Versatile football players helping Catholic go

Sep. 25—Owensboro Catholic has progressed a lot on the defensive side of the football. That has helped the Aces win two of their last three games.

They put on a complete display of their ability in a 48-12 win at Hancock County on Friday night. Catholic went into Schafer-Glover Field and handed the Hornets their first loss in six games this season. Catholic also picked up its first win in Class 2-A District 2.

Catholic is 2-1 in the last three weeks, 3-3 overall. The Aces beat Owensboro High School 21-17 in a mammoth win Sept. 9. They then fell at Christian Academy-Louisville, one of the best teams in Class 3-A, 52-15, on Sept. 15.

"It has played really well last four weeks," Catholic coach Jason Morris said of his defensive unit. "We played better than score showed in Christian Academy, Friday night we put it together for an entire game. We'd been fixing a few things here and there. We knew we had a strong defense, we really feel good about our D line, Tyler Simone allows our linebackers to run."

Catholic goes in a 3-3 stack, with Vince Carrico, Tutt Carrico and Eli Blair in the linebacker spots. Simone is a nose guard who is 6-foot, 265 pounds.

"Our run defense is super solid, it's the best defense I've been a part of," Tutt Carrico said. "I think our run defense is one of best in 2-A, our secondary is pretty good. Simone at nose, our linebackers are Vince, me and Eli, Vince is a stud in the middle. Tyler Simone forces a double or triple every single play, we may only have one or two guys blocking us or they have to bring in more to help."

Tutt Carrico had an all-time performance against Hancock County, scoring five touchdowns total. The junior had two rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns, and an interception return late in the game. He had six catches for 78 yards and 99 yards total rushing and receiving. Tutt Carrico also had two interceptions and eight tackles defensively.

Tutt was surprised at the numbers when it was over.

"It felt like a quiet game, I felt like I was just out there doing my job," Tutt said. "They couldn't stop our quick game, hitches, slants, outs."

One of his jobs has been to score touchdowns and catch passes this season. Tutt has 25 catches for 318 yards and four touchdowns this season. He's also rushed for 147 yards and three touchdowns.

"Tutt is most valuable being anywhere on the field," Morris said. "He makes so many plays on both sides, he's also a punt returner, he's a very good high school football player. Tutt has kind of been a go-to guy."

Another Catholic player whose versatility was a huge value was quarterback Brady Atwell, who threw for 301 yards against Hancock County. Atwell has thrown for 1,198 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions so far this season. Atwell was also on the field for Catholic's defense at rover.

"We also can utilize Brady Atwell's athleticism on defense," Morris said. "We were able to take away a few things from Hancock that we saw on film, it gave them some trouble. In big games like Friday night I wasn't going to have 6-3, 235-pound athlete standing next to me on the sidelines."