The Tigers will be a very interesting team to watch this year. For the first time in quite a while, I am not exactly sure what to expect from them. I expect them to be good but how they will do it is what I am not sure about. This team just has a different feel about it from previous years, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

 

As to Mayfield, the only person saying they "should be scared" is a Mayfield fan so I am sure that comment was made with a high level of sarcasm. Probably because Mayfield fans feel that Beechwood gets hyped on here more than Mayfield does. As others posted above, Mayfield and Beechwood have a mutual respect for each other's program and they are always concerned about beating the other team. Despite Mayfield's winning streak over Beechwood, I am positive Beechwood enters every Mayfield game confident they will win and obviously Mayfield also has complete confidence they will win. Both teams are concerned about beating the other but neither team is scared or intimidated by the other.

 

Finally, as Phantom commented, on defense finding linebackers is going to be crucial. Perhaps that is part of the reason why I am not sure what this team will look like. Beechwood always seems to have a stud linebacker or two that you know is going to be all over the field making tackles. This year is a question mark there. The guy I keep thinking is going to come on at linebacker is Slusher. He really impressed me in what I saw of him.

So close, and yet so far. Following back to back state championships in 2007 and 2008, the Tigers have met an obstacle they have not been able to hurdle in the past 4 playoff seasons in the Mayfield Cardinals. Each of the past four seasons the Tigers have marched to their state semifinals meeting with the Cardinals, only to return to Ft. Mitchell each of those years one game short of another chance at state championship number 12. But this year, for the first time since those titles, the Cardinals are without their 4 year starting linebacker, running back and team leader – Jonathon Jackson. Could this finally be the year Beechwood gets back to a state championship game?

 

There is guarded optimism for the 2013 version of the Tigers. There are significant player losses but a large number of young, talented players are anxious to prove they can do the job. Max Nussbaum led the Tigers on both sides of the ball but he is moving on to Eastern Kentucky to continue his football career. Inspirational linebacker Colin Justice is headed to Thomas More. Starting linemen and N. Ky. All Stars Chad Evans, Corey Biddle, Taylor Overstreet and Dan Middendorf as well as talented two way player Chris Lightner all need to be replaced. However, the Beechwood program is one that reloads each year and the underclassmen are confident and ready.

 

A preview of the young talent came prematurely for Beechwood in last year’s playoffs when Coach Rash made the gutsy move of immediately starting a couple players from the Beechwood undefeated freshman team. The most significant of those was QB Kyle Fieger. Fieger started in his first varsity game in round one of the playoffs and made Coach Rash look very smart by throwing 5 TD passes. Fieger is a poised 3 sport star whose biggest asset in football may be his ability to read defenses and find their weakness. Fieger was joined in the starting playoff lineup by freshman end Brayden Combs. Combs is moving to tackle on the offensive side this year. At 6’5” 220 pounds he has the size and ability to be a standout and looks to build on the growing tradition of D1 linemen who have played for the Tigers. WR/LB Brett Slusher, RB/DB Ethan Stringer and FB/LB Ryan Bankemper are other freshmen who saw action in last year’s playoffs and have the Tiger faithful excited about the future.

 

It isn’t all about those super sophs. There are 12 returning players who have started games for the Tigers. Senior RB Mitch Thomas has patiently waited behind Nussbaum. Thomas has proven he can do the job, rushing for 760 yards and 9 TD’s in 2012 with a 7.5 yard per carry average. Fieger should have some fast and proven targets in returning starting senior receiver Max Shover and junior Joe Studer. Senior Jalen Hayden is another receiver who is poised for a breakout season. Another WR who could jump into the picture is Jr. Jeremy Burns, an outstanding lacrosse player who has excellent speed. Senior returning starter Luke Maricle leads the way on an offensive line that should average out at about 235 lb. Perhaps the biggest challenge, and even the key to this Tigers season, will be putting together a new offensive line with its only returning season long starter changing positions. OL coach and former Bengals lineman Darrick Brilz has a teaching challenge this season with all the new starters but he has proven he has an eye for talent and how to put a line together.

