Beechwood takes a 6-0 record and a 292-45 scoring margin into its toughest Class 2A, District 5 game of the season Friday, Oct. 9 at St. Henry.

Kickoff is 7 p.m.

The Tigers, ranked No. 14 in the Blitz 5 Top 25 and No. 1 in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) Class 2A RPI ratings, are 2-0 in district play after dismantling Walton-Verona 63-7 in Week 7 in Fort Mitchell. They scored exactly 63 points in back-to-back weeks.

Senior Tyler Fryman, a University of Kentucky commit, scored two rushing touchdowns and returned an interception for a score against Walton-Verona. Those three touchdowns gave him 64 for his career, placing him in the top five in program history, according to Link NKY. Senior quarterback Emmett Queen, a Wake Forest commit, has thrown 52 touchdown passes in 19 career games.

The Crusaders present a different challenge. St. Henry (4-2) has won four straight and already doubled its win total from a 2-9 inaugural season in 2025. Head coach Tim Odom's program is only in its second varsity year, and the roster includes more than 20 freshmen among 52 players, according to a preseason preview from Link NKY.

The Crusaders' offense runs through brothers Lucas and Owen Pate. In a Week 4 win over Bellevue, the pair combined for 272 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Receiver David Penick added four catches for 100 yards and a score in that game, according to a Link NKY standouts roundup.

The gap in pedigree is wide. Beechwood is 36-0 in Class 2A district play since joining the classification in 2019, outscoring district opponents 1,931-99. Head coach Noel Rash, who returned this season after three years away from the program, has more than 200 career victories in September and is the fifth Northern Kentucky coach to reach that milestone.

After the Tigers beat Covington Catholic 42-35 on Sept. 18, Rash praised senior Nathan Pabst, who scored five touchdowns that night. "The kid is incredible," Rash told WCPO. "He's just one tough nut."

Pabst, Fryman and Queen lead a Beechwood squad that returned eight starters on each side of the ball from a 2025 team that went 10-2 before falling to Owensboro Catholic in the Class 2A region finals. The Tigers have 18 state championships and are chasing No. 19.

The KHSAA playoffs begin Nov. 6, with state championship games at Kroger Field in Lexington on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5. Beechwood hosts Gallatin County for Homecoming on Oct. 16.