Topic: Football
2023FBPPTCC
Paducah Tilghman vs. Covington Catholic
Class 4A 2023 UK HealthCare Sports Medicine State Football Finals (Semifinals)
Covington Catholic High School
Park Hills, KY
November 24, 2023
© 2023 by Ron Harrison
Covington Catholic trailed 14-13 after three quarters but rallied to defeat Paducah Tilghman by the score of 22-14. The Colonels took the lead when the ball was snapped over the punters head and he was stopped in the end zone for a safety. Covington Catholic added a 14 yard run by Evan Pitzer and the conversion kick by Andrew Weitzel to ensure the victory. Covington Catholic recorded 18 first downs and 294 yards of total offense. The Colonels were penalized once for five yards. Paducah Tilghman recorded 18 first downs and 275 yards of total offense. The Blue Tornado were penalized 10 times for 57 yards, lost two fumbles, and had two passes intercepted.
Evan Pitzer led Covington Catholic’s ground game with 123 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Owen Leen carried the ball 13 times for 67 yards. Braylon Miller added 56 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Evan Pitzer completed eight of 13 passes for 48 yards. Braylon Miller caught five passes for 23 yards. Willie Rodriguez added one reception for 15 yards. Owen Leen recorded two receptions for 10 yards. Dylan Gaiser returned one kickoff for 17 yards. Ben McEvoy returned two kickoffs for 16 yards with a long return of nine yards. Tate Kruer led the defense with seven solo tackles and recovered a fumble. Josh Flood added six solo and two assisted tackles. Ben Reeves recorded six solo and one assisted tackles. Isaac Mason recovered a fumble and Cash Harney intercepted two passes.
Martels Carter led Paducah Tilghman’s ground game with 85 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. DeMarkus Williams carried the ball 12 times for 40 yards. Amari Williams recorded 22 yards on three carries. Jack James completed 12 of 28 passes for 130 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. Martels Carter caught three passes for 41 yards. Joshua Campbell added two receptions for 41 yards. Amari Williams caught two passes for 18 yards and a touchdown. JoeAvion Starks added two receptions for 14 yards. Martels Carter returned three kickoffs for 103 yards with a long return of 50 yards. Joshua Campbell returned one kickoff for 18 yards. Uriah Virzi led the defense with 11 solo tackles. Martels Carter added seven solo and one assisted tackles. Jimmy Mooney recorded five solo tackles and NyYon Fitzgerald chipped in with four solo and one assisted tackles.
Scoring Summary
School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
Paducah Tilghman | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Covington Catholic | 0 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 22 |
PADTILGH | - | Amari Williams 18 yard pass from Jack James (Shep Esper kick) |
COVCATH | - | Braylon Miller 38 yard run (Andrew Weitzel kick) |
PADTILGH | - | Martels Carter 15 yard run (Shep Esper kick) |
COVCATH | - | Evan Pitzer 2 yard run (Evan Pitzer run fails) |
COVCATH | - | Safety Ball snapped over punters head tackled in end zone |
COVCATH | - | Evan Pitzer 14 yard run (Andrew Weitzel kick) |
Selected Statistics
Paducah Tilghman | ||||
| ||||
Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
Martels Carter | 8 | 85 | 10.6 | 25 |
DeMarkus Williams | 12 | 40 | 3,3 | 15 |
Amari Williams | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 12 |
Jack James | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 11 |
JoeAvion Starks | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 17 |
Russell Hancock | 1 | -22 | -22.0 | 0 |
| ||||
Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
Jack James | 28-12-2 | 130 | 1 | 26 |
| ||||
Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
Joshua Campbell | 2 | 41 | 0 | 2 |
Martels Carter | 3 | 41 | 0 | 19 |
Amari Williams | 2 | 18 | 1 | 18 |
JoeAvion Starks | 2 | 14 | 0 | 9 |
Brenden Brown | 2 | 25 | 0 | 20 |
Jack James | 1 | -9 | 0 | 0 |
| ||||
Covington Catholic | ||||
| ||||
Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
Evan Pitzer | 24 | 123 | 5.1 | 16 |
Owen Leen | 13 | 67 | 5.2 | 23 |
Braylon Miller | 6 | 56 | 9.3 | 38 |
| ||||
Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
Evan Pitzer | 13-8-0 | 48 | 0 | 15 |
| ||||
Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
Braylon Miller | 5 | 23 | 0 | 9 |
Owen Leen | 2 | 10 | 0 | 9 |
Willie Rodriguez | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to the Covington Catholic Stats Crew for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's games.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the event, teams, or players to me at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.