Two interceptions, two sacks, a fumble recovery and a safety.
Covington Catholic took advantage of those four things – and Evan Pitzer’s 123 rushing yards and two touchdowns – and converted them into a spot in the Class 4A championship with Friday’s 22-14 win over Paducah Tilghman at Dennis Griffin Stadium.
CovCath thus meets Boyle County, a 41-14 winner over Franklin County, for the title at 8 p.m., Friday at the University of Kentucky’s Kroger Field.
“Defense was amazing (Friday),” Pitzer said. “It always seems like when I make a mistake, they’re always there to bail me out.”
Friday was supposed to featured lots and lots of passing between Pitzer (2,508 yards and 32 touchdowns going into Friday) and Tilghman’s Jack James (3,831 yards, 55 TDs).
Until it didn’t.
Instead, CovCath’s Cash Harney picked off two passes, Ben Reeves sacked James and Isaac Mason recovered a fumble. James finished with a 12-for-28 night for 128 yards, and Pitzer was 8-for-13 for 48 yards.
“Both defenses played really well; that’s the bottom line,” CovCath coach Eddie Eviston said. “If you’re gonna make a long playoff run, you’re gonna need a good defense. Our defense definitely kept us in the game.”
Tilghman (13-1) opened with Joshua Campbell’s kickoff to the Blue Tornado 36. The drive fizzled when Harney picked off James and returned the ball from the CovCath eight to the Tilghman 39.
Harney wondered how he ran so far.
“Everybody was picking up blocks, thankfully,” Harney said. “It was like a punt return, yeah.”
The Blue Tornado turned in a defensive stand of its own – Darionte Ragsdale broke up a pass intended for CovCath’s Willie Rodriguez on the Tilghman 14. James and friends made the Colonels pay. An 18-yard pass to Amari Williams capped a 10-play, 86-yard drive.
Things looked even better for Tilghman on the ensuing kickoff when the Blue Tornado recovered an onside kickoff. Then, they didn’t – Mason recovered Demarkus Wilson’s fumble.
CovCath (14-0) eventually moved to the Tilghman nine, in part because of Pitzer’s 11-yard run, a 20-yard screen pass Owen Leen and Leen’s 14-yard run in which he hurdled a would-be tackler. The Blue Tornado ended that threat by stopping Pitzer a yard short.
The Colonels’ Braylon Miller ran six times for 56 yards, including a 38-yard sojourn through the middle of Tilghman’s line with 4:35 to go in the second stanza.
CovCath’s Ben Reeves sacked James for 13 yards to end the half with the two knotted at seven.
After holding CovCath to a three-and-out to open the third quarter, Tilghman scored its final touchdown when Martels Carter ran right and reversed field and finished left in a 15-yard touchdown with 6:49 to go in the third.
Pitzer’s four carries for 31 yards, the last two on a run over left guard, pulled CovCath to within 14-13. Two offside penalties on Tilghman left the Colonels a yard from a two-point conversion, but Pitzer’s run around right end came up short.
Not to worry, at least for CovCath.
A punt snap over Tilghman punter Russell Hancock’s head ended up in the end zone for a safety.
Pitzer’s 14-yard touchdown run with 8:02 left in the fourth included running over Tilghman’s Jatayvion Rouse.
Tilghman’s last drive ended when Mason and Reeves sacked James for an 11-yard loss with 6:17 to go.
“That’s life,” Tilghman coach Sean Thompson said. “There’s gonna be situations in life where you don’t come out on top. Tonight, that was us.”
CovCath thus advances to the state final for the first time since winning the Class 5A championship in 2019.
“We want that opportunity to play on that big stage, that big game,” Pitzer said. “I’m so proud of our guys and what we were able to do to get there.”
COLONELS 22, BLUE TORNADO 14
PADUCAH TILGHMAN — 7-0-7-0 — 14
COVINGTON CATHOLIC — 0-7-6-9 — 22
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(PT)-Amari Williams 18 pass from Jack James (Step Esper kick), 3:31
2nd Quarter
(CC)-Braylon Miller 38 run (Andrew Weitzel kick), 4:35
3rd Quarter
(PT)-Martels Carter 15 run (Esper kick), 5:16
(CC)-Evan Pitzer 2 run (run failed), 1:33
4th Quarter
(CC)-Safety, Russell Hancock recovered punt snap in end zone, 11:48
(CC)-Pitzer 14 run (Weitzel kick), 8:02
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Pad. Tilghman 128 (James 12-28-128-2 INT); CovCath 48 (Pitzer 8-13-48-0 INT)
Rushing Yards: Pad. Tilghman 159 (Starks 1-17, Carter 8-85, Wilson 12-40, Williams 3-22, Hancock 1-(minus-22)); CovCath 246 (Leen 13-67, Miller 6-56, Pitzer 24-143)
Receiving: Pad. Tilghman 130 (Campbell 2-41, Starks 2-14, James 1-(minus-9), Williams 2-18, Brown 2-25); CovCath 48 (Miller 5-23, Rodriguez 1-15, Leen 2-10)
Turnovers: Pad. Tilghman 3, CovCath 0
Penalties: Pad. Tilghman 10-57, CovCath 1-5
Records: Paducah Tilghman 13-1, CovCath 14-0.