Irish ‘fight’ to the very end
Suddenly, amidst the paper-shuffling and chair-creaking, there came a loud ovation as head coach Philip Shadowens roused his team.
With one full practice left, the Irish appeared ready to storm into Covenant Health Park to face a Baylor squad ranked No. 9 in the country on MaxPreps.com.
Led by five-star Tennessee commitment David Gabriel Georges, the Red Raiders posed a larger threat than any team on Catholic’s already-loaded schedule.
That ultimately proved true in the result two days later, as Georges scored all three of Baylor’s touchdowns in a 21-7 victory.
Yet even with the loss, Catholic’s record stands at 7-3 — their best win-loss ratio since joining Division II-AAA in 2019. Any other year, that would set up the Irish for a playoff run.
Except three months and 19 days before Shadowens’ film session, Knoxville Catholic put out a release sending shockwaves through Tennessee high school football.
A TSSAA investigation found illegal communication between a non-faculty assistant coach and a player, and the school ultimately self-imposed a one-year postseason ban with a two-year probationary period.
In an instant, those postseason hopes were dashed.
Disappointment ran through the Catholic locker room, as palpable as the July heat. But soon enough, that sadness was replaced by resolve.
