BELFRY Pirates (4-0)

at

CATHOLIC Irish (4-1)

September 23, 2016

7:30 p.m.

Blaine Stadium/HollinField

Featured Player: Chase Cunningham

SETTING THE SCENE – Catholic plays its first home game of the 2016 season… Catholic is ranked first in this week’s Associated Press Class 4A poll…Catholic won the 2015 TSSAA Class 4A state championship…Belfry is the three-time defending Kentucky Class 3A state champion…Belfry won last year’s contest…Catholic defeated Fulton, 69-42, last week in Region 2-4A action…Irish amassed a single-game state-record 749 yards of total offense in that contest…Irish have posted three consecutive 10-win seasons…Irish have won 126 of their last 166 games… Cunningham has passed for 300-or-more first-half yards in each of the previous four games…Cunningham has passed for 1,427 yards and 14 TD’s over the past four games…Wood had 100-plus yards both rushing and receiving in last week’s win…Catholic has suffered just two turnovers this season…Irish are plus-15 in turnover margin…Irish averaging 502.0 yards and 56.0 points per-game…Scott leads the Irish in tackles…Fluker leads in tackles for-loss…

 

THE RECORDS – Catholic is 4-1 in 2016, including a 2-0 mark in Region 2-4A. The Irish won at Fulton, 69-42, last week.  Belfry is 4-0 this year. The Pirates won at Pikeville, 55-13, last week.

 

ON THE SIDELINE – Steve Matthews is in his fourth 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 10-11 record. He also served as QB/WR coach at Tullahoma, his high school alma mater, from 2004-2007. His overall record is 45-22, and his record at Catholic is 35-11. Matthews played collegiately at Tennessee and Memphis. He played professionally with the Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Oilers.

 

SEASON SCHEDULES – Here are 2016 schedules for both teams:

Catholic (4-1)                                                Belfry (4-0)

8/20     @Mo. West    W, 63-30 (forfeited)   8/20     Open Date
8/26     CPA (at Vanderbilt)   W, 45-0           8/26     Tates Creek                 W, 48-12

9/2       @Central                    W, 49-19         9/2       Harlan County            W, 47-13

9/9       @Notre Dame             W, 54-9           9/9       @Newport Cent. Cath.W, 41-8

9/15     @Fulton                      W, 69-42         9/16     @Pikeville                  W, 55-13

9/23     Belfry (Ky.)                                       9/23     @Catholic

9/30     Anderson County                                9/30     Cabell Midland (WV)

10/7     Open Date                                           10/7     @Lawrence County

10/14   @Carter                                              10/14   Warrensville Heights (OH)

10/21   Cloudland                                           10/2l    Pike County Central

10/28   Union County                                     10/28   @Johnson Central

SERIES VS. BELFRY –   Belfry leads the series, 1-0. Here’s a look:

2015: @Belfry 38, Catholic 14

 

LAST YEAR VS. BELFRY – Catholic made its’ first-ever visit to Belfry (Ky.), and came away on the losing end of a 38-14 score. Chase Cunningham had a pair of touchdown passes for the Irish, connecting with Hunter Kountz (33 yards) in the second quarter and Amari Rodgers (83 yards) in the final stanza. Cunningham finished 19-33-2 passing for 336 yards on the evening. Rodgers had nine grabs for 225 yards to lead the Irish receiving corps. Austin Rowan and Augie Fortune had 16 tackles each to lead the Catholic defense. Rodgers had 13 stops, while Jake Kyle had 12 tackles. Kyle also had a caused fumble and a fumble recovery.

 

RACK ‘EM UP – Catholic has won 104 of its last 135 regular-season games.

 

REGION FOES – Catholic participates in Region 2-4A. Region foes for the Irish include Anderson County, Carter, Central, Fulton, and Union County.

 

ASSOCIATED PRESS CLASS 4A POLL – Catholic is ranked first in this week’s

Associated Press Class 4A poll with 156 overall points and 13 first-place votes. The remainder of the Top 10 includes: 2. Greeneville (2/143); 3. Marshall County (130); 4. Pearl-Cohn (100); 5. Ridgeway (93); 6. Haywood (70); 7. Stone Memorial (33); 8. East Hamilton (30); 9. Jackson North Side (29); t10. Maplewood (17); t10. Seymour (17).

 

TEAM STATS – Catholic averages 502.0 yards per-game in total offense, including 157.2 yards on the ground and 344.8 yards through the air. Defensively, Catholic allows 272.2 yards per-game, including 85.2 yards on the ground and 187.0 yards through the air. Catholic averages 56.0 points per-game. Opponents average 20.0 points per-game.

