Football teams around the state will hit the field Friday as the 2020 fall season gets underway.
This is our first story in a series previewing the upcoming football season. Over the next several days, each local football will be highlighted. The Apollo Eagles are the first story in the series.
The Apollo Eagles finished under .500 for the second year in a row in 2019 but new head coach John Edge is ready to break the cycle.
Standout running back Harold Patterson (formerly Hogg) and his 2,142 rushing yards and 23 scores return for the Eagles as does Damian Lovinsky and his 1,272 passing yards.
Lovinsky had 11 passing touchdowns to go with 660 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns but the senior threw nine interceptions for the Eagles.
Logan Weedman, a Tennessee Tech commit, anchors the line for Apollo as coach John Edge will look to him to be a fixture on both sides of the ball this season.
On defense, the Eagles return their top two tacklers in Jarrod Gray (96 tackles, 6 TFL) and Cameron Baker (68 tackles, 10 TFL, 2 sacks) as the senior pair are gearing up to be forces on the AHS defense.
Senior Harrison Bowman was 31-of-32 on PAT attempts a year ago as the kicker has been showing his skills throughout the offseason.
Apollo Eagles
Head coach: John Edge
2019 record: 4-7
2020 schedule
Sept. 11: @ Owensboro
Sept. 18: v Meade County
Sept. 25: @ McCracken County
Oct. 9: v Henderson County
Oct. 16: v Marshall County
Oct. 23: @ Daviess County
Oct. 30: v Owensboro Catholic
Nov. 6: v Central Hardin
What’s your outlook for the season?
To get better each week and make a run in the playoffs.
Who are your key returners?
OFFENSE
(SR) Damian Lovinsky, QB
(SR) Harold Patterson, RB
(SR) Logan Weedman, DL/OL
(SR) Parker Bates, OL
(JR) Jomar Anton, OL
(JR) Austin Barnett, OL
(SR) Cade Crume, OL
(SR) Ben Armour, WR
(JR) Evan Miller, WR
(SR) Ashton Weaver, WR
(SR) Gavin Hansford, WR
DEFENSE
(SR) Cameron Baker, LB
(SR) John Lynn, LB
(JR) Jarrod Gray, LB
(SR) Mykel Whitney, CB
(SR) Griffin Fersuson, FS
(SR) David Gerkin, LB
(JR) Kadin Howard, DL
(SR) Jake Cissna, DL
(JR) Kyle Taylor, SS
(SR) Austin Ratliff, SS
(JR) Kyler Rutter, CB
(SR) Harrison Bowman, K
Any newcomers that could make an impact?
Chas Rhinerson and Christian Combs are both capable backup QBs. I really like both of their progress. There are a ton of freshmen and sophomores competing for rolls and that’s encouraging. Still have a lot to do.
Freshmen class has a ton of potential and looking forward to their season.
What is something you’ve noticed your team needs to work on?
Hard to know until we get battle tested. One thing we will be in is in shape. We want to win in the 4th qtr.
What do you need to do to be successful?
Just keep working and getting better. We haven’t played a game yet so we are all 0-0.
How has COVID-19 changed the way you prepared for the season?
We will prepare as we would any other year working with the recommendations and guidelines of the KHSAA.
