Irish vs. Blue Raiders pre-game summary by “The General”
VS 
CATHOLIC Irish (1-0)
at
CLEVELAND Blue Raiders (0-1)
(click link for directions)
August 24, 2012
7:30 p.m.
Benny Monroe Stadium
SETTING THE SCENE – Catholic plays its first road game of the 2012 season tonight…Irish have won 88 of their last 111 games…Catholic leads the series, 1-0…Coulter has 12 career 100-yard rushing efforts…Coulter rushed for 230 yards and two scores in last week’s win over Central…Irish piled up 431 yards in total offense in that win, including 393 yards on the ground…Catholic’s defense limited Central to six first downs and 112 yards total offense… Coulter has 2,519 career rushing yards…Lacey and Broussard lead the Irish in tackles…
THE RECORDS – Catholic is 1-0 in 2012. The Irish opened their season with a 35-0 home win over Central. Cleveland is 0-1 this year. The Blue Raiders lost, 41-17, to Maryville last week.
ON THE SIDELINE – Scott Meadows is in his fourth year at the helm of the Irish. His record at Catholic is 18-17. In his 14th year as a head coach, Meadows has posted a 106-52 career record (.671). Previous stops for the Tennessee Tech graduate include Sequoyah, Alcoa, Jefferson County, and William Blount. His 2000 Alcoa squad captured the state title.
RACK ’EM UP — Catholic has won 75 of its last 91 regular season games.
DISTRICT FOES – Catholic participates in Class 5A. The Irish are in District 4AAA, which includes (playoff bracket in parentheses): West (5A), Lenoir City (5A), Bearden (6A), Farragut (6A), Heritage (6A), Maryville (6A), and William Blount (6A).
DEPTH CHART – A breakdown of the 22 players listed as starters for tonight’s game (some who are listed as two-way starters) includes 16 seniors, three juniors, and three sophomores.
THE LAST GO ‘ROUND – Catholic’s 2012 roster includes 15 seniors. Included are Timmy Gibbons (WR/DB/P), Joey Cook (WR/DB), Stuart Smith (RB/LB), Cole Lombardo (RB/DB), Hayden Varner (TE/LB), Nolan Coulter (RB/LB), Nathan Teter (K), Reese Staley (OL/LB), Will Easley (OL/NG), Theo Sholly (OL/NG), Dakota Raines (OL/NG), Alex Smolens (OL/DE), Tyler O’Brien (OL/DE), Garrett Depp (OL/NG), and Zach Cole (OL/DE).
TEAM STATS — Catholic averages 431 yards per-game in total offense, including 393 yards on the ground and 38 yards through the air. Defensively, Catholic allows 112 yards per-game, including 29 yards on the ground and 83 yards through the air. Catholic averages 35 points per-game. Opponents average zero points per-game.
TURNOVER MARGIN – Catholic is even in turnover margin this season. The Irish have thrown no interceptions and lost two fumbles, while opponents have thrown one interception and lost one fumble.
SERIES VS. CLEVELAND – Catholic leads the series with Cleveland, 1-0. Here’s a look:
2011: @Catholic 37, Cleveland 21
LAST YEAR VS. CLEVELAND – Catholic scored 19 points in the first ten minutes of the game en route to a 37-21 win at home over Cleveland. Nolan Coulter, who rushed 28 times for 133 yards and four touchdowns, put the Irish on the board with his 23-yard run. Matt Armstrong passed 18 yards to Logan Lacey less than 90 seconds later to up the Irish lead to 13-0. Coulter’s one-yard run had Catholic ahead, 19-0, with 2:05 remaining in the first quarter. Coulter’s five-yard run, followed by a two-point conversion pass from Armstrong to Hayden Varner, had the Irish ahead at halftime, 27-7. A 31-yard field goal from Gabe Saavedra gave Catholic a 30-7 lead early in the third quarter. Coulter’s fourth touchdown, an eight-yard run, left the Irish ahead after three quarters, 37-7. Cleveland scored two touchdowns in less than a minute early in the fourth quarter, including a fumble return for a score, to account for the final points.