 

Defensively, the Tigers biggest challenge will be inserting new starters at inside linebacker. Sophomores Ryan Bankemper and Brett Slusher are talented possibilities with a nose for the ball. Newcomer Bret Finck has potential to find the starting lineup and Colton Kinman will also get considered. Outside backers Jack Talley and Devon Everett return as starters. The defensive line is led by Riley McKown who returns after an outstanding sophomore season. There are a number of strong candidates to help McKown on the d-line led by Trey Hicks, Jonathan Stokes and Combs. The defensive backfield includes returning starters at CB Shover and Thomas. New faces to keep an eye on here are Stringer, Jeremy Burns and Casey Erdman.

 

The schedule is tough as always. Five 4A or bigger schools and the two most recent 2A champions form the non district schedule. The annual rivalry games with Newport Central Catholic and Covington Catholic are the featured battles, with the Covington Catholic game being televised locally by Fox Sports. The Tigers added Franklin County to this year’s schedule.

 

It is a difficult season to predict. There is talent and the Beechwood coaching staff knows how to win. It will be interesting to see how they put the pieces in place and how quickly it all comes together. Will the Tiger offense take the air more this year with Fieger at the helm? There are a lot of good football players and the coaches have tough decisions in finding the best lineups, positions and playing time. It will be a work in progress. The Tigers should capture another district title and have to be favored to make it back to the state semifinals. That will likely lead to another road trip to Mayfield. Can the Tigers figure out a way to finally beat the Cardinals?

 

 

Leading players to watch:

 

QB Kyle Fieger (5’10”, 160 Soph.) – Fieger made quite an impression with his playoff performance last year. In those games he showed the potential to be a QB with passing talent not seen in quite some time in Ft. Mitchell. He has been very impressive in the 7 on 7’s showing the arm to throw the deep pass and the vision to find the open receiver. Fieger can also do damage running the ball if that is what the defense gives him.

 

RB Mitch Thomas (5’9” 185 Sr.) – Thomas has been a high performing breakaway threat at each level of his career at Beechwood. He has impressed when given the chance in varsity carries. With the injuries to backs in 2012, Thomas got a lot of carries and experience. The Tigers offense always has a strong feature back and Thomas is the heir apparent in 2013.

 

RB/DB Joe Studer (5’8” 160 Jr.) – Studer made a number of big plays receiving the ball in 2012 late in the season and in the playoffs. He may be the toughest Tiger pound for pound and has big play potential.

 

WR/LB Brett Slusher (6’1” 175 Soph.) – Slusher is impressive on both sides of the ball. He is a playmaker at WR and at LB he is one of those players who always seems to be right where the ball is.

 

LB/RB Jack Talley (5’10” 180 Jr.) - Talley showed flashes of his talent in his sophomore season as he learned while starting at outside backer. In 2013, the Tigers are looking for him to take another step up and become a key factor.

 

LB Bret Finck (5’10” 230 Jr.) – This is a new player to the Tigers roster in 2013. Good size along with speed to play LB, he looks like he could be tough for opponents to handle at his inside linebacker slot.

 

FB/LB Ryan Bankemper (5’11” 190 Soph.) – Bankemper is one of those throw back players who just loves to hit you. He could win a starting position at LB and will be a bruising FB when he gets reps on that side of the ball.

 

RB/DB Ethan Stringer (6’1” 185 Soph.) – Stringer is a physically gifted player who led the freshman team to an undefeated championship. He is a threat to score any time he carries the ball and will likely fill the key free safety position on defense.

 

DL/OL Riley McKown (6’2” 235 Jr.) – McKown made quite a splash winning a starting position on the DL as a sophomore. He is a quick and tough competitor and will be the leader on the DL for the Tigers.

 

OG Luke Maricle (6’1” 240 Sr.) – Last year Maricle started at tackle but will be moving over to guard in 2013. He has good pulling speed to lead the charge for the Beechwood running offense.

 

OL/DE Brayden Combs (6’5” 220 Soph.) – Combs stepped right into the starting lineup in the playoffs last year and will be counted on heavily on both sides of the ball in 2013. He is definitely a player to keep your eye on over the next few years.

