ALCOA Tornadoes (8-1/3-0)

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CATHOLIC Irish (9-0/3-0)

October 31, 2014

7:30 p.m.

Blaine Stadium/Hollin Field

 

SETTING THE SCENE – Catholic and Alcoa meet for the District 4AA championship…Catholic is ranked second in this week’s Associated Press Class 4A poll…Alcoa is ranked first in this week’s Associated Press Class 3A poll……Catholic is averaging 44.0 points per-game, while allowing just 9.6 points per-game…Irish have scored at least 50 points four times this season…Catholic has outscored its opponents, 305-53, in the first half this season…Catholic’s offense averages 229.9 rushing and 209.1 passing…Irish offense has averaged 478.8 yards total offense over the past four games… Irish offense has had 26 scoring drives lasting less than one minute…offense has had 12 one-play scoring drives this season…Irish defense allowing just 238.8 yards total offense per-game…Irish defense has allowed just 33 points (two field goals and four touchdowns) in the second half this season…Catholic is +20 in turnover margin… Jancek has 1,838 yards passing and 22 touchdowns… Jancek has 39 career touchdown passes…Rodgers leads team in scoring with 72 points (12 TD’s)… Rowan leads Catholic in tackles with 81, including 28 TFL’s and eight sacks…   Irish have won 110 of their last 143 games…

 

THE RECORDS – Catholic is 9-0 this season, including a 3-0 mark in District 4AA. The Irish won at home over Webb last week, 24-6. Alcoa is 8-1 overall this season, including a 3-0 record in District 4AA. The Tornadoes won at home over Maplewood last week, 31-22.

 

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 29-14, and his record at Catholic is 19-4. Matthews played collegiately at Tennessee and Memphis.

 

RACK ‘EM UP – Catholic has won 94 of its last 119 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 16 first-place votes and 169 points. The remainder of the Top 10: 2. Catholic (1/151); 3. Crockett County (122); 4. Greeneville (116); 5. Trezevant (93); 6. Liberty Magnet (75); 7. Sullivan South (58); 8. Pearl-Cohn (42); 9. Jackson North Side (37); t10. Signal Mountain (20); t10. Elizabethton (20).

 

CLASS 3A POLL – Alcoa is ranked first in this week’s Associated Press Class 3A poll with 13 first-place votes and 157 points. The remainder of the top 10 includes: 2. CPA (3/146); 3. Notre Dame (125); 4. Westview (113); 5. Waverly (86); 6. East Nashville (70); 7. Camden (66); 8. McMinn Central (55); 9. White House-Heritage (42); 10. Pigeon Forge (5).

 

DISTRICT 4AA STANDINGS – Here’s a look at the 2014 District 4AA standings:

DISTRICT    OVERALL

Catholic          3-0                   9-0

Alcoa               3-0                   8-1

CAK               1-2                   4-5

Scott                1-3                   7-3

Kingston         0-3                   3-6

 

Last week

Catholic 24, Webb 6

Alcoa 31, Maplewood 22

Livingston Academy 35, CAK 14

Kingston 42, Sweetwater 34

Scott 42, Cumberland Gap 0

 

Friday’s games

Alcoa @ Catholic

Kingston @ CAK

Regular-season complete — Scott

 

COMMON OPPONENTS – Catholic and Alcoa have faced three common opponents this season. Here’s how each fared:

Opponent       Catholic                      Alcoa

CAK               W, 70-23                     W, 38-7

Kingston         W, 49-7                       W, 45-14

Scott                W, 34-10                     W, 48-7

 

LAST YEAR VS. ALCOA – Catholic concluded its regular season with a 7-3 overall record and a 3-1 mark in District 4AA following its 49-7 loss at Alcoa. Logan Lacey, who gained 98 yards rushing on ten carries, scored Catholic’s only touchdown on a three-yard run in the second quarter. Josh Silvey led the Irish defense with 12 tackles, while David Hamilton and Eric White added ten stops each.

