Kentucky Football

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Preview: Beechwood at Frankfort

By Dan Clasgens | Managing Editor

The Beechwood Tigers have long been a state power in Class 1A, but in each of the past two seasons they have not made it out of November and to the state championship game. Winners of eight straight games, the Tigers appear to be on the verge of a return to prominence.

In order to get to Bowling Green they must first get two more wins and both must come on the road. The journey begins on Friday night with a trip to Frankfort to battle a Panthers’ team that scored three touchdowns to overcome a 21-6, fourth-quarter deficit versus Bellevue to advance.

We take a deeper look at the Class 1A state quarterfinal matchup:

BEECWHOOD TIGERS (11-1) AT FRANKFORT PANTHERS (7-5)
Site: Frankfort High School
Kickoff: Friday, November 18th at 7:30 P.M.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Max Nussbaum has excelled since taking over at quarterback for the Tigers late in the regular season. Over the team’s last three games junior has rushed for 341 yards and six touchdowns on just 24 carries in limited action. Senior Cameron Vocke enters the matchup just 82 rushing yards shy of a 2000-yard season. Beechwood’s successful ground attack begins up front, where Darrick Brilz anchors one of Northern Kentucky’s best offensive lines. The Panthers have playmaker in the backfield as well with running back Kaleb Leach, who scored three touchdowns in last week’s come-from-behind win. Underclassmen Jalen Washington stars on both sides of the ball, playing both wide receiver and defensive back.

TEAM TRENDS: During the team’s recent eight-game winning streak eight or fewer points four times, including two shutouts. The Tigers average 316 yards per game on the ground but only yield 118 rushing yards per game to their opponents. Frankfort allows 21 points per game on the season, but they have only allowed one opponent to surpass that mark over their past six games. This is the fourth time over the past five seasons these two teams have met. The previous three meetings were all at Frankfort as well and Beechwood won all three matchups by a combined score of 136-62.

BEECHWOOD’S KEYS TO VICTORY: Noel Rash must keep his team from looking past this matchup and towards a potential meeting with Mayfield, the team that has ended their season each of the past two years. Jumping out of the gate quickly will work to the Tigers’ favor. Despite coming back last week, the Panthers showed they are not in their comfort zone when forced to pass. Playing clean football is important and limiting penalties and turnovers will force Frankfort to earn everything they get.

FRANKFORT’S KEYS TO VICTORY: If Craig Foley is to devise a game plan to slow down Beechwood’s rushing attack it needs to start by containing the edges and preventing the Tigers from breaking big plays. The opportunistic defense needs to create turnovers and come up with some big plays. Moving the chains on offense may be the Panthers’ best defense. Picking up positive yards on first down will help limit third-and-long situations. Frankfort needs to get some early momentum to get the home crowd into the game and to help boost their confidence.

BEECHWOOD 41, FRANFORT 20

Dan Clasgens is a co-founder of TSF and serves as the President/Director of Media & Content for our parent company, GetSports Enterprises LLC. In addition to nearly a decade of experience in covering local high school football, Dan is a widely recognized as a fantasy football guru. He is both a local and national radio personality, including hosting a weekly show on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio.  If you are interested in covering your team, please CONTACT US.

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