Drew Hartz, Hagan Edge and Rudy Clouse will continue their athletic careers at the next level, as the trio of Owensboro Catholic football stars announced their collegiate plans during a ceremony at the high school Wednesday.
Hartz and Edge are both headed to Georgetown College, while Clouse will attend Thomas More University. All three have been permanent fixtures for the Aces’ offense since their sophomore season.
“It’s going to be different playing without them, for sure,” said Catholic head coach Jason Morris. “They had special careers. They deserve every bit of the accolades they’ve gotten. I think their best days in football are still ahead of them.”
Hartz was a prolific quarterback that set school records and finished near the top of the state leaderboards in multiple single-season and career stats. His 57 touchdowns and 347.8 yards per game this season both rank first in Catholic history and fourth in state history. He also tied the Kentucky record of nine passing touchdowns in a game.
Edge — a wide receiver— set a new Catholic benchmark with 24 single-season touchdown receptions. He also finished the year with nearly 1,600 receiving yards.
While it’s hard to statistically measure the success Clouse had while playing left tackle this year, Morris said he doesn’t remember a single sack being given up by his star lineman.
Over the last three seasons, the trio helped lead Catholic to a 25-12 record that included four playoff wins.
Read below for thoughts from each player on their signing day.
DREW HARTZ
On playing in college: It’s everything. I didn’t really decide to play college until almost the beginning of my senior year. Hagan and I talked about if we could play at the next level, and we set a goal for ourselves to play in college.
On choosing Georgetown: They’re big on tradition just like Catholic is. They’re a small private school and they’re big on family. That’s something that really drew me towards them because that’s something I grew up in — a community-based school and football program.
On getting to play with Edge: It’s going to be great. We’re going to be rooming together so we’ll see a lot of each other, but I’m excited. We’re going to push each other to be the best we can be, and we’re going to have fun playing along the way.
On playing for Catholic: Growing up seeing my brothers play and hearing stories about my uncles, I always wanted to play for Catholic. The last four years have been amazing. I don’t have any regrets.
From coach Jason Morris: Drew brought leadership on a daily basis as the quarterback. All the success we’ve had the last three years have kind of stemmed from how good of a leader he was.
HAGAN EDGE
On playing in college: It’s a big honor. That’s all I wanted to work for throughout my high school career was to get the chance to play after high school. It makes me speechless to have that opportunity because not many people get that. I’m very grateful and very blessed to be in this position.
On choosing Georgetown: I liked both sides of the spectrum. I like their athletic program — I was very impressed by all the coaches and the players that I talked to. Academically, I feel like they’re one of the top schools in Kentucky.
On getting to play with Hartz: We both talked about it before the season. We didn’t know if we’d get the chance to play again together. Being able to do that and be a duo again for four more years, we’re both very excited.
On playing for Catholic: I feel like there’s no other place like it. We’re such a close-knit community and a family here. It was something special to play with Catholic across my chest on Friday nights.
From coach Jason Morris: Hagan has some of the best true leadership qualities I’ve ever seen in a kid. He’s going to be successful in anything he does.
RUDY CLOUSE
On playing in college: I started out in 6th grade and never dreamed that I’d be going to the college level, especially at my size for a lineman. The summer before my junior year is when I realized I wanted to put in that effort — before then I was focused on being as good as I could for high school. To have an opportunity to be able to go another four years is just amazing.
On choosing Thomas More: Whenever I finally started thinking about college, I had a friend who always talked about Thomas More. I just had that name stuck in my head, and it’s one that I felt like I should give a shot. It ended up being the best place for me.
On playing for Catholic: It’s been amazing. Catholic has been the only team I played for. I never played Pop Warner or any of that kind of stuff. The family I’ve played with in middle and high school, they’re my brothers.
From coach Jason Morris: Rudy was the staple of our offensive line for three years. He showed a great work ethic. I don’t think he missed a workout in four years of high school football, and that’s special.
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