Home Coming Game Notes vs Hardin Valley Presented by “The General”
HARDIN VALLEY Hawks (2-2)
at
CATHOLIC Irish (4-0)
September 26, 2014
7:30 p.m.
Blaine Stadium/Hollin Field
SETTING THE SCENE – Catholic celebrates Homecoming…Catholic won last year’s game at Hardin Valley, 15-14…Catholic is ranked second in this week’s Associated Press Class 4A poll…Catholic is averaging 50.3 points per-game…Irish have scored 186 points in their last three games…Catholic has outscored its opponents, 173-29, in the first half this season…Irish defense has allowed just 13 points (two field goals and one touchdown) in the second half this season…Catholic is +11 in turnover margin…Irish have yet to lose a fumble this year…Catholic’s last action saw it defeat Tyner, 55-7…Jancek threw three touchdown passes in that game while playing less than two quarters…Kuerschen had five catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns in that contest…Silvey had 12 tackles, including three TFL’s and two sacks…Rowan had 10.5 stops, including five TFL’s…Rowan leads Catholic in tackles with 32, including 14 TFL’s and four sacks…Rodgers averages 9.7 yard per-carry…Lacey leads team in scoring with 42 points (seven TD’s)… Irish have won 105 of their last 138 games…
Catholic is 4-0 this season. The Irish won at home last week over Tyner Academy, 55-7. Hardin Valley is 2-2 this season. The Hawks lost at home last week to Maryville, 16-3.
ON THE SIDELINE – Steve Matthews is in his second year at the helm of the Irish. He also serves as Catholic’s offensive coordinator. Matthews came to Catholic from Seigel High School in Murfreesboro, where he served as offensive coordinator from 2010-2012, He was head coach at Moore County in 2008 and 2009 and posted a 10-10 record. He also served as QB/WR coach at Tullahoma, his high school alma mater, from 2004-2007. His overall record is 24-14, and his record at Catholic is 14-4. Matthews played collegiately at Tennessee and Memphis.
RACK ‘EM UP – Catholic has won 89 of its last 114 regular-season games.
DISTRICT FOES – Catholic participates in Class 4A. The Irish are in District 4AA, which includes (playoff bracket in parentheses): Alcoa (3A), CAK (3A), Kingston (3A), and Scott (4A).
CLASS 4A POLL – Catholic is ranked second in this week’s Associated Press Class 4A Top 10. Fulton is ranked first with 18 first-place votes and180 points. The remainder of the Top 10: 2. Catholic (162); 3. Signal Mountain (114); 4. Greeneville (111); 5. Crockett County (98); 6. Pearl-Cohn (78); 7. Trezevant (68); 8. Liberty Magnet (48); 9. Sullivan South (37); 10. Marshall County (28).
DISTRICT 4AA STANDINGS – Here’s a look at the 2014 District 4AA standings:
DISTRICT OVERALL
Catholic 1-0 4-0
Alcoa 1-0 4-1
Scott 1-1 4-1
CAK 1-1 3-2
Kingston 0-2 1-3
Last week
Catholic 55, Tyner 7
Alcoa 45, Kingston 14
CAK 41, Scott 21
Thursday’s game
Grace Christian @ CAK
Friday’s games
Hardin Valley @ Catholic
Heritage @ Alcoa
Union County @ Scott
Kingston @ Lenoir City
LAST YEAR VS. HARDIN VALLEY – Catholic kept its record unblemished with its 15-14 win at Hardin Valley. After spotting Hardin Valley a 7-0 lead in the first quarter (Catholic’s first touchdown allowed in the first quarter that season), Wyatt Price put the Irish on the board with his 20-yard field goal in the second stanza. Catholic then went ahead in the final minute of the half when Zac Jancek connected with Chase Kuerschen on a seven-yard scoring pass. Hardin Valley regained the lead, 14-9, in the third quarter. Starting a drive at its own five-yard line with 9:28 remaining, Catholic drove 72 yards and ended its possession with a 41-yard field goal from Price, cutting the deficit to 14-12. After forcing a Hardin Valley punt on its next possession, the Irish took over on their own 27-yard line with 2:50 remaining in the game. Catholic proceeded to drive 54 yards to the Hawks’ 21-yard line. Price then nailed a 39-yard field goal with 1:10 to go to give the Irish the lead, 15-14. On its next possession, Hardin Valley moved to the Catholic 41-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. Jancek was 16-of-32 passing for 180 yards and a touchdown. The 16 completions tied his season-high and the 32 attempts were a season-high. Kuerschen had six grabs for 59 yards and a score. Amari Rodgers led the Irish rushing attack with 82 yards on 18 carries. Josh Silvey led the Irish defense with 11.5 tackles.
