In a district clash on Friday night at Independence Field, the home Aces dismantled the visiting Cougars of McLean County in convincing fashion. With a final score of 40-6, Owensboro Catholic improved to 6-3 on the season, while McLean County fell to 7-2. The win ensured the Aces a one-seed in the district tournament as they enter postseason play in two weeks’ time.
In the game, virtually everything went the way Catholic could have hoped or planned for, as the Cougars were never able to establish success in the run game or pass game. Two interceptions and a recovered fumble from the Aces defense chipped in for a near shutout, barring a late-game touchdown from the visitors with several second-string defensive players on the field to finish the fourth quarter.
In addition to a stellar defense, Owensboro Catholic’s offense limited their unforced errors, playing a completely clean game with no penalties calls going against them. Though many Catholic players shined, the night belonged to Tutt Carrico. Carrico displayed all facets of his game, scoring four touchdowns in total.
The junior receiver also displayed great strength on the play of the night midway through the fourth quarter. As quarterback Brady Atwell unleashed a jump ball throw under significant pressure, Carrico jumped up in the back of the endzone, along with a McLean County defensive back.
Though it was first in the hands of the McLean player, Carrico was able to pry the ball loose and land on both feet, all in one motion. The play resulted in his fourth and final touchdown of the night, as the fans in the crowd roared in approval of the impressive feat.
After the game, Carrico said he does whatever it takes to make plays for his team.
“I thought our entire offense played very good tonight,” Carrico said. “I work hard in practice to be ready to make those kinds of plays when the ball is thrown my way. I’m really happy with my effort tonight, and the offense’s effort tonight, and I think we have something special cooking for the end of this season. I think state is in our future.”
An interesting storyline entering the contest was the RPI rankings of the two teams and the ramifications of the result for the state tournament. Following the district matchups in the state tournament, the team with the highest RPI is awarded home field advantage for each round moving forward.
Prior to Friday’s game, McLean County was ranked second in the state, while Owensboro Catholic was ranked fifth. However, with an Aces victory, Owensboro Catholic now sits in second, while the Cougars have dropped into fourth place.
Owensboro Catholic head coach Jason Morris shared what he thought of the game, along with some of the talk in the build-up to such a pivotal matchup.
“I felt like we came out and did exactly what we needed to do tonight,” Morris said. “I’m really proud, especially of this senior group. We had a heart-to-heart on Monday and we talked about how this was really the first round of the state playoffs. Let’s face it, if you don’t get home field advantage in the playoffs, you are not going to win state. Teams just play better at home. We told our boys that and they responded in the best way we could have hoped.”
Morris continued on, admitting that the RPI rankings were certainly looming large in his mind, while acknowledging the quality on the opposite sideline.
“We were paying attention to the RPI heading into the game, there’s no secret about that,” Morris said. “Beating such a solid team as McLean was huge for us. Hats off to those guys on a great season, it just didn’t work out for them tonight. They’ve got a great record and they’ve beaten several good teams this year.”
Up next for Owensboro Catholic is a final tuneup for the state tournament in a home game against Elizabethtown next Friday at 7 p.m. McLean, on the other hand, will host Hopkins County Central in a home contest at 7 p.m. on the same night.
