When Noel Rash took a phone call from Beechwood athletic director Ryan Boothe in early May, he thought it was about the school’s yearly golf outing.
Little did he know that, a few days later, he would officially return as the Tigers’ head football coach after Jay Volker took a teaching position in Ohio.
“I don’t get online so I had no idea what was going on with (Volker) and all the other stuff. I walked in here and from that moment on, it has been nothing but an absolute joy. This is Camelot for me. For me to get to come home is very special,” Rash said.
Rash is one of the most recognizable figures in Northern Kentucky football, and not just for what he’s accomplished on the field. Along with his Beechwood visor, tucked in t-shirt and deep, sometimes gravelly voice, his defense-first, in-your-face coaching style has returned to lead the Tigers to more state championships, but more importantly instill life lessons in his athletes.
“I love him. He’s really hands-on,” senior quarterback Emmett Queen said.
While the team is still familiarizing itself with Rash’s practice schedule and intensity (especially on defense), he’s confident that the Tigers will be where they need to when they open the season on Aug. 28.
Beechwood graduated just 12 seniors last year and has 21 this season. Many of those players are at skill positions, including Queen, running back Nate Pabst, wide receivers/ defensive backs Tyler Fryman and Caleb Arrasmith, and tight end/ defensive lineman Bo Sowder.
“The best thing about those guys is they’re as good off the field as they are on the field and that’s really what we want in this program more than anything. This is not a football factory. This is an environment where we come together as a family, go kick some butt together and enjoy our high school career,” Rash said.
Pabst added: “A lot of us played our sophomore year so we’re more experienced now. We’re just looking forward to it.”
There is also the comfort of the continuity of the coaching staff. Most of the assistants on staff in the final year of Rash’s first stint are still there, a rarity at the high school level.
Rash is inheriting the schedule but is familiar with most of the opponents.
Beechwood will play Simon Kenton, Dixie Heights, Covington Catholic and Campbell County, the same way they have since 2023. But new this year is an opener (in Week 2) against defending Ohio Division IV state semifinalist Indian Hill.
“We’ve got to find out our weaknesses early in the year so we’re ready for district play, and I know we’ve been dominant in our district but you better be ready because anything can happen,” Rash said.
For the record, the Tigers haven’t lost a district game since 2005 and haven’t allowed more than a touchdown in a regular-season district game since Oct. 12, 2018.
Beechwood will scrimmage Ryle on Aug. 7, then get a feel for the landscape in Class 2A by scrimmaging Somerset on Aug. 14. The Briar Jumpers were a regional finalist in 2025.
“I wouldn’t say winning is the biggest thing in these scrimmages, but finding our team and what we’re going to excel at,” Pabst said.
Each player and coach knows the Tigers have the personnel to win another state title. That’s been the case every year since the first trophy came back to Fort Mitchell in 1984. Day in and day out, it’s about playing as one cohesive unit, never being satisfied, and, as Rash puts it, “falling in love with the grind.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Noel Rash, Beechwood seniors eager to reclaim 2A state football title
Reporting by Brendan Connelly, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brendan Connelly, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
