With nearly all of their skill position players back plus a few returning linemen, Owensboro Catholic is eager to prove they can be 2A state title contenders. After three consecutive exits in the region championship game, Head Coach Jason Morris and the Aces are hopeful their experience plus a tough regular season schedule will help them take the next step in the postseason.
“We return an experienced group of skill players, and also a few experienced linemen as well,” Morris said. “We’ve been able to focus more on our strength and conditioning and the small details of our schemes than on having to install anything over the summer. A lot of our young guys kind of got thrown into the fire of having to catch up because we were bringing back so many players that we didn’t have to do a lot of install.”
Junior dual-threat quarterback Brady Atwell returns to lead the Catholic offense. He completed 194 of 297 passes for 2,743 yards and 30 touchdowns along with 13 interceptions last season. Atwell was also the Aces’ top rusher, with 76 carries for 594 yards and nine touchdowns — all team highs. Defensively, he had three interceptions, second-most on the team.
“He’s really starting to get lots of high-level interest. He hasn’t gotten that first offer yet, but (several schools) are highly interested,” Morris said. “The sky is the limit for him with his physical traits.”
Another key two-way returner and dynamic threat will be senior Tutt Carrico. Offensively, he led the team with 47 catches for 774 yards and 14 touchdowns to go with 71 rushing attempts for 344 yards and four more scores. Defensively, he was second with 131 tackles (45 solo). He also led the team with three fumble recoveries and five interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns.
“On both sides of the ball, he’s going to be one of our key pieces,” Morris said.
Junior Vince Carrico is similarly going to be a leader on both sides of the ball. He led the Aces with 183 tackles (59 solo) and had an interception. Offensively, he had 58 carries for 361 yards and eight touchdowns to go along with 16 catches for 128 yards and three scores.
Several other players who made contributions last year are back for 2023 to provide some depth, including senior Deuce Sims, junior Noah Rhinerson, senior Kaiser Frick, and junior Waryn Ebelhar.
Morris also noted that seniors Luke Frey and Major Pride are returning on the offensive line, and seniors Todd Riter and Cooper Danzer are moving into starting roles there after some experience there last season. He said juniors Steven Eaves and Michael Lyon and sophomore Barrett Evans will also provide some depth.
“We’re really excited about what we’ve got up front, more than what most people would think,” Morris said.
With so many returning players, Morris is hopeful they can return to the region championship game — and find what it takes to win it. The Aces have lost in the third round of the postseason each of the last three years, and the last two times it was to Lexington Christian.
“If you look at how we lost that round three game last year [a 33-27 loss to LCA], I felt like we kind of beat ourselves a little bit and — it’s kind of coach speak, but at the same time it’s true — there were four or five plays that if we did a little bit better job of paying attention to the small details … we feel like we win that football game,” he said.
Catholic has loaded up their regular season schedule as much as possible to prepare themselves for the postseason.
“You look at 2A football, it’s been Beechwood, Mayfield, Lexington Christian, and Owensoro Catholic. If you look at all four of our schedules, that’s kind of what we all do. The days of ‘scheduling wins’ are kind of over with, and, that’s the way we like it,” Morris said. “We know that’s the way it’s gonna have to be to continue to take that next step and get past that third round in the playoffs, which is our main goal.”
The Aces start with a pair of city-county games by hosting Apollo this Friday and going to Daviess County next week. The Aces will then host Greenwood, play at Owensboro, return home for Henderson County, and go back on the road to Crittenden County before district play begins.
After offseason realignment, the teams in Catholic’s district have almost completely changed. Gone are Hancock, McLean, and Butler counties. Moving in to join the Aces and Todd County Central are Fort Campbell and Edmonson County.
Catholic plays at Todd County, then hosts Edmonson and Fort Cambell in district play. They finish out the regular season at North Hardin.
Morris said he feels if they can make it to and win a third-round postseason game, they’ll be in a position to win it all, but he knows Catholic has to focus on each game as it comes.
“Sometimes you’ve got to experience it before you truly know what it takes (to win the region title game). I think that’s the biggest difference, that we know what it takes now,” Morris said. “We had a very good offseason with that being the goal in mind. But we have to take it one game at a time. All of our focus is on beating Apollo.”
Full schedule:
- August 18 vs. Apollo
- August 25 at Daviess County
- September 1 vs. Greenwood
- September 8 at Owensboro
- September 15 vs. Henderson County
- September 22 at Crittenden County
- September 29 at Todd County Central
- October 13 vs. Edmonson County
- October 20 vs. Fort Campbell
- October 27 at North Hardin
