Mayfield Defeats Owensboro Catholic 53-48 in Wild 2A Finals to Win 13th State Championship
The No. 10 Mayfield Cardinals defeated the No. 8 Owensboro Catholic Aces 53-48 to win the 2023 UK HealthCare Sports Medicine 2A State Football Championship on a foggy, somewhat rainy December day at Kroger Field. Nearly two years to the day after suffering a devastating tornado, Mayfield (13-1) captured their 13th state title and first since 2015. They snapped a four-game losing streak in state final games after finishing runner-up in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022. Several fans made the four-hour drive to cheer on the Cardinals.
“December the 10th, two years ago, we had a major tornado that came through, we are still rebuilding,” Mayfield head coach Joe Morris said after the game. “I think it made our community even stronger. They have been to our stadium, the last couple of weeks in packed houses. What (an) atmosphere! It makes kids want to play football. These guys go out and perform, and what a great crowd we had today. This community loves us. We have restaurants, I guarantee that were sold out today to watch us on KHSAA TV. It is a special community for a football program.”
Juju Starks’ 55-yard scoring run, his fourth touchdown of the game, put Mayfield up 53-41 with 8:26 remaining in the fourth quarter. But the Cardinals had to withstand a furious Owensboro Catholic rally to hold on for the win. The Aces cut it to 53-48 with 7:23 left. Barrett Evans’ pass rush on 4th down forced a Mayfield intentional grounding penalty to get the Aces the ball back on their own 29-yard line with 3:37 remaining. Tre Jackson came up with a huge sack on 4th-and-9 to get the ball back to Mayfield, and Starks rushed for a first down to ice the game.
Mayfield came into the game ranked first in the state in scoring (49.5 points per game) while Owensboro Catholic ranked third (48 points per game), so it was obvious we would be in for a shootout. In an offense barrage like the famous Brain Brohm-Michael Bush, Trinity-59 Male-56 game in 2002, the teams piled up over 100 points.
Player of the game Starks rushed for 194 yards and four touchdowns, Zane Cartwright threw for 322 yards and tossed two touchdown passes, Xavier Biggers added a receiving and a return touchdown, and Braden Morris caught 11 passes for 150 yards and a score to lead the Cardinals.
Brady Atwell, a junior who ranks second all-time in single-season passing touchdowns in state history (68), had a big day on offense for Owensboro Catholic (14-1), rushing for four touchdowns and throwing for an eye-popping 514 yards and three scores. Receiver William “Tutt” Carrico had 11 catches for 332 yards and three touchdown receptions, breaking the all-time single-season touchdown reception record with 30. Jamarielle Brown (Lone Oak, 2007) and John Cole (Somerset, 2006) each had 28. Tutt’s brother, Vince, led the team with 10.5 tackles.
The Aces clawed back to within one score in the final minutes, nearly overcoming early deficits of 34-14 and 46-27.
“You never say die in a game,” Atwell said about how the Aces were able to stay focused despite trailing. “I bet on myself and my teammates. It was the mentality of ‘We can score at any moment.’”
Game Recap
First Quarter
Mayfield won the toss and deferred. On the first play from scrimmage, the Aces completed a pass that would have resulted in a first down, but Ethan Kemp forced a fumble that was recovered by Mayfield on the Aces 36-yard line. Cartwright completed a 4th-and-7 pass to Biggers for a first down. Four plays later, Lincoln Suiter converted a 40-yard field goal to put Mayfield up 3-0.
Biggers had a nice pass breakup on third down, forcing Owensboro Catholic to punt. The Cardinals put together a quick, impressive five-play scoring drive. First-down passes from Cartwright to Malik Kirby and Braden Morris, and a 17-yard run by Starks got the Cardinals inside the 5-yard line. Starks punched it in two plays later with a powerful 4-yard touchdown run to make it 10-0 Mayfield.
The Aces’ Noah Rhinerson returned the kickoff 40 yards before Atwell completed a 20-yard pass to Mitchell Sims. Atwell completed a 29-yard 4th down pass to Tutt Carrico in the corner of the end-zone.