DISTRICT 4AAA STANDINGS – Here’s a look at the 2012 District 4AAA standings:
DISTRICT OVERALL
Catholic 0-0 1-0
Bearden 0-0 1-0
Maryville 0-0 1-0
West 0-0 1-0
Lenoir City 0-0 0-0
Farragut 0-0 0-1
Heritage 0-0 0-1
Wm. Blount 0-0 0-1
Last week’s results
Catholic 35, Central 0
Bearden 45, Hardin Valley 9
Maryville 41, Cleveland 17
West 31, Austin-East 15
Dobyns-Bennett 42, Farragut 14
Jefferson County 40, Heritage 0
Sevier County 44, William Blount 28
Thursday’s game
Loudon @ Lenoir City
Tonight’s games
Catholic @ Cleveland
William Blount @ Central
Oak Ridge @ Farragut
Heritage @ Hardin Valley
Bearden @ Morristown East
Fulton @ West
Sunday’s game
Alcoa @ Maryville
WEEK ZERO – Catholic ground out 393 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns in its season-opening 35-0 win at home over Central. Nolan Coulter led the Irish effort with 230 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries (a 12.1 ypc avg). It was the 12th 100-yard rushing game of Coulter’s career. Logan Lacey put the first Irish points of the season on the board late in the first quarter. His four-yard run capped an 11-play, 71-yard drive. Cole Lombardo, who rushed nine times for 63 yards, made the score 14-0 with his nine-yard dash in the second quarter. Coulter raced in from 55 yards out just before halftime to give the Irish a 21-0 lead at the break. Coulter’s second score, a 21-yarder, came midway through the third quarter. Jordan Anderson ended the scoring with a two-yard run. That touchdown capped a 13-play, 97-yard drive that chewed up 5:52 of the fourth-quarter clock. Nathan Teter was 5-of-5 on extra-point attempts, while Tanner Sharp was 4-of-9 passing for 38 yards in his first start. The Irish had 431 total offensive yards on the evening. Lacey and John Mark Broussard led the Irish defense with nine tackles each, with one of Lacey’s tackles being behind the line of scrimmage. Eric White added seven stops, including one for loss. Coulter had an interception, while Erik Perfetto had a fumble recovery. Catholic’s defense limited Central to six first downs and 112 yards in total offense, including just 29 rushing yards.
INDIVIDUAL STATS – Nolan Coulter has rushed 19 times for 230 yards, a 12.1 yards per-carry average, and two touchdowns this season. Cole Lombardo has carried nine times for 63 yards and a score. Tanner Sharp is 4-of-9 passing for 38 yards. Coulter has two receptions for six yards, while Logan Lacey has one grab for 25 yards. Lombardo also has one catch for seven yards.
TOP STOPPERS – Logan Lacey and John Mark Broussard lead Catholic in tackles with nine each. Lacey also has a tackle-for-loss of four yards.
HIT THE CENTURY MARK – Nolan Coulter has 12 career 100-yard rushing games. Here’s a look:
Opponent Att-Yds TDs
Farragut 17-147 1 2010
Maryville 18-104 0 “
Columbia 23-127 1 “
Central 28-144 2 2011
Cleveland 28-133 4 “
William Blount 18-170 1 “
Webb 17-102 0 “
Lenoir City 27-115 0 “
West 20-129 2 “
Heritage 24-298 4 “
Bearden 27-125 2 “
Central 19-230 2 2012
MORE THAN 1,000 – Nolan Coulter had 1,368 rushing yards last season. He became the first Irish player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2009. Dorian Cozart rushed for 1,476 yards that season.
MORE THAN 2,500 – Nolan Coulter has 2,519 rushing yards for his career. Coulter had 921 rushing yards in 2010 and 1,368 rushing yards last year. He has 230 rushing yards in 2012.
POINTS ON THE BOARD – Nolan Coulter leads the Irish in scoring this season with 12 points (two TD’s).
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 Tennessee Vol David Ligon adds commentary.
UP NEXT – Catholic will welcome District 4AAA rival Farragut next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