 

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS – Here are Catholic’s leaders in various individual categories:

Rushing: Jeffery Wood – 46 att., 293 yds., 6 TD

Passing: Chase Cunningham – 77-120-1 1,707 yds., 18 TD

Receiving: Chase Kuerschen – 27 rec., 650 yds., 7 TD

Scoring: Amari Rodgers – 60 pts (10 TD’s)

Tackles: Tony Scott – 40

Tackles for loss: Joe Fluker – 9

Sacks: Tony Scott – 3

Interceptions: Chase Kuerschen, Jeffery Wood – 3

 

 

PLAYERS OF NOTE

 

3 – Amari Rodgers (WR/DB, 5-10, 200, Sr.): 7 att, 40 yds, 3 rec, 43 yds, 1 TD (10) vs. Fulton…3 rec, 134 yds, 2 TD (70, 50) vs. Notre Dame…6 rec, 205 yds, 2 TD (81, 17) vs. Central…4 rec, 133 yds, 2 TD (50, 27) vs. CPA…5 rec, 103 yds, 2 TD (60, 32); 1 punt ret., 63 yds (TD) vs. Morristown West…

 

4 – Jeffery Wood (RB, 5-9, 160, Sr.): 13 att, 101 yds, 2 TD (31, 1), 2 rec, 108 yds, 1 TD (92), 2 PBU vs. Fulton…7 att, 11 yds, 1 TD (1), 1 KOR, 74 yds vs. Notre Dame…5 att, 5 yds, 1 TD (5), 2 rec, 6 yds, 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 5 PBU, 2 INT (35/TD) vs. Central…7 att, 33 yds, 1 TD (7) vs. CPA…14 att, 143 yds, 1 TD (57); 1 rec, 13 yds, 5 tackles, 1 INT vs. Morristown West…

 

8 – Cameron Blakely (WR/DB, 6-4, 190, Jr.): 3 rec, 81 yds vs. Fulton…3 rec, 30 yds vs. Notre Dame…4 rec, 31 yds vs. Central…4 rec, 87 yds vs. CPA…1 rec, 7 yds vs. Morristown West…

 

10 – Jack Sompayrac (QB/DB, 6-1, 185, Jr.): 5 tackles vs. Fulton…2 att, 10 yds, 1-2-0, 11 yds, 6 tackles vs. Notre Dame…4 tackles, 1 PBU vs. Central…1 att, 35 yds, 9 tackles, 1 TFL vs. CPA…8 tackles vs. Morristown West…

 

16 – Chase Cunningham (QB, 5-10, 160, Sr.): 18-32-0, 503 yds, 5 TD (15, 92, 36, 10, 30), rush TD (1) vs. Fulton…14-23-0, 316 yds, 4 TD (70, 20, 54, 50) vs. Notre Dame…16-20-1, 308 yds, 2 TD (81, 17) vs. Central…13-17-0, 300 yds, 3 TD (50, 14, 27) vs. CPA…16-28-0, 280 yds, 4 TD (60, 32, 28, 36) vs. Morristown West…

 

21 – Tony Scott (LB, 6-2, 195, Sr.): 10 tackles, 2 sacks vs. Fulton…6 tackles, 1 TFL vs. Notre Dame…11 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PBU vs. Central…6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT vs. CPA…7 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PBU, 1 INT vs. Morristown West…

 

22 – Joe Fluker (LB, 5-9, 175, Jr.): 4 tackles, 1 TFL vs. Fulton…6 att, 63 yds, 1 TD (4), 8 tackles, 3 TFL vs. Notre Dame…4 tackles vs. Central…7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 FC, 1 FR, 1 PBU vs. CPA…10 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 PBU vs. Morristown West…

 

31 – Joshua Brown (RB/LB, 6-2, 205, Jr.): 7 att, 21 yds, 2 TD (3, 10), 6.5 tackles, .5 sack vs. Fulton…5 att, 27 yds, 1 TD (9), 2 tackles vs. Notre Dame…3 att, 38 yds, 1 TD (19), 3 tackles, 1 PBU vs. Central…3 att, 27 yds, 1 TD (9), 2 tackles vs. CPA…6 att, 43 yds, 2 TD (21, 3); 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT (33/TD) vs. Morristown West…

 

36 — Chase Kuerschen (WR/DB, 6-1, 205, Sr.): 8 rec, 255 yds, 3 TD (15, 36, 30), 8 tackles vs. Fulton… 6 rec, 146 yds, 2 TD (20, 54), 2 tackles, 1 INT vs. Notre Dame… 3 rec, 53 yds, 5 tackles, 1 INT (55/TD) vs. Central…3 rec, 59 yds, 2 punt ret, 50 yds, 1 TD (52), 4 tackles, 1 PBU vs. CPA…7 rec, 137 yds, 2 TD (28, 36), 4 tackles, 1 INT vs. Morristown West…

