By: James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer
LEXINGTON – Casey McGinness and the Covington Catholic football team have been living the dream the past two seasons.
The final game for McGinness and the Colonel seniors ended in what-ifs and nightmares Sunday afternoon at the University of Kentucky's Kroger Field.
The Colonels lost 20-16 to South Warren in the KHSAA 5A state championship game. CovCath finished 14-1 and had its state-best 29-game winning streak ended. CovCath also suffered its first loss in a state final after seven state championship wins. South Warren finished 15-0 and won its second state title in the past four seasons.
The Colonels drove deep into Spartans territory twice in the final three minutes but could not convert.
"This program, these seniors, mean everything to me," said McGinness. "The coaching staff, CovCath football in general, there's nothing I would trade this for. We didn't come out on top. The second half, we gave it all we had. I love each and every one of these kids and I wouldn't trade it for the world."
A play that is likely to live on in CovCath lore kept the Colonels from potentially taking the lead with three minutes to play.
Down 20-14, on second and four from the SW 9, McGinness took the handoff and ran inside the 5 for a first down. Several players from both teams converged on him in a rugby scrum and the ball squirted out near the goal line, where Rowdy Shea recovered for SW near the goal line.
Most observers behind the end zone felt forward progress had stopped, and McGinness said his knees were down.
"Both my knees were down," McGinness said. "I don't know how the ball came out, to be honest with you. But you can't change things that happen, you have to move forward."
"I don't know. I'd have to see it," said CovCath head coach Eddie Eviston. "It's one of those things. We can't control that, and that's what we preach to these kids, just worry about the things you can control. I give credit to South Warren. They had a great game plan."
South Warren took two minutes off the clock and was still backed up near the goal line, so the Spartans intentionally took a safety to make it 20-16, and McGinness returned the free kick to the South Warren 41.
Sophomore QB Caleb Jacob completed a 15-yard pass to Jack Coldiron to the 26. With the Colonels at the 24, Jacob fired a pass to Michael Mayer, who was open inside the 10. But heavy wind at the Colonels' back, which gusted over 40 MPH at times in the fourth quarter, caused the ball to sail out of bounds.
On CovCath's final play, Jacob fired over the middle to Coldiron in the end zone, but he was well-covered and the ball was just out of his reach, and the Spartans celebrated.
"We wished it had ended differently, but they're a good ball club and I couldn't be more proud of our guys," Eviston said. "I'm super proud. It's a great group of kids. They worked all year for this."
CovCath had not lost since the third round of the playoffs in 2016, to Fern Creek. The Colonels had trailed in a game only five times since then, had not trailed by more than seven points in that span, and had never trailed at halftime.
The Spartans put a stop to all of those statistics, taking a 13-0 lead at halftime and 20-0 early in the third quarter.
Senior quarterback Gavin Spurrier, who committed to Duke last week, completed 12 of 19 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. He had a 43-yard pass to Jantzen Dunn for the first TD of the game.
After CovCath fumbled the kickoff, South Warren took over at the CovCath 36 and cashed in five plays later when Spurrier threw an 11-yard TD pass to Caleb Lloyd and it was 13-0 after one quarter, and stayed that way at halftime.
South Warren limited CovCath to 56 yards, 43 from the arm of Jacob. South Warren's defense, led by Notre Dame commit Jacob Lacey up front, limited the Colonels on the ground all day and sacked Caleb Jacob three times, plus many other pressures on the first-year starter at QB.
"They were doing things that hurt us," Eviston said. "We just had to settle down and figure it out. The first half was not much offense at all, but our guys kept battling. We got things going, just not enough time."
The Colonels were fortunate to be as close as they were at the break. On South Warren's first drive, Clayton Bush fumbled at the goal line. In the second quarter, SW drove to the CovCath 17, but the drive stalled after Spurrier bobbled a snap.
A South Warren player dropped an interception that would likely have been a pick-six for him, and the Spartans barely missed a TD on offense after a deflected pass caromed to a Spartan receiver well behind the Colonels defense and he wasn't able to pull it down. The Spartans also stripped Jacob of the ball deep in CovCath territory, but the play was ruled an incomplete pass, a call media replays conclusively showed was incorrect.
The Colonels took momentum right away in the second half, forcing South Warren to a quick punt, which McGinness returned 11 yards to the SW 38. CovCath's drive stalled, however. On fourth and eight from the SW 36, the Colonels elected to have Jacob set up in the shotgun, then pooch punt.
Lacey and Tre Teague broke through the line and nearly sacked Jacob, instead blocking the punt, which was credited to Teague. Isaac Young scooped up the ball and returned it to the CovCath 10. The Spartans scored two plays later, and it was 20-0.
CovCath came right back and scored its first TD of the game. Throwing into the wind, Jacob completed long bombs to McGinness for 39 yards, then to Michael Mayer for 42 for a TD. Trey Gronotte's PAT made it 20-7 with nine minutes to play in the third quarter.
Two minutes into the fourth quarter, McGinness brought the Colonel Crazies to a frenzy, breaking through the line for a 77-yard touchdown. The PAT made it 20-14. That was the bulk of his 95 rushing yards for the game and the final score of his storied Colonels career. McGinness had already set all of CovCath's single-season and career rushing and scoring records heading into this game.
South Warren got the ball back after McGinness' TD and kept it for four minutes. The Spartans went for it on fourth and one from the CovCath 40, but the Colonels stuffed the running play and took over with six minutes to go on the drive that ended with McGinness' controversial fumble.
"I know (the returning players) will be back here next year and they'll figure it out," McGinness said.
Jacob threw for 176 yards. Mayer had five for 92. CovCath had 261 yards to 291 for South Warren
South Warren 13 0 7 0-20
CovCath 0 0 7 9-16
S – Dunn 43 pass from Spurrier (Dervisevic kick)
S – Lloyd 11 pass from Spurrier (kick failed)
S – Harrison 2 run (Dervisevic kick)
C – Mayer 42 pass from Jacob (Gronotte kick)
C – McGinness 77 run (Gronotte kick)
C – Safety, Bush intentionally runs out of end zone
Records: SW 15-0, CCH 14-1