Cavs shut out Fultondale to begin season
HOMEWOOD -- After finishing last season with its best record in a decade, the John Carroll Catholic High School football team blanked Fultondale, 27-0, for its first victory of the 2021 campaign.
“I love this group,” John Carroll head coach Will Mara said. “They have come together lately and I could not be more proud of this group of guys.”
Cavaliers sophomore quarterback Carson McFadden completed 9-of-17 passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns, while senior running back Aaron Mason paced the squad on the ground with 101 yards and a score.
Three different receivers found the end zone for John Carroll, as Quad Harrison, Christian Harris and Derrick Davis Jr. all reeled in touchdown grabs.
Perhaps most notable, though, was the Cavs defense. The unit finished the game with five sacks and eight tackles for loss, while forcing three Wildcats turnovers.
“We want 11 guys going to the ball on defense,” Mara said. “We might miss a tackle, but there is another guy right there to clean it up. I saw that tonight and I am proud of these kids’ attitudes and effort.”
John Carroll struck first on a safety with just over a minute left in the first quarter after pinning Fultondale at its own 1-yard line, as a swarm of Cavaliers downed Fultondale quarterback Tyler Grayson in his own end zone to go up 2-0.
The Cavs extended their advantage midway through the second stanza. After an 18-yard rush by Mason got John Carroll into the red zone, McFadden found tight end Harrison in the back right corner of the end zone for the first offensive points of the night. After the ensuing PAT was blocked, the Cavaliers took an 8-0 lead into the locker room.
After two three-and-outs to start the second half, John Carroll found the end zone on a pair of consecutive possessions to effectively slam the door shut on the Wildcats.
With just over three minutes remaining in the third, Christian Harper hauled in a 20-yard, over-the-shoulder pass from McFadden to make the score 14-0. On the next Cavaliers drive, McFadden rifled a pass down the middle of the field to Davis for a 70-yard touchdown to put John Carroll up 21-0.
The final score of the contest came on the last drive of the game. On his sixth rush of the seven-play drive, Mason found the back of the end zone from 32 yards out to give John Carroll the final 27-0 margin.
“This team has worked hard all summer for four hours, four days a week,” Mara said. “They may have hated me at times, but in the third and fourth quarters, we weren’t cramping and we weren’t struggling because of our conditioning.”
The Cavaliers return to Pat Sullivan Field next week for a non-region home tilt with Moody.