CATHOLIC Irish (8-3)

 at

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN Eagles (8-3)

November 15, 2013

7 p.m.

TSSAA Playoffs – Second Round 

View Larger Map and Directions to Signal Mountain High School

 

SETTING THE SCENE – Catholic enters the second round of the TSAAA playoffs…Irish are making their 21st appearance in the playoffs…eight Catholic opponents made the playoff field, including four number-one seeds…Irish are ranked tenth in the final AP Class 4A poll… Irish have won 98 of their last 130 games…Catholic had a season-high 464 yards in total offense in last week’s win over DeKalb County…Irish had five rushing touchdowns in that game…Jancek had a career-high 255 yards passing in the contest… Jancek has 1,473 yards passing and 11 touchdowns…Martinez is a Brown and Lacey lead Irish rushing attack…Hamilton team in tackles…Hamilton has 14.5 sacks on the season…Catholic has five interception returns for touchdowns this year…Martinez has four picks…Catholic is +11 in turnover margin

 THE RECORDS – Catholic is 8-3 in 2013, including a 3-1 mark in District 4AA. The Irish won at home over DeKalb County last week, 55-13. Signal Mountain is 8-3 overall this season and finished 5-0 in District 7AA. The Eagles won at home over Marshall County last week, 52-17.

 ON THE SIDELINE – Steve Matthews is in his first year at the helm of the Irish. He also serves as Catholic’s offensive coordinator. Matthews comes to Catholic from Siegel 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. Matthews played collegiately at Tennessee and Memphis. His record at Catholic is 8-3.

 DISTRICT FOES – Catholic is in Class 4A. The Irish are in District 4AA, which includes (playoff bracket in parentheses): Alcoa (3A), CAK (3A), Kingston (3A), and Scott (4A).

 IN THE PLAYOFFS – Catholic makes its 21st appearance in the TSSAA Playoffs and first since the 2010 season. Prior to that, the Irish had been in the playoffs every season since 1999. The Irish have posted a 21-19 record in the TSSAA Playoffs and won the Class AAA state championship in 2008.

 OPPONENTS IN THE PLAYOFFS – Eight Catholic opponents from this season made the TSSAA playoff field, including four who earned number one seeds. Here’s a look:

Opponent (record)                Class   Quad   Seed

Notre Dame (7-3)                    3A       2          3

Coalfield (7-3)                        1A       1          1

CAK (4-6)                               3A       1          6

Tyner (4-6)                              3A       2          5

Anderson County (9-1)           5A       1          1

Scott (7-3)                               4A       1          6

Webb (8-2)                              DII      E/M     1

Alcoa (9-1)                              3A       1          1

ASSOCIATED PRESS CLASS 4A TOP 10 – Catholic is ranked tenth in the final Associated Press Class 4A Top 10 poll of the season. Fulton is ranked first with 189 overall points and 18 first-place votes. The remainder of the Top 10 includes: 2. Greeneville (1/171); 3. Elizabethton (38); 4. Dyersburg (121); 5. Pearl-Cohn (108); 6. Sullivan South (100); 7. Giles County (73); 8. Carter (50); 9.Trezevant (23); 10. Catholic (16).

 PICK SIX – Catholic’s defense has 20 interceptions this season and five have been returned for touchdowns. Will Martinez had a 33-yard return for six in Catholic’s 22-13 win over Notre Dame. Dominic Souder (27 yds.) and Augie Fortune (32 yds.) scored in Catholic’s 47-7 win at Coalfield. Chase Kuerschen had a 71-yard return for a score in Catholic’s 17-14 win over CAK. Harrison Huber had a 46-yard return for a score in Catholic’s 35-2 win over Scott.

 TURNOVER MARGIN – Catholic is plus-11 in turnover margin this season. The Irish have lost 12 fumbles and thrown six interceptions. Opponents have lost nine fumbles and thrown 20 interceptions.

 RACK ’EM UP — Catholic has won 85 of its last 110 regular season games.

 DISTRICT 4AA STANDINGS – Here’s a look at the final 2013 District 4AA standings, including current overall record:

                        DISTRICT                OVERALL

Alcoa               4-0                               10-1

Catholic          3-1                               8-3

CAK               2-2                               5-6

Scott                1-3                               7-4

Kingston         0-4                               0-10

 

Last week’s results

Catholic 55, DeKalb County 13

Alcoa 45, York Institute 7

CAK 56, Gatlinburg-Pittman 21

Elizabethton 27, Scott 20 

Friday’s games (TSSAA Playoffs – 2nd round)

Catholic @ Signal Mountain

Pigeon Forge @ Alcoa

Johnson County @ CAK 

DISTRICT 7AA STANDINGS – Here’s a look at the final 2013 District 7AA standings, including current overall record:

                                    DISTRICT                OVERALL

Signal Mountain        5-0                               8-3

Notre Dame                4-1                               8-3

Sequatchie Co.            3-2                               5-6

Grundy Co.                 2-3                               4-7

Chatt. Christian           1-4                               3-7

Bledsoe Co.                0-5                               2-8

 

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN RESULTS –Here’s how Signal Mountain fared this season en route to its 8-3 record: East Hamilton 14, Signal Mountain 12; Signal Mountain 49, Tyner 28; Signal Mountain 48, Bledsoe County 0; Signal Mountain 63, Red Bank 0; Signal Mountain 63, Grundy County 7; Bradley Central 36, Signal Mountain27; Signal Mountain 20, Notre Dame 13; Signal Mountain67, Chattanooga Christian 13; Greeneville 47, Signal Mountain 20; Signal Mountain 41, Sequatchie County 9; Signal Mountain 52, Marshall County 17.