 

OL/DE Trey Hicks (6’1” 200 Sr. ) – Hicks appeared set to start at DE last year before a knee injury sidelined him for the season. He has worked hard to get back and has the size, strength and speed to be a key addition on defense.

 

K Miles Sletto – Sletto showed an accurate and strong leg in 2012. He should be a valuable player putting kickoffs into the end zone and a consistent field goal threat.

 

Other names to watch for: Sr. DB/WR Devon Everett 6’1” 175; Sr. WR/DB Jalen Hayden 5’9” 150; Jr. DE/TE Jonathan Stokes 6’2” 205; Sr. WR/DB Carter Burns 6’ 165; Jr. WR/DB Jeremy Burns 5’10” 150

 

Is the Bret Finck mentioned above coming over from Conner?

Great write up EOT. I think your list of players to watch is indicative of what I have been saying for a while.. The Tigers are Deep. Other than QB, I don't believe there isn't a place in the "skilled postitions" where the Tigers couldn't survive multiple injuries. There are some studs for sure, but at both WR and RB postiions, they have multiple players with the ability to change a game. Although you mentioned him, I think Joe Studer is the most underated player at BW. Totally agree with your "Pound-for-Pound" statement. As you pointed out, he made some real key contributions last year. If the Tiger coaches want to beat Mayfield, then they better stop keying on a 2 or 3 individuals. There are no Max Nussbaums. Slusher will get there, but for now, there are NO players who can put the team on their back. This is the year that they can and should keep 6 or 7 fresh horses on the offensive side of the ball at all times. In Class A ball, it's hard to wear out 15 skilled players sharing equal time on Offense when you have most players playing both ways. They need to mix it up better. Unfortunately, I haven't seen that in a long time. Thye need to use all 5 or 6 backs and 6 WRs equally and throw underneath more. Using them less on offense also makes sure they are fresh for defense. I HUGE advantage in Small School Football and something that Yeagle was a master at.

 

Since I didn't see him in the list specifically, I wanted to point out that Max Shover is a definite player to watch. A quiet contributor last year and I think it only grows this year. IMO, he is the Best Receiver. Love Slusher's potential, but I saw Shover catch balls last year that looked like he was climbing a ladder to get to. He is 2 or 3 inches shorter than most DBs and he still manages to get above them to make plays. He can flat out fly, but he doesn't need to be wide open to make play.

 

With Fieger at QB, I am very excited about the entire WR crew. A great mixture of Speed and Hands. I'm looking forward to seeing how Hayden improves and also what Slusher adds. I also want to see the Burns brothers get the opportunity to make some plays. From the practice I saw, I believe the younger brother is the fastest kid on the team. I saw a defensive practice and the tall one (#11) was running Scout Team offense against the 1st Team D. He and Fieger connected multiple times. btw... If he's only 6' (above) then Beechwood has very few players over 6 foot. I remember thinking he was pretty tall in the playoffs last year and if they could get some height on his Vertical jump he would be hard to stop with Fieger at QB.

 

Looking forward to the season. Hopefully I will make it to a few more regular season games than I did last year. Can't wait to watch them pull it all together.

Is the Bret Finck mentioned above coming over from Conner?

 

Yes.

While I certainly hope BW finally turns the tables on Mayfield, given their success on the field I can't see Mayfield ever finding anything scary about the Tigers.

 

Definitely Agree. We have heard this before and until the Coaches put the "team" together and have them play together, then the Cards can rest comfortably. Heck, last year I watched the tigers pounce on the Cards early and they still didn't look scared. Beechwood had the lead, yet it was Mayfield who looked comfortable and confident. That's why they are the Champions.

 

In this thread I only saw a MF person mention "Scared", but while at practice last week I overheard some parents talking and I wanted to say something. Everytime we have had a great freshman team, the next year, those parents think that there has never been a BW team like the current. Words something to the effect of "Mayfield has never seen this kind of skill" Give me an f'ing break. Not only have they "seen it" they have beaten it. Multiple times!

 

When will they learn that Skill is only part of a winning formula. IMO, its actually not the most important part when you are talking High School Football.

