With a veteran quarterback and a defense full of returning starters, the Owensboro Catholic High School football team has high expectations entering the 2019 season.
Second-year head coach Jason Morris is excited for the potential of this year’s team, starting with senior quarterback Drew Hartz. As a junior, Hartz completed 162 of 260 pass attempts, throwing for 2,606 yards and 32 touchdowns with just seven interceptions.
Morris said the Aces could be even more pass-heavy than usual with a veteran signal caller.
“Catholic has been known for throwing the football over the last 15 of years,” he said. “It’s going to be a little bit more of the same, with probably even a little bit more passing involved by having a quarterback like Drew.”
With many of last year’s top targets gone due to graduation, Hagan Edge returns as the leading receiver after catching 22 passes for 444 yards and five touchdowns. Rounding out the receiving corp will be senior Jackson Staples, sophomore Braden Mundy and junior Max Byrne.
“They’ve all show signs of being able to be good high school receivers,” Morris said. “That’s led by Hagan. He and Drew have a really good relationship together and I think they’re both going to have big seasons. “
New to the backfield this year will be junior Dre Thruston, who transferred to Catholic after spending his first two varsity seasons at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington. As a sophomore, he carried the ball 15 times for 224 yards and two scores, adding five catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s going to be ready for us in that first week,” Morris said. “He’s going to be a very special talent who’s going to be able to play multiple positions.”
Returning starters on defense include a pair of inside linebackers in junior Chris Boarman and senior Jack Hamilton. Boarman led with 113 tackles in 2018, while Hamilton was second with 83. The defensive line will be led by senior Noah Eadlin and junior Logan Davis.
“I think we’re going to be really good in our front seven,” Morris said. “I’ve always said in high school football, if you can dominate the front seven you’ll have a good defense.”
Two kicker may contribute this year depending on the situation, as Morris said Michael Sullivan has a bit more strength while Luke Payne is more accurate.
The Aces will begin the season at home Aug. 23 against Ohio County. They’ll then play at Daviess County and Owensboro to start a three-game road stretch. A three-game home stand to end the season will be capped off with a matchup against Apollo on Nov. 1.
As the opening game draws near, Morris said the biggest key right now will be to get healthy after handful of starters sat out a scrimmage last week. Strength and conditioning has been a big focus this offseason.
“That was one of our biggest issues last year,” Morris said. “We came into that first couple of weeks and we were really banged up.”
While he said they may have to make some early adjustments and the ultimate goal is a deep postseason run, the Aces are ready to start the season on a high note.
“You’re always hoping your guys will be at their top performance as soon as we come out of the gates, but overall I’m just looking to be playing our best football going into the playoffs,” he said. “I think having the experience in our skill positions and at quarterback, there’s no reason not to have high expectations. We’re going to be looking to come out of the gates slinging.”
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