WEEK FOUR – Catholic improved to 4-0 with its 55-7 home win over Tyner Academy. A one-yard run from Logan Lacey capped an opening seven-play, 77-yard drive. Zac Jancek connected with Chase Kuerschen on a 47-yard scoring pass less than three minutes later. A 31-yard Jancek-to-Lacey connection moved the score to 21-0 (cont’d) after one quarter. Jancek’s third touchdown pass, a 14-yarder to Dom Souder, began a 34-point second quarter barrage. A one-yard run from Amari Rodgers upped the margin to 35-0. Kuerschen’s second touchdown reception came on a 10-yard, one-handed grab from Cooper Edenfield. Edenfield then followed with a six-yard scoring dash. Catholic’s final score of the evening came when Souder fell on a bad punt snap in the end zone for a touchdown. Jancek finished the evening 9-of-12 passing for 186 yards. Kuerschen had five grabs for 128 yards. Rodgers led the rushing attack with 33 yards on four carries. Josh Silvey led the Irish defense with 11 tackles, including three TFL’s and two sacks. Austin Rowan had 10.5 tackles, including five TFL’s. Souder, Corey Ostrowski, and Will Mullally had fumble recoveries for the Irish.
WEEK THREE – Catholic enjoyed an open date.
WEEK TWO – Catholic moved its record to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in District 4AA with its 70-23 win at CAK. The Irish trailed, 10-0, and 17-7 before proceeding to outscore the Warriors 63-6 over the final three quarters. Zac Jancek, who was named PrepXtra Offensive Player of the Week for his performance, accounted for five touchdowns on the evening. Jancek had rushing touchdowns of 39-, 6-, and 18-yards, and had scoring passes to Logan Lacey (22 yards) and Chase Kuerschen (48 yards). Jancek finished the evening with seven rushes for 95 yards, and was 13-of-22 passing for 187 yards. Amari Rodgers led the Irish rushing attack with 148 yards and two touchdowns (72 and 38 yards) on nine carries. Catholic ground out 382 rushing yards for the game. Rodgers also scored on a 47-yard interception return.. Lacey (one yard) and Matt Carson (one yard) also had rushing touchdowns for the Irish. Dom Souder led the Irish defense with nine tackles, while Tony Scott and Josh Silvey added eight tackles each. Austin Rowan collected 6.5 tackles, including 3.5 sacks. Augie Fortune also had an interception.
WEEK ONE – Catholic improved to 2-0 on the 2014 campaign with its 61-0 win at home over Coalfield. The Irish posted 41 first-quarter points, then added 20 points in the second stanza. Dom Souder opened the scoring with his 19-yard pass from Zac Jancek. Jancek then connected with Logan Lacey on a 15-yard scoring play. On the following Coalfield possession, Lacey scooped up a fumble and went in from eight yards. Souder’s second scoring grab from Jancek, a 26-yarder, upped the margin to 27-0. Lacey followed with a five-yard dash, and Tony Scott ended the first-quarter scoring with his 11-yard run. Cam Whaley had a four-yard run early in the second quarter, with Griffin Dishner (55 yards) and Moses Davis (48 yards) adding long second-quarter scoring runs. Of Catholic’s eight scoring drives, six were of the one-play variety. Jancek was 5-of-5 passing for 74 yards and three touchdowns. Fifteen different players had rushing attempts for the Irish, led by Joshua Brown with 72 yards on four carries. Catholic had 420 yards total offense on the evening. Catholic’s defense was stout, allowing Coalfield just 77 yards in total offense. Morgan Ernst had eight stops for the Irish, including three for-loss. Jay Smolens also had eight tackles, while Connor Ostrowski added seven. Austin Rowan had three tackles-for-loss. Sammy Nelson recorded his second interception of the season, while Davis also had a pick.
WEEK ZERO – Catholic opened its 2014 season with a 15-12 win at Notre Dame. The Irish scored on their opening drive of the season, going 55 yards in six plays. Amari Rodgers raced into the end zone from 25 yards out to give Catholic a 6-0 lead. A two-point conversion pass from Logan Lacey to Augie Fortune upped the margin to 8-0. Following a Notre Dame touchdown, Catholic scored later in the opening quarter when Zac Jancek connected with Jordan Anderson on a 44-yard scoring strike. Jake Poczobut’s extra point left the Irish ahead 15-6 after one quarter. Notre Dame added third- and fourth-quarter field goals to account for the final margin. Jancek was 21-of-35 passing for a career-high 268 yards. Chase Kuerschen had nine catches for a career-high 133 yards. Anderson also topped the century mark with five catches for 102 yards. Catholic had 427 yards in total offense on the evening. Fortune and Corey Ostrowski led the Irish defense with 12 tackles each. Austin Rowan had 11 stops, while Logan Lacey and Dom Souder had ten tackles each. The Irish had 18 tackles-for-loss in the game, including six by Rowan and five by Ostrowski. Kuerschen and Sammy Nelson had interceptions for the Irish.