Is the Bret Finck mentioned above coming over from Conner?

 

Yes.

 

He is a Fireplug. If he's playing, he must have moved into the district. Otherwise, wouldn't he have had sit out a year?

The Tigers will be a very interesting team to watch this year. For the first time in quite a while, I am not exactly sure what to expect from them. I expect them to be good but how they will do it is what I am not sure about. This team just has a different feel about it from previous years, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

 

As to Mayfield, the only person saying they "should be scared" is a Mayfield fan so I am sure that comment was made with a high level of sarcasm. Probably because Mayfield fans feel that Beechwood gets hyped on here more than Mayfield does. As others posted above, Mayfield and Beechwood have a mutual respect for each other's program and they are always concerned about beating the other team. Despite Mayfield's winning streak over Beechwood, I am positive Beechwood enters every Mayfield game confident they will win and obviously Mayfield also has complete confidence they will win. Both teams are concerned about beating the other but neither team is scared or intimidated by the other.

 

Finally, as Phantom commented, on defense finding linebackers is going to be crucial. Perhaps that is part of the reason why I am not sure what this team will look like. Beechwood always seems to have a stud linebacker or two that you know is going to be all over the field making tackles. This year is a question mark there. The guy I keep thinking is going to come on at linebacker is Slusher. He really impressed me in what I saw of him.

I think Slusher and Bankamper both have the potential to be solid at LB, my only fear is that they are both Sophs and there is a big jump in athleticism from freshmen to varsity and I wonder about Slushers size, he has the height, but not a lot of weight to bring it. I think they will be more than fine at that position at about week 4 or 5, they just have to see what combination or rotation works to their advantage. One thing I think that will definitely help the LB's is the talent on the defensive line, I see McKown, Etler, Hamilton and Mahorney anchoring the interior and they have at least 5 DE's that can rotate so they will have fresh legs on almost every series of downs.

As someone else posted this team is deep on talent, so I think it gives coach Rash an opportunity to spell kids to keep them fresh, a luxury they did not have last year, I think we are going to start seeing the seeds of back to back undefeated freshmen teams start to bear fruit, if nothing else I think they will be fun to watch.

Thank you to Lawnboy for the correction on the holy day that is moving the New Cath game to Saturday.

 

JustSome Guy ... thank you for pointing out the oversight in my article of not listing Max Shover individually. He should have been listed as a player to watch. Sorry about not including him there but here is more info on him.

 

WR/CB Max Shover - Max is senior who started on both sides of the ball last season and brings experience, talent and leadership to the 2013 Tigers. Max was recently voted one of the team captains so his teammates clearly look up to him. Max is the leading returning receiver and was Beechwood's best corner last year. He is set to have a big season on both sides of the ball.

Thank you to Lawnboy for the correction on the holy day that is moving the New Cath game to Saturday.

 

JustSome Guy ... thank you for pointing out the oversight in my article of not listing Max Shover individually. He should have been listed as a player to watch. Sorry about not including him there but here is more info on him.

 

WR/CB Max Shover - Max is senior who started on both sides of the ball last season and brings experience, talent and leadership to the 2013 Tigers. Max was recently voted one of the team captains so his teammates clearly look up to him. Max is the leading returning receiver and was Beechwood's best corner last year. He is set to have a big season on both sides of the ball.

 

Please be clear, there is no criticism in my post. I think your article was great and very accurate. Also, I am in no way affiliated with Max. Just a kid that I liked to watch last year and like you said, he should be one to watch.

Please be clear, there is no criticism in my post. I think your article was great and very accurate. Also, I am in no way affiliated with Max. Just a kid that I liked to watch last year and like you said, he should be one to watch.

 

I understand. Max should have been in my players to watch list. I appreciate you bringing it to my attention.

