Deion Winstead and Evan Hampton combined for approximately 340 rushing yards to propel Owensboro (1-2) past Daviess County (0-3) in a 50-7 victory on Friday night.
The Red Devils’ running game was on display early, as they heavily relied on a combination of backs to move them up the field. After DC’s opening drive stalled, OHS only needed a few plays to find the end zone when Winstead rushed up the middle and dove across the goal line.
The Red Devils nearly doubled their lead moments later with a punt return for a touchdown, but the play was called back due to a roughing the kicker penalty. OHS quarterback Trevor DeLacey was intercepted near the goal line early in the second quarter, though the Red Devil defense stepped up and forced a safety for a 9-0 lead.
Delacey later scored on a 2-yard run, and Chadyn Morris broke through three tackles to reach the endzone on a 9-yard rush to push Owensboro’s lead to 22-0.
DCHS put their first points of the year on the board late in the half. It was the Panthers’ starting quarterback Russ Crowe who reached the end zone, but that was by virtue of intercepting a pass and returning it 80 yards for the score.
OHS answered with a pass from Delacey to Winstead, who broke a tackle on his way to the end zone, pushing the Red Devils’ lead to 29-7 going into halftime.
In the second half, Hampton added a pair of touchdown carries while Winstead added one. Hampton finished the night with about 200 yards on the ground and Winstead had about 140.
Hampton said the Red Devils’ ground game was particularly effective due in part to the work of the offensive linemen Andrew Deibel, Jakoven Curry, Jakson Lindsey, Jerrick Williams, and Andrew Johnson, who he said freed up gaps for their running backs.
“For me and Deion, our credit goes to our offensive line,” he said. “We had an offensive line coach leave earlier in the summer, and (OHS Head Coach Jay) Fallin took over and he’s done a great job for us. Our offensive linemen bust their tails, and us running backs couldn’t do it without them. It’s all them.”
Despite Owensboro’s first win, Fallin acknowledged the shortcomings of his team’s performance and what it will take to continue winning going forward.
“We had a fumble, two interceptions, and we gave up a fake punt for first down that we overcame,” he said. “It’s gonna be hard if we continue to make these mistakes. We gotta stop using the excuse that we’re young. That was fine week one and week two, but we’ve gotta get better and execute while cleaning up the mistakes.”
The Panthers will try to get in the win column next week when they travel to North Hardin. The Red Devils return home for a city-county matchup against Owensboro Catholic, who are now 3-0 with three dominant wins.