 

 

WEEK NINE – The annual “Battle of the Bluff” went Catholic’s way as the Irish won at home over Webb, 24-6. A 35-yard field goal from Jake Poczobut gave the Irish a 3-0 lead after one quarter. Amari Rodgers scampered 68 yards early in the second period to up Catholic’s lead to 10-0. A seven-play, 71-yard Irish drive in the third quarter ended when Zac Jancek connected with Chase Kuerschen on a four-yard touchdown pass. Webb scored its only touchdown late in the quarter.  A fourth-quarter goal-line stand by the Irish defense set the stage for an 87-yard Rodgers dash that moved the score to 24-6. Rodgers carried 18 times for a career-high 260 yards on the evening, as the Irish rushed for 345 yards.. Jancek finished 16-of-23 passing for 110 yards. Kuerschen was the top target, hauling in nine balls for 76 yards. Augie Fortune led the Irish defense with 22 tackles. Logan Lacey had 14 stops, Austin Rowan had 12, and Josh Silvey had 11.5. Kuerschen collected his third interception of the season.

 

WEEK EIGHT – Catholic improved to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in District 4AA with its 34-10 win at Scott. The win made Catholic playoff-eligible as it will finish either first or second in the district. After spotting Scott a 3-0 lead, Catholic reeled off 34 consecutive points to lead at the half, 34-3. Amari Rodgers put the Irish on the board with a nine-yard run to cap a 13-play, 69-yard drive. On Scott’s ensuing possession, Corey Ostrowski intercepted a screen pass and scooted 23 yards to paydirt. A 96-yard pass from Zac Jancek to Dom Souder upped the margin to 20-3 early in the second quarter, and a 20-yard run from Rodgers midway through the period gave Catholic a 27-3 advantage. Jancek’s second touchdown pass of the evening came late in the half when he connected with Chase Kuerschen on an 18-yard strike. Scott added a fourth-quarter score to account for the final margin. Jancek was 14-of-26 passing for 269 yards, while Rodgers led the rushing attack with 57 yards on 11 carries. James Orler collected 13 tackles to lead the Irish defense. Austin Rowan had 11 stops, including five for loss. Morgan Ernst both caused and recovered two fumbles

 

 

WEEK SEVEN –Catholic remained undefeated with its 50-14 non-district home win over Anderson County. The Irish struck quickly, as Zac Jancek connected with Dom Souder on a 63-yard scoring pass on the game’s third play from scrimmage. A 31-yard pass from Jancek to Amari Rodgers, followed by a 16-yard Rodgers run, gave Catholic a 22-0 lead after one quarter. An 18-yard Jancek-to-Souder connection followed an Anderson County touchdown and gave the Irish a 29-7 lead. Jancek tossed a 15-yard pass to Jordan Anderson just before halftime to give Catholic a 36-7 lead after two quarters. A third Jancek-to Souder toss, this covering 33 yards, moved Catholic ahead, 43-7, after three quarters. Cooper Edenfield rambled 56 yards late in the fourth quarter to up the margin to 50-7. A late touchdown from Anderson County, which entered the game undefeated and ranked third in Class 5A, provided the final margin. Jancek was 18-of-27 passing for a career-high 279 yards and five touchdowns (also a career-high). Souder had four catches for a career-high 137 yards, while Rodgers led the rushing attack with 53 yards on nine carries. Augie Fortune led the Catholic defense with 8.5 tackles, including one for-loss. Souder was effective on defense, as well, making eight tackles and recovering a fumble.. Corey Ostrowski had 7.5 tackles, including four for-loss, and also recovered a fumble. Austin Rowan had four tackles and two caused fumbles.

