The Daviess County High School Football team was clicking on all cylinders Friday night, setting a school record for points in their 71-7 victory over Marshall County. The Panthers jumped out to an aggressive early lead and never looked back, moving to 1-0 in district play.
Humphreys also entered the program’s record book, tossing a career-high seven touchdowns on the night. The senior quarterback amassed 458 yards in the air, connecting on 16 out of 21 attempts passing, and rushed for 39 yards.
Daviess County head coach Matt Brannon said that a solid and consistent week of practice “played a key role in tonight’s success.”
“The key is that practice was excellent all week,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, our preparation is the same every week, and that was the focus heading into this opponent.”
Daviess County (5-1, 1-0 district) jumped out to an early lead when Joe Humphreys connected with Cole Burch, who made a diving catch in the deep corner of the end zone. That was on their first possession; they quickly regained control, and Humphreys found Carter Hamilton for a 76-yard touchdown.
Marshall County’s (2-4, 0-2 district) next possession was short-lived as Mason Boswell intercepted a pass and marched deep into Marshal territory. That set up a run for Gunnar Evans, who took it 13 yards into the end zone.
Humphreys then finds Decker Renfrow for a 68-yard grab and a touchdown, the first of three for the dynamic duo on the night. The second came just minutes later, while the third was a 48-yard catch with time nearly expired at the half.
The Marshals only score came Logan Reese reeled in a catch across the middle and took it 75 yards for a touchdown with 10:08 left in the second quarter. The Panthers would waste no time retaliating as a Humphreys scramble would turn into a 9-yard touchdown reception for Max Dees. That, paired with the Renfrow touchdown, made it 50-7 at the half.
Despite the lopsided victory, Brannon said that he and his staff still found opportunities for improvement. Humphreys and most of the starters were limited to only one drive in the second half, allowing some youngsters to get in some repetitions.
“We always want to play in the first half and come back in the second to improve on things we need to work on,” he said. “We started letting Joe call the plays in the second half because we feel like that’s a good development for him, and I know he’s going to take what he’s given.”
On his only drive of the second half, Humphreys found Dees again — this time for a 63-yard touchdown down the sideline.
Jack Ball took over for Humphreys and immediately made his presence felt with a keeper up the middle for a touchdown to conclude his opening drive. Lake Wilson replaced him under center late in the game and set the Panthers up for their 10th touchdown of the evening — a Da’Marien Garner rush up the middle.
“Jack is a great athlete, so it’s nice to know that we’ve got him in our pocket if we need him,” Brannon said. “Getting more kids in is always great for morale and certainly says a lot about our future.
Evans finished the evening with one touchdown and 40 yards rushing, while Garner added 33 yards and a touchdown — with five receptions each. Renfrow reeled in six catches on seven attempts with one touchdown and a game-high 171 yards receiving. Max Dees racked up 123 yards and five catches to go with his two touchdowns.
Daviess County will return to action next week when they travel to Paducah to face district nemesis McCracken County.
