BUTLER COUNTY DROPS TO 5-2 OVERALL, TURNS FOCUS TO NEXT WEEK’S ROAD TRIP TO TODD COUNTY CENTRAL
MORGANTOWN — Butler County High School’s football team ran into a familar nemesis on Thursday night.
Owensboro Catholic pulled away in the second half for a 35-12 victory over the homestanding Bears, who dropped their second consecutive game in KHSAA Class 2A, 2nd District play. It was the Aces’ 16th consecutive victory over Butler County, but this was a far more competitive game than recent series history would suggest.
And the Bears, now 5-2 overall and 1-2 in district play, aren’t interested in moral victories. They dropped two lopsided games to Owensboro Catholic last year, including a 41-16 defeat in Owensboro that sidelined Butler County with a 6-5 record.
BUTLER COUNTY SQUAD AFTERWARD.
Fifth-year Butler County head coach Brandon Embry wanted to run the ball against the Aces, control the clock and keep it close. See what happens.
What happened was the Aces were bigger, a little stronger and more balanced, offensively, which played right into Owensboro Catholic’s hands. OCHS improved to 5-3 overall and 3-0 in district play, heading into its open date.
WITH DIFFERENT FORMATIONS THURSDAY NIGHT …
The Bears, meanwhile, will lick their wounds and go back on the road to face Todd County Central next Friday in Elkton. The Rebels (4-3, 0-2) have their open date this week, and they were competitive before dropping a 47-37 decision to Catholic on September 30, a game played on the Kentucky Wesleyan College campus in Owensboro.
If the Bears get another shot at Owensboro Catholic, that’s where the game will unfold in a few weeks.
HAD A HANDFUL OF BIG PLAYS IN THE GAME.
“We had to get away from the game plan a little because we were behind,” Embry said. “We’ve only beat Catholic once (a 21-20 victory in 2004) and it is sometimes in the back of our kids’ minds. I feel that we are as talented as them, and more physical.
“We have closed the gap, over the last few years, on them but need to get over the hump, so to speak.”
It’s a significant hump, to be sure.
FOR MUCH OF THE SECOND HALF.
Butler County trailed just 14-6 at halftime on Thursday night, and the Bears would get the football to open the second half. They had a field-goal attempt of 27 yards blocked in the final moments of the first half, however, and the second half wouldn’t be much different, as Owensboro Catholic forced a fumble on the Bears’ first series, gaining possession near midfield.
OCHS quarterback Brady Atwell quickly got the Aces downfield before sophomore tailback/defensive back Vince Carrico scored on a 1-yard run with 8:12 left in the third quarter. The PAT attempt failed, however, so the Bears’ deficit was 20-6. Plenty of time to make something happen.
BREAKS FREE FOR A 32-YARD GAIN.
Colton Dunnells, Butler County’s 6-foot, 230-pound senior fullback, broke off a 32-yard run on the Bears’ next offensive series. But Butler County turned it over on downs, at the OCHS 30-yard line, before Atwell and the Aces took control with another brisk scoring drive.
Atwell found OCHS junior wideout William Carrico for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 2:47 left in the third quarter, pushing the Aces’ advantage to 28-6. That’s when Garrett Phelps, the Bears’ sophomore QB, had to start throwing more, which allowed the Aces to emphasize their pass rush the rest of the way.
Advantage, Owensboro Catholic.
Phelps and the Bears, however, kept fighting.
Phelps found teammate Kaegan Grubb for a 4-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter, a fourth-down play, before the Aces foiled a two-point conversion try. That left Owensboro Catholic with a 27-12 lead, and the Bears’ defense came up with a goal-line stand midway through the final quarter before disaster struck again.
Working under the shadows of his own goal posts, the Bears’ Garrett Phelps tried to move the ball on a rollout pass to the right side. The Aces unleashed a strong pass rush, however, and senior OCHS lineman Tyler Simone sacked Phelps in the end zone for a safety, and it was 29-12 with 5:09 left in the game.
FACED A STEADY OCHS PASS RUSH.
Catholic’s Terry Jack scored on a 2-yard run, with 1:02 showing on the clock, to account for the final margin. BCHS coach Brandon Embry said the Bears understand the stakes of their next game, at Todd County Central, and what it will mean to Butler County’s playoff hopes.
“We can be the district’s No. 2 seed, or we could wind up being at home,” Embry said. “Catholic wrapped up the No. 1 seed tonight. You’ve got to take care of the football against a good team.
“We really had them where we wanted ’em, when it was 14-6, but it went downhill from there. We’ve just got to take care of the turnovers.”
Butler County’s Colton Dunnells is hoping the Bears can get another shot at Owensboro Catholic. He’s one of the seniors on Embry’s talented roster, someone who knows the one-sided history of the rivalry all too well.
“We lost the ball a few times, turnovers,” Dunnells said. “We haven’t beaten this team since 2004 …”
When the majority of the Bears’ players had yet to be born.
Brady Atwell, the Aces’ strapping sophomore quarterback, turned in an exceptional game. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Atwell completed 20 of 26 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns. He was intercepted twice. Catholic’s Waryn Ebelhar had a team-high eight receptions, for 103 yards, while Terry Jack had 76 yards rushing and a score on nine carries.
“We could have executed better, in the first half, in the passing game,” Atwell said in the parking lot, as the Aces filed toward their team buses. “I think the coaches got the message across, at halftime, for what we needed to do. They’re a good team.”
Brandon Embry and the Bears will be looking to bounce back on October 14, when Butler County faces Todd County Central in Elkton.
TO NEXT WEEK’S GAME AT TODD COUNTY CENTRAL.
KHSAA CLASS 2A QUARTERFINALIST IN 2021.
THE GAME WITH A BIRD’S EYE VIEW.