Final

Congrats to Beechwood on the win, the Tigers just kep rolling. What a tradition and program you have. :notworthy:

What a game from Sophomore Cameron Vocke! This kid is a stud and will be an even bigger stud as he gets older. Congrats Beechwood, and congrats Bellevue on a great season.

Cameron Vocke is the real deal.. He should be in the top 2 or 3 in rushing next year in NKY..

Congrats Beechwood

Congrats to Beechwood on the win, the Tigers just kep rolling. What a tradition and program you have. :notworthy:

 

So true. Players get hurt, Coach Rash plugs in the next guy and the program rolls on. Starting RB/LB Colosimo is hurt and can't play. Rash puts in sophomore Vocke at RB and freshman Nussbaum at LB and they don't miss a beat.

So Bellevue fans, do you still think I was crazy for saying immediately after the first game that I thought Beechwood would win by 3 touchdowns or more in the rematch? I know I got a lot of people angry at me for saying that, but as we seen here it was true. Bellevue had a great team this year and IMO was one of the top 5 in the state this season. However Beechwood as usual was just still a step above.

 

So congrats to Beechwood on the win. Also congrats to Bellevue on a GREAT SEASON. You all were one of the best in the state this year. Its really to bad the state don't get to see this more. Any time someone else in the district has a very good squad, no one really gets to see it much still just because we are in a district that has one of the top teams in the state every year. Coach Eckstein and staff did a great job with the team this year, and wow Buckler this year was just amazing. There is a lot of stuff to be proud of for this season, even though I am sure people are down tonight. When you all look back on it, you all will be proud of how well you all did.

Who's next for Beechwood?

at Mayfield

Mayfield is next.

Thanks to both of you.:thumb:

First of all, congratulations to the Bellevue Tigers on a great season by a great team. Ricky Buckler is a tremendous back who gets the accolades but this Bellevue team has a lot of very good football players. It was an excellent season for the Bellevue team.

 

As to the Beechwood Tigers, Beechwood's defense is clicking on all cylinders. It has been a work in progress for Coach Rash as he moved players around, tweaked here and there, moved in some new players .... but he has worked his magic again. Coach Rash is one of the best defensive minds in the state and he has the Tigers ready for the challenge as they enter the final four. The Beechwood defense dominated this game. They completely bottled Buckler up. Yes, he got his yards but when you carry the ball as many times as he does, you will get yards. And I would guess 50 of his yards came in Bellevue's 4th quarter TD drive when Beechwood went to a prevent defense and gave up the 5 yards at a time carries but made sure no big plays happened. Take away that one quarter against NCC and in their last nine games, Beechwood's first team defense has allowed 2 TD's (both by Buckler by the way). Think about that - 2 TD's in nine games and that includes 3 playoff games. Beechwood's defense is ready. They have met the challenge of facing teams with big lines. And their speed is tremendous. I can't wait to see them match up with Mayfield. It should be a great one.

First of all Congrats to the Beechwood Tigers and I hope they advance and make NKY proud with a 14th State Championship. Also congrats to Coach Eckstein and the Bellevue Tigers. You all have made the community very proud and showed everyone around the state that you are a very good football team.

 

As far as the game last night, the opening drive for Beechwood was an indication as to how the night would play out. The line was blowing Bellevue off the ball and they were gaining chunks of yardage very easily. Scoring that easily was very alarming to me and I knew it would be a fast track but I was amazed at the overall team speed. The Beechwood receivers were blocking downfield, the lineman were getting good surge, just an overall awesome opening drive.

 

I was hoping Bellevue would match them and score but when their opening drive stalled it showed the Beechwood defense showed up. Hegge made an outstanding pick 6 for the Tigers which gave me hope. However, allowing Vocke to go 69 yrds on one play from scrimmage immediately after the Pick 6 was deflating for Bellevue. Give Vocke all the credit in the world as he has swivel hips, tremendous balance and a nasty stiff arm. He plays like a kid who absolutely wants to get to the goal line on every carry.

 

Bellevue hung tough in the 1st half not really letting it get away until they made a really bad call IMO by going for it on 4th and 6 instead of punting. They should have pinned the Beechies back and allowed the defense to hold out the last minute. No, they go for it and do not convert and give Beechwood decent field position. Then it happened, the deep pass to Maus for 6. How do you allow a receiver to get behind the defense with 30 seconds left in the half? Ever heard of Prevent Defense, 3 Deep? That was the dagger, instead of going into the locker room down 21-7 knowing you get the ball to start the 2nd half and could possibly cut it to one score you go in down 28-7.

 

IMO it would have been better for Joe Colosimo to be in the lineup for Bellevue as he would not have burned them on so many long runs and he doesnt pose the elusiveness that Vocke does when he gets the pigskin.

 

Rigdon was very good last night also, his long TD run was very impressive. I knew he was going to be a dandy when I watched him play against Highlands early in the year.

 

In conclusion, Ricky Buckler should definitely get All State recognition IMO not just because he put up ridiculous career numbers and SR season numbers. I think he deserves it because he is an undersized football player who takes punishing hits but shows mental and physical toughness like no other. He is an excellent defender as well and is a true team leader. He scored over 500 career points and ran for over 5,300 yards in his career and that is no small feat. I honestly don't see anyone in the near future topping those numbers. Congrats to him and the rest of his teammates for bringing pride to the program once again and wish him the best of luck in the future.

Congratulations to Beechwood.

Congrats to Beechwood on continuing their excellence in Class A as you are not the two time defending champs and not be a great team. Congrats to Bellevue on a great season as well you just ran into a monster in the Tigers from Beechwood.

 

Mayfield and Beechwood have played two classic games in the past and Friday night's game should be no different...as both teams have Offensive lines that can open up big holes for their respected backs and both teams have tremendous speed, and outstanding coaching staffs who will have their teams ready to play.

 

Good luck to all the Beechwood fans and players making the trip to Mayfield Friday for the game Friday night...should be a classic battle with two of the most respected programs in the state!!!