The real questions are at 3 spots from what I have seen. First is the offensive line, a new group that will have to face the veteran line MF returns, if they both make it that far, and that will be a tall task. 2.The development of a young qb who shows promise but as of the end of last season still has a long way to go. 3. Rash and staff, will they ever be willing to diversify? Just like your stocks, football teams in this day and age need to do it. My guess is no or he would have done so years before now but maybe his decision to start the freshman qb in the playoffs was a sign of change. Bw lost Nussenbaum (if I misspelled it I don't care, you know who I mean) who can't be replaced by anyone player but I think Bw is fine in that reguard as they always seem to find a stud that steps up. Good luck to the Tigers, I will be pulling for you in hopes we can both advance for another semi final matchup. That has become fun with both sides having a good fan base to mix it up with. If it works out that they play I want to bring VOR in early to enjoy the pregame big game roast

The TIgers are loaded at the skill positions...plain and simple. It is the line that will determine if they finally bring the trophy back to NKY (where it belongs ) or fall to Mayfield again in the semi's, Unlike year's past, Beechwood has the size, skill, speed, and athleticism to match up with Mayfield at the skill positions this year.

 

Outside of Mayfield, there isn't a team in the state in 1A that poses a threat to Beechwood...IMO, of course. Game against Conner should be a good barometer to how good this team really is right now.

The TIgers are loaded at the skill positions...plain and simple. It is the line that will determine if they finally bring the trophy back to NKY (where it belongs ) or fall to Mayfield again in the semi's, Unlike year's past, Beechwood has the size, skill, speed, and athleticism to match up with Mayfield at the skill positions this year.

 

Outside of Mayfield, there isn't a team in the state in 1A that poses a threat to Beechwood...IMO, of course. Game against Conner should be a good barometer to how good this team really is right now.

 

Bw is at a big disadvantage upfront with the Cards returning the entire O and D lines from last year that dominated Bw's. The QB difference is night and day in favor of the Cards and the receiving core deep. Bw may match the running backs but that would be about it. I see little in the way of advantage for the Tigers. You say the same thing every year and I do love your devotion to all teams NKY and Bw but you really should take off those Bw glasses and look around at the real world.

Bw is at a big disadvantage upfront with the Cards returning the entire O and D lines from last year that dominated Bw's. The QB difference is night and day in favor of the Cards and the receiving core deep. Bw may match the running backs but that would be about it. I see little in the way of advantage for the Tigers. You say the same thing every year and I do love your devotion to all teams NKY and Bw but you really should take off those Bw glasses and look around at the real world.

 

I agree the line play this year will be a key issue.

 

I disagree that your line dominated BW's last year. Let's not forget BW was leading 14-7 when Jackson scored just before half, and BW had fumbled away the ball with 1st and goal in the first half. There also is this halftime quote from none other than yourself:

 

So far Bw is better

 

Yes, it got ugly in the 3rd quarter ... two 3 and outs by BW, a 61 yard run by Jackson that led to a score and another long drive by Mayfield. Beechwood's offensive line had no major problems with Mayfield's defensive line last year. I also would say Mayfield's offensive line had no major problems with BW's defensive line.

 

Looking at this year, I think BW's defensive line will be stronger this year than last - more depth, more speed, more talent to mix up the fronts. I agree they have a big challenge versus Mayfield's offensive line but the potential is there for BW's defensive line to actually show better this year despite Mayfield's returning experience.

 

I also will agree with your comment about people up here wearing BW colored glasses. As I have said before, people in N. Ky. underestimate Mayfield. They need to put Mayfield on a level between New Cath and Cov Cath when they think about them. That is the challenge Beechwood faces versus Mayfield.

Bw is at a big disadvantage upfront with the Cards returning the entire O and D lines from last year that dominated Bw's. The QB difference is night and day in favor of the Cards and the receiving core deep. Bw may match the running backs but that would be about it. I see little in the way of advantage for the Tigers. You say the same thing every year and I do love your devotion to all teams NKY and Bw but you really should take off those Bw glasses and look around at the real world.

 

In defense of Walter, he talks about being able to matchup with MF. The words of dominance, advantages and disadvantages are put out there by you. Also, Walter makes sure he gives MF plenty of credibility, and rightfully so, so maybe one of the lenses on his glasses has a little cardinal on it. I realize MF has had it over BW the last 4 years and kudos for doing so but please do not make out a fan with an opinion to be the village idiot.