Improving to an impressive 25-0 in district play over the past four seasons, Owensboro shut out Graves County 43-0 en route to becoming the 5A 1st District Champions.
Both teams came out looking to take control early, as the Eagles quickly took possession at the 34 with an early scoring chance thanks to an interception.
But the Red Devils got an interception of their own right back as Graves County took a shot to the endzone on its first play.
With multiple turnovers on downs and a few near interceptions for both teams, the second quarter started with neither team being able to put anything up on the scoreboard.
Owensboro took its time on the first drive of the second quarter, working its way up field. A keeper by junior quarterback Kasey Boone moved them to the 36, before a fake screen allowed them to earn a 30-yard gain and put them on the six thanks to a nice pass.
The Eagles nearly kept the Red Devils out of the endzone by tackling senior running back Tramel Barksdale for a loss of two on 3rd and 2.
However, on the next play Boone found junior running back Kenyatta Carbon free on the left side of the field and hit him for a four-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead with 7:20 left in the second quarter.
On the ensuing drive Owensboro was able to force Graves to punt for the first time and a bad snap led to a poor kick and put the Red Devils in scoring position again at the 45.
A few penalties and solid gains from Owensboro later, Boone found junior Jeremiah Goodwin for a 23-yard touchdown and made it a 14-0 game with 4:32 left in the first half.
With the Red Devils limiting prolific senior running back Clint McKee for the Eagles, they were able to earn one more drive in the half.
They nearly capped off the two-minute drive with a field goal, but junior Andrew Land’s kick was no good and sent Owensboro into halftime leading 14-0.
The Red Devils continued their strong defensive effort in the third quarter, stifling Graves County to get the ball at 45. But the ball slipped out of Boone’s hands moments later as his second pick of the night put the Eagles right back where they gave it up.
After sophomore quarterback Drake Defreitas just missed his target for a touchdown on 3rd and 11 on the ensuing drive, they were forced to punt and Owensboro took over at the 35 with 6:02 left in the quarter.
Carbon then earned his second touchdown of the night, bursting past the defense for a 64-yard run and made it 21-0 with 5:16 left in the quarter.
The Red Devils defense struck once again as the Eagles looked to make up some ground through the air on the following drive, getting yet another interception on the night.
They took advantage of this shortly after, as Carbon exploded for another big run. He took this one 53-yards, giving Owensboro a 28-0 lead with 3:16 left in the third.
The Red Devils continued to pour it on during their next drive, as Boone connected with Goodwin for a 10-yard touchdown. The next play they converted the two-point conversion and made it a 36-0 game with 1:01 left in the third.
Junior Ethan Pendleton got in on the action defensively for Owensboro with a 27-yard pick six early in the fourth quarter, giving them a 43-0 lead with 11:08 left to play.
With three minutes left to play, sophomore Javion Robinson got an interception to seal the 43-0 win and give Owensboro the 5A 1st District Championship.
The defense for Owensboro was stellar all night, earning four interceptions against an offense that has tore defenses apart all season long.
“Particularly proud of the defense tonight,” Fallin said. “That’s a team that’s averaging almost 40 points a game and we shut them out and they really never threatened.”
The Red Devils were also able to hold McKee below 100 yards on the night, as Fallin said it was an excellent week of practice and multiple schemes defensively that helped them to execute so well the second time around.
“Playing defensive football is about giving your opponent, part of it at least, is about giving your opponent enough different fronts and looks that they have to scratch their head a little bit about how to block it,” Fallin said. “They don’t know what you’re going to give them on the next play to give them a great play call offensively, but also not so much that your kids don’t know how to go out there and execute it.”
Offensively, Owensboro continued to utilize its ground game, hoping to tire the Eagles defense out having so many athletes that played both ways. This led to a a number of big touchdown runs in the second half for the Red Devils.
“It’s sort of like body blows in a boxing match,” Fallin said. “They’re going to wear down and then eventually in the third quarter, fourth quarter, you’re going to hit those creases that you weren’t hitting in the first half.”
This also opened up things for Boone, who had a strong performance despite some unlucky interceptions. He finished the night with 223 yards and four touchdowns on 15-27 passing.
“We felt that from playing them the first time that we could install a handful of wrinkles in the passing game that would catch them by surprise,” Fallin said. “Both of Jeremiah’s touchdowns were on plays that we felt like we could kind of take advantage of when their defense was in play-action, when their defense was flying up to try to attack the run.”
While having a strong game defensively, Carbon also was proficient on offense with 98 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on 10 carries. He also had 51 yards and two touchdowns receiving on the night.
Carbon was battling an injury the last time Owensboro was taking on the Eagles and Fallin said he knew that having him back would make a difference on both sides of the ball. Having him healthy at this point in the postseason is crucial for the Red Devils going forward.
“Tonight was big for him because he needed to break through that mental hurdle of ‘I am back 100%,’” Fallin said. “He did that tonight and he made great plays.”
The Red Devils now own an 11-game winning streak, are the 5A 1st District Champions for the fourth consecutive season and the senior class hasn’t lost a district game during their careers.
While Owensboro is excited with the win, this was just the first step towards its lofty postseason goals. Fallin and company will get back to work on Sunday afternoon after a couple days, planning on keeping their postseason dreams alive and well next week.
“We’re going to celebrate this one tonight,” Fallin said. “We’re going to be happy and excited about this win, because when you work really hard and it comes to fruition you should do that obviously. But when we wake up in the morning, we’re moving on to Bullitt Central.”
