Late score lifts Guntersville over Cavs
HOMEWOOD – The tears spilled on John Carroll Catholic High School’s football field on Friday night came because a special season ended just a bit earlier than the Cavaliers hoped it would.
John Carroll scored first and led nearly the entire way in the program’s first home playoff game since 2004. But it was Guntersville that put a fairy tale ending on a special night on a fourth down touchdown pass with 1:20 left on the clock, as the Wildcats escaped with a 20-17 win in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.
The winning points came on a 21-yard connection from Eli Morrison to Treyvon Avery on fourth down-and-13. Avery outran the defensive back into the back corner of the end zone and gathered in the game-winner.
When it was over, while Guntersville celebrated, the John Carroll players coached gathered in a tight circle trying to work through the disappointment together.
“It’s been special,” said John Carroll head coach Will Mara. “I know one word we talked about today, the word magical has come up. But, I disagree with magical because there is an aspect of magic where there is no explanation behind it. There is 100% explanation behind what this group has done. They put in the work, they deserved it, they’ve earned every bit of this season.”
On Friday, in front of an overflow crowd, including what looked to be more than 100 former players, the Cavaliers seemed to be in control for most of the way.
Guntersville managed just 76 yards on 14 offensive plays in the first half. John Carroll’s first drive ended with a 37-yard field goal by Charles Farr. The last drive concluded with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Carson McFadden to Zach Archer with one second left in the half. Archer’s catch put an end to a 10-play, 73-yard drive that began with over four minutes on the clock.
John Carroll (9-3) came out in the second half and methodically moved down the field. The Cavaliers held the ball for 16 plays, twice converting on fourth-and-1, before finally giving up the ball on downs with 3:59 left in the third quarter. It was the second long drive of the game that didn’t result in points for John Carroll. The other came in the first half when a botched exchange ended a drive that had reached the Guntersville 20-yard line.
Losing those potential points turned out to be costly.
Guntersville (11-1) cut the deficit to 10-6 on a 1-yard run by EJ Havis on the Wildcats’ first drive of the second half. John Carroll came right back with McFadden and Ryan Redmond connecting on a 34-yard touchdown pass. The score came three plays after the same two connected on a 28-yard pass.
The 17-6 lead held up until Guntersville scored on a 33-yard run by Enelson Delva with 7:36 remaining. The two-point conversion failed and John Carroll had a 17-12 lead. Guntersville forced a three-and-out and regained the ball on the 41-yard line with 5:41 remaining.
It appeared that John Carroll stopped the Wildcats with just under three minutes left but a fourth down incomplete pass was negated by a holding call in the secondary. Four plays later, the Wildcats converted another fourth down play with the game-winning score.
Mara said he would stay away from wondering what might have happened if a couple of plays ended differently.
“That’s one thing we talked about,” Mara said. “We didn’t want to step off the field and say ‘what if.’ Our boys put their heart out there. It’s football, the ball’s not going to bounce your way (every time). They made one more play. I’m going to try to guard against those what-ifs, because I don’t want to take away from the effort they came out and played with.”