Catholic 2014 Home Opener vs Coalfield
COALFIELD Yellowjackets (1-0)
at
CATHOLIC Irish (1-0)
August 29, 2014
7:30 p.m.
Blaine Stadium/Hollin Field
SETTING THE SCENE – Catholic plays its first home game of the 2014 campaign…Catholic won last year’s game at Coalfield, 47-7…Catholic reached the semifinal round of the TSSAA Class 4A playoffs last season…Irish have won 102 of their last 135 games…Catholic opened its season with a 15-12 win at Notre Dame…Jancek had a career-high 268 yards passing in that contest…Kuerschen had a career-high 133 receiving yards…Anderson also topped 100-yards receiving…Fortune and Ostrowski led the Irish in tackles…Irish had 18 TFL’s in the contest…
THE RECORDS – Catholic is 1-0 this season. The Irish won at Notre Dame last week, 15-12. Catholic was 10-4 in 2013, including a 3-1 mark in District 4AA. The Irish reached the semifinal round of the Class 4A state playoffs in 2013. Coalfield is also 1-0 this year. The Yellowjackets won at home last week over Copper Basin, 34-32. Coalfield was 9-4 overall last year. The Yellowjackets reached the third round of the Class 1A playoffs.
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 21-14, and his record at Catholic is 11-4. Matthews played collegiately at Tennessee and Memphis.
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).
RACK ‘EM UP – Catholic has won 86 of its last 111 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).
TEAM STATS – Catholic averages 427.0 yards per-game in total offense, including 159.0 yards on the ground and 268.0 yards through the air. Defensively, Catholic allows 253.0 yards per-game, including 149.0 yards on the ground and 104.0 yards through the air. Catholic averages 15.0 points per-game. Opponents average 12.0 points per-game.
DISTRICT 4AA STANDINGS – Here’s a look at the 2014 District 4AA standings:
DISTRICT OVERALL
Alcoa 0-0 2-0
Catholic 0-0 1-0
CAK 0-0 1-0
Scott 0-0 1-0
Kingston 0-0 0-0
Last week
Catholic 15, Notre Dame 12
Alcoa 54, Smith County 13
Alcoa 42, Morristown East 14
CAK 49, FRA 28
Scott 63, McCreary County (Ky.) 0
Open – Kingston
Friday’s games
Coalfield @ Catholic
Alcoa @ Maryville
Kingston @ Grace Christian
CAK @ Powell
Scott @ Cumberland County
LAST WEEK NOTRE DAME – 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.
CENTURY MARK – Catholic has had two 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
DOUBLE-DIGIT TACKLES – Catholic has had five 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
BEHIND THE LINE – Catholic had 18 tackles-for-loss in its 15-12 win over Notre Dame. Austin Rowan had six TFL’s, including a sack. Corey Ostrowski had five TFL’s. Catholic’s total topped a 17-TFL effort in last year’s 14-13 playoff win at Hixon.
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 Rob Demastus adds commentary.
UP NEXT – Catholic plays its first District 4AA contest of the season next Friday as it travels to CAK. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
