CATHOLIC TOO MUCH FOR U-HIGH: WINS 30-25

Cross town rivals University Lab and Catholic High School met tonight in what was an epic showdown. University Lab may not have the big names they did last season, but they do have underclassman stepping into the big roles left by those former seniors that went onto DI schools. Senior quarterback Tanner Lawson looked sharp and poised in the pocket tonight for the Cubs. Throwing two touchdowns, one to junior receiver Jardin Gilbert and another to sophomore receiver Austin Ausberry.

The Bears have been dominant coming into tonight’s game. Averaging 42 points on offense, while allowing just 12 points per game. Senior running back Josh Parker said his quarterback senior Jackson Thomas was crucial in the win over University Lab tonight. “He’s the quarterback, and we’re all looking at someone to make a big time play.” When asked about where he felt the team was on the season. Parker responded with an honest and eye opening answer. “I thought we played a bad game, we played very sloppy, and we had a lot of flags. But, we can fix all that.”

Early in the game Parker seemed to be getting bottled up, gaining short yardage or stopped at the line of scrimmage. When asked about it Parker responded saying, “I missed some holes tonight, I was a little antsy, but we fixed that.” Parker had a huge run right up the middle with less than nine minutes left to go in the fourth quarter for a touchdown, seemingly untouched by the Cubs defense to give them the lead 23-19 at that point.

U-High took over after the ensuing kickoff by Catholic. Senior quarterback Tanner Lawson was pressured on his throw from the pocket and forced an interception in double coverage. Sophomore DB Joshua Wax was the recipient of that interception for the Bears, returning it over 35 yards before being knocked out of bounds. Jackson Thomas would find senior receiver Sam Ethridge in the back of the end zone to put the Bears ahead 30-19.

However, the Cubs would answer the call and score immediately. The two point conversion would be no good. This would make the score 30 -25. Catholic would take the ball at the 35 after a kick from the opposition sailed out of bonds. Catholic took its time marching down the field a slow and methodical drive that milked the clock and would leave the Bears in a 4th and short. With the Bears unable to convert, the Cubs would take over deep inside their own territory, and have one chance one last shot to win the game.

Quarterback Tanner Lawson stepped up into the pocket as the pass rush for Catholic was closing in on him, and fired a pass deep down field. The pass was intended for Trevor Evans, but was instead intercepted by Connor Stewart. This would effectively end the game, and give the win to Catholic High.

Looking back on it, this is the first time since 2015-2016 season that U-High has lost back-to-back games. A pretty good statistic, considering the last time that happened, this senior class was just entering high school.