This season had to end some time. There can only be one champion. There are a plethora of other cliches and slogans to ease the sting of losing but none seem appropriate after last week’s State Championship loss. The Cinni Prep Catfish gave this city one heck of an Autumn. After finishing the regular season with a 6-3 record, the Catfish entered the State playoffs for the first time in 7 years. Then, they took their fans on a ride that won’t soon be forgotten. While the hurt seems like it will last forever, this team and its fans will look back fondly on this magical season.

The Catfish put their opponents and the State on notice early this season with a convincing 24-9 non-conference victory over last year’s runner-up, Belos Community HS. After finishing a 3-0 non-conference slate, the Catfish unexpectedly dropped their first conference game to United West 12-7. “We were sloppy, overconfident, and undisciplined. We’ve got goals to achieve but we’ll fall far, far short if this is the effort put forth each week,” said Head Coach Benny Marmalade at the time.

That message didn’t reach his players in time for their next game. The Catfish dropped their second conference game to rival Lake Vero, 24-23. But, hope was not lost. “We competed today. Lake Vero is a tough team but we hung with them every second of this game,” said their Junior star QB, Brucie Murphy. “We know when we give the right effort and maintain proper focus, we can beat any team in this State,” he said.

Mr. Murphy’s words held true. He led the Catfish to an impressive 3-game conference winning streak outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 96-16. But, after clinching a playoff berth and without a chance to win the Conference Championship, the Catfish fell flat against eventual Conference champion, Lumbus High.

“This one hurts. I underestimated just how good we were all feeling after clinching,” said Coach Marmalade after losing to Lumbus 28-0. “Today’s game was a massive letdown. I just got done speaking to the team in the locker room. We all made a promise to the community and our fans that they will not see that lack of effort ever again. Ever. Again,” he said.

The Catfish kept their promise earning their way to the State Quarterfinals, where they hosted the undefeated Larkin Central Lions. The Catfish and Lions put on an instant classic. There were 7 lead changes with the Catfish holding the final lead as time ran out on the Lions season. The Catfish were on to the semi’s after outlasting Larkin, 28-24. “That’s as good of a game you’re gonna see, at any level,” said Murphy. “The ups, the downs, the maximum effort on both sides of the ball, each team played a clean game and we were fortunate to score last.”

“It’s difficult to reset after these big victories. This team has struggled to follow up legendary efforts. We fell flat at United. We recovered from that and were at the top of our game, so to speak. But, then it happened again with Lumbus. So, this week has been about recalling the hunger and humility that spurred on our winning streaks and best stretches of football this year,” said Coach Marmalade. The Catfish received the message loud and clear from the first whistle against the undefeated #2 seed, South Bay.

The Catfish returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and never trailed in the game. South Bay struggled to move the ball against the top defense in the State. Cinni’s D forced 3 turnovers in the first half, propelling them to a 21-7 halftime lead. In the second half, it was all Catfish. They were moving on to the State Championship for the first time in 23 years after a 45-14 victory. But, the celebration didn’t last long as the team received word their next opponent would be none other than defending State Champion and conference rival, Lumbus High.

To say this Championship game between the Cinni Prep Catfish and Lumbus High was highly anticipated was an understatement. Last season, the Catfish caught Lumbus off guard and handed them their only loss of the year. In fact, it’s the only loss Lumbus has had in the past 3 seasons going into the title game. Lumbus soundly defeated Cinni Prep to close out the regular season, 28-0. From there, Lumbus won each of their playoff games by an average margin of 18 points. The State High School Football Network favored Lumbus by 15 points, the biggest spread ever for a Championship game.

Not that the Catfish needed any extra motivation but Lumbus Head Coach, Hugh Revere, unintentionally provided some with his view on their regular season game during the joint press conference with each Head Coach, “We held back. We could’ve put up 70 on them, no problem. They don’t do anything special or extraordinary that our boys and coaches haven’t seen before. Our athletes are superior and our scheme is on a higher level,” said Coach Revere. Cinni Prep’s Coach Marmalade quickly reminded him of who they were playing, “We had a forgettable effort that day. We also had a very, very memorable effort last year when we dealt them their only loss in the past 3 seasons. We’ll be happy to do that again.”

The tension carried over to the field where the teams exchanged pleasantries and shoves at the 50-yard line during pre-game warm ups. The rah-rah and hoopla continued through a scoreless 1st quarter that saw 4 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties exchanged between the heated rivals. Administrative officials and referees informed each Head Coach that they will start ejecting players if they cannot control their effort after the play is dead. While there were no further unsportsmanlike penalties, there were plenty of violent plays littered throughout the rest of the game.

The smash mouth, physical nature of the game favored the Catfish and their top-ranked defense. They held a 7-3 lead at halftime. “We misjudged them in that first half, we were consumed by the physicality. Once we settled in and regained our composure at the half, I felt good about our chances,” said Coach Revere. Lumbus played a pristine 3rd quarter controlling the ball with two long drives ending in touchdowns. Lumbus now led 17-7 and appeared to be cruising to a 4th straight State Championship.

But, the Catfish would not go away. Brucie Murphy orchestrated a touchdown drive doing 6-6 for 71 yards, culminating the drive with a QB sneak where it took several minutes to separate the players from the mass of bodies created by the play. “Oh, I was punched, pinched, insulted, squeezed, you name it. Those piles hide a lot of cheap, poor sportsmanship,” said Mr. Murphy, with the Catfish now trailing 17-13, after a missed extra point.

Lumbus then executed a long, time-eating drive that stalled at the Catfish 35-yard line after a failed 4th down conversion. The Catfish had the ball with 0:47 left to go 65 yards for the win.

Taking advantage of a soft Lumbus prevent defense, Mr. Murphy darted the Catfish downfield to the Lumbus 15 yard line with 0:07 seconds remaining. “We felt good about getting off at least 2 plays in 7 seconds,” said Coach Marmalade.

The first play was a wheel route to the running back that Lumbus sniffed out pre-snap. Mr. Murphy wisely threw the ball out of bounds to preserve the clock and one more chance at the endzone. The second play never got a chance to develop as Lumbus blitzed and Murphy was surrounded by defenders instantly. He spun away from the blitzing defense, giving himself a few seconds to step into his throw before being sandwiched by defenders. The ball sailed to the corner of the endzone just out the reach of his intended receiver. Just like that, Lumbus won their 4th straight Championship.

“You never envision losing to end your season. It’s always winning a championship so it’s hard to encounter these moments without emotion,” said Coach Marmalade, holding back tears. “This group of young men accomplished so much on the field this year. But, it pales in comparison to what they’re doing the classroom and what they’ll accomplish after they’re done playing football,” he said.

What a wild ride for the Catfish and its fans. The 2024 season will live on forever. The Catfish came up a whisker short but the promise of next season with a returning All-State QB and 9 of 12 starters from the top-ranked defense should help ease the pain of just missing out on their first State Championship in 35 years. See you next season!