The Owensboro High School football team will be without a third returning starter for at least part of the season after Austin Gough sustained an injury in Friday night’s scrimmage. While it’s unclear how much time Gough will miss, teammates Imonte Owsley and Mariano Eastwood are both out for the entire season after injuries earlier this year.
Gough, a junior linebacker/running back, injured his ankle early in the scrimmage against Franklin-Simpson. Owensboro head coach Jay Fallin said it’s an unfortunate situation, but he expects Gough to eventually make a full recovery. Fallin said it’s still too early to know if there’s a chance to return by the end of this season.
“He is going to miss a significant amount of time, but I know for sure that he’s going to bounce back and come back better than ever because of his work ethic and how hard he will work and attack his recovery,” Fallin said. “We’ll know more in the coming days. If anybody can (come back this year), it will be him. He’s a very physically tough kid. We’re going to take it one day at a time.”
Fallin said even if he’s not able to contribute on the field, Gough — named to the 2018 Associated Press Kentucky High School All-State First Team Defense after finishing third in 5A with 131 tackles (10.9 per game) — is still an important member of the Red Devils.
“He will remain a leader on our team,” Fallin said. “We’re going to rally around him and do everything we can to help him moving forward.”
Owsley, a senior running back/wide receiver, sustained an ACL injury in June at a prospect camp at Purdue University. Fallin said Owsely is recovering well after a surgery in July.
“He’s already off the crutches, Fallin said. “He was at our scrimmage last night and was very supportive of his teammates. I firmly believe that he’s going to play football again. He’s progressing well in his recovery.”
Eastwood, a senior offensive lineman, sustained a season-ending leg injury during a non-contact drill in a July practice.
Fallin said the losses to returning starters this year comes after several seasons of relatively few missed-time injuries. While injuries are an unfortunate part of the sport, Fallin said the team has to continue to push forward.
“The injury bug has been hard this preseason,” he said. “That’s never easy. We feel particularly for the young men who are injured, but it’s also a reality that it impacts the team moving forward.”
Fallin is still confident his team has plenty of talent and a strong enough bond to have a successful season.
“We’ve got a really good, close, tight-knit bunch of kids on this team who really love and support each other,” he said. “While their teammates are injured, they want to pick up the slack and want to move forward. They’re embracing the challenge. We’ve still got a 10-game schedule to play and a run to make in the playoffs.”
