Drew Hartz couldn’t have had a much more perfect night Friday, and he added his name to the record books by throwing for a school record nine touchdowns in Owensboro Catholic’s 66-14 dismantling of Hopkins County Central.
Hartz also tied the Kentucky High School Athletic Association record for single-game passing touchdowns, and he’s the first to throw nine since two players did so in 2012. Former OCHS standout quarterback Ray Zuberer threw for eight touchdowns in a game three times in the 2014 season.
“It means a lot marking my name down in history,” Hartz said. “I like to be up at the top with the great quarterbacks like Zuberer in the history books here.”
Four of Hartz’s first five passes went for scores, and he finished the night 18-for-21 with 548 yards. In the first quarter alone, Hartz was a perfect 9-for-9 with five touchdowns and 304 yards as the Aces (4-1) rolled to a 35-7 lead.
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For a full photo gallery from the game, click here.
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On the first play from scrimmage, Hartz tossed a short pass to Braden Mundy, who took it 54 yards for a score. Mundy also had a 50-yard scoring reception, while other touchdown passes went to Hagan Edge (70 yards), Jackson Staples (35 yards) and Dre Thruston (45 yards).
“We had the speed to get past their defenders,” Hartz said. “We have the people to make plays. Our line did a great job and gave me plenty of time to get this record and make all the passes I needed to. It was a great team effort.”
In the second quarter, Edge added a pair of 16-yard touchdown receptions and Thruston scored again on a 2-yard toss.
Hartz finished his night with the record-setting touchdown completion, hitting Thruston on the right side of the field near the line of scrimmage before the receiver streaked up the sideline to paydirt for a 61-14 advantage.
“Drew was on target all night long,” said Aces head coach Jason Morris. “Our offensive line did a great job of getting him going. Once he got the five touchdowns in the first quarter, our seniors came together and they said he deserved to get the record. I’m really proud of the whole group effort and them coming together for him.”
The Storm (0-5) scored their first touchdown midway through the first quarter when Adrian Stringer floated a 23-yard pass to Colin Rodgers to cut their deficit to 14-7. The duo connected again in the third quarter on a 6-yard pass, making the score 55-14.
Though Catholic gave up a few big plays, Morris was overall pleased with the defensive effort.
“We’re a bend-but-don’t-break defense, and we’re a big-play defense,” he said. “We’ll give up plays, but then all of a sudden we’re sacking the quarterback and we’ve got them in 2nd-and-18. We just need to get a little bit better on third down.”
Morris said the Aces have to stay focused on executing their game plan and not worry about who the competition is.
“We always have to play to our best ability,” he said. “No matter who the opponent is, we want to play the same game. That way when you play those big-time opponents, you’re ready for it. You don’t have to play up or down.”
Catholic will now turn attention to district play, and they start on the road next week against an undefeated Todd County Central (4-0) team that Morris expects to put up a fight.
“We know we’re going to get their best shot,” he said. “But our guys know what it’s like to go into an environment like that. That’s what you do at Owensboro Catholic. You play in those kind of games. Our kids will be ready for it.”
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2019 football coverage is presented in part by Drew Cunningham, agent at State Farm.
