The Owensboro Catholic football team has a chance to win the program’s first state championship next week after yet another dominant win, this one a 44-15 romp over Somerset on Friday at Steele Stadium. The Aces (14-0) will now take on Mayfield (12-1) in the 2A title game.
The game was all but decided by the end of the first quarter, but that didn’t slow down the celebrations when the final buzzer sounded. Water bottles went flying, fans crowded into the end zone for pictures, and the team doused head coach Jason Morris with a cooler of ice water.
Despite the frigid air, a soaked Morris was still all smiles knowing his team was headed back to state for the first time since 2010, especially since the Aces have been knocking on the door for the last few years but falling short in the third round.
“It’s not just one year of hard work going into this. It’s a tradition here like none other,” Morris said. “It’s just a surreal feeling right now.”
It was easy to tell how the game was going to go after the first few drives.
Owensboro Catholic opened the game by marching down the field and taking a 7-0 lead less than 2 minutes in when junior quarterback Brady Atwell hit senior receiver Tutt Carrico for an 11-yard score.
Somerset went 3 and out, and the Aces took over on their own 42. A few plays later, Catholic extended the lead to 14-0 on another Atwell-to-Carrico connection, this time from 35 yards out.
The Briar Jumpers started their next drive on their own 48-yard line but again failed to pick up a first down. The Aces need 3 plays to go 77 yards for another touchdown. On the sideline, Atwell asked his coaches to let him run the ball, and they obliged; he took it up the middle the broke off to the right for a 45-yard run. The next play, Atwell lofted a pass to Waryn Ebelhar, who held on to the ball despite a defender nearly punching it away, for a 31-yard score.
Somerset again punted after gooing 3 and out, and the Aces again had no trouble reaching the end zone. Atwell connected with Carrico again for a 25-yard touchdown and a 28-0 lead with 3 seconds left in the opening quarter.
“We didn’t treat this game any different than any other game we’ve played,” Morris said. “Our kids came out and executed the game plan really well. Brady Atwell was on point all night long. Tutt Carrico was so special in that first half. And then everybody else was really good as well. The offensive line, once again hats off to them. They kept Brady upright most all night long and gave him the time to be able to go through progressions. Then our defense was lights out. That’s a 2,000-yard rusher over there with a good, solid program that we held in check really well.”
After a fourth-straight punt without a first down for Somerset, the Aces offense had their only real miscue of the night with a fumble on the Briar Jumpers’ 46. Somerset used the brief to get on the board with an 18-yard run by Kam Hughes, cutting the deficit to 28-7 with 6:14 to go in the half.
Owensboro Catholic answered quickly, capping their drive with a 1-yard run by Atwell. Kaiser Frick pulled down an interception to give the Aces the ball back on their own 35. A few players later, Atwell connected with Carrico from 14 yards out. The 2-point conversion cam up short, leaving the lead at 41-7.
Carrico then intercepted a pass to give Catholic possession on their own 1. The Aces got to midfield, and Atwell heaved a pass that was nearly caught in the back of the end zone as time expired in the half.
“We just had a really focused and great week of practice,” Morris said. “Our guys were just fitting their gaps perfectly and our linebackers were making tackles. Our defensive line was giving them problems, and then our defensive backs when they threw the ball were in their positions and making plays. Just all-around good, disciplined football.”
Atwell finished the half unofficially completing 24 of 35 passes for about 360 yards and 5 touchdowns; he finished the night with more than 400 yards through the air. He added nearly 90 yards and a score on the ground. In the first half, Carrico unofficially had 10 catches for almost 170 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Ebelhar had 3 catches for about 70 yards and a score.
The second half started with another Somerset interception, then time with Nick Sims plucking the ball from the receiver’s hands to set Catholic up near midfield. The Aces went up 44-7 with a 32-yard field goal by Andrew Garvin to start a running clock with 7:53 left in the third quarter.
With starters out, Somerset scored on a 9-yard run by Kris Hughes and added a 2-point conversion with less than 4 minutes to play.
The other 2A semifinal was a nailbiter. Mayfield held a lead for most of the game, but Beechwood tied it up at 28-all late. After swapping turnovers in the final couple of minutes, Mayfield won 31-28 on a field goal as time expired.
Owensboro Catholic and Mayfield will face off at 4 p.m. EST on December 1 at Kroger Field in Lexington.
“All year long we’ve just been focused, and we’re not gonna get complacent,” Morris said. “Our goal is to go into Kroger Field next week and put together the best game plan we can, and go execute it to give ourselves the best chance to win a state title.”
