Topic: Football
Hazard vs. Beechwood
Class 1A Championship Russell Athletic/KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl
Houchens/LT Smith WKU
Bowling Green, KY
December 2, 2016
© 2016 by Ron Harrison
Beechwood’s Trevor Soward scored on a one yard run and Daniel Mescher added the conversion kick mid way through the final quarter and the defense intercepted two passes in Hazard’s last three drives to earn a 21-14 victory. Coach Noel Rash’s Beechwood squad finishes the season at 14-1 while Hazard coached by Mark Dixon finishes the season at 1-3. Beechwood recorded 12 first downs and 245 yards of total offense. The Tigers were penalized three times for 50 yards and lost one fumble. Hazard recorded 14 first downs and 233 yards of total offense. The Bulldogs were penalized five times for 39 yards and had two passes intercepted.
Aiden Justice led Beechwood’s ground game with 33 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. James Davis carried the ball seven times for 26 yards. Trevor Soward carried the ball five times for only six yards but he scored twice on one yard touchdown runs. Brayden Burch completed 16 of 26 passes for 162 yards. Garrett Ratliff caught four passes for 39 yards. James Davis also caught four passes for 36 yards. Aiden Justice added three receptions for 22 yards. Daniel Mescher caught two passes for 50 yards. Harrison Heist led the defense with six solo and four assisted tackles. Trevor Soward added five solo and four assisted tackles and intercepted a pass. Lucas Benson recorded four solo and one assisted tackles. Austin Combs added three solo and one assisted tackles and intercepted a pass.
Cory Smith led Hazard’s ground game with 128 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. Bailey Blair completed eight of 15 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. Jason Johnson caught three passes for 27 yards. Braxton Whitaker added three receptions for 20 yards and a touchdown. Reese Fletcher caught one pass for 18 yards. Braxton Whitaker led the defense with six solo and four assisted tackles. Austin Smith added seven solo tackles. Cheikh Ndiaye and Isaiah Stupart each recorded four solo and one assisted tackles. Austin Combs recorded three solo and one assisted tackles with 1.5 of his tackles resulting in losses totaling five yards and intercepted a pass.
Scoring Summary
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Hazard | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Beechwood | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| HAZARD | - | Cory Smith 7 yard run (Tyler Collins kick) |
| BEECHWOOD | - | Aiden Justice 17 yard run (Daniel Mescher kick) |
| BEECHWOOD | - | Trevor Soward 1 yard run (Daniel Mescher kick) |
| HAZARD | - | Braxton Whitaker 9 yard pass from Bailey Blair (Tyler Collins kick) |
| BEECHWOOD | - | Trevor Soward 1 yard run (Daniel Mescher kick) |
Selected Statistics
| Hazard | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Cory Smith | 29 | 128 | 4.4 | 28 |
| Bailey Blair | 6 | 16 | 2.7 | 7 |
| Reese Fletcher | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 7 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Bailey Blair | 15-8-2 | 74 | 1 | 18 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Jason Johnson | 3 | 27 | 0 | 15 |
| Braxton Whitaker | 3 | 20 | 1 | 9 |
| Reese Fletcher | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| Ethan Caldwell | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
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| Beechwood | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Aiden Justice | 11 | 33 | 3.0 | 17 |
| James Davis | 7 | 26 | 3.7 | 7 |
| Brayden Burch | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 6 |
| Logan Castleman | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 10 |
| Trevor Soward | 5 | 6 | 1.2 | 5 |
| Team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Harrison Heist | 1 | -4 | -4.0 | 0 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Brayden Burch | 26-16-0 | 162 | 0 | 41 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Garrett Ratliff | 4 | 39 | 0 | 16 |
| James Davis | 4 | 36 | 0 | 14 |
| Aiden Justice | 3 | 22 | 0 | 17 |
| Daniel Mescher | 2 | 50 | 0 | 41 |
| Logan Castleman | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Trevor Soward | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to WL Stats and the KHSAA for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's games.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the event, teams, or players to me at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.