 

43 — Beau Hollin (LB, 6-3, 190, Sr.): 4.5 tackles, .5 sack vs. Fulton…9 tackles, 1 TFL vs. Central…2 tackles, 1 TFL vs. CPA…9 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 PBU vs. Morristown West…

 

45 – Jake Mahoney (LB, 5-11, 195, Jr): 8 tackles, 1 PBU vs. Fulton…12 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FC, 1 FR, 2 PBU, 1 INT vs. Notre Dame…4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FR, 1 PBU vs. Central…5 tackles, 1 TFL vs. CPA…9 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT vs. Morristown West…

 

 

60 – Charlie Connors (DE, 6-2, 255, Sr.): 3 tackles, 2 TFL vs. Fulton…4 tackles, 1 TFL vs. Notre Dame…4 tackles, 1 TFL vs. Central…3 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 FC vs. CPA…6 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack vs. Morristown West…

 

CAREER NUMBERS – Three Irish players are accumulating impressive career numbers. Chase Cunningham has 4,438 career passing yards. Chase Kuerschen has 2,975 career receiving yards, and Amari Rodgers has 2,698 career receiving yards.

 

REGION 2-4A STANDINGS – Here’s a look at the 2016 Region 2-4A standings:

REGION        OVERALL

Catholic                     2-0                   4-1

Central                        1-1                   2-2

Carter                          1-1                   2-3

Fulton                         1-1                   2-3

Anderson County        1-1                   1-4

Union County             0-2                   0-5

 

Last week’s games

Catholic 69, Fulton 42

Central 43, Carter 42

Anderson County 62, Union County 0

 

Thursday’s game

Central @ Morristown West

 

Friday’s games

Belfry @ Catholic

Carter @ South Doyle

Gibbs @ Fulton

Scott @ Union County

Clinton @ Anderson County

.

 

WEEK FIVE – Catholic improved its record to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in region 2-4A with its 69-42 win at Fulton. The Irish amassed a state single-game record 749 yards in total offense in the contest. The previous record was 733 yards by Upperman in a game against Tyner in November, 2013. The Irish scored just 1:27 into the game when Chase Cunningham passed 15 yards to Chase Kuerschen. Scoring runs from Joshua Brown (three yards) and Jeffery Wood (31 yards) had Catholic ahead, 21-0, after one quarter. Following a Fulton score, the Irish dented the scoreboard three more times in the second stanza. Brown’s 10-yard run was followed by a one-yard sneak from Cunningham. A 92-yard pass from Cunningham to Wood had the Irish ahead, 42-6. A late Fulton touchdown made the score 42-12 at the break. The Catholic offensive onslaught continued in the third quarter, as the Irish posted three more touchdowns. Wood’s one-yard (cont’d)

run was followed by touchdown passes from Cunningham to Kuerschen (36 yards) and Amari Rodgers (10 yards). Kuerschen’s third touchdown reception, covering 30 yards had Catholic ahead, 69-30, in the fourth quarter. Two Fulton touchdowns over the final 5:33 of the contest accounted for the final margin. Cunningham, who was nominated for PrepXtra Player of the Week, was 18-of-32 passing for 503 yards and five touchdowns. Kuerschen, also nominated for PrepXtra Player of the Week, had eight receptions for 255 yards and three touchdowns. Wood posted 100-plus totals in both rushing (101) and receiving (102). Hunter Kountz had 105 rushing yards on just four carries. Tony Scott led Catholic’s defense with 10 tackles, including two sacks. Kuerschen and Jake Mahoney had eight tackles each, while D.J. Mitchell grabbed Catholic’s 12th interception of the season.

 