Mayfield put together another impressive drive, capped off by a 39-yard Cartwright-to-Braden Morris deep ball over the top for a touchdown to make it 17-7 Cards. After the teams traded punts, Atwell completed a 38-yard pass to Rhinerson.
End of 1st Quarter Score: Mayfield 17, Owensboro Catholic 7
Second Quarter
Mayfield stopped Owensboro Catholic on 4th-and-9 from the Cardinal 23-yard line to gain possession back. The Aces forced a three-and-out, but a block in the back on the punt pushed Owensboro Catholic back to their own 15-yard line. Mayfield blocked a punt that set them up inside the Aces 5-yard line. Starks punched it in two plays later from four yards out to extend the Cardinal lead to 24-7.
Atwell engineered an impressive touchdown drive for the Aces. He completed first-down passes to Tutt Carrico and Sims and then kept it himself for a nine-yard touchdown to cut the Mayfield lead to 24-14.
Biggers immediately answered with an 86-yard touchdown return to swing the momentum right back to the Cardinals.
The Cardinals added a 35-yard Suiter field goal before halftime to push their lead to 34-14. Atwell completed two first-down passes to Tutt Carrico to get inside the Mayfield 25-yard line. After several penalties, the Aces were backed up but converted a 4th-and-37 deep pass from freshman quarterback Dremail Carothers to Sims. Atwell, who had to sit the play out after his helmet came off the previous play, returned to cap off the drive with his second touchdown run.
End of Half Score: Mayfield 34, Owensboro Catholic 21
Third Quarter
Cartwright hit Starks on a 29-yard screen pass and followed that up with a 40-yard bomb to Biggers over the top for a touchdown on a short 1-minute, 10-second drive. The two-point conversion was not successful.
Owensboro Catholic quickly answered when Atwell punched it in from the one-yard line for his third rushing touchdown. The play was set up by a long completion from Atwell to Tutt Carrico.
Mayfield got good field position after recovering an onside kick. Cartright hit Braden Morris over the middle for a first down, and Starks converted a huge fourth-and-two to keep the drive alive. A first down pass to Morris set up an 11-yard touchdown rush from Starks, his third touchdown of the night, to make it 46-27 Mayfield. The 2-point conversion was no good.
Atwell completed a long pass to Waryn Ebelhar followed by a touchdown pass to Tutt Carrico. It was Carrico’s 29th touchdown reception of the season, setting the all-time state record for touchdown receptions in a single season.
End of 3rd Quarter: Mayfield 46, Owensboro Catholic 34
Fourth Quarter
After forcing a Mayfield punt, Atwell hit Tutt Carrico for an 80-yard touchdown. The one-play drive cut the Mayfield lead to 46-41 with just under 10 minutes remaining. Starks gave the Cardinals some breathing room with a 55-yard touchdown run, his fourth touchdown of the game.
Atwell rushed for his third touchdown of the game to cut the Cardinal lead to 53-47 with 7:23 remaining. The play was set up by Atwell’s 71-yard pass to Tutt Carrico, which was not even Tutt’s longest reception of the game.
The Aces came up with a stop to take over at their own 29-yard line with 3:37 left. Atwell completed an 18-yard pass to Sims. He hit Sims again, who broke a tackle for another first down to the Cardinal 42. The Mayfield defense bowed up, forcing a 4th-and-9. Catholic called timeout. Atwell dropped back to pass, but Jackson came up with the play of the game, a sack on Atwell. Starks iced the game with a first-down run.
Historical Perspective
Mayfield moves into a tie with Louisville St. Xavier with 13 state titles for the fourth-most in Kentucky history. Only Louisville Trinity, Highlands, and Beechwood have more. The Cardinals defeated all the top teams in Class 2A, knocking off Lexington Christian Academy in the quarterfinals and Beechwood in the semifinals. The Beechwood win was especially sweet after falling one point short in last year’s state final against the Tigers. This year marks the 12th time out of the last 13 years that either Beechwood or Mayfield won a state football title. Mayfield is 9-2 all-time against Beechwood.
Owensboro Catholic is now 0-5 in state championship games, and 0-4 all-time versus Mayfield. They earned the top RPI spot in Class 2A and scored a huge regular season win over rival Owensboro, but just quite couldn’t dig themselves out of an early hole.
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