CATHOLIC FOLLOWUP: Knights ready to take on next season after close call

Coach Aubrey Blackwell and the Montgomery Catholic Knights made history in 2020. They hope to make more next season. (Dennis Victory)

By TIM GAYLE

Minutes after a heartbreaking loss in the state championship game to Fyffe, Catholic coach Aubrey Blackwell walked into the home locker room and glanced around at his players. He saw a few tears, obviously, but more than that he saw a resoluteness, even with his underclassmen.

“You could see in our guys’ faces, there was already a determination of what has to happen to make sure we never have this feeling again,” Blackwell said. “When we get back to school in January, we’ll start preparing for the next year and that will be the goal, to be in that game again.”

Looking forward, there will be offensive linemen to replace, but talented receivers will be ready to fill the shoes of seniors DJ Carter and Myles Butler, quarterback Caleb McCreary will be a seasoned sophomore, tailback Jeremiah Cobb will be a veteran junior and nine of 11 starters will return on the defensive side of the ball. 

But Blackwell didn’t want to look forward, at least not yet. The seniors won a school-record 42 games in four years and did something not even the most optimistic Catholic fan could have ever dreamed of – taking a team from second-round playoff losses in 2017 and 2018 to the quarterfinals in 2019 and the 3A state finals in 2020. 

“There were so many guys in that group that sacrificed, starting with Dean Johnson,” Blackwell said. “Dean Johnson was fighting for our quarterback spot with Caleb. We had an injury right before the Pike Road game and he was the next biggest body we had and we asked him to put his hand in the dirt (at left guard). Without a second of hesitation, he said, ‘If that’s what is going to help us win, let’s go.’ He was our highest grader in nine of our 15 games and that says a lot for somebody who’s never played offensive line before.

“Mahric (Robinson) was a defensive lineman his whole career and then has a knee injury in the MA game (on Sept. 25). The only position he can play now is offensive tackle and he had an excellent year for us. Every one of those seniors has something unique in the sacrifices they made.” 

Even the ones who didn’t play offered a piece to the puzzle, including Kolbe Russo, the lone returning offensive lineman for the Knights before a knee injury just prior to the start of fall practice sidelined him for 2020. Russo, the older brother of kicker Gabe Russo, was a constant fixture at practice despite the injury, there to offer support to the younger linemen.

In addition to senior captain and defensive lineman Marcus Dees and defensive back Spencer Bach, Carter will leave the program as the school’s all-time career receiving yards leader and Butler broke Carter’s 2019 record for single-season receiving yards in 2020. 

Then, there’s Austin Cleghorn, JC Hardigree, Judd Osten, Riley Swain, Eli Starrett, Maverick Friday, Willie Sagers and Braxton Burdette, seniors who each contributed a little something to the championship run. 

But as Blackwell pointed out, the most unlikeliest of runs happened in the most unlikeliest of seasons as coronavirus threatened to derail it before it ever got started.  

“We had kids that sacrificed family time, guys that sacrificed being with girlfriends,” Blackwell said. “The kids made so many sacrifices, especially these last five weeks of the playoffs.”

Along the way, the Knights would lose to Pike Road and Montgomery Academy, but win a region championship with a hard-fought win over Trinity, then beat Bayside Academy and Opp at home in the playoffs before winning at Thomasville in the quarterfinals and at Montgomery Academy in the semifinals. 

The last two wins marked the second and third road victories in the state playoffs for a Catholic team, which prior to 2020 could count only a 7-6 win at Alabama Christian in 1989. Before beating Thomasville 25-15, no Catholic team had ever left the city of Montgomery and returned home with a postseason win. 

Blackwell personally had lost at Thomasville in 2016, American Christian in 2018 and UMS-Wright in 2019.

“That wasn’t something I cared to share,” he said. “It’s embarrassing for me as a head coach. We had had a lot of success but every playoff game we had lost had been on the road. Three of the last four years, our losses have been on the road and our team overcame it, they learned how to prepare better and play better in the playoffs.”

Against Fyffe, the Knights jumped out to a quick 16-0 lead, then stalled as the Red Devils chipped away at the lead and finally scored with 1:03 left to win 21-16 on the strength of seniors Ike Rowell at quarterback and Brody Dalton at receiver. 

“Their whole team played their tails off, but those two kids made the biggest difference for them, especially with the catches ‘43’ was making and the tremendous effort that ‘4’ played with,” Blackwell said. “He was deserving of that MVP award. They made the plays when it mattered.

“The thing about their offense that hurt us the most is how much it limited our snaps in the second half. Before our last drive, we only had seven snaps. But we still had a chance to win it. You can’t ask for much more. Our kids played their tails off.”

There were plenty of determined looks around the Catholic locker room after the game. They’re ready to trade their red runner-up trophy in 2020 for a blue championship model in 2021.

“I’m proud of our kids, what an incredible season,” Blackwell said, “and taking the next step for our program. Now they know what it takes to get there and now they’ve got a taste of what it really takes to be successful.”