A frigid Steele Stadium played host to one of the most exciting games of the season Friday night, as McLean County pulled off a shocking 37-36 upset over Owensboro Catholic in the second round of the football 2A state playoffs.
The Cougars (8-4) pulled out all the stops, with running backs accounting for 130 yards passing on three trick plays.
The most notable came with McLean County on their heels, trailing 36-29 with 4:30 to play and facing a 4th-and-21 after a big loss on third down. A 28-yard pass from Peyton Caraway to Brady Dame brought them back to life and set up the game-winning score.
After a 1-yard touchdown run by Andrew Munster, Landen Capps rolled to the right side and had just enough of a push to convert the 2-point conversion for a one-point lead with 39 seconds to play.
“We knew we were going to have to pull out every trick and leave nothing to chance,” said McLean County head coach Zach Wagner. “We didn’t save any trick plays. We had to stay over top of (Catholic quarterback Drew Hartz) and wrap up their athletic backs.”
The win marks the first time in 27 years that the Cougars beat the Aces, and it’s only the second time they’ve done it in school history.
“This win speaks volumes for our county and for our school,” he said. “These kids are resilient. We started the year 0-3, but we kept pounding the rock and fearing the wing and they just kept getting better.”
The Aces (9-3) never folded and still nearly came away with a victory.
On their final drive, Hartz completed a 26-yard pass to Hagan Edge and later reeled in a 17-yard catch of his own on a toss from wide receiver Braden Mundy that put the Aces in scoring range.
McLean County broke up a pass in the end zone, but Catholic had one final try with 1.7 seconds left on the clock. The Aces elected to attempt a field goal, only to have it blocked by the Cougars as time expired.
Catholic head coach Jason Morris was still pleased with his team’s efforts, crediting McLean County with a great performance.
“We battled as hard as we could,” he said. “They had a great game plan and they executed better than we did, especially on third and fourth down.”
The Aces jumped to an early 14-0 lead, but explosive trick plays kept the Cougars within striking distance.
A 6-yard touchdown run by Connor Baldwin gave McLean County their first lead of the night at 29-28 with 1:11 left in the third quarter.
Still trailing by one with 8:53 to play, the Aces blocked a punt deep in Cougar territory. A 9-yard touchdown pass from Hartz to Edge plus a 2-point conversion put the Aces ahead 36-29.
On the ensuing possession, a defensive stop by Catholic paired with a personal foul on the Cougars set up the do-or-die 4th-and-21 play.
“We were in a position to win the game,” Morris said. “We had a 4th-and-21 and had a mental lapse. The loss is not on the kids, it’s on the coaching staff, and it’s on me. I have to make sure they’re ready to make deeper playoff runs. I love these seniors to death. They deserve all of the credit and all of the accolades they earned this year.”
Hartz finished the night with four touchdowns on roughly 260 yards passing. Edge accounted for all five of the Aces’ touchdowns, with four receiving and one on the ground. He led all receivers with 118 yards, while Dre Thruston mustered up 77 yards rushing.
Capps led the way for the Cougars, totaling 103 yards rushing and 47 yards receiving to accompany his three touchdowns. Munster, Baldwin and Caraway also added one touchdown a piece.
Capps struggled to put into words how much the win meant to his team and the community, attributing much of the success to the offensive line.
“This is the best feeling ever,” he said. “All season the line has been phenomenal. We started off 0-3, but we’ve finished strong and we’re not done yet.”
The Cougars will continue their playoff run next Friday when they travel to Somerset (11-1), who pulled off somewhat of an upset of their own by beating Lexington Christian 28-26.
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2019 football coverage is presented in part by Drew Cunningham, agent at State Farm.
