Owensboro Catholic scored three touchdowns in the final minute of the first half as they blew past Crittenden County for a road win Friday night, improving to 6-0 as they head into district play.
The Aces raced out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter before the Rockets (2-3) put up a brief fight.
Catholic quarterback Brady Atwell ran in the first touchdown from 3 yards out just over 3 minutes into the game. CCHS fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Jaiden Amburgey recovered the ball for the Aces on the Rockets’ 42-yard line.
Atwell connected on a 3-yard touchdown pass to Waryn Ebelhar a few plays later.
On the first play of their next drive, CCHS advanced the ball from their own 16 to the Catholic 5 before Tutt Carrico chased down the receiver and forced a fumble that was recovered by Cam Woodward. Atwell capped off the 95-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Carrico for a 21-0 lead with 2:29 left in the first quarter.
The Rockets got on the board with a 70-yard touchdown pass from Micah Newcom to Caden Howard just 17 seconds later, but the PAT was blocked by Carrico.
CCHS scored again a few moments into the second quarter when Michael Porter returned an interception for a 16-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion attempt was no good, leaving them trailing 21-12.
The Rockets then got another interception, this time by Braden Poindexter, but they were forced to punt, and everything went the Aces’ way after that.
Atwell scored on a 10-yard run with 4:55 left in the half. The Aces got a stop on 4th down with a sack by Miles Edge on the ensuing CCHS possession. Catholic put up 21 points in the final minute of the quarter.
Atwell hit Deuce Sims for a 13-yard score with 56 ticks on the clock. CCHS fumbled the kickoff and the ball was recovered by Nolan Rhinerson. Atwell found Ebelhar for a 23-yard scored with 44 seconds to go.
The Rockets couldn’t run out the clock and were forced to punt. Carrico received the punt and lateraled to Rhinerson, who took it 60 yards to paydirt as time expired. The PAT was blocked, but Catholic led 48-12 at the half.
The Aces added a score in the third quarter when Atwell hit Carrico for a 13-yard touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Dre’mail Carothers threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Rhinerson. Catholic’s Shaiden Mitchell also hauled in an interception in the final minute of the game.
The Aces stay on the road next week for their first district game in a matchup with Todd County Central (3-3).
