Owensboro Catholic’s high-octane offense propelled them to a 41-21 victory over Henderson County in front of a packed Steele Stadium on Friday night. The Colonels kept it relatively close for most of the game, but a few explosive plays by Catholic receivers allowed the Aces to pull away and remain undefeated.
Catholic head coach Jason Morris said Henderson County’s 1-4 record wasn’t indicative of their capabilities, and he knew his squad would need to piece together a complete effort.
“I was really worried all week long because we were coming off the emotional highs of last week’s game (against Owensboro), and playing a Henderson County team that is always solid,” he said.
The Catholic (5-0) offense struggled to find a rhythm early, but it was all systems go once they did. Junior quarterback Brady Atwell consistently found a trio of receivers in Tutt Carrico, Noah Rhinerson, and Waryn Ebelhar, who were relentless in extending every play.
“I felt like we left at least three scores out there in the first half, but that’s something we have to learn from and improve,” Morris said. “Coach Chris Morris did a great job of taking what the defense gave us all night. Brady was making accurate throws, and our receivers were making plays in space.”
The Aces didn’t waste any time getting started, capping off a balanced drive with a 24-yard pass from Atwell to Carrico in the end zone. The first quarter was a defensive stalemate the rest of the way after multiple 3-and-outs for each team.
Two minutes into the second quarter, Carrico returned a punt deep into Henderson territory. A Colonel penalty set up a 5-yard touchdown pass from Atwell to Ebelhar. Henderson’s Tony Burrus responded with a 25-yard run on the ensuing drive, but a deep sack returned the ball to the Aces.
With 6:07 left in the second quarter, Atwell found Ebelhar on a slant across the middle, and he took it 54 yards for a score. With a 21-0 lead, it looked like the Aces would run away with it, but Henderson retaliated quickly.
With 1:03 left in the half, Henderson quarterback Trajdon Davis found a wide-open Burrus down the sideline to set up a 7-yard touchdown pass to Mason Bridgeman. That brought the score to 21-7 with 48.9 seconds on the clock. Catholic tried to work some magic with the short clock but came up empty before halftime.
The next score didn’t come until seven minutes into the third quarter when Burrus broke loose another long run deep into Aces territory. His rush set up a 25-yard touchdown reception for Max Thompson, cutting Catholic’s lead to 21-14.
The Aces responded with a screen pass to Carrico, which he took several yards to set up a 27-yard touchdown pass from Atwell to Rhinerson. Henderson blocked the PAT, leaving the score at 27-14 with 3:26 left in the third quarter.
Catholic nearly replicated the previous drive just over a minute later when Carrico reeled a 45-yard heave from Atwell to set up a 22-yard rush from Rhinerson for a score and a 34-14 lead. After forcing a quick 3-and-out, Atwell chucked a pass down the middle that bounced off a downed receiver and into the hands of the Colonels.
Henderson responded with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Davis to Burrus, trimming the deficit to 34-21 with 6:44 left in the game. Catholic came back with the game’s final score on a check-down pass from Atwell to Rhinerson, who made his way 18 yards across the goal line.
Atwell ended the contest with more than 400 yards in the air and five touchdown passes. Rhinerson finished with 94 receiving yards and two touchdowns to go along with 25 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground.
Ebelhar tallied two touchdowns on 104 yards receiving, while Carrico amassed over 170 yards receiving and one touchdown. Deuce Sims added 32 receiving yards.
Henderson’s quarterback Davis had more than 50 carries for just under 100 yards plus 45 pass attempts for over 150 yards.
Catholic will open district play on the road at Crittenden County at 7 p.m. next Friday in their final contest before entering district play. Morris and company will look to tidy a few things up heading into the week.
“We need to tackle better – there’s always room for improvement there,” he said. “We’ve also given up four to five 3rd-and-longs the past two games, and you can’t win big-time playoff games giving up 3rd-and-15s all night long. I think with our athleticism, we can match up well with most teams, and our guys will always find a way to get it done.”
