The Daviess County football team used a versatile approach to defeat Owensboro Catholic in convincing fashion on Friday night at Reid Stadium. The Panthers relied on a balanced attack on both sides of the ball to uproot the visiting Aces by a score of 56-19.
The Daviess County (2-0) defense held the Aces (0-2) to just six points in the first half and maintained that level of intensity throughout the game, forcing multiple turnovers. Senior quarterback Joe Humphreys led the charge offensively, amassing nearly 600 yards in the air with four touchdowns.
“I’m very proud of our defense again — this would have been an easy opportunity for us to have a letdown,” said Daviess County head coach Matt Brannon. “We knew there was a lot of hype surrounding last week’s game, so for us to follow that up and play great defense — that’s going to be big moving forward.”
Brannon added that the offensive and defensive lines also played a pivotal role in the victory. That, paired with a veteran receiving core and division 1 prospect for a quarterback, proved to be the perfect combination.
“Joe (Humphreys) battled through an injury early, but he worked through it and got the ball downfield so receivers could capitalize,” Brannon said. “The receivers ran great routes all night, and when they would blitz us, we were able to run it just enough to keep them honest.”
Humphreys credited much of his success to his teammates and hopes they can continue to build on this momentum.
“It all started from the wire; the line did a great job protecting me all night long and gave me plenty of time in the pocket,” Humphreys said. “I hurt my leg, so I wasn’t able to run as much, but our receivers did a great job getting open, catching the ball, and making plays.”
Catholic fumbled on the second play of the game, and Daviess County recovered, setting up a 55-yard pass to Decker Renfrow, followed by a 2-yard touchdown run by Damarien Garner. After a series of penalties against the Panthers, Brannon called a time-out to regroup before forcing a turnover on downs.
Humphreys would connect with Luke Floyd on a cross route that he took 74 yards to the house on the ensuing play. Halfway into the second quarter, Humphreys found Isaiah Tomes 45 yards downfield to set up a 6-yard touchdown run for Gunner Evans to extend their lead to 21-0.
With just under two minutes left in the half, Lincoln Clancy entered the game at quarterback for the Aces and had an immediate impact. He connected with Braden Mundy on a 17-yard misdirection pass that set Mundy up for a 2-yard touchdown run up the middle.
The Panthers wasted no time retaliating as Humphreys connected with Carter Hamilton 42 yards downfield before finding Luke Floyd for a 32-yard touchdown. This made the score 28-6, entering the half.
Daviess County struck first in the second half as Humphreys found Max Dees in the endzone for his first touchdown of the night. Lincoln Clancy followed for Catholic by evading three tackles to take it three yards for a touchdown.
Humphreys connected with Floyd again in the third — this one a 34-yard pass down the sideline that he reeled in for a touchdown. Tomes and Renfrow both found the endzone in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 56-12.
With just under two minutes remaining, Hunter Monroe responded with a kick-off return that he took the length of the field for a touchdown.
Humphreys recorded a game-high six touchdowns with 567 yards passing, while Gunnar Evans led the run game with one touchdown on 36 yards rushing. Luke Floyd led all receivers with three touchdowns on 176 yards receiving while Decker Renfrowed reeled in a game-high nine catches with one touchdown and 143 yards in the air.
Da’Marien Gamer, Isaiah Tomes, and Max Dees also accounted for one touchdown apiece.
Clancy finished the evening with 129 yards passing and one touchdown on 10 yards rushing. Mundy led the ground game with one touchdown on 14 yards rushing. Ji Webb made the best of his second debut, recording 99 yards on just three catches.
Daviess County will stay home next weekend to face cross-town foe Owensboro, while Owensboro Catholic will host Union County at Steele Stadium.
Scoring Plays
First Quarter
10:53 (DC) Humphreys 55-yard pass to Renfrow (PAT Good) 7-0
00:00 (DC) Humphreys 74-yard pass to Floyd (PAT Good) 14-0
Second Quarter
5:21 (DC) Evans 6-yard touchdown run (PAT Good) 21-0
1:55 (OC) Mundy 2-yard touchdown run (PAT Blocked) 21-6
00:38 (DC) Humphreys 32-yard pass to Floyd (PAT Good) 28-6
Third Quarter
11:10 (DC) Humphreys touchdown pass to Dees (PAT Good) 35-6
10:28 (OC) Clancy 3-yard touchdown run (2 PT No Good) 35-12
7:49 (DC) Humphreys 34-yard touchdown pass to Floyd (PAT good) 42-12
Fourth Quarter
10:00 (DC) Humphreys 14-yard touchdown pass to Tomes (PAT Good) 49-12
3:20 (DC) Humphreys 38-yard touchdown pass to Renfrow (PAT Good) 56-12
1:57 (OC) Monroe returns it length of field for touchdown (PAT Good) 56-19
