It was an absolutely electrifying championship game powered by high-octane offenses, highlight-reel plays, and new state records. Catholic fell in a big hole early but fought back to give themselves a chance to take the lead in the final minutes. The effort came up just short, with Mayfield holding on for a 53-48 win in the 2A state championship.
After the Aces fell behind 24-7, the teams largely went blow-for-blow with neither defense having an answer for the firepower on the other side of the ball.
Things looked bleak when Mayfield went up 46-27 on a Ju Ju Starks 11-yard touchdown with 3:45 to play in the third quarter.
Enter Brady Atwell and Tutt Carrico. They’d made plays all game, but they showed why they are two of the best players in the state the rest of the way.
It started with a routine 18-yard touchdown up the middle to cut Mayfield’s lead to 46-34 with about 4 minutes left in the third quarter. That also happened to be Carrico’s 29th receiving touchdown of the year, a new record in Kentucky.
The Aces’ defense then finally got the stop they’d been itching for, setting Catholic up on their own 20 after a touchback on the punt.
Atwell launched a deep ball to Carrico, who caught it near midfield and spun away from three defenders before taking it all the way for an 80-yard touchdown. That cut Mayfield’s lead to 46-41 with 9:46 to play.
As they did nearly all game long, Mayfield answered. On 3rd-and-1 from their own 45, Starks broke free up the left side and went untouched to the end zone to push their lead to 53-41.
Atwell and Carrico weren’t done yet. Facing 2nd-and-15 from their own 9, Atwell hit Carrico on a short route. Carrico made nearly half the defenders miss with some fancy footwork, weaving in and out of traffic for a 71-yard gain. Two plays later, Atwell dove across the goal line on a 7-yard keeper.
The Aces trailed 53-48 with 7:23 to play, an eternity in this game.
A failed onside kick attempt gave Mayfield the ball on the Catholic 46. They picked up one first down before a couple of penalties backed them up. The 3rd-down pass was nearly caught but fell incomplete. On 4th-and-18, quarterback Zane Cartwright had to throw the ball away to avoid a sack by Barrett Evans.
The Aces still trailed 53-48, this time with 3:37 to play. They needed to go 71 yards.
Atwell found Deuce Sims for gains of 18 and 11 to advance Catholic to the Mayfield 42. The next three passes fell incomplete.
Mayfield brought the pressure, sacking Atwell to force a turnover on downs. A 15-yard gain by Starks allowed the Cardinals to run out the clock.
“There’s nothing right to say in this situation except for how proud I am of my football team,” Catholic head coach Jason Morris said. “Really, we just ran out of time. I know that’s coach speech, but three unforced turnovers in the first half and then got down by too much. We were able to fight back, and we had a shot to win it at the end. In the end that’s all you can really ask for.”
A few miscues in the first half plagued the Aces. On the first play from scrimmage, Atwell hit Waryn Ebelhar for a 6-yard gain, but the Cardinals stripped the ball and recovered the fumble.
Mayfield took advantage of the turnover, with Lincoln Suiter connecting on a 40-yard field goal. After the Aces punted on the ensuing drive, the Cardinals used two long passes followed by a trio of Starks runs to push the lead to 10-0.
Catholic started the next drive on their own 46 and nearly stalled again. But on 4th-and-5 from the Mayfield 29, Atwell hit Tutt Carrico in the end zone to cut the deficit to 10-7 with 5:56 left in the first quarter.
The Cardinals pushed their lead to 17-7 on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Cartwright to Braden Morris late in the first quarter.
Early in the second, the Aces face 4th-and-11 from their own 15. Mayfield’s Ethan Kemp blocked Atwell’s punt, setting the Cardinals up on the 5-yard-line. Starks scored 2 plays later, pushing the lead to 24-7.
The Aces marched downfield and scored on a 9-yard keeper by Atwell, but Mayfield’s Xavier Biggers returned the ensuing kickoff 65 yards for a touchdown to put the Cardinals up 31-14.
Catholic then went 3-and-out before Suiter added a 35-yard field goal for Mayfield.
The Aces had one final answer before halftime, and it came with some fireworks. They quickly advanced to the Mayfield 13, but back-to-back penalties left them facing 4th-and-37. Atwell’s helmet came off on 3rd down, so backup quarterback Dre’Mail Carothers airmailed a pass to the left sideline, where Sims made a toe-tapping catch just beyond the 1st-down marker.
Atwell came back in to score from 3 yards out on the next play, cutting Mayfield’s lead to 34-21 heading into halftime.
The offensive barrage continued in the third quarter. Mayfield took 3 plays to score on a 40-yard pass to Biggers. Catholic took 5 plays to score on a 1-yard dive by Atwell. The next touchdown by Starks pushed the score to 46-27, setting the stage for the near-comeback.
Atwell finished the game 24-49 with 514 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air. He also carried the ball 10 times for 45 yards and 4 touchdowns. Carrico finished with 11 catches for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns. Sims had 7 catches for 115 yards.
For Mayfield, Starks carried the ball 34 times for 194 yards and 4 touchdowns. Cartwright went 23-33 with 322 yards and 2 touchdowns. Morris had 11 catches for 150 yards and a score, while Biggers had 7 catches for 81 yards and a score.
Mayfield was 5 of 15 on 3rd downs and 3 of 4 on 4th downs. Catholic was 0 of 8 on 3rd downs and 2 of 4 on 4th downs. Both teams scored every time they were in the red zone.