WEEK FOUR – Catholic came out victorious in the fourth-annual “Irish Bowl” with its 54-9 win at Notre Dame. Following a 74-yard opening-kickoff return from Jeffery Wood, the Irish hit paydirt with a nine-yard run from Joshua Brown just 1:07 into the contest. Chase Cunningham connected with Amari Rodgers on a 70-yard score later in the quarter. Cunningham then hit Chase Kuerschen with a 20-yard scoring strike to leave Catholic ahead after one quarter, 21-0. Joe Fluker, who led Catholic on the ground with 63 yards on six carries, moved the Irish ahead, 28-0, with his four-yard run early in the second stanza. Following a safety and a touchdown from Notre Dame, Cunningham again connected with Kuerschen, this a 54-yarder, to move the Catholic margin to 35-9. A 50-yard Cunningham-to-Rodgers connection had Catholic ahead at halftime, 41-9. Wood found the end zone from one-yard in the third quarter to move the advantage to 48-9. Bryce Nicely recovered a fumble in the end zone to account for Catholic’s final score of the evening. Cunningham was 14-of-23 passing for 316 yards and four touchdowns, helping pace Catholic’s 459 yards of total offense. Kuerschen had six receptions for 146 yards, while Rodgers had three grabs for 134 yards. Jake Mahoney sparkled on defense for Catholic, registering 12 tackles, intercepting a pass, and both causing and recovering a fumble. Fluker had eight tackles, including three for-loss. Kuerschen also grabbed an interception for the Irish.

 

WEEK THREE – Catholic opened Region 2-4A play with a 49-19 win at Central. The early-game Chase Cunningham to Amari Rodgers connection occurred again in this contest, as Rodgers took a short toss from Cunningham and raced 81 yards to the end zone less than four minutes into the game. Jeffery Wood snagged an errant Central pass less than a minute later and motored 35 yards to paydirt to give Catholic a 14-0 lead. Wood tallied on the offensive side three minutes later with his five-yard rushing jaunt. Following a Central score, Hunter Kountz went in from two yards to give the Irish a 28-7 lead after the first quarter. Cunningham passed 17-yards to Rodgers early in the second stanza to move Catholic ahead, 35-7. Chase Kuerschen had Catholic’s second pick-six of the evening, a 55-yarder, midway through the quarter, leaving Catholic ahead at the break, 42-7. Joshua Brown capped Catholic’s scoring with his 19-yard run early in the third quarter to up the Irish margin to 49-7. Cunningham was 16-of-20 passing for 308 yards on the evening. Rodgers had six grabs for 205 yards. Cameron Blakely had four receptions for 31 yard, while Kuerschen added three grabs for 52 yards. Tony Scott led the Catholic defense with 11 tackles, including two for-loss, and a sack. (cont’d)

Beau Hollin had nine stops, including one for-loss. Wood, who was nominated for PrepXtra Player of the Week, had eight tackles, five pass break-ups, and two interceptions. Kuerschen had five tackles to go along with his interception. 

 

WEEK TWO – Catholic posted its first shutout of the season with its 45-0 win over CPA. The game, which ended with 9:32 remaining in the third quarter because of lightning, was played at Vanderbilt Stadium. The Irish got on the board on their first play from scrimmage, as Chase Cunningham connected on a 50-yard scoring strike to Amari Rodgers. Hunter Kountz was on the receiving end of a 14-yard Cunningham toss midway through the first quarter to up the margin to 14-0. A 28-yard Paxton Robertson field goal gave the Irish a 17-0 lead, and a second Cunningham-to-Rodgers connection, this a 27-yarder, put the Irish ahead after one, 24-0. Chase Kuerschen gave the Irish a 31-0 advantage with his 52-yard punt return early in the second quarter. A seven-yard dash from Jeffery Wood left the Irish ahead at halftime, 38-0. Joshua Brown capped Catholic’s first (and only) possession of the second half with his nine-yard scoring run. CPA ran one play on the ensuing possession before lightning halted, and eventually ended, play. Cunningham, who was nominated for PrepXtra Offensive Player of the Week, was 13-of-17 passing for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Rodgers had four receptions for 133 yards and two scores. Cameron Blakely had four grabs for 87 yards, while Kuerschen had three receptions for 59 yards. Jack Sompayrac led the Catholic defense with nine tackles, including one for-loss. Joe Fluker had seven stops, including two for-loss. Fluker also both caused and recovered a fumble. Tony Scott had six tackles and collected his second interception of the season. Charlie Connors had three tackles and caused two fumbles.

 

