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Preview: Beechwood at CovCath

Beechwood QB Cam Hergott (photo by Dan Bieneke/TriStateFootball.com)

It is a night of football royalty as Blitz 5 Game of the Week takes us to Covington Catholic where Beechwood will take the short bus ride from Edgewood over the Dixie Highway overpass atop I-71/75 and into Park Hills. There are 22 state titles between the two schools (Beechwood -14, Covington Catholic – eight). Nine of those championships have come since 2004.

The seventh-ranked team in the Blitz 5 Top 25, Covington Catholic wasn’t very crisp in their opener and looked vulnerable at times against Dixie Heights. How they progress from Week 1 to Week 2 should be a good barometer as to whether or not the Colonels have what it takes to make it to another state finals. 

The Beechwood seniors are tested and savvy. They have been through the wars. They are very capable of knocking off a bigger Covington Catholic squad. The Tigers must play flawlessly and that is not out of the question for this veteran group.

BEECHWOOD TIGERS (1-0) at #7 COVINGTON CATHOLIC COLONELS (1-0)
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m.
Wooten Field at Dennis Griffin Stadium
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PLAYERS TO WATCH: This battle features the best two quarterbacks in Northern Kentucky. Both are very similar when it comes to their on-field accomplishments.

Beechwood senior QB Cam Hergott is a dual threat. He amassed 304 yards (172 passing, 132 rushing) of total offense and had his 20th career rushing touchdown in an opening week win at Corbin. Hergott is 8-1 as a starter in the playoffs which includes helping guide the Tigers to the Kentucky Class 1A state title in 2018 as a sophomore. He has tallied 3,919 yards through the air, rushed for 1,430 yards and thrown 39 touchdown passes in a Tigers’ uniform.

Colonels’ senior QB Caleb Jacob is 9-1 as a starter in the postseason which includes helping lead Covington Catholic to the 2019 Kentucky Class 5A state championship and a state runner-up finish in 2018. For his career, Jacob is 30-1 as a starter. He has thrown for 5,753 yards with 62 touchdown passes and only 17 interceptions.

Covington Catholic QB Caleb Jacob (photo by Dan Bieneke/TriStateFootball.com)

Beechwood senior RB/DB Cole Stammer along with juniors RB Avery Courtney, WR/DB Parker Mason and WR/DB Brady Moore bring potent one-two punches out of the backfield and at receiver. Courtney and Stammer combined to run for 957 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago. Mason and Moore combined for 65 receptions for 832 yards and 11 touchdown catches in 2019.

Jacob’s top target is classmate WR Ethan Reardon. A First-Team All-NKY selection as a junior, Reardon caught his 10th career touchdown pass in the opener. Senior RB Owen Nally gets his shot at being the Colonels featured back.

TEAM TRENDS: Since this series rekindled its flame back in 2003, Covington Catholic is 14-3 overall. They are winners in 10 of the last 11 tilts, including five straight victories over the Tigers. The Colonels have won 45 of their last 46 games. They have won 31 straight regular-season contests and 25 in a row at home (dating back to November 4th, 2016).

In the last 19 years, Beechwood has been to the state championship game nine times. The Tigers are 6-3 in those affairs. 

BEECHWOOD’S KEYS TO VICTORY: Establish the tempo for the game in the first couple of offensive possessions. Get on top early and make the Colonels play from behind, something they are not accustomed to doing. Someone other than Hergott needs to step up at the skill positions. It can’t be a one-man show on offense. 

COVINGTON CATHOLIC’S KEYS TO VICTORY: The Colonels’ offensive line will be a huge factor in the outcome of this affair. They must get the run game going and do a better job in pass protection than they did against Dixie Heights in Week 1. The defense must get off the field in fewer downs than it did last week. If they don’t, Hergott will be a load to handle in the second half.

Prediction: Covington Catholic 28, Beechwood 14

 

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