FORT MITCHELL, Ky. — Mike Yeagle’s legacy will never be forgotten at Beechwood High School.
The former longtime Beechwood head football coach who led the Tigers to eight state titles during his coaching career has died. The cause of death was not announced. Yeagle was believed to be 62 or 63 years old, according to Beechwood offensive coordinator Greg Hergott and former head coach Noel Rash.
“Coach Yeagle was an absolute giant in Northern Kentucky and the state of Kentucky in high school football,” Beechwood athletic director Ryan Booth said.
Yeagle was the Beechwood head coach from 1991 to 2005 with a one-year hiatus in 2002. He led Beechwood to four consecutive state titles (1991-1994) along with championships in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2004. He also briefly coached at Lloyd after his Beechwood career.
“It’s hard day,” said Rash, who is now an assistant principal at Holmes. “He should be remembered for his greatness.”
Rash, who led Beechwood to eight state titles,was an assistant under Yeagle for six seasons. Rash said Yeagle impacted countless lives during his coaching career.
“His legacy is lived out through his former players and students,” Rash said. “I hope he is remembered for how much he really meant to that school, that community, that football program.”
Hergott has been the Beechwood offensive coordinator since 2002. He said Yeagle impacted his decision to start coaching high school football.
“He was a master motivator,” Hergott said. “He’d have high school kids thinking they were invincible.”
Hergott, a 1995 Beechwood graduate and former player, said on average there were eight basic offensive plays during Yeagle’s time at Beechwood but they were run to “perfection.” The philosophy was to establish the run game and be able to defensively stop an opponent’s running game. That especially rang true during crunch time of the season when the weather became difficult.
“You had to beat us because we weren’t going to beat ourselves,” Hergott said.
As Hergott begins his 23rd year coaching he says Yeagle deserves a significant amount of credit for the tradition of the Beechwood program.
“I think Beechwood really exploded onto that big-time statewide scene when we went on that run in the 90s,” Hergott said.
Booth said the school community is fortunate that Yeagle is part of its athletics fabric.
“He influenced and changed many lives during his long and legendary career as a teacher and a coach,” Booth said. “We at Beechwood are forever grateful for the impact he had on so many that were fortunate enough to cross paths with him.”
