The Bracken County Polar Bears came into Friday’s game in good position at 4-0 in Class 2A, District 5 action.

However, standing in the way of a district championship stood the 18-time state champion Beechwood Tigers on their home Edgar McNabb Stadium. Making things more of a challenge for the Polar Bears (6-3) was senior standout running back Daulton Tarter, a career 4,000-yard rusher, could not play because of an injury.

The Tigers (8-1) showed why they are the standard not only in the district, but in 2A altogether using their speed and quickness to knock off the Polar Bears, 49-6 to win the district crown, hitting the running clock at halftime. Beechwood wound up outscoring the five district opponents by exactly 300 points at 312-12. Bracken County and Owen County scored six points each on the Tigers.

“We try to teach speed ourselves, but we just don’t have the speed they have,” Bracken County head coach Steven Tarter said. “That’s why we have to go to that power football. We try to beat the guy in the middle.”

Beechwood used its balance and sound line play to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The Tigers outgained the Polar Bears, 320-154 in total offense including a 249-43 advantage at halftime.

“They were fired up for starting this game,” Beechwood head coach Jay Volker said. “We keep harping on it. No matter how much skill we have. We have to win it up front. It has to start with our offensive and defensive lines. I thought our offensive linen did a great job. Defensively, we did well in the first half and then we started to struggle a little bit in the third quarter. Our guys really take pride in the work that they’re putting not only on the field, but in the weight room to not only get stronger, but to get tougher as well.”

The Polar Bears mainly struggled against Beechwood junior Nathan Pabst. He ran the ball seven times for 139 yards and four touchdowns. Junior quarterback Emmett Queen completed 7-of-9 passes for 102 yards to five different receivers. Senior Brody Aylor ran the ball twice for 53 yards and caught two passes for 29 yards.

Bracken County gained most of its yards on the opening drive of the second half that culminated in 80 yards on 22 plays with senior Greg Benedict powering it in from a yard out behind the huge offensive line with 5:12 left in the game. The Polar Bears converted two fourth downs on the drive.

“Smash mouth football works good for us. It’s what we’ve always been taught to do at Bracken,” Coach Tarter said. “With the big guys up front, I hope it works on throughout the rest of the season.”

The Polar Bears gained some momentum out of the gate recovering an onside kick at the Beechwood 47. However, Bracken County only gained two yards on three plays forcing them to punt and Beechwood marched right down the field. Pabst broke free for a 25-yard touchdown run with 9:28 left in the first quarter and senior Colson Lair making the first of seven point-after touchdown tries.

Bracken County found itself in a 3rd-and-19 on their own one on the next possession. The Polar Bears tried to go deep only to see Beechwood junior Caleb Arrasmith intercept it. Arrasmith then caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Queen with 4:03 left in the quarter to give Beechwood a 14-0 advantage.

The Tigers put it away with 28 unanswered in the second quarter to go up 42-0 at halftime. Aylor started the scoring with a 45-yard scamper just 13 seconds into the second quarter to put Beechwood up 21-0. The Tigers then started their next possession at the Bracken County eight after senior Chase McDaniel recovered a Polar Bear fumble. Queen finished the drive with a one-yard plunge with 9:35 left in the half.

It took the Tigers just three plays to score after Bracken County punted on the next possession. Pabst broke free for a 21-yard touchdown with just more than five minutes left in the third quarter.

Beechwood got the ball back with 1:26 left in the half and took advantage of that opportunity. Queen found Arrasmith for a 23-yard pass to the Bracken County one. After a timeout, Pabst scored from a yard out to give the Tigers that 42-0 halftime lead.

The Tigers scored one final touchdown in the fourth quarter, responding to the Bracken County score, where they had possession of the ball the entire third quarter. Pabst broke free for a 67-yard touchdown on a sweep to the right.

The Tigers will still host a first-round playoff game. They conclude the regular season at Pikeville (6-3) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Bracken County 0 0 0 6 | 6
Beechwood 14 28 0 7 | 49

First Quarter

BW — Nathan Pabst, 25-yard touchdown run (Colson Lair kick), 5:57 0-7
BW — Caleb Arrasmith, 24-yard pass from Emmett Queen (Lair kick), 4:03 0-14

Second Quarter
BW – Brody Aylor, 53-yard touchdown run (Lair kick), 11:47 0-21
BW — Queen, 1-yard run (Lair kick), 9:35 0-28
BW — Pabst, 21-yard run (Lair kick), 5:02 0-35

BW — Pabst, 1-yard run (Lair kick), :00 0-42

Fourth Quarter
BC — Greg Benedict, 1-yard run (kick failed), 5:12 6-42
BW — Pabst, 63-yard run (Lair kick), 2:08 6-49

Rushing: BC (37-103) Lucas McKinney (13-46), Greg Benedict (15-14), Saegan Rosel (3-21), Ryland Tucker (3-0), Noah Bachman (2-10), Jordan Bravard (1-(-2). BW (13-218) Nathan Pabst (7-139), Brody Aylor (8-53), Tyler Fryman (3-25), Emmett Queen (1-1).

Passing: BC Benedict (7-11-1-51). BW Queen (7-9-0-102).

Receiving: BC (7-51) Andrew Kirk (4-15), Bravard (1-27), Bachman (1-8), McKinney (1-1). BW (7-102) Aylor (2-36), Fryman (2-29), Caleb Arrasmith (1-23), Bo Sowder (1-8), Pabst (1-6).