All four teams are back in action for week eight of the football season as district play continues. Apollo is at home against Christian County, while the other teams are on the road. Daviess County goes to Muhlenberg County, Owensboro is at Marshall County, and Owensboro Catholic makes a trip to Hancock County.
Christian County (3-3, 0-1 District 1 Class 5A)
@ Apollo (4-2, 1-1 District 1 Class 5A)
Apollo will look to get back in the win column after back-to-back losses before their bye week. The Eagles started hot, rolling to a 4-0 start in a string of dominant victories. Slow starts have plagued them since, as they’ve fallen into early deficits and had to play from behind.
The Colonels are coming off a 42-20 loss to Owensboro in a game that exposed their defense. Christian County had only allowed one touchdown in each of their two previous games, but they could not contain a versatile attack by the Red Devils.
The Eagles offense has been more balanced, perhaps out of necessity, as the passing game has established a bigger presence lately. Quarterback Colby Clark had his best outing two weeks ago in the loss at Graves County, when he threw for 344 yards and four touchdowns, completing 19 of 27 passes.
Running back Mariano McKenzie has been reliable for Apollo, and will likely need to establish the ground game early. He’s got 1,027 yard and 14 touchdowns on 147 rushes on the season, but McKenzie will face a Colonels defense that’s only allowed 603 yards on the ground all year.
The Eagles defense will have to stop a trio of backs that have combined for nearly 1,000 yards. Apollo will be led by Logan Weedman and Daelin Kennedy on defense. Weedman is tied for the state lead with 10 sacks, while Kennedy leads the team with 60 tackles.
Daviess County (3-3, 0-1 District 1 Class 6A)
@ Muhlenberg County (2-4, 0-1 District 1 Class 6A)
The Daviess County passing game put up big numbers, but the Panthers still lost 55-43 to McCracken County before entering their bye week. It marked the second consecutive loss, but was the best offensive outing since the opener.
Muhlenberg County took a 61-6 beating on the road at Henderson County a week ago, and it was the fifth time the Mustangs failed to score 20 points this season. Their biggest game was a 46-16 victory over a winless Butler County team three weeks ago.
Panthers’ quarterback Joey Cambron threw for 479 yards and four touchdowns on 28 completions a week ago in his best performance so far. Eight of those passes went to star receiver Marquel Tinsley, who turned the catches into 227 yards and two touchdowns. The two will have to continue to connect to help open up the run game.
The backfield was only able to total 81 yards rushing behind 65 from Landon Newman, though they may have more opportunities this week. The Mustangs have allowed 1,357 yards on the ground this season.
Muhlenberg leans toward their rushing attack, with a pair of running backs who’ve combined for nearly 900 yards. The Panthers’ defense has largely contained the opponent’s backfields, giving up only 650 yards on the year — more than half of those came from a pair of losses.
The Apollo defense is led by Camron Duvall, who’s totaled a Class 6A-leading 76 tackles so far this year.
Owensboro (4-2, 1-0 District 1 Class 5A)
@ Marshall County (3-4, 0-2 District 1 Class 5A)
The Red Devils got a second consecutive rout by picking up their first district win with a 42-20 victory over Christian County. It was also the fourth time this season Owensboro has held an opponent to three touchdowns or less.
The Marshals suffered their third consecutive loss, falling 40-7 to Graves County. Marshall County previously lost 47-10 to Christian County. They also lost 45-14 to Madisonville-North Hopkins, a team Owensboro beat 41-13 to start the season.
OHS quarterback Will Warren may not have thrown for the most yards or scores of the year a week ago, but he is coming off his first game without an interception. After the win, his year-long totals now stand at 1,578 yards and 16 touchdowns on 121-of-196 passing.
Tre Green and Monte Owsley are maintaining a balanced attack from the backfield. Green now has 442 yards and six scores on 55 carries, while Owsley has 441 yards and seven touchdowns on 45 rushes. Owsley is also the team’s leading receiver with 479 yards and five touchdowns on 27 catches.
The Marshals primarily lean on their rushing game, and they have five players with more than 100 yards out of the backfield — their leading rushers have gone for 454, 375, 285, 284 and 179 yards.
Leading the way for the Owensboro defense will be Austin Gough, who’s recorded 82 tackles and recovered two fumbles.
Owensboro Catholic (5-2, 2-0 District 2 Class 2A)
@ Hancock County (4-3, 1-1 District 2 Class 2A)
The Aces have rolled their way to five consecutive wins after a 49-6 rout of McLean County last week. Owensboro Catholic has outscored their opponents 245-70 in that span — 63 of those points came in games against Owensboro and Apollo.
The Hornets most recently won a 58-0 contest against a winless Butler County, who the Aces beat 68-2 the previous week. Hancock County also lost 20-0 to Daviess County in a game that ended after one quarter due to severe lightning. Owensboro Catholic led the Panthers in the first game of the season before ultimately falling 49-26.
The Aces controlled the tempo in the dominant win a week ago, and they were able to stay balanced on offense. Quarterback Drew Hartz threw for 211 yards and four scores on only 11 completions, putting his season total at 1,623 yards and 20 touchdowns on 99-of-156 passing.
Von Williams added 151 yards and two touchdowns out of the backfield. Five different receivers have more than 100 yards this season, and they are led by Nick Mills with 535 yards and eight scores, three of which came a week ago.
The Hornets have been one-sided, only attempting 27 passes all season. They have five players with more than 100 yards rushing, and the top two have combined for just more than 1,500 yards.
The defense OCHS defense will rely leading tacklers Chris Boarman with 57 and Noah Todd with 50. Todd also has six sacks, while Boarman has one interception.
