Atwell, No. 3 Aces rout Edmonson

Oct. 14—Owensboro Catholic junior quarterback Brady Atwell threw five first-half touchdowns, and the No. 3 Aces rolled to a 48-7 victory over Class 2-A, District 2 foe Edmonson County on a drizzly Friday night at Steele Stadium.

Atwell completed 13-of-16 passing attempts for 249 yards and five scores before halftime, leading Catholic to a 40-0 lead at intermission. The Aces' junior varsity squad then closed out the second half, which was played with only two 10-minute quarters.

Catholic coach Jason Morris was happy with the way his team responded, especially coming off of a bye week and overcoming distractions from fall break.

"I was kind of worried about coming out sluggish, but we weren't at all," he said. "We had a really good week of practice, and it shows what kind of senior leadership we have. Then, it carried over to the game. Once again, when we keep Brady upright like we do, we can spread the ball around and take what they give us."

Catholic (8-0, 2-0 district) scored on each of its six first-half possessions, starting with Atwell's 27-yard strike to senior Tutt Carrico on the Aces' third play from scrimmage. Atwell later orchestrated an eight-play, 69-yard drive capped off by his 1-yard TD throw to senior Eli Blair with 4:49 left in the first frame.

Atwell extended his team's lead with a short toss out to senior wide receiver Deuce Sims, who turned upfield for a 31-yard score and a 20-0 lead with 2:27 left in the opening quarter.

On the Aces' next drive, a 44-yard completion to Tutt Carrico and a horse-collar penalty on Edmonson County (1-7, 0-2) set up Atwell's 5-yard TD to junior Vince Carrico that gave Catholic a 26-0 advantage through the first period.

Miles Edge scored on an 11-yard run up the middle with 8:45 left in the first half, and an interception by sophomore Nick Sims allowed Atwell to close out the night for the varsity lineup with a 16-yard TD to Tutt Carrico — pushing the Aces to a 40-0 lead and forcing the KHSAA-mandated running clock with 5:45 remaining in the second quarter.

"Just a special kid," Morris said of Atwell, who's now thrown a state-leading 38 touchdowns this fall. "He's a generational-type talent. I might not ever get another kid like this, even though (freshman) Dre'mail Carothers looks really good. But Brady keeps getting better and better, and that's what's scary about him — he's got all the God-given traits, and he gets a little bit better every single day. His best football is way ahead of him."

Carothers added a 21-yard touchdown to junior wideout Noah O'Nan midway through the third quarter for Catholic, and the Wildcats got on the board moments later with an 80-yard breakaway from senior running back Michael Mills.

Catholic finished with 357 yards of total offense, while the Aces' defense held Edmonson County to 147 yards — including only 24 yards in the first half.

"We're really talented on the defensive side," Morris noted. "Really athletic up front and really good linebackers like Eli Blair and Vince Carrico, all those guys are just stepping up against the run game. That's a pretty good running back over there, and we bottled him up really well."

Catholic returns to action at home next week with its district finale against Fort Campbell, but the Aces aren't taking anything for granted.

"The whole goal right now is to win the district championship next week," Morris said. "And then we'll worry about the future after that. Right now, we're focused on beating Fort Campbell. They got five or six wins, so they'll come in here ready next week for a district championship. We look forward to the challenge."

EDMONSON COUNTY 0 0 7 0 — 7

OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 26 14 8 0 — 48

OC-T. Carrico 27 pass from Atwell (Garvin kick)

OC-Blair 1 pass from Atwell (kick failed)

OC-Sims 31 pass from Atwell (Garvin kick)

OC-V. Carrico 5 pass from ATwell (pass failed)

OC-Edge 11 run (Garvin kick)

OC-T. Carrico 16 pass from Atwell (Garvin kick)

OC-O'Nan 21 pass from Carothers (Kabalen run)

EC-Mills 80 run (Gates kick)