 

COMMON OPPONENTS – Catholic and Signal Mountain have faced two common opponents this year. Here’s how each fared:

Opponent                   Catholic          Signal Mountain

Notre Dame                W, 22-13         W, 20-13

Tyner Academy          W, 24-6           W, 49-28

 

WEEK 11 (Playoffs – First Round) – Catholic scored on its first seven possessions en route to a 55-13 win over DeKalb County in the first round of the TSSAA Playoffs. A two-yard run from Logan Lacey opened the scoring, followed by a seven-yard pass to Lacey from Zac Jancek. A 22-yard run by Elijah Brown made the score 21-0 after one quarter. Brown went in from 16 yards and Lacey followed with a 26-yard scamper to up the margin to 34-0. A two-yard pass from Lacey to Will Martinez and a 13-yard run from Erik Perfetto made the score 48-7 at halftime. A 23-yard fumble return by Haydn Tanner in the third quarter provided Catholic’s final points. Brown rushed six times for 75 yards, while Lacey added 47 yards on seven carries. Jancek was 14-of-18 passing for a career-high 255 yards. David Hamilton led the Irish defense with 7.5 tackles. Jake Kyle added seven stops. Eric White collected his third, and the teams 20th, interception of the season.

TEAM STATS — Catholic averages 312.3 yards per-game in total offense, including 164.5 yards on the ground and 147.7 yards through the air. Defensively, Catholic allows 261.2 yards per-game, including 177.2 yards on the ground and 84.0 yards through the air. Catholic averages 29.1 points per-game. Opponents average 20.0 points per-game. 

INDIVUDUAL LEADERS  – Here’s a look at Catholic’s statistical leaders in various categories:

Rushing: Elijah Brown (84 att., 586 yds, 9 TD); Logan Lacey (107 att., 554 yds, 6 TD)

Passing: Zac Jancek (99-169-5, 1,473 yds, 11 TD)

Receiving: Will Martinez (27 rec., 360 yds, 2 TD)

Interceptions: Will Martinez (4)

Scoring: Elijah Brown (66 points)

Tackles: David Hamilton (94) 

CENTURY MARK – Catholic has had three individual 100-yard rushing efforts this season. Here’s a look:

Player                         Opponent       Carries-Yards

Amari Rodgers            Kingston         9-105

Elijah Brown               Scott                9-165

Elijah Brown               Webb               23-109 

DOUBLE-DIGIT TACKLES – Here’s a look at Catholic’s double-digit tackle efforts in 2013:

Player                         Opponent        Tackles

David Hamilton               Tyner               18.5

Erik Perfetto                Webb               18

David Hamilton           Coalfield          13

Josh Silvey                  Tyner               12

Josh Silvey                   Alcoa               12

Dawson Anderson      Anderson Co.  12

Dominic Souder           Anderson Co.  12

Eric White                    CAK                12

Josh Silvey                  Hardin Valley  11.5

Austin Rowan              Anderson Co.  11

David Hamilton           Alcoa               10

Eric White                    Alcoa               10

David Hamilton           Hardin Valley  10

Erik Perfetto                Hardin Valley  10

 

BEHIND THE LINE – Catholic has 48.5 tackles-for-loss and 30 sacks this season,David Hamilton leads the Irish in both categories with 12.5 TFL’s and 14.5 sacks.

ALL-PURPOSE MAN – Will Martinez has 777 all-purpose yards this season. The breakdown includes 360 receiving yards, 156 punt return yards, 242 kickoff return yards, and 19 rushing yards. 

PREPXTRA PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Here is a list of players who have been nominated for PrepXtra Player of the Week this season:

Player                         Off./Def          Opponent       Stats   

Will Martinez              Defense           Notre Dame    33-yd int ret for TD, 3 PBU

Dominic Souder          Defense           Coalfield         27-yd int ret for TD, 2 PBU (winner)

David Hamilton          Defense           CAK               8.5 tackles, 3.5 sacks

 

THE LAST GO ‘ROUND – Catholic’s 2013 roster includes 23 seniors. Included are Nick Lentz (QB/DB), Eric White (WR/LB), Elijah Brown (WR/DB), Jerome Rehmann (RB/DB), Harrison Huber (WR/DB), John Mark Broussard (RB/LB), Derek Connolly (WR/DB), Mike Devrnja (WR/DB), Morgan West (TE/DB), Erik Perfetto (RB/LB), Will Martinez (WR/DB), Michael Ernst (RB/LB), Wyatt Price (K), David Hamilton (WR/LB), Nicholas Natour (OL/DL), Joe Willenborg (OL/LB), Dwight Jessie (OL/DL), Evan Nelson (OL/DL), Corey Patton (OL/LB), Sean Nicholson (OL/DL), Matt Carroll (OL/DL), Patrick McFall (OL/DL), and Logan Irwin (OL/DL). 

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 – Should Catholic win tonight, it would travel next Friday to face the winner of the Sequoyah (9-2/3 seed)-Hixson (8-3/2 seed) contest. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.