Photo by David Leong
John Carroll Cavaliers take the field before a game between John Carroll and Briarwood on Fri, Oct. 10, 2025, at Pat Sullivan Field. Photo by David Leong.
Things were not necessarily rosy for the John Carroll Catholic High School football team in 2025.
But the Cavaliers sure saved their best for last, rallying from a 17-0 halftime deficit to defeat West Blocton 24-23 in overtime on Thursday night.
Just when it seemed as if the Cavs were set to quietly exit this season with an eighth loss, they emptied the tank one final time.
"We challenged the boys to bow up and not go out like this, and they did just that," John Carroll head coach Will Mara said.
John Carroll (3-7) struck on fourth-and-1, as Garrett Barnes found Jason Williams Jr. for a 67-yard touchdown. Barnes hit Jackson Rankin for the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 17-8.
The Cavs then forced a safety to make it 17-10, setting up Barnes' 8-yard touchdown pass to Aubrey Coker to tie the game.
The game went into overtime, and West Blocton possessed the ball and scored first. But a missed extra point gave the Cavs an opening.
Barnes hit Rankin on fourth-and-goal from the 13-yard line, scrambling and firing it into the end zone, where Rankin successfully got his toes inside the pylon for the score. Junior Max Sullivan converted the extra point to send John Carroll to victory.
"All season, they have battled all the way to the end, no matter the score, and tonight it paid off," Mara said. "I'm very proud of our team and especially our seniors. They have worked extremely hard and they love the green and white. These seniors gave us a ton of excitement to build off of going into the offseason."
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