Red Devils rout Panthers in convincing fashion

September 15, 2018 | 2:57 am

Updated September 15, 2018 | 2:57 am

Illustration by The Owensboro Times

A solid effort on both sides of the ball helped Owensboro to a dominating 42-14 win Friday over a normally high-scoring Daviess County football team.

The Red Devils (3-2) had a handful of big offensive plays, but their defense also stepped up several times as the Panthers (3-2) were threatening to score. OHS head coach Jay Fallin said it was the best all-around effort so far this season.

“We finally played as well as we are capable of playing on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We knew we could be a really good team. When you’re young, sometimes you have to get a few games under your belt to become the kind of team you’re capable of being.”

The Devils had a few turnovers of their own, but the Panthers weren’t able to capitalize, stalling out multiple times in the red zone. Daviess County head coach Matt Brannon said his team simply didn’t come out with as much drive to get a victory.

“We knew we were up against a quality opponent, and we didn’t match their intensity,” he said.

Owensboro got the only score in the opening quarter when Monte Owsley took one in on a 4-yard sweep for his first touchdown of the night. DCHS drove down to the 10-yard line before coughing up their first fumble, and it set up a long drive for the Devils. Quarterback Will Warren connected with Owsley, who took it 87 yards for his second score.

It wasn’t all about the offense, Fallin said, as the defense played a big role in maintaining a lead.

“We also showed a little bit of resiliency on defense,” he said. “There were a couple times early in the game when they had to ball in the red zone. “

The Panthers got down to a 1st-and-goal opportunity but lost enough yardage to have to punt. Warren was then intercepted at the OHS 10-yard line, and Joey Cambron hit Marquel Tinsley for a quick touchdown to cut the lead to 14-7.

Fallin knew the Panthers would try to rely on the Cambron-to-Tinsley connection, as well as the running game of Landon Newman, but the Devils limited the damage to one score from each.

“We feel we had a really good game plan,” Fallin said. “We were going to take away what they want to do. Marquel is a fantastic receiver and Joey is a great quarterback, and they want to try to connect with each other. We felt if we could limit him and limit Landon, we could force them to try to do things they aren’t comfortable doing offensively. I think that’s what we did for the most part.”

Newman’s touchdown didn’t come until a 4-yard run midway through the third quarter, but by  then OHS had already added two more scores. Warren found Ben Flaherty for a 36-yard touchdown with 5:24 left in the first half, and Owsley scored on another 4-yard carry early in the third.

After stopping the Panthers on a 4th-and-goal from the 23, the Devils used a 59-yard run by Tre Green to get into the red zone. Green ended up fumbling on the 4 just before the half ended. The second half also started with a turnover, with Ethan Avery picking off Cambron.

Between the turnovers and missed opportunities deep in enemy territory, Brannon said his team didn’t stand much of a chance against an OHS team that was scoring so often.

“We turned the ball over on offense,” Brannon said. “We had opportunities to score and keep us in the game early. You can’t turn the ball over against a great team. You have to take care of the football. You have to score when you have opportunities against a good defense. We didn’t take advantage when we were in the red zone.”

Owensboro went on to get two more scores, as well as force two more turnovers. Tyren Hayden caught a 7-yard touchdown pass and Green scored on a 53-yard carry. For the defense, Avery recovered a fumble and Hayden had an interception at midfield.

Brannon said after falling flat, the Panthers have to come back and totally reevaluate their gameplan.

“We have to go back to the drawing board and figure it out,” he said. “We have to play hard and we have to be better prepared to answer the challenge against a good team.”

Fallin, on the other hand, said his team finally came together despite some outside criticism after back-to-back losses.

“I’m really proud of the way these kids have hung together,” he said. “They’ve tuned out all that noise and got a huge win for us going into the bye week.”

The Devils are off until Sept. 28, when they travel to Christian County (2-2) for a 7 p.m. game. Fallin said he’s glad to get the extra week off.

“The bye week couldn’t come at a better time because we are really banged up,” he said. “We need a week to get healthy and focus on us. There are still a lot of fundamental things we’re not doing as well as we could be doing.”

The Panthers return home at 7 p.m. Friday to host McCracken County (1-4).

September 15, 2018 | 2:57 am

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