Carrico, Aces rout Hornets

Sep. 24—HAWESVILLE — Owensboro Catholic junior Tutt Carrico was all over the field Friday night, racking up five total touchdowns to lead the Aces to a 48-12 high school football victory over Class 2-A, District 2 rival Hancock County at Schafer-Glover Field.

Carrico finished with two rushing touchdowns, two receiving scores and even returned an interception for a TD late in the contest.

"Tutt was a different person all week in practice," OCHS coach Jason Morris said. "You could tell that he was really motivated to come out and get our team going in the right direction, now that we're in a new season — (that's) what we're calling it. We're 1-0 now and he was going to do everything he could to make sure we were 1-0 when we left here tonight."

Carrico reeled in touchdown passes of 9 and 7 yards early on from Aces quarterback Brady Atwell, giving Catholic (3-3) a 14-0 advantage with 10:33 left in the second quarter.

The host Hornets (5-1) responded later in the frame when Logan Willis rumbled into the end zone for a 4-yard score with 1:33 until halftime, and on the Aces' next drive, Austin Volocko forced an interception near midfield and returned it 45 yards for the score. Missed 2-point tries on both TDs left Hancock County trailing 14-12 at intermission.

After that, however, it was all Aces.

"We knew we were coming into a hostile environment," Morris said. "Didn't finish the first half the way we obviously wanted to, but really proud of our boys. We came out in the second half and did what a really good football team's supposed to do — we just took it play by play and kept our composure."

In the days leading up to the game, Morris and his staff had stressed the need for reliance to their squad.

"We just talked to each other about rely on each other to do what's right and stop beating yourself up, stop self-destructing," he said. "And we did. We came together and we relied on each other, and it was great to see them bounce back in the second half."

Tutt Carrico's interception on the first drive of the second half helped set up brother Vince Carrico for a 1-yard TD run that put OCHS up 21-12 with 7:23 left in the third quarter.

Catholic added another 27 points in the fourth frame to seal the victory.

Tutt Carrico ran in a 3-yard score, the Aces' Jack Terry came sliding in to recover the ball on the ensuing kickoff when it appeared headed out of bounds, and Atwell ran in a 1-yard QB keeper moments later for a 34-12 edge.

"Momentum is a real thing," Morris said. "To get the momentum already on our side and to do that just takes it to a whole new level. It was really exciting to see us not self-destruct at that point and go put the ball in the end zone."

Tutt Carrico added a 3-yard rushing score with 5:02 left, and on the Hornets' next drive, he grabbed an interception and returned it 47 yards for the final touchdown of the evening.

The Aces finished with 402 yards of total offense while limiting Hancock County to only 118 yards from scrimmage.

"One of their scores in the first half was just a pick-6. Besides that, we played great defense the entire game," Morris said. "It wasn't really anything different in the second half besides us quit self-destructing on offense. Our defense was lights-out all night."

Atwell completed 24-of-33 passing attempts for 238 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also added 85 yards and an additional rushing score on 11 carries.

Vince Carrico pounded the ball 12 times for 48 rushing yards and a score. Tutt Carrico finished with six receptions for 63 yards and two scores, as well as five rushes for 15 yards and another pair of TDs on the ground. Deuce Sims hauled in a team-high eight passes for 75 yards.

Hancock County's Logan Willis ran the ball 14 times for 48 yards and a TD.

Both teams return to district action next week as the Hornets host Butler County and Catholic hosts Todd County Central.

OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 8 6 7 27 — 48

HANCOCK COUNTY 0 12 0 0 — 12

O-T. Carrico 9 pass from Atwell (T. Carrico pass from Atwell)

O-T. Carrico 7 pass from Atwell (run failed)

H-Willis 4 run (run failed)

H-Volocko 45 interception return (run failed)

O-V. Carrico 1 run (Ranallo kick)

O-T. Carrico 3 run (pass failed)

O-Atwell 1 run (Ranallo kick)

O-T. Carrico 4 run (Ranallo kick)

O-T. Carrico 47 interception return (Ranallo kick)