Clutch 4th-and-2 play, stifling defense push Covington Catholic to eighth state title
Defense won the day for Covington Catholic on Saturday at Kroger Field, but one clutch offensive play certainly helped.
Facing a fourth down and two yards to go on their opponent’s 40-yard line and holding a slim touchdown lead late in the third quarter, Covington Catholic quarterback Caleb Jacob pump-faked a quick out to superstar tight end Michael Mayer, then lofted a ball down the sideline that Mayer caught 37 yards later for a first-and-goal.
“Obviously, I thought they were definitely going to play tight, (it’s) fourth-and-2. We kind of knew that they would think Michael might be our go-to guy and to try to cut that off,” Colonels Coach Eddie Eviston said of the play call. “He (Mayer) was able to sneak in behind and Caleb threw a good pass to get it done.”
The “out-and-up” set up Jacob’s touchdown dive from the 1-yard line three plays later and the Colonels held on for a 14-7 victory over Frederick Douglass in the UK Orthopaedics/KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl Class 5A championship.
The fourth-and-2 play came as Covington Catholic was trying to capitalize on the game’s only turnover, an interception by Andre Molique in Douglass territory.
“We repped that all week long, and we were ready for it,” said Mayer of the conversion. The Notre Dame commit was named the game’s most valuable player for his efforts on both sides of the ball. Also playing linebacker, he tied for the team lead in tackles.
The win came in CovCath’s third straight Class 5A finals appearance and was their second championship in that span. The Colonels lost to South Warren 20-16 last year. They have eight titles overall.
“It means a lot,” Mayer said. “It shows the work these coaches put in, the work the players put in and the community. The community showed out. They’ve showed out the past three years.”
Facing a 14-0 deficit and despite not being able to generate any consistent offense all night, Douglass answered quickly to get back into the game, driving 80 yards in 11 plays with just 4:39 running off the clock.
Devin Neal, the Cincinnati commit who has been Douglass’ major two-way threat all season, broke for runs of 20 and 25 yards during the drive. Ty Bryant finished it off by taking a 13-yard reverse into the end zone to get the Broncos within 14-7 with 9:00 left in the game.
Douglass got a few more stops and a few more chances, but CovCath’s defense held firm.
“It was critical plays,” Douglass Coach Brian Landis said. “In big ball games, that’s the difference … they executed those big plays and we didn’t. We’ll learn from it and move on. I’m happy for (CovCath), but we’ve got a bright future ahead of us, as well.”
Douglass made its first finals appearance in only the school’s third year of existence.
“Be proud of yourselves,” Landis told his team right after the game. “You did the impossible. Three years, and you’re here! It didn’t turn out the way we wanted, but dammit, I love you, and I’m proud of you!”
Oddly, each of the game’s touchdowns came as the result of sustained drives. CovCath received the opening kickoff and drove methodically down the field with Owen Nally scoring from two yards out. The series took more than nine minutes.
But for the rest of the night, the defense shone. CovCath outgained Douglass by only a yard, 159 to 158 — both well off their high-octane averages. Each team punted five times.
“Our defense has been winning it all year, they really have,” Eviston said. “Obviously, our offense was able to put points up all year, but tonight, it was a battle of two defenses and, man, our defense played lights out and got the stops when we needed them.”
State football championships
Class A: Pikeville 43, Paintsville 0
Class 3A: Belfry 30, Bell County 20
Class 2A: Somerset 34, Mayfield 31
Class 4A: Johnson Central 21, Boyle County 20
Class 5A: Covington Catholic 14, Frederick Douglass 7
Class 6A: Trinity 28, Male 6
This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 11:34 PM.
