Coming off of a bye week Owensboro Catholic is well rested and looking to extend their winning streak to four games when they take on McLean County on Friday.
The Aces grabbed a 35-12 win in their last matchup, as the offense played despite a pair of interceptions from Brady Atwell. Those were just two blemishes on a solid performance from the sophomore quarterback, as he led his team with 238 passing yards and three touchdowns on 20-26 passing along with 31 rushing yards on four carries.
Senior Jack Terry and sophomore Vince Carrico led the way in the backfield with a touchdown each, while Terry had 76 rushing yards on nine carries. Sophomore Waryn Ebelhar (eight catches, 103 yards) and junior Tutt Carrico (six catches, 62 yards, one touchdown) led the wide receiving corps, while Vince and junior Kaiser Frick also had a touchdown each.
Head Coach Jason Morris said that the Aces will need to be just as prolific offensively this week, noting that taking advantage of every down and keeping the Cougars offense off of the field will be key.
“Scoring on offense and doing our best to keep McLean County from dominating time of possession [will be key],” Morris said. “We hope to improve on catching the football on third and fourth down plus tackling [as well].”
Owensboro Catholic should have plenty of energy to do so as well, as Morris said that week off was much needed for a banged up team in the midst of district play as the regular season approaches its end.
“Our bye week came at the perfect time because we were getting really banged up,” Morris said. “We are rejuvenated coming out of the break. Our team continued to lift and run over the break. We will be in shape.”
Defensively the Aces will be dealing with a run-heavy McLean County offense, led by senior running back Zach Clayton and junior quarterback Brodie Cline. Clayton averages 79 rushing yards and a touchdown per game, while Cline rushes for 47 yards per game while throwing for 39 yards and a touchdown per game.
Morris said that Clayton is a fifth year senior that plays at a high level and that he and Cline are their main catalysts offensively. With junior Elijah Baldwin also in the mix with 45 rushing yards per game, Morris said that in order to come out on top they will need to play clean in a physical game and that he and the Aces will need to be ready for an undoubtedly great district championship game-esque environment at 7 p.m. on Friday.
“McLean County is great at what they do,” Morris said. “They will line up in a thousand formations and run the same plays over and over. They love to play keep away. Our biggest focus in practice this week is winning the turnover battle, defensive alignment, and tackling.”
