Owensboro Catholic may have broken a handful of records this season, but they walked away with broken hearts Friday night after falling just short in the 2A state championship. They left everything on the field, though, and have plenty to be proud of after showing grit and brotherhood until the very end.
Catholic head coach Jason Morris, named the 2A Coach of the Year prior to the game, said the 2023 campaign was 5 years in the making. Morris took the reins of the program when the now-senior class was in 8th grade.
“All the credit goes to them,” he said in the postgame interview. “They have been very coachable. It’s just a special school we have at Owensboro Catholic. The kids have bought into everything I’ve preached since day one: the togetherness.”
The Aces have shown that week in and week out this season, rolling to a 14-0 record heading into the championship. They fell in a big hole early in Friday’s title game against Mayfield but fought back to give themselves a chance to take the lead in the final minutes. The effort came up just short, with the Cardinals holding on for a 53-48 win.
Even at 14-1, the Aces set a program record for most wins in a single season. With his 3 touchdowns Friday, star receiver Tutt Carrico set a new record for most receiving touchdowns in a single season with 30; he also led the state in receiving yards this year.
Carrico also said the journey began 5 years ago when he was in the 8th grade. He couldn’t hold back his emotions after the game.
“I want to thank my family first. Second of all, this team has worked our butts off every single day for the past 4 years. The seniors, juniors, sophomores, and the freshmen. Everybody. We all worked our butts off, and we came this close,” he said with his thumb of index finger narrowly apart. “I tell you, me and (my brother) Vince, whenever he was in 7th grade and I was in 8th grade, this was our dream. I dreamt of this day every day. Whenever times were getting hard, I worked harder and I pushed myself and we came this close.”
Carrico had remarkable numbers in the championship game, with 11 catches for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Quarterback Brady Atwell, named Class 2A Player of the Year prior to the game, finished the game 24-49 passing with 514 yards and 3 touchdown passes. He also carried the ball 10 times for 45 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Atwell is only a junior while Carrico is a senior, but the duo has developed an unbreakable connection over the last 3 years.
“That’s my brother right there,” Atwell said. “Until the world ends, that’s my brother. I’ll always have his back. The relationships I’ve built in the 3 years I’ve been here, it’s been awesome. It’s been a true blessing. The record’s great and all, but we didn’t win. That was not the goal. We got the record, but we didn’t win. At the end of the day, we just didn’t get the job done today. It happens.”
Mayfield threatened to run away with the game multiple times, but Atwell and Carrico willed the Aces back into it over and over again. Atwell’s mentality was simple: never say die.
“You never say die in a game,” he said. “I bet on myself. I believe in my team and my teammates. We’re the best team there is. I always think that my team can come back no matter what happens, no matter what the score is, no matter where we are honestly. I always bet on my team and my teammates. It was just that mentality of we can score at any moment, honestly. I mean, it showed tonight that we can score explosively. We just came up a little short.”
