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Beechwood 35 Ryle 23 Frosh Championship

katbird

By katbird
in KY Football (High School)

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Voice of Reason

Voice of Reason

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Here are your game details.

 

The game opened with a bang. Beechwood's Brett Slusher returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a TD. German's extra point was good and it was 7-0 Beechwood 14 seconds into the game. Ryle went 3 and out on their first drive. The Tigers offense put points on the board in their first drive. QB Kyle Fieger scrambled on a 3rd and 17 play for a 47 yard TD, making several nice cuts on his way into the end zone. With 3:02 left in the 1st quarter the Tigers were ahead 14-0. Ryle responded with a drive that extended into the 2nd quarter.

 

However, early in the 2nd quarter, the Tigers' Ryan Bankemper intercepted a pass at the 30 and returned it all the way to the other 28. Just 2 plays later RB Ethan Stringer showed his speed with an explosive run off the right edge and 23 yards later he was in the end zone with another Tiger TD. With 7:26 to go in the half the Tigers led 21-0. Ryle kept trying to run the ball but the Tigers defense stuffed them again, 3 and out. Beechwood's offense was in high gear and their next drive produced another TD on a 31 yard screen pass from Fieger to Stringer, 28-0 Tigers with 2:20 to go. Ryle had little time to work with so they put it in the air. The passing offense worked as QB Tanner Morgan hit Conner Brossart on a very nice slant pass for a 25 yard TD. AJ Bouvin added the extra point and the Raiders showed some life, making it 28-7 with just 45 seconds to go. The Tigers offense went to the passing game and came right back on the Raiders. Fieger hit Slusher on a long completion to get the ball inside the 10 and then Fieger completed a 5 yard TD pass to Bankemper with 6 seconds to go. Your half time score was 35-7 Tigers and it looked ugly for the Raiders.

 

Ryle showed in the second half why they were in this game. Eric Wright returned the second half kickoff 90+ yards and 16 seconds into the second half the Raiders had some momentum with the score now 35-14. A squib kick almost was recovered by the Raiders when it bounced off a Tigers front lineman's helmet. The Tigers had good field position at the 50 but could do nothing with it and had to punt for the first time in the game. The Tigers controlled Ryle's RB Collin England very well in the first half so the Raiders moved England to the slot receiver position and went to the passing game. The Tigers were matching Stringer up on England so it opened up the middle for the Raiders as well with Mitch Bateman making some nice runs throughout the second half. The Raiders used the passing game to move down field but the Tigers defense toughened and stopped the Raiders on downs at the 23. There was 4:43 left in the 3rd quarter and the Tigers went into true Beechwood Tiger team mode. They started running the ball on every play and the Raiders weren't able to stop them.

 

That drive lasted into the 4th quarter, going 10 minutes as the Tigers burnt clock and moved down field. But the Raiders weren't done yet. They stopped the Tigers on downs at the 17 when a TD pass was dropped on 4th down by the Tigers. The Raiders had dropped a couple TD receptions of their own earlier in the game so I am sure the Raiders felt things were evening out. The Raiders used key pass plays mixed with dive runs by Bateman to again move the ball well against the Tigers. With 2:26 to go Bateman scored on a 12 yard run and it was 35-21. The Raiders only had one time out left so all the Tigers had to do was cover the onside kick and the game would be over. For some reason the Tigers did not pull their second line up close and the Raiders executed a perfect onside kick with Wright making a diving grab of the ball just before it went out of bounds. The Raiders still had a chance. They again used the pass with occasional run to move the ball. But Kyle Fieger intercepted a pass at the 13 and that ended the Raiders' hopes. The Tigers ran out the clock with Brett Slusher running the final 4 seconds off the clock from punt formation on 4th down in the end zone and taking the safety. Final score Tigers 35 Raiders 23.

 

From the games I saw, these were the two best freshman teams. Ryle has a lot of good athletes and good size. They should have a lot of success over the next 3 years.

 

The Tigers are a talented, complete team. It is one of the best freshman offenses I have ever seen. They had a speed RB with size in Stringer, a very strong inside runner in Bankemper, an excellent WR in Slusher, a mutli talented receiver/blocker/runner in Combs and a very good QB in Fieger who can hurt you with the pass and the run. They scored 31 or more in every game this season. Congratulations to the Tigers on an undefeated freshman season!

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Voice of Reason

Voice of Reason

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Congratulations to the Tigers. An impressive two years for a number of those boys who played freshman ball last year as 8th graders. Their only loss in two years was to the 65 man Moeller team last season. It sounds like the Tigers won in impressive fashion, controlling the game from the beginning. Kudos to the Ryle Raiders on an excellent season and fighting till the end.

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Geek61

Geek61

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Stringer is going to be fun to watch. Will he get any Varsity minutes now that Freshman football is over?

 

Barring injury, I wouln't think so. They will move up as is tradition and he will play some minutes in the first playoff games. The Varsity is not wanting for Good Running Backs. He is more hard-nosed than I thought he was. I think last night was the first time he was consistently hit hard. I now believe that he can easily move into a Varsity role if needed.

 

He's a great runner for sure and he made some nice cuts last night, but I still believe this Team is far more than Stringer. 4 different players scored for Beechwood last night. The depth of Talent is the reason they are so good and nobody can touch them.

 

One place I think the varsity can use someone now is in the Tight-end spot. Combs could definitely step in a the Varsity Level. I wouldn't mind seeing that.

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Voice of Reason

Voice of Reason

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I think a couple of the freshmen might see some time on special teams. Any time you can get more speed on the field it is good. Stringer and or Slusher might get worked in on the return teams and coverage teams because of their speed. I doubt you will see any freshmen getting time on defense, but maybe there is an outside shot at corner or safety in passing situations? Again, more speed helps. Same thing on offense. Maybe at receiver on certain plays. If any freshmen are to get playing time beyond special teams, I think Slusher is the best bet to get playing time from the freshman team because of the position he plays.

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Bluesport

Bluesport

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Significany minutes on the varsity? If that is your question it has pretty well been established in a few threads that no Beechwood freshmen play any varsity minutes.

 

 

No, I meant how many kids saw significant minutes on the frosh level? Are there lots of 2 way players? Just curious about depth.

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