Facing the two-time reigning 5A state champions on their own turf, Owensboro Catholic rose to the challenge — forcing a fumble on fourth-and-1 in the final minute to secure a 23-17 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday in the Rafferty’s Bowl.
In what the Purples hoped would be a positive start toward an attempt at a three-peat, the game instead ended in a stunned home crowd and an exuberant Aces team.
Catholic trailed 17-15 with 2:45 remaining in the game. Starting on their own 34, Dre’Mail Carothers orchestrated a five-play drive that culminated in a Miles Edge 9-yard touchdown run. Deciding to go for two, on a trick play, Xavier Maddox found a wide-open Carothers, who walked into the end zone to go ahead 23-17.
“We practiced that trick play all week, and that was my favorite play,” Carothers said. “I was looking forward to that the entire week and I got it.”
Needing a defensive stop, the Aces had Bowling Green against the ropes with a fourth-and-16, but a defensive pass interference call turned that into a fourth-and-1 opportunity. Bowling Green senior quarterback transfer Jaxon Strautman tried to scramble but was stripped near midfield, allowing for the Aces to kneel out the clock and return home 1-0.
“All I can say right now is how proud I am to just be a part of this,” Owensboro Catholic Head Coach Jason Morris said. “This is 100% about this senior group, who have had so much success in their high school careers. They’re probably the most underrated group of kids I have ever seen because they’ve been overlooked for somebody else for their entire lives basically. They’re such a talented group of seniors.”
To open the game, Owensboro Catholic lost a fumble just two plays into their first possession, but an interception less than a minute later rejuvenated the Aces. In his first game as Owensboro Catholic’s new starting quarterback, Carothers and the offense marched down the field, ending in the junior finding Maddox for a 27-yard touchdown strike. Maddox had to work a little magic of his own, breaking multiple tackles and bouncing off of his defender into the end zone. A missed extra point made it a 6-0 game.
Bowling Green quickly responded on their ensuing drive, taking a 7-6 lead. A few drives later, the Purples blocked and returned an Owensboro Catholic punt 14 yards for a 14-6 lead.
The Aces responded in the final minute of the first half, with Andrew Garvin bouncing a 46-yard field goal attempt off and over the cross bar to cut the lead to 14-9.
The Purples kicked a field goal of their own to start the third quarter, but the Aces soon cut the lead to 17-15. Carothers found Maddox for their second touchdown connection of the game, this time from 22 yards out. Similar to the first, Maddox broke multiple tackles, lost a defender on a spin move, landed on another, and fully extended for the score. After a failed two-point conversion, the two teams took turns exchanging punts.
With 9:30 left in the fourth, Owensboro Catholic fumbled and lost a punt on their own 14, but the defense stood tall. Holding Bowling Green to a 39-yard field goal attempt; the kick sailed right. After punting on their next drive, the Aces’ defense continued to take over the game, this time forcing a turnover on downs — leading to the offense’s go-ahead drive and defensive game-winning stand.
“Our defense did great. I could just tell our defense was going to be great in practice,” Carothers said. “We never hit in practice before the defense took on the scout offense, but this week we were hitting. I just talked to the guys before the game, and they have my back, and I have theirs. They get a stop; we’re going to score. We score; they’re going to get a stop. That’s just how we think of it.”
Morris acknowledged after the game that his team has high expectations for the season and that they can’t treat this win like it’s the Super Bowl, instead turning their eyes toward their matchup against Daviess County. Carothers shared those sentiments.
“I think the next step is just the next game,” Carothers said. “We aren’t going to take DC lightly at all. We can’t let our egos hit big just because we won this game. It’s just one game, and we still have a whole season ahead of us.”
