Owensboro Catholic struggled to get going early in their return to football action Friday night while their first opponents of the 2020 season showed up ready to play, benefitting from having already notched three victories in as many tries.
Despite falling behind, coach Jason Morris and his Aces got the pieces put together as the game went on to take down Mt. Vernon (Ind.) 21-13.
The Wildcats drew first blood — intercepting Lincoln Clancy’s first throw of the game as the Aces’ new starting quarterback — and returning it for a touchdown just 17 seconds into the first quarter.
Moments later, the offense was back on the field for Owensboro Catholic, this time with a drive stalling inside its own 20-yard line. The defense was up to the task of playing damage control, managing to stifle the ensuing Mt. Vernon drive and right the ship.
“The defense came up huge tonight,” Morris said. “Mt. Vernon is a really good football team and we just keep fighting. After spotting them a touchdown at the very beginning of the game, our defense held them to six points all night. In the second half, we got even better after a few minor adjustments on some things we were misreading. I’m really proud of the way our defense played to help keep us in the game.”
After swapping punts, the Aces managed to push a touchdown across with Braden Mundy scurrying into the endzone for his first score of the year from the 8-yard line, tying the game at 7-7 with 8:40 to go in the second quarter.
On the next drive, Mt. Vernon scored a 2-yard rushing touchdown to regain the lead. A missed extra point attempt left the score at 13-7 heading into halftime.
In the second half, Mt. Vernon received the opening kickoff before Owensboro Catholic managed to stifle a would-be field goal attempt when the Wildcats’ placeholder Trevor Frisby mishandled a snap and was tackled for a loss at the Aces’ 30-yard line.
After both Owensboro Catholic and Mt. Vernon failed to muster any meaningful offensive plays, the following three drives resulted in punts.
Finally, with 5:43 to go in the fourth quarter, Owensboro Catholic got back on track offensively.
After John Roberts intercepted a Mt. Vernon pass attempt on the Aces’ 40-yard line, Mundy scampered home from 8 yards out to tie the game at 13 and the extra point by Luke Payne put the Aces in front at 14-13.
That lead would not be relinquished as the Aces defense came up with a huge fourth-down stand at the Wildcats’ 47-yard line with 3:28 to play.
In the waning moments and looking to put the victory on ice, Clancy took the snap and rolled to the left on a quarterback keeper, scampering 21 yards and scoring a touchdown with 1:03 left on the clock.
The Wildcats had one final chance at tying up the game, but Mundy came up with an interception on the Mt. Vernon 34-yard line to cap off a thrilling come-from-behind victory.
Prior to the drive featuring Mundy’s fourth-quarter touchdown, he had not played a single snap in the second half. Morris felt as if Mundy’s conditioning wasn’t where it needed to be after a tweaked knee limited his practice time, and he made the executive decision to sit him out of the third quarter.
“It took us a half to catch up to the speed of the game against a good football team in Mt. Vernon,” Morris said. “We went back to the drawing board entirely and decided we were going to win the game by running the football. So, we let Braden Mundy go to work in the fourth quarter, which worked out for us in the end.”
Morris continued on the phycological and emotional victories his team experienced in simply getting to put the pads on against another team from a different school.
“Our motto for the year is ‘together,’” Morris said. “We need this season after all of the adversity that 2020 has brought. I love this group of boys; they are gritty and I’m excited about where we can go when we stick together. Tonight was a special night and I can’t wait for many more just like it.”
On the night, the Aces recorded 164 rushing yards and 93 passing yards. Clancy led the way on the ground, notching 67 yards to complement a bounce-back passing performance after the early interception. Mundy finished the game with two rushing touchdowns. John Roberts also recorded an interception on defense.
The Aces will be back in action at 7 p.m. Thursday night as they play host to Hopkins County Central in their first game against a Kentucky foe.
