The Daviess County Panthers hadn’t picked up a victory in a month, as they carried a three-game losing streak going into Friday. DC proved they were ready to not only get a win, but get a dominant one, as they cruised by Warren East on the road.
The Panthers took down the Raiders 56-14 despite Warren East getting on the scoreboard first.
DC coach Matt Brannon said it was nice to get back on the winning side.
“We needed it for our psyche, for preparation, for next week,” he said.
The Panthers fell to McCracken County, Henderson County and Apollo during their skid but still put up solid offensive numbers.
“The frustrating thing is we knew we had two really tough games in McCracken County and Henderson,” he said. “Played really well offensively, really in both of those games. Defensively we struggled but thought we could make some ground up against Apollo, tough game, another rival game. We played well offensively, didn’t play well defensively.
“The biggest thing for us, we’ve been practicing really good but it’s not been showing up on the field so that kind of reinforces what we’re doing schematically, but we also made some changes this week.”
Junior quarterback Joe Humphreys finished with four total touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing) as he found Decker Renfrow, Parker Crews and Carter Hamilton in the passing game for scores.
Humphreys has delivered solid numbers this season but they’ve only translated to two wins. Brannon said Friday was a big boost to Humphreys’ mental game.
“He’s the type of player that he will not let it show outwardly,” he said. “He won’t complain to his teammates. He takes the loss as well. He’s not satisfied with just having a good offensive production and us not winning. That shows the type of character he’s got and his leadership.”
Bryson Parm also ran in for two scores as he now has 11 rushing touchdowns on the year. Da’Marien Gardner ran in a touchdown in the closing minutes for the Panthers.
With 4:03 left, Isaac Blue picked up a fumble and rumbled 35 yards to the house for the score.
Brannon said they went with Blue at middle linebacker on Friday and it paid dividends.
“We felt like he’s been playing at a high level wherever we play him,” he said. “That was kind of a gaping hole for us, in the middle of our defense.”
The victory gives the Panthers some momentum as they head into the final week of the regular season, as they head to Steele Stadium to take on the Owensboro Catholic Aces at 7 p.m. Friday.
