This week will have a big impact on the postseason to come as Apollo will fight to earn their place in the playoffs and Daviess County will compete to host the first round of playoffs. Owensboro Catholic will face Fort Campbell at home, while Apollo, Owensboro and Daviess County hit the road to play Marshall, Madisonville and McCracken respectively.
Apollo, 1-7 (Class 5A, District 1)
at Marshall County, 2-6 (Class 5A, District 1)
Highlight
Apollo needs this victory to secure their spot in the playoffs, but Marshall is not going to make it easy. Apollo have the advantage however, as the Marshals have not scored any points in their last two matches.
Last match
Apollo: Lost 7-36 against Madisonville-North Hopkins
Marshall County: Lost 48-0 against Graves County
Coach’s thoughts
Apollo head coach John Edge:
I want us to really compete in this game. We need this win to get into the playoffs. Marshall County is very good upfront, so we have to do a great job of keeping our quarterback upright.
Daviess County, 2-6 (Class 6A, District 1)
at McCracken County, 4-4 (Class 6A, District 1)
Highlight
Daviess County will be playing in this match for a chance to be hosts in the first round of playoffs. If they can get the offense going early, they’ll have a good chance at being hosts to start off the postseason.
Last match
Daviess County: Lost 7-42 against Henderson County
McCracken County: Won 38-24 against Christian County
Coach’s thought
Daviess County head coach Matt Brannon:
We definitely have talked about the opportunity to host a playoff game as a little extra motivation. We have improved each week over the season but last week’s mistakes made the outcome very disappointing. We felt as if our team had the ability to compete with Henderson and we did not execute.
McCracken is a solid team, but we feel strongly that if we can limit mistakes then we have the ability to come away with a win. We must play better against the pass than we did last week, and be able to score or at least flip the field for good field position. It’s very important for our team to get out to a good start and create some early momentum, especially on the road.
Owensboro, 5-3 (Class 5A, District 1)
at Madisonville-North Hopkins, 6-2 (Class 5A, District 1)
Highlights
Both Owensboro and Madisonville are on a streak, so this match will be a close one. If Owensboro can shut down Madisonville’s star quarterback Kenyon Johnson.
Last match
Owensboro: Won 62-6 against Muhlenberg County
Madisonville: Won 36-7 against Apollo
Coach’s thoughts
Owensboro head coach Jay Fallin:
As is the case when two good teams play, the team who can limit mistakes and take advantage of their opponents’ miscues will give themselves a great chance of winning. On offense we need to stay on schedule, avoid turnovers, finish in the red zone and eliminate turnovers.
They are a very balanced team. The quarterback, Kenyon Johnson, is the straw that stirs the drink. He is very capable as a passer and a runner and we will need to contain him for four quarters.
Fort Campbell, 5-3 (Class 2A, District 2)
at Owensboro Catholic, 8-0 (Class 2A, District 2)
Highlights
Catholic’s streak continues and it shows no signs of slowing. As long they perform as they have done all season this game should pose no real threats to the Aces. The Falcons come into this game off of a few big offensive games, but the Catholic defense has proven they are more than capable of handling tough opponents.
Last match
Fort Campbell: Won 24-14 against Todd County Central
Owensboro Catholic: Won 48-7 against Edmonson County
Coach’s thoughts
We have to continue to focus on the small details at every position and continue to execute our game plans. Fort Campbell’s quarterback is 4-1 as a starter, and he has been a problem for everyone with his dual threat abilities.
