Catholic returns to state
KNOXVILLE -— Knoxville Catholic High School will play for its second state football championship in three years, and third overall, starting at 8 p.m. EST tonight, Thursday, Nov. 30, at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium in Class 5A.
The Irish await Beech [14--0].
Catholic [11-3] recorded a 42-7 road victory over Central [8-6] in the 5A state semis Friday, Nov. 24.
The Irish took a 7-0 lead when senior quarterback Jack Sompayrac connected with Dashon Bussell on a 23-yard scoring strike.
Sompayrac went 15-for-21 passing for 205 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 58 yards and a pair of scores.
He also connected with Adam Jones for 31-yard touchdown.
Joshua Brown scored on a 10-yard run early in the second quarter to make the score 17-0.
“I’ll do anything for this team. They’re like my brothers and I’ll take the hits,” Brown said. “We wanted to get back to Cookeville and bring another gold ball back, and I was going to do anything I could to help us get back there.”
Paxton Robertson kicked field goals of 27 and 36 yards.
Stiles Moore, sophomore defensive lineman, had five tackles and a sack for KCHS. Jake Mahoney, senior linebacker, had an interception, a fumble recovery and eight tackles [including four solo stops].