WEEK ONE – Catholic opened its season with a 63-30 win at Morristown West. The Irish later forfeited the win because of the participation of an ineligible player. Amari Rodgers opened the scoring for Catholic with his 63-yard punt return early in the contest. Less than a minute later, Chase Cunningham found Rodgers on a 60-yard scoring strike to up the margin to 15-0. A second Cunningham-to-Rodgers connection, this a 32-yarder, gave the Irish a 22-0 lead midway through the first quarter. A West touchdown trimmed Catholic’s margin to 22-7 after the first stanza. Cunningham tossed a 28-yard strike to Chase Kuerschen early in the second quarter to advance the score to 29-7. Following a West touchdown, Jeffery Wood rambled 57 yards to paydirt to give Catholic a 36-14 halftime advantage. Early in the third quarter Cunningham connected with Kuerschen on a 36-yard strike to up the margin to 43-14. A West score left the Irish lead at 43-22 after three quarters. Following the lead of Rodgers’ three scores in a quarter, Joshua Brown made repeated trips into the end zone in the final quarter. Brown had scoring runs of 21 and three yards and also returned an interception 33 yards to paydirt. Cunningham was 16-of-28 passing for 280 yards and four touchdowns. Kuerschen had seven grabs for 137 yards and two scores. Rodgers had five receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Wood gained 143 yards on 14 carries. Joe Fluker led the Irish defense with ten tackles, including three for-loss. Jake Mahoney had nine tackles and an interception, with Beau Hollin also recoding nine stops, including three for-loss. Kuerschen and Tony Scott also had picks for the Irish.

 

MAKE IT QUICK – Catholic’s offense has had 11 scoring drives lasting less than one minute this season. Four of those scoring drives were of the one-play variety.

 

TURNOVER MARGIN – Catholic is plus-15 in turnover margin this season. The Irish have thrown one interception and lost one fumble. Opponents have thrown 12 interceptions and lost five fumbles.

 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Catholic has had four players nominated as PrepXtra Player of the Week this season. Here’s a look

PLAYER                    OPPONENT              STATS

Chase Cunningham    CPA                            13-17-0, 300 yds., 3 TD

Jeffery Wood              Central                        8 tackles, 1 TFL, 5 PBU, 2 INT (35/TD)

Chase Cunningham    Fulton                         18-32-0, 503 yds., 5 TD; rush TD

Chase Kuerschen        Fulton                         8 receptions, 255 yds., 3 TD

 

100-YARD RUSHERS – Catholic has had three 100-yard rushing effort in 2016. Here’s a look:

PLAYER                    OPPONENT              ATT-YDS-TD

Jeffery Wood              Morristown West        14-143-1

Hunter Kountz            Fulton                         4-105-0

Jeffery Wood              Fulton                         13-101-2

 

CENTURY MARK – Catholic has had eight 100-yard receiving performances this season. Here’s a look:

Player                         Opponent                   Rec-Yds-TD

Chase Kuerschen        Morristown West        7-137-2

Amari Rodgers           Morristown West        5-103-2

Amari Rodgers           CPA                            4-133-2

Amari Rodgers           Central                        6-205-2

Chase Kuerschen        Notre Dame                6-146-2

Amari Rodgers           Notre Dame                3-134-2

Chase Kuerschen        Fulton                         8-255-3

Jeffery Wood              Fulton                         2-108-1

 

250-YARDS PASSING – Chase Cunningham has five 250-yard passing games this season. Here’s a look:

OPPONENT              STATISTICS

Morristown West        16-28-0, 280 yds, 4 TD

CPA                            13-17-0, 300 yds, 3 TD

Central                        16-20-1, 308 yds, 2 TD

Notre Dame                14-23-0, 316 yds, 4 TD

Fulton                         18-32-0, 503 yds, 5 TD

 

 

 

DOUBLE-DIGIT TACKLES – Catholic has had four double-digit tackle effort this season. Here’s a look:

Player                         Opponent                   Tackles

Joe Fluker                   Morristown West        10

Tony Scott                  Central                        11

Jake Mahoney             Notre Dame                12

Tony Scott                  Fulton                         10

 

THE LAST GO ‘ROUND – Catholic’s 2015 roster includes 18 seniors. Included are Amari Rodgers (WR/DB), Jeffery Wood (RB/DB), Hunter Kountz (RB/DB), Nick Lovely (QB/LB), Chase Cunningham (QB/DB), Tony Scott (WR/LB), Baxter Bryan (RB/DB), Chase Kuerschen (WR/DB), Lucky Depersio (RB/LB), Beau Hollin (WR/LB), Andrew Henderson (OL/DL), Jonathan LeBlanc (OL, LB), Jake Coffey (OL, LB), Diego Carvajal (OL/DL), Charlie Connors (OL/DL), Joseph Healy (OL/DL), Josh Sanger (OL/DL), and John Kerbyson (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), Daniel Hood (Outside Linebackers), Kris White (Defensive Backs), Steve Wright (Nose Tackles), and J.D. Gambil (Offensive Line assistant).

 

ON TV – Tonight’s game is being broadcast on WBIR 10News2. Patrick Murray calls the action, while Tony Rogers adds analysis.

 

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 winner Rob Demastus adds commentary.

 

UP NEXT – Catholic returns to Region 2-4A action next Friday as it plays host to Anderson County. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., at Blaine Stadium/Hollin Field.