Midseason Power Scores: X Factors, Knoxville Catholic Irish

<p>The Knoxville Catholic football program has taken a noticeable step forward this season to the glory days of old and certainly have more than enough talent to surprise people and make a deep push in the postseason bracket here soon.</p>   <p>This has been a fun team to watch this season, with a combination of proven senior talent that will be playing college football soon, as well as several standout underclass prospects that have continued to break out and raise their stock even higher.</p>   <p>If the Irish want to play spoiler and make a deep run of which they are very capable of, these will be the X factors for the team.</p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2027 Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='496084' first='Mack' last='Bartholomew']</h2>   <p>Junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='496084' first='Mack' last='Bartholomew'] has put together a solid season in his turn at the helm of the offense this year. He is a solid distributor that can quickly get the ball out to the playmakers that surround him, as well as use his legs to create large gains and push drives forward.</p>   <p>He has a pair of highly productive senior receivers at his disposal in [player_tooltip player_id='284149' first='Tyreek' last='King'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1422957' first='Casen' last='Jenkins'], as well as a collection of running backs, and putting them in position to succeed will be important in the final stretch of the season.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JohnSartoriTV/status/1964157336609489177 </div></figure>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2026 Cornerback [player_tooltip player_id='402532' first='Chaston' last='Smith']</h2>   <p>Notre Dame cornerback commit [player_tooltip player_id='402532' first='Chaston' last='Smith'] has been a massive addition for this program, allowing for a major step forward in coverage as the defense can leave both Smith and standout sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1029798' first='Xavier' last='Bowman'] on islands in press coverage and open up the rest of the defense to make plays on the ball.</p>   <p>The front seven has been prone to giving up some explosive plays, but if the team can count on its corner duo and the leadership of Smith, the secondary should be able to limit opposing passing attacks and give the front the freedom to blitz the backfield, which proved to be effective against a strong CPA offensive line in the second half.</p>   <p>If the cornerbacks can effectively shut down their half of the field, that frees up hard-hitting safety [player_tooltip player_id='1031949' first='Brooks' last='Johnston'] to make plays around the line of scrimmage, where he can change games with big hits and forcing turnovers.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/connersmith04/status/1959060659708338616 </div></figure>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2026 Receiver [player_tooltip player_id='284149' first='Tyreek' last='King']</h2>   <p>To make a deep push in the postseason, Knoxville Catholic will have to match explosives and scores with their own offense in each game and there is nobody better suited to do that than Tennessee receiver commit [player_tooltip player_id='284149' first='Tyreek' last='King'], who is alignment versatile and can make a home-run play happen from anywhere on the field.</p>   <p>The defense could struggle some against explosive offenses in the postseason, so the burden will be on the offense to show up and deliver consistently in the playoffs and King will have to be a large part of that gameplan.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/shaynep_media/status/1959055727395578237 </div></figure>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2026 Linebackers [player_tooltip player_id='1655483' first='Dominic' last='Daddabbo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1715706' first='Gavin' last='Jones']</h2>   <p>This pair of senior linebackers lead the front seven of the defense and will need to bring their A++ game every single week down the stretch for this team to make a deep postseason run.</p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1655483' first='Dominic' last='Daddabbo'] has the ability to make some splash plays which could be massive given the context of the play and the team will be relying on him to make some big tackles, including ones for loss. [player_tooltip player_id='1715706' first='Gavin' last='Jones'] will be essential to stopping elite rushing attacks that they can simply not avoid in the classification that they are in.</p>   <p>Both of these players complement each other well and will be asked to step up for a strong push at the end of the season.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Gavin_Jones33/status/1954619908953973056 </div></figure>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Knoxville Catholic Running Backs</h2>   <p>This running back room is certainly an intriguing one filled with talent and they can utilize several different backs to keep all of them well-rested and fresh for when they enter the game.</p>   <p>Kruise Buntyn Jr has been amazing as a freshman and his one-cut ability just keeps getting better and better each week, which is scary for opposing defenses. He has developed into a big-time contributor and will have to cash in some of those one-cut and go explosive rushes, continuing on the momentum he has going in his favor.</p>   <p>Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1084814' first='Matthew' last='Rogers'] is a reliable between the tackles rusher with good size that can make plays happen as well and has a strong frame that he runs behind, effectively picking extra yards on carries.</p>   <p>Fellow sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1036206' first='Amare' last='McKenzie'] is the gadget player of this offense and that includes playing some running back. He is on the smaller side but has some make-you-miss ability and the Irish try to utilize that with some outside runs and quick passes.</p>   <p>This group will need to be consistent with their ability to make plays down the final stretch of the season.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/connersmith04/status/1981893058795880816 </div></figure>

The Knoxville Catholic football program has taken a noticeable step forward this season to the glory days of old and certainly have more than enough talent to surprise people and make a deep push in the postseason bracket here soon.