Apollo marched down the field on the opening possession and struck first in the season opener against the Owensboro Red Devils Friday at Rash Stadium, but that was the only lead the Eagles would get as OHS outscored Apollo 50-6 the rest of the way.
The Red Devils used big nights from Ethan Avery, Gavin Wimsatt and several players on defense to grab a win in the first game of the season in the 50-13 victory over the Eagles.
“I told the kids, I’m very proud of the heart that they demonstrated tonight, the perseverance” OHS coach Jay Fallin said. “It’s tough when your opponent comes out and moves the ball down the field and scores on the first series.”
Fallin said it can be “demoralizing” to have a team score on the opening possession but it’s all about how a team responds.
“A team that when the opponent scores on the first possession is complaining and pointing the finger at each other and walking off the field, you’re worried because you’re going to have to deal with some adversity,” he said. “I thought they handled it well. We came right out and scored quickly. Got a defensive touchdown then they scored again … We had to continue to show some perseverance, some resilience.”
The Red Devils scored on the very next possession, when Avery scored his first touchdown of the game on a 48-yard run.
The senior running back said he’s been waiting a long time for Friday night.
“I just wanted to do the best I could and help my teammates as much as possible,” he said. “I know we’re kind of a young team so I just wanted to lift them up and be a leader.”
Owensboro’s Javius Taylor then took a Damian Lovinsky fumble 50 yards to the house, and after a two-point conversion, the Red Devils had a 15-7 lead.
A Lovinsky run in the second quarter gave Apollo its only other touchdown of the game.
With 1:09 left in the first half, the Red Devils were facing a fourth down on the Eagles’ 28-yard line. Wimsatt scrambled and found Treyvon Tinsley open in the back of the end zone to give OHS a 22-13 lead going into the break.
“We want to be the style of offense that takes those chances,” Fallin said.
He said while going for it on fourth down isn’t always the plan, if an opportunity presents itself, Fallin and his Red Devils aren’t afraid of a high-risk/high-reward play.
“Gavin has the ability to flush the pocket and get out and keep the play alive,” he said. “It’s so tough for a defense … It’s tough on a defensive secondary when that quarterback gets outside the pocket and now you have to hold your coverage for 6-8 seconds. That’s really tough, especially with Gavin’s ability to control the ball and throw it accurately so far down the field.”
Fallin said they made some adjustments at halftime and it worked in the second half as they shut out the Eagles for the final 24:00.
He said starting the second half well was vital.
On the first play of the third quarter, Avery made a move again and scored on a 60-yard run to extend the lead over Apollo.
“I was just seeing a lot of open field,” Avery said of his touchdowns. “My linemen and my receivers, they did a heck of a job of blocking. They get all the credit.”
While Fallin liked what Avery did throughout the game, he took more from the first time Avery touched the ball Friday.
“I thought he set the tone with his first carry of the night,” he said. “It looked like he was going to get tackled in the backfield and he broke 5-6 tackles and had a 12-yard run for a first down. It’s so important to have seniors make plays like that because they (Apollo) come out, they come out and score and they stuff us on the first play, now all of a sudden, they’re really gaining momentum so it’s critical he was able to make that play for us and got some life back in our legs.”
Wimsatt had a one-yard run and a 32-yard touchdown pass to Steven Stevenson in the second half but the junior standout didn’t need to do very much in the game.
Kasey Boone ended the scoring for the Red Devils when he found Eli Early for a 17-yard touchdown.
Apollo coach John Edge said his team has a lot of learning to do.
“We’ve got to get back into some more basics,” he said. “To us, this is a good game. We’ve got to get back to basics though. One is tackles and of course blocking as well. We’ve just got to do the little things right. They made plays when they needed to, especially on third-and-long. We got them behind the chains but they were able to capitalize and make plays.”
Apollo’s Harold Patterson and Lovinsky ran the ball well in the first half but the adjustments made by Fallin proved to be too much in the second half, though Edge said the passing game was an issue as well.
“We weren’t able to throw the football effectively like we should,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to throw the football. We’ll work on that, we’ll fix it and that’s all you can do.”
Owensboro heads into another rivalry game next week as it hosts Daviess County at Rash Stadium.
“It’s going to be another night where our defensive front is going to have to grow up,” Fallin said.
The Eagles host Meade County as they look to get one in the win column.
Owensboro 50, Apollo 13
AHS (0-1) 7 6 0 0–13
OHS (1-0) 15 7 14 14–50
Scoring Drives
First Quarter
7:36: Damian Lovinsky 15-yard pass to John Lynn (PAT good) 7-0
5:00: Ethan Avery 48-yard run (Two-point conversion good, Wimsatt to Tinsley) 8-7
1:53: Javius Taylor 50-yard fumble recovery (PAT good) 15-8
Second Quarter
4:55: Damian Lovinsky 3-yard run (Two-point conversion no good) 15-13
1:09: Gavin Wimsatt 28-yard pass to Treyvon Tinsley (PAT good) 22-13
Third Quarter
11:43: Ethan Avery 60-yard run (PAT good) 29-13
7:35: Gavin Wimsatt 1-yard run (PAT good) 36-13
Fourth Quarter
11:52: Gavin Wimsatt 32-yard pass to Steven Stevenson (PAT good) 43-13
2:27: Kasey Boone 17-yard pass to Eli Early (PAT good) 50-13
