Owensboro Catholics’ journey for a 2A State Championship is off to a dominant start after blowout wins over Crittenden County and Murray. Tonight, they host Monroe County, a team they haven’t played since 2006.
“It’s a big game for both schools,” Owensboro Catholic head coach Jason Morris said. “We have to focus on us and make sure we don’t self-destruct and make sure we have solid practice.”
Owensboro Catholic’s offense success continues to stem from Brady Atwell, who completed 14 of 23 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns last week against Murray. Miles Edge had another massive game on the ground, rushing 11 times for 143 yards and hauling in two passes for 12 yards and a touchdown.
The duo will need to replicate their success against a Falcons defense that only allowed 226 total yards, recovered a fumble, and picked off a pass last week.
Morris expects Monroe County to primarily stick to the ground game and mix in some play-action when needed. He is also expecting to see a mix of power and option runs involving their QB Branson Williams.
“We need to get off the field on 3rd down and force them to throw it to pick up first downs,” Morris said. We will take what they give us. Last week Murray mixed it up early and we weren’t fully expecting that and Monroe can do the same thing.”
The Aces will have their hands full with Brayden Baxter, who is a threat in both the rushing and receiving games. In last week’s win, Baxter rushed for 135 yards and four touchdowns. He is also one of the Falcon’s top defenders alongside Wade Carnahan.
At practice this week, the Aces have put plenty of emphasis on their special teams and cleaning up the little issues that have occurred at inopportune times.
“I want us to avoid self-destructing and focus on ball security,” Morris said. “We cannot afford any dumb penalties that would cause us to beat ourselves.”
