Head of the Class
KARNS CITY — Most high school basketball players have to wait for an opportunity to start.
Chase Beighley received his early on and never gave it up.
Due to injuries to teammates, the current senior point guard at Karns City was thrust into the starting lineup in 2017 and immediately began to produce.
It was a sign of bigger and better things to come.
With a 3-pointer early in the second quarter of Monday's home game against A-C Valley, Beighley became the top all-time boys scorer in school history, passing 2005 graduate Tyler Callihan, who scored 1,554 points.
Beighley's total now stands at 1,590 after a 12-point night at Brookville Thursday.
“There have been a lot of really, really good players come through here,” Beighley said. “It's crazy to think I'm at the top of the scoring list.
“I've played with and against some of them. Chris (Bellis, KC head coach) has held open gyms over the summers here and he brought in some of the older guys like Tyler Kepple (1,118 points) and Tyler Callihan.”
Callihan attended Monday's game with his eight-year-old son, Trey. Following the breaking of his record, he came onto the court to congratulate Beighley.
“What Chase did, I think it's awesome and I feel really good for him,” Callihan said. “It shows how much hard work the kid put into his game.
“He once lived next to where I used to live. It was after I had moved, but the neighbors told me Chase was always out in the driveway shooting, shoveling off the snow if he had to. He's always found ways to get better.”
“I wanted Tyler there, but I didn't know with all of the restrictions on number of fans,” Beighley said. “It was amazing that he was in the stands.”
Beighley showed a lot of promise his freshman year. Shouldering much responsibility as the point guard, he averaged 13.3 points, 4.2 assists and four steals per game.
He made a huge jump last year as a junior in points (24 per contest), assists (5.1 assists) and added over six rebounds. The 2019-20 season also saw him become the 12th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
Bellis certainly knew the scoring threat he had coming back this year in Beighley, but he also knew the team as a whole figured to be very strong and multiple players were capable of scoring clutch baskets.
“I had a talk with him before the season,” Bellis related. “He's definitely a scoring point guard, but it is also important to have balance at his position.
“Team success comes before individual success and he bought into that. Sometimes, a player has to score less to make the team better. It takes a mature player to recognize that.”
Beighley's scoring average is down to 20 this year, but he's dishing out 4.5 assists along with offering clutch rebounds and steals. Players around him have both benefitted from and contributed to his strong play. This group includes, in particular, the team's other starters — Cole Sherwin, Micah Rupp, Luke Cramer and Nathan Waltman.
“My freshman year, I only made 30 percent of my left-handed layups,” Beighley said. “I worked a lot on dribbling with my left hand and finishing with my left. I'm confident now with that part of my game.
“But when my team needs me to distribute the ball, I can do that, too.”
Beighley's ability to score and involve his teammates has been integral to the Gremlins' season thus far, which includes a 18-1 record and current 14-game winning streak.
“My freshman year, there was a lot of intensity on defense and we communicated a lot,” Beighley said. “We ended up winning the (District 9) title.”
The Gremlins are hoping to duplicate that achievement over the coming weeks.
Said Beighley: “I think we can win D9 and make a dent in the state playoffs.”
