Owensboro Catholic’s 2023 season came to an exhilarating yet heartbreaking end a season ago, falling a few plays shy of claiming their first-ever 2A state championship. With an experienced roster back, the Aces have their eyes set on returning and winning it all.
“We have high expectations for this season,” head coach Jason Morris said. “Our main goal is to compete and win a state title, but we are going to take it game by game.”
At the helm is 6’3, 225-pound, All-American quarterback and reigning 2A Player of the Year Brady Atwell. Morris said Atwell can air it out with ease and is patient enough to take what the defense gives him. Last year, he torched opposing defenses, completing 301-of-434 passes for 4,743 yards and a whopping 68 touchdowns. He also wasn’t afraid to use his legs, rushing for 695 yards and 17 TDs.
The Aces will run a spread offense again, focusing on an air raid attack in the passing game. Morris looks for Atwell’s ability to scramble to open up the team’s run game, allowing the running backs to block and adding a numbers advantage.
Despite the gaudy numbers the offense put up last season, Morris said the team’s strength is its defense. Owensboro Catholic returns nine defensive starters from last year, including all three of its defensive linemen, both of its stack linebackers, and all but one from its secondary.
Morris said they run a 3-3 stack defense, and their aggressiveness can make opposing offenses uncomfortable. He added that they have plenty of players who can get after the quarterback and stop the run. The star of the defense is lockdown cornerback Cam James.
“He’s a track star that splits the field in half,” Morris said. “Opposing teams don’t throw his way.”
Owensboro Catholic opens up its season with back-to-back city-county matchups. They travel to Apollo this Friday and Daviess County next week; the Aces won those matchups in 2023 by scores of 42-6 and 50-0, respectively.
After a trip to Greenwood, The Aces return home to square off in their final city-county match-up against Owensboro. Catholic won that nailbiter 33-28 a season ago, with Atwell diving across the goal line for the go-ahead score in the final seconds of the game.
Owensboro Catholic will round out its schedule with home games against Crittenden County, Todd County Central, and North Hardin, as well as road matches at Henderson County, Edmonson County, and Fort Campbell.
The Aces led class 2A in RPI last year, boasting a 14-1 overall record while going 3-0 in their district. In that process, they totaled 721 points while only allowing 222. They ran through the postseason, defeating every team by double digits until the championship game, a 53-48 loss to Mayfield that came down to the final drive.
“I am looking forward to this season,” Morris said. “It’s special what we have going on.”
