Owensboro High School may have ended a 39-year championship drought this fall, but the roots of that success run straight through the halls of Owensboro Middle School. Weeks before the Red Devils claimed their long-awaited state title, OMS’s 7th- and 8th-grade teams capped undefeated seasons by winning the Southwest Kentucky State Tournament, reinforcing a truth coaches have long echoed: the pipeline matters.
Under Head Coach Greg Brown, OMS has become the program’s engine. Both teams went 12-0 this year, with the 7th-graders rolling past McCracken County 42-12 and the 8th-graders knocking off Graves County 20-14. For the 8th-grade squad, it marked a second straight championship and their fourth in five seasons.
Similar to the high school team, the middle school program left a trail of destruction in its wake. The seventh graders outscored opponents 417-84, and the eighth graders weren’t far behind at 412-72 — numbers that underscore the depth and consistency being built before players ever reach the OHS locker room.
Over the past several years, that system has produced names now familiar to Red Devil fans, and the next wave is already emerging. Eighth-grade running back Gavin Walker exploded for 2,327 yards and 36 touchdowns on 141 carries, while defensive lineman Aslan James anchored the defense with 14 tackles, three tackles for a loss, eight pressures, and a sack.
The seventh-grade roster is just as promising: Calvin Hayden finished with 1,362 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns, quarterback Reece Wells threw for 1,004 yards and accounted for 21 total scores, and Cooper Land and Cavin Hayden helped lead Team Kentucky selections.
Brown credits the program’s rise to a deep bench of assistants who have poured into the kids year after year.
“A lot of OHS alumni have also helped with and put in a lot of time and effort because they care about the program,” Brown said. “They want to see the kids succeed.”
Brown’s own coaching lineage is woven tightly into the high school’s success. Before OMS, he played and coached at Kentucky Wesleyan College, where many of OHS’s current coaches — including Trip Grenier, Drew Hall, Will Barnes, Anthony Tate, David James, and DaMarcus Ganaway — either played with him or under him.
“We have known that this is a great place to be a coach and player, and this proves that we can win at all levels,” Brown said. “What we are doing at the middle school level is the right thing. Sometimes people wonder if you’re pushing the kids hard enough so they can compete at the highest level in high school. Well, we’ve done that at both levels now.”
OHS Head Coach DaMarcus Ganaway said OMS is the backbone of everything they’re building, adding that Brown excels at teaching fundamentals, discipline, and establishing a winning culture before those players ever put on a high school jersey.
“For all three levels to win state in the same year says a lot about the community, the culture, and the alignment we have across the board,” Ganaway said. “It shows that our kids are being developed the right way from the moment they enter the program, and it gives us a strong foundation for continued success in the years to come. If anything, OMS football gives us a sign of where OHS football is headed.”