 

WEEK SIX – Catholic improved to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in District 4AA with its 49-14 win at Kingston. Moses Davis, who rushed for a career-high 126 yards in the game, opened the scoring with his 13-yard run late in the first quarter. Kingston then returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. Davis found paydirt from the defensive side next, returning an interception 53 yards to give the Irish the lead for good. A 27-yard run from Griffin Dishner upped the margin to 21-7, midway through the second quarter. A six-yard run by Davis gave the Irish a 28-7 lead before Kingston scored again just prior to halftime. After scoring on the ground in the first half, the Irish turned to the air in the third quarter. Zac Jancek passed five yards to Jordan Anderson, then connected with Chase Kuerschen on a 34-yard score late in the quarter. Austin Rowan concluded the scoring with his three-yard run in the final quarter.  Jancek finished the evening 17-of-24 for a career-high 272 yards. Kuerschen tied his career-high for receptions with nine and totaled a career-high 169 receiving yards. In addition to scoring his first career touchdown, Rowan had a season-high 13 tackles, including six for-loss. Corey Ostrowski had 12 tackles for the Irish.

 

 

WEEK FIVE – Catholic pitched a shutout, its second of the season, with its 38-0 Homecoming win over Hardin Valley. Chase Kuerschen got the Irish on the board midway through the first quarter with his 59-yard interception return. A 13-yard pass from Zac Jancek to Amari Rodgers later in the stanza gave the Irish a 14-0 lead after one quarter. A 28-yard Alex Jones field goal upped the margin to 17-0 early in the second period, and a three-yard run from Griffin Dishner gave the Irish a 24-0 halftime advantage. Kuerschen found the end zone again early in the third quarter, grabbing a six-yard scoring pass from Jancek. Jancek’s third touchdown pass of the evening came later in the quarter when he connected on a 40-yard strike to Dom Souder. Jancek finished the evening 18-of-24 for 193 yards. Kuerschen and Logan Lacey each had five receptions. Augie Fortune led the Irish defense with ten tackles, including one for-loss. Austin Rowan added nine stops, including a TFL and a sack. Jones Albritton had eight tackles and two interceptions for the Irish.

 

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 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 (cont’d)

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 439.0 yards per-game in total offense, including 229.9 yards on the ground and 209.1 yards through the air. Defensively, Catholic allows 238.8 yards per-game, including 128.1 yards on the ground and 110.7 yards through the air. Catholic averages 44.0 points per-game. Opponents average 9.6 points per-game.

 

MOVE THE FOOTBALL – Catholic’s offense has averaged 478.8 yards per-game over the past four games. Here’s a look:

OPPONENT              YARDS

Kingston                     557

Anderson County       468

Scott                            435

Webb                           455

 

FAST START – Catholic has outscored its opponents 305-53 in the first half this season.

 

MAKE IT QUICK – Catholic’s offense has had 26 scoring drives lasting less than one minute this season. Twelve of the scoring drives were of the one-play variety.

 

NOT MANY POINTS – The Irish defense has allowed just 33 points (two field goals and four touchdowns) in the second half this season.

 

TURNOVER MARGIN – Catholic is +20 in turnover margin this season. The Irish have thrown six interceptions and have lost two fumbles. Opponents have thrown 13 interceptions and lost 15 fumbles.

 

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

Rushing: Amari Rodgers – 64 att., 617 yds., 9 TD

Passing: Zac Jancek – 131-198-6, 1,838 yds., 22 TD

Receiving: Chase Kuerschen – 48 rec., 720 yds., 7 TD

Scoring: Amari Rodgers – 72 pts.

Tackles: Austin Rowan – 81

Tackles for loss: Austin Rowan – 28

Sacks: Austin Rowan – 8

Interceptions: Chase Kuerschen — 3

 

 

 

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

 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Catholic has had two players selected as WBIR/USA Today Player of the Week. Here’s a look:

PLAYER                   OPPONENT              STATS

Austin Rowan             Tyner                           10.5 tackles, 5 TFL, .5 sack

Jones Albritton            Hardin Valley             8 tackles, 2 INT, 1 fumble caused

 

100-YARD RUSHERS – Catholic has had three 100-yard rushing efforts in 2014. Here’s a look:

PLAYER                   OPPONENT              ATT-YDS-TD

Amari Rodgers            CAK                           9-148-2

Moses Davis                Kingston                     8-126-2

Amari Rodgers            Webb                           18-260-2

 

THROUGH THE AIR – Over the past four games Zac Jancek is 65-of-100 passing for 930 yards and 11 touchdowns.Here’s a look:

