie Highway at Ft. Mitchell’s Edgar McNabb Stadium, talked to one another as the Colonels and Tigers ricocheted up and down the field in the early going where chaos seemed the only controlling principle.
And then it happened. After a fumble at the goal line cost CovCath one touchdown and another at midfield set Beechwood up for a 60-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to speedster Tyler Fryman, just 18 seconds remained in a 14-14 first half.
CovCath senior quarterback Cash Harney, 71 yards away from paydirt, would just have to chuck it and hope, lining up at his own 29. Only no, that’s not how this Energizer Bunny of a QB does things. Harney took off, heading toward the right sideline when – uh oh – maybe it’s better to go the other way.
And so he did. All the way, to the opposite sideline, then a 90-degree turn and into high gear beating the Beechwood defense to the far turn and then he accelerated from there into the end zone. Maybe 125 yards total for the 71-yard TD.
CovCath 21, Beechwood 14 going into halftime.
“Why so quiet?” the Colonel Crazies student section asked in a jab at the Tiger fans at the other end who were enjoying a 14-7 lead just minutes before. And now: “Why so quiet?”
Well, for good reason, actually. Like most every one of the 3,000 or so fans, they were dumbfounded by what they’d just seen. A 71-yard Hail Mary run. As the clock wound down. Are you kidding?
Unfortunately for the defending Class 2A state champion Tigers, who came into this one 3-0 off a trio of six-TD-margin romps, they were facing a CovCath team that followed up on one-score losses to tough Cincinnati Elder and Ryle with a couple of romps of their own (by 89 points).
“We’re playing well,” CovCath coach Eddie Eviston understated of the 3-2 Colonels who, after falling behind 14-7, scored the game’s final 35 points. Especially the defense.
“That was the key, for the defense to step up,” Eviston said. What needn’t be said was how the quick senior offensive duo of quarterback Harney, whose high school career began as a freshman starting quarterback at Beechwood, and Dylan Gaiser, would step up.
Step up? How about rushing for 349 yards (Gaiser 188 on 23 carries, Harney 161 on 13) and five TD (Gaiser three from 24, 2 and 2) and Harney (71 and 3) as the Colonels wore down and wore out the Beechwood defense.
“I felt the pressure for about two seconds,” Harney said of his fumble that set up Beechwood’s first TD. But then Gaiser told him they’d be fine. And they were.
“That’s part of the game,” he said of the fumble. “My team trusts me,” Harney said, with a run game so strong, he barely had to throw the ball (just four of seven passing for a mere 57 of CovCath’s humongous 530 yards of offense).
“We push each other,” said Gaiser, up to 180 pounds this year after playing at 162 last fall, with the ability to run it up inside and through tacklers in traffic. After starting Gaiser outside, CovCath was able to bring him back inside with great success.
As much as the offense mattered, the defensive play of the game for CovCath had to be the interception that linebacker Brandon Smith, just a freshman, made in the third quarter off Beechwood QB Emmett Queen, whose first two seasons were at CovCath, on a perfect drop at the 19 with CovCath leading, 21-14. Queen finished 17 of 28 for 207 yards passing with two interceptions.
Seven plays later, CovCath led, 28-14, and the rout was on.
“Why so quiet?” the Colonel Crazies asked again. Because by then, the Beechwood fans knew how this one was going to end. Juniors Fryman (99 receiving yards on five receptions with 43 rushing and a team-high seven tackles) and Nathan Pabst (75 rushing, 34 yards on would not be enough.
But it was his defense that had Beechwood coach Jay Volker shaking his head after the game. “Right now, we can’t get off blocks and make the play,” he said with a shake of his head. “We were poor on defense . . . and we’ve got to get in better shape.”
Against mismatched opponents in their own class, and players averaging just a couple of quarters a game coming into this one, “We have to figure out a way in practice” to get the guys in shape, Volker said. And back to another state title.
Practice was the postgame them for CovCath’s Eviston. It wasn’t so much playing the tough two opening games, it was how the Colonels reacted to those close losses in practice.
“That’s the big thing,” Eviston said he told his guys, “how we practice.”
“Consistency,” Gaiser said. That’s what the Class 4A Colonels are shooting for.
SCORING SUMMARY
COVCATH 7 14 0 21–42
BEECHWOOD 7 7 0 0—14
CovCath: Gaiser 2 run (Zembrodt kick good)
Beechwood: Fryman 60 pass from Queen (Mercer kick good)
Beechwood: Queen 1 run (Mercer kick good)
CovCath: Harney 3 run (Zembrodt kick good)
CovCath: Harney 71 run (Zembrodt kick good)
CovCath: Gaiser 2 run (Zembrodt kick good)
CovCath: Gaiser 24 run (Zembrodt kick good)
CovCath: Cogswell 66 run (Zembrodt kick good)
TEAM STATS COVCATH, BEECHWOOD
First Downs 22 16
Third Down Efficiency 1-3-33%, 2-10-20%
Fourth Down Efficiency 1-2-50%, 1-2-50%
Rushing Att-Yards-Avg 42-486-11.6, 23-148-6.4
Passing Att-Yards-Avg 7-44-11.0, 28-207-12.2
Pass Cmpt-Att-Int-% 4-7-1-57%, 17-28-2-61%
Tot Off Yards 530, 349
Sacks-Yards 2-6, 0-0
Penalties-Yards 3-32, 4-45
Fumbles-Lost 2-2, 1-0
Punts-LG-Avg 0-0-.0, 4-35-32.5
Field Goal Made-Att 0-0, 0-0
Touchdowns Tot-Run-Pass 6-6-0, 2-1-1
Possessions 10, 10
Total Plays 48, 51
Time of Poss 26:16, 21:44