I caught up with Coach Noel Rash the head coach of the defending Class A state champion Beechwood Tigers as they prepare to face the #1 Ranked Highlands Bluebirds this friday night at Edgar McNabb Field in Fort Mitchell.
1. What are some of your strengths this season?
We have good speed and experience at the skill positions.
2. How important is a kid like Joe Colosimo to your team at this point in the season?
Anytime you have special athlete they are always important, but even more important in a single A school where the depth is less in comparison to the 5A and 6A schools we are playing. The most important thing I want from my experienced players is “leadership when adversity strikes”. Time will tell how we handle this opening loss.
3. How is Zach Larimore feeling and will he be in pads playing this week?
Zach has been sick on top of his injury this week. He will see very little action come this Friday. We are hoping for about 10-15 plays and that is best case scenario. Our focus with Zach is he is healthy, conditioned and primed for the district and playoffs.
4. You stepped into a great situation at Beechwood and expectations yearly are to win a State Championship. Preparing to win the Class A state championship starts by scheduling bigger schools and playing a tough schedule. With last week's loss to Dixie how have the kids reacted in practice this week knowing they are facing the #1 Ranked Bluebirds of Highlands?
I have been very impressed with their attitudes and drive to get better this week. The problem is simple. I did not prepare my team to play last week and you couple that with a very talented and driven Dixie team and you get a 47-7 result. I have to do a better job of preparing our kids and we made some strides this week. As far as Highlands goes, our kids will line up and play their butts off. I would say our kids are more anxious than nervous. They have something to prove after last week and it may or may not be the best thing having to face a great team in Highlands. We (coaching staff) will make sure it is a positive no matter the outcome.
The whole point of this schedule is to find your weaknesses, get better and march into district play. We (coaching staff) fully understand both the positive and negative ramifications of scrimmaging and playing Conner, Boone, Dixie, Highlands, Holy Cross and Cov. Cath to start your season. The most important aspect is experiencing adversity in all of its colors and learning not only how to handle it, but how to feed off of that.
5. You have a very fine group of sophomores who won the Freshman championship last season over the Bluebirds. How have they stepped up this season and have any of those kids earned starting positions?
They are a fantastic group of young men who love this game. I am very pleased with their progress and yes some have made the transition to varsity football more easily than others. The main reason is physical maturity more than talent when you are trying to get a 15 year old to have success against 18 year olds. They understand their mission is to do everything in their power to get this year’s senior class and the 2009 Beechwood Football team a ring.
I'd like to wish Coach Rash the best of luck tomorrow night and this season in their quest for another State Championship Victory.
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