TEAM STATS – Catholic averages 435.6 yards per-game in total offense, including 254.0 yards on the ground and 181.3 yards through the air. Defensively, Catholic allows 230 yards per-game, including 103.3 yards on the ground and 126.8 yards through the air. Catholic averages 50.3 points per-game. Opponents average 10.5 points per-game.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS – Here are Catholic’s leaders in various individual categories:
Rushing: Amari Rodgers – 24 att., 232 yds., 4 TD
Passing: Zac Jancek – 48-74-3, 715 yds., 9 TD
Receiving: Chase Kuerschen – 17 rec., 330 yds., 3 TD
Scoring: Logan Lacey – 42 pts.
Tackles: Austin Rowan – 32
Tackles for loss: Austin Rowan – 14
Sacks: Austin Rowan – 4
Interceptions: Sammy Nelson — 2
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Catholic has had one player selected as PrepXtra Player of the Week this season. Here’s a look
PLAYER OPPONENT STATS
Zac Jancek CAK 7 att, 95 yds, 3TD; 13-22-1, 187 yds, 2TD
FAST START – Catholic has outscored its opponents 173-29 in the first half this season.
NOT MANY POINTS – The Irish defense has allowed just 13 points (two field goals and one touchdown) in the second half this season.
100-YARD RUSHERS – Catholic has had one 100-yard rusher in 2014. Here’s a look:
PLAYER OPPONENT ATT-YDS-TD
Amari Rodgers CAK 9-148-2
TURNOVER MARGIN – Catholic is +11 in turnover margin this season. The Irish have thrown three interceptions and have yet to lose a fumble. Opponents have thrown seven interceptions and lost seven fumbles.
CENTURY MARK – Catholic has had three 100-yard receiving performances this season. Here’s a look:
Player Opponent Rec-Yds-TD
Chase Kuerschen Notre Dame 9-133-0
Jordan Anderson Notre Dame 5-102-1
Chase Kuerschen Tyner 5-128-2
DOUBLE-DIGIT TACKLES – Catholic has had seven double-digit tackle efforts this season. Here’s a look:
Player Opponent Tackles
Augie Fortune Notre Dame 12
Corey Ostrowski Notre Dame 12
Austin Rowan Notre Dame 11
Logan Lacey Notre Dame 10
Dom Souder Notre Dame 10
Josh Silvey Tyner 12
Austin Rowan Tyner 10.5
THE LAST GO ‘ROUND – Catholic’s 2014 roster includes 18 seniors. Included are Jordan Anderson (RB/DB), Zac Jancek (QB/DB), Logan Lacey (RB/LB), Sammy Nelson (WR/DB)m Tim Quayle (RB/DB), Donovan Ricche (WR/DB), Dom Souder (WR/DB), Brandon LoCascio (WR/DB), Alex Jones (K), Connor Ostrowski (FB/LB), Jay Smolens (RB/LB), Corey Ostrowski (OL/DL), Blake Mayo (TE/LB), Chris Jackson (OL/DL), Christian Atwater (OL/DL), Brandon Morgan (OL/DL), Carter Edmunds (OL/DL), and Luis Soto (OL/DL).
ON THE STAFF – Serving as assistant coaches for the Irish are: Les Greer (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers), Justin Anderson (Offensive Line), Sam Brown (Running Backs), Drew Franklin (Wide Receivers), Marcus McDonald (Defensive Line), J.J. Surlas (Outside Linebackers), Jason Surlas (Defensive Backs), and David Ball (Strength & Conditioning).
ON THE RADIO – Tonight’s game is being broadcast on WNML, The Sports Animal (99.1 FM). John Wilkerson handles play-by-play, while former Catholic quarterback and 1999 Mr. Football Rob Demastus adds commentary.
xxxxON TV – Tonight’s game is being broadcast on 10News2. Russell Biven calls the action, while XXXXXX provides analysis.
UP NEXT – Catholic will travel to District 4AA foe Kingston next week. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., at Dr. Nat Sugarman Field.
