A disappointment failed to stop Butler’s big comeback against Charlotte Catholic
Butler had been totally outplayed, outscored 12-0 and outgained in total yardage 167-50.
Charlotte Catholic had 11 first downs to Butler’s three.
But when Butler emerged from the locker room for the start of the second half Friday night, it looked as if head coach Brian Hales’ halftime speech had spurred a turnaround.
The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff and marched to the Charlotte Catholic 2 — only to be stopped.
Then the visiting Cougars —much as they had done in the first half — put together a long, tome-consuming drive that ended in a touchdown.
It was 19-0.
Many teams would have quit. Butler didn’t.
“What can I say?” Hales said after his Bulldogs scored 20 points in the closing nine minutes and edged Charlotte Catholic 20-19. “They don’t give up.”
Hales suggested that perhaps the seed for the comeback had been sown in that lengthy Butler drive that ended with a turnover on downs, deep in Cougar territory.
“We were able to move the ball well, and I think our guys realized that,” he said. “It was just a matter of getting a spark.”
The spark came from a 5-foot-11, 155-pound senior, Makhi Carr.
He took the kickoff following the Cougars’ final touchdown and returned it nearly 70 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly, it was 19-7.
“And I think we realized that we were still in it,” Hales said.
The Bulldogs picked off a pass on Charlotte Catholic’s next possession and drove for a touchdown. Then they forced the Cougars to punt and drove for another score — one that put them ahead.
Charlotte Catholic still had another chance, getting the ball back with about three minutes to play. But the Cougars fumbled the ball away on the kickoff return, Butler picked up a first down on the ground and another on a personal foul penalty, and that was it.
The outcome left Butler atop the Southwestern 4A Conference at 5-0. The Bulldogs are idle next week, then visit neighborhood rival Independence (3-1, and favored next week) in two weeks. Charlotte Catholic fell to 4-1 in conference play.
Here are some takeaways from Friday’s game:
It’s never over
It’s difficult to describe just how much the game turned around on Carr’s kickoff return.
Charlotte Catholic dominated the first half, holding the ball for nearly 17 of the 24 minutes. The Cougars’ second touchdown drive covered 91 yards.
With just five minutes left in the first half, Butler had run only eight plays from scrimmage on a single possession.
“They really had control of things in that first half,” said Hales, who celebrated a birthday Friday night and was treated to a chorus of “Happy Birthday” by his players and coaching staff after the game. “They ran the ball and just didn’t let us get much of a chance.”
But Carr’s kickoff return ignited something in the Bulldogs.
“When that happened, we told each other, ‘We can do this,’ ” sophomore quarterback Zach Lawrence said.
Déjà vu for the Cougars
Three weeks ago, Charlotte Catholic rallied from a 35-21 deficit in the fourth quarter and squeaked past Independence 36-35. A key play in that game came in the final two minutes, when the Cougars picked off an Independence pass. One play later, Charlotte Catholic quarterback Sean Boyle threw a long touchdown pass.
On Friday night, with a 19-7 lead, it was Boyle who was picked off. The Bulldogs put heavy pressure on Boyle, who managed to get off a long pass. But Butler’s Phillip Harris read the play and stepped in front of the Catholic receiver for an interception.
A few plays later, Butler scored on a Lawrence-to-Carr pass.
This time, the interception went against the Cougars.
A senior and a sophomore
Whatever the outcome, two players stood out Friday night.
Charlotte Catholic senior running back Griffin Sovine had a sensational game. He carried 36 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Sovine had 22 carries and 121 yards in the first half and was a big reason why the Cougars dominated the opening 24 minutes.
Give credit, too, to the Cougars’ offensive line — Clinton Barlow, Jackson Gagnon, Michael Egan, Conor Maguire, and John Macuga.
The other standout was Lawrence, Butler’s sophomore quarterback.
The Cougars shut him down in the first half by not letting Butler get the ball. At intermission, Lawrence had thrown for 20 yards. He finished with 179.
He admitted that he and the Bulldogs got lucky on the final touchdown. His pass was tipped by receiver Dequadre Currence. The ball floated into the air and landed in Carr’s hands.
“I turned around, and it was wide-open, all the way to the end zone,” Carr said.
“I actually had intended the pass from him (Carr),” Lawrence said afterward. “But my footing wasn’t right, and the ball was underthrown. Yeah, we got lucky.”
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle