Irish vs. The Governors pre-game summary presented by “The General”
VS 
CATHOLIC Irish (2-1/0-1)
at
WILLIAM BLOUNT Governors (1-3/0-1)
September 14, 2012
7:30 p.m.
Mike White Field
SETTING THE SCENE – Catholic plays its first District 4AAA road game of the 2012 season…Irish are ranked eighth in this weeks Associated Press Class 5A poll…Irish have won 89 of their last 113 games…Catholic leads the series, 2-1… Coulter has 2,918 career rushing yards, needing 82 yards to reach 3,000 for his career…Coulter has 14 career 100-yard rushing efforts…Coulter rushing for more than 200 yards per-game this season…Catholic averages more than 350 yards rushing per-game…Catholic’s defense allows 92 yards rushing per-game… Lacey leads the Irish in tackles…
THE RECORDS – Catholic is 2-1 in 2012, including a 0-1 mark in District 4AAA. The Irish had an open date last week. William Blount is 1-3 this year, including a 0-1 record in District 4AAA. The Governors lost at Jefferson County last week, 14-6.
ON THE SIDELINE – Scott Meadows is in his fourth year at the helm of the Irish. His record at Catholic is 19-18. In his 14th year as a head coach, Meadows has posted a 107-53 career record (.669). 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 76 of its last 93 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).
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 10 (Class 5A) – Catholic is ranked eighth in this week’s Associated Press Class 5A poll. Beech is ranked first with 19 first-place votes and 208 overall. The remainder of the Top 10 includes: 2. Lenoir City (157); 3. Knox. West (1/155); 4. Henry County (124); 5. Jackson Northside (113); 6. Morristown West (102); 7. Daniel Boone (1/83);8. Catholic (67); 9. Powell (43); 10. Ridgeway (28)
TEAM STATS — Catholic averages 390.3 yards per-game in total offense, including 353.3 yards on the ground and 37 yards through the air. Defensively, Catholic allows 267.3 yards per-game, including 92.3 yards on the ground and 175 yards through the air. Catholic averages 32.3 points per-game. Opponents average 20 points per-game.
TURNOVER MARGIN – Catholic is even in turnover margin this season. The Irish have thrown two interceptions and lost two fumbles, while opponents have thrown two interceptions and lost two fumbles.
SERIES VS. WILLIAM BLOUNT – Catholic leads the series with William Blount, 2-1. Here’s a look:
2009: @Catholic 24, William Blount 6
2010: Catholic 27, @William Blount 10
2011:William Blount 21, @Catholic 17
LAST YEAR VS. WILLIAM BLOUNT – Nolan Coulter rushed for a career-high (at the time) 170 yards and a touchdown, and the Irish had a season-high 316 yards in total offense, but it wasn’t enough as Catholic fell at home to William Blount, 21-17. The Governors got on the board first with a touchdown at the end of the first quarter, then added a field goal in the second quarter to take a 10-0 halftime lead. William Blount extended its lead to 13-0 before the Irish struck paydirt. Cole Lombardo cut the margin to 13-7 with his four-yard run midway through the third quarter. The Irish took the lead, 14-13, on Coulter’s 55-yard run and the point-after. William Blount came back on the ensuing drive to regain the lead, 21-14. A 38-yard field goal from Gabe Saavedra in the fourth quarter accounted for the final margin. Jordan Anderson had nine tackles and an interception in his first career start to help pace the Irish defense.
DISTRICT 4AAA STANDINGS – Here’s a look at the 2012 District 4AAA standings:
DISTRICT OVERALL
Bearden 1-0 4-0
Lenoir City 1-0 3-0
Maryville 1-0 3-0
Farragut 1-0 2-2
West 0-1 3-1
Catholic 0-1 2-1
Wm. Blount 0-1 1-3
Heritage 0-1 0-4
Last week’s results
Bearden 49, Rhea County 7
Jefferson County 14, William Blount 6
West 42, Morristown East 7
Souith Doyle 40, Heritage 0
Farragut 23, McMinn County 10
Lenoir City 38, Sequoyah 13
Open Date – Catholic, Maryville
Friday’s games
Catholic @ William Blount
Heritage @ Maryville
Bearden @ Lenoir City
West @ Farragut
DOWN THE FIELD – Catholic has had five touchdown drives covering ten or more plays this season. Here’s a look:
Opponent Plays-Yards-TOP Scoring play
Central 11-71-3:34 Lacey 4 run
Central 13-97-5:52 Anderson 2 run
Cleveland 10-72-4:08 Coulter 1 run
Farragut 13-80-5:20 Lacey 6 run
Farragut 12-74-4:07 Coulter 5 run
INDIVIDUAL STATS – Nolan Coulter has rushed 69 times for 629 yards, a 9.1 yards per-carry average, and six touchdowns this season. Cole Lombardo has carried 33 times for 185 yards and three scores. Tanner Sharp is 10-of-26 passing for 111 yards. Lacey has three receptions for 45 yards, while Coulter has three catches for 12 yards. Hayden Varner has two grabs for 38 yards.
TOP STOPPERS – Logan Lacey leads Catholic in tackles with 25, including four tackles for-loss. Eric White has 19 tackles, including two for-loss. Nolan Coulter has 18 tackles, three pass breakups, and two interceptions.
POINTS ON THE BOARD – Nolan Coulter leads the Irish in scoring this season with 36 points (six TD’s). Logan Lacey has 24 points (four TD’s), while Cole Lombardo has 18 points (three TD’s).
HIT THE CENTURY MARK – Nolan Coulter has 14 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
Cleveland 32-200 5 “
Farragut 18-199 1 “
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 2,918 rushing yards for his career. Coulter had 921 rushing yards in 2010 and 1,368 rushing yards last year. He has 629 rushing yards in 2012.
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).
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 play host to Webb next week. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