Opponent       Stats

Kingston         17-24-0, 272 yds, 2 TD

Anderson Co.  18-27-1, 279 yds, 5 TD

Scott                14-26-0, 269 yds, 2 TD

Webb               16-23-1, 110 yds, 2 TD

 

CENTURY MARK – Catholic has had six 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

Chase Kuerschen        Kingston         9-169-1

Dom Souder                Anderson Co.  4-137-3

Dom Souder                Scott                2-103-1

 

UNDER 100 – Catholic’s defense has allowed four opponents less than 100 yards rushing this season. Here’s a look:

Opponent                   Rushing Yards

Coalfield                     59

CAK                           79

Hardin Valley            70

Kingston                     39

 

 

UNDER 100, AGAIN – Catholic’s defense has allowed four opponents less than 100 yards passing this season. Here’s a look:

Opponent                   Passing Yards

Coalfield                     18

Tyner                           13

Hardin Valley             77

Scott                            71

 

DOUBLE-DIGIT TACKLES – Catholic has had 17 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

Augie Fortune             Hardin Valley             10

Austin Rowan             Kingston                     13

Corey Ostrowski         Kingston                     12

James Orler                 Scott                            13

Austin Rowan             Scott                            11

Augie Fortune             Webb                           22

Dom Souder                Webb                           14

Austin Rowan             Webb                           12

Josh Silvey                  Webb                           11.5

 

CAREER STATISTCS – Here are career statistics for select players:

Zac Jancek (QB, 6-3, 195, Sr.)

Passing           Com-Att-Int   Yards  Pct       YPG   Long   TD

2013                146-249-10      2077    .586     173.1   73        17

2014                131-198-6        1838    .662     204.2   96        22

Total               277-447-16      3915    619      186.4   96        39

 

Rushing          Att       Yds     YPR    YPG   Long   TD

2013                89        133      1.5       11.1     24        2

2014                56        278      5.0       30.9     47        3

Total               145      411      2.8       19.6     47        5

 

Chase Kuerschen (WR, 6-1, 190, So.

Rec      Rec      Yds     RPG   YPC    YPG   Long   TD

2013    42        562      3.2       13.4     43.2     35        2

2014    48        720      5.3       15.0     80.0     48        7

Total   90        1282    4.3       14.2     58.2     48        9

 

Amari Rodgers (RB, 5-10, 190, So.)

Rushing          Att       Yds     YPR    YPG   Long   TD

2013                54        293      5.4       73.3     41        4

2014                64        617      9.6       68.6     87        9

Total               118      910      7.7       70.0     87        13

 

Rec      Rec      Yds     RPG   YPC    YPG   Long   TD

2013    7          103      1.8       14.7     25.8     36        1

2014    15        114      1.7       7.6       12.7     31        2

Total   22        217      1.7       9.9       16.7     36        3

 

Logan Lacey (FB/LB, 6-0, 225, Sr.)

Rushing          Att       Yds     YPR    YPG   Long   TD

2011                41        176      4.3       22.0     15        0

2012                71        359      5.1       35.9     30        6

2013                133      635      4.8       45.4     52        8

2014                26        98        3.8       10.9     17        3

Total               271      1268    4.7       29.5     52        17

 

Rec      Rec      Yds     RPG   YPC    YPG   Long   TD

2011    9          127      1.1       14.1     15.9     62        2

2012    14        166      1.4       11.9     16.6     29        1

2013    27        313      1.9       11.6     22.4     61        3

2014    29        296      3.2       10.2     32.9     32        3

Total   79        902      1.8       11.4     21.0     62        9

 

Defense           UT      AT      TOT    TFL    SACKFR       PBU    INT

2011                9          1          10        1

2012                49        26        75        7          1                      2          1

2013                48.5     65        113.5   13        2.5                   5          2

2014                13        52        65        6                      2          5

Total               119.5   144      263.5   27        3.5       2          12        3

 

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 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 will participate in the TSSAA Class 4A Playoffs beginning next Friday.