A city-county rivalry on a newly renovated field highlights week two of the football season, and both teams have plenty of motivation heading into Friday’s matchup. After a wild first week, all four local teams are hoping to take another step forward and show improvement as the season rolls on.
Daviess County will play host to Owensboro Catholic in the renovated Reid Stadium, which most notably includes the installation of a turf field. While the Panthers are looking to avenge last week’s slow start, the Aces are using last year’s loss to DC as motivation for a win.
Owensboro is returning home after breezing by Breckinridge County and will host a much more talented Evansville Central team.
Apollo will look to follow up last week’s roller coaster win with a victory on the road at Caldwell County.
Get more info and coaches’ thoughts about each game below. For live scoring updates from each game Friday, follow us on Twitter @OwensboroSports.
DAVIESS COUNTY vs. OWENSBORO CATHOLIC
The Panthers (0-1) are hoping for a better showing after a few mistakes spiraled into a road loss in the opener.
“We’re looking for some redemption from last week,” said head coach Matt Brannon. “We didn’t play our best, so that’s been the message this week. Any time you go out you have to give your best.”
The Aces (1-0), meanwhile, easily handled Ohio County in week one under the guidance of senior quarterback Drew Hartz, who completed 34 of 40 passes for 404 yards and six touchdowns.
“Hartz is one of the best quarterbacks in the state,” Brannon said. “I think he went out and proved that last week. He’s probably going to look to continue that, so we know we’ve got to get pressure on him and make him make quicker decisions.”
Catholic has a little extra motivation entering the matchup after losing 49-26 at home to DC in last year’s season opener.
“Especially since we lost last year, this group of seniors doesn’t want to go out losing back-to-back years to a county rival,” said Catholic head coach Jason Morris. “We’re really focused right now with the job at hand and trying to go get some revenge from last year’s loss.”
Morris said he knows not to judge the Panthers by their 49-10 loss last Friday or by their new faces in the backfield.
“I try to explain to our kids that you have to respect every opponent,” he said. “Just because (the Panthers) don’t have the skill kids that graduated from last year doesn’t mean that they’re not skilled. Daviess County is still very good in the trenches, and games are still won there.”
Brannon said the key for his team to compete this week will be cleaning up the special teams after a few mistakes put the week one game out of reach, but some familiarity may help in some of the game planning against the Aces.
“This week is a different test because it’s a completely different team, different defensive scheme, different offensive philosophy,” Brannon said. “But it’s something we’re a little bit more used to because we’re familiar with their program.”
For the Aces, Morris said the goal will be to jump ahead early and force the Panthers to match the high-flying offense of Catholic.
“We want to try to make teams play from behind,” he said. “Being efficient early in the game and getting a lead to where we can try to make a team one-dimensional and try to catch up to our offense is always going to be to our advantage.”
OWENSBORO vs. EVANSVILLE CENTRAL
Head coach Jay Fallin knows they’ve got a more difficult task in taking on Central than they did last week at Breckinridge County. Lining up against a more talented opponent will require the Red Devils (1-0) to remain focused in all aspects.
“Central is a very athletic team,” Fallin said. “They’re very talented, particularly at the skilled positions, so we’re going to have to be really scheme-solid on defense. If they’re going to capitalize and have big plays, it’s going to be when we aren’t assignment-sound on defense. We have to communicate with each other, and we have to play with great enthusiasm and effort on defense.”
On the other side of the ball, it will be all about maintaining momentum and finishing in the red zone.
“They’re very fast across the board, so we’re going to have to stay ahead of the sticks and continue to move the chains and sustain drives,” Fallin said. “In order to do that we have to limit mistakes, so no penalties and no turnovers.”
Though the starters didn’t play the full game in the win over the Tigers, Fallin said they showed positive signs in limited action.
Sophomore quarterback Gavin Wimsatt made his debut, finishing 7-for-11 with 129 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 16-yard score.
“Gavin was very accurate,” Fallin said. “He stood in the pocket and delivered the ball to the receivers at the right time and in the right location. He was relaxed and looked very comfortable in his role.”
Overall Fallin is pleased with the showing from week one, but there’s always an opportunity to get better.
“There’s still a good amount of room for improvement,” he said, “but we feel good about where we’re at right now.”
APOLLO at CALDWELL COUNTY
In a game that featured a little bit of everything a whole lot of offense, Apollo (1-0) found a way to win with some dynamic weapons behind center.
Head coach Phillip Hawkins knew the Eagles would have a chance to light up a scoreboard, and first-year quarterback Damian Lovinsky and transfer running back Harold Hogg proved him right. The duo combined for 411 total yards and seven touchdowns.
“One of the things we had an inclination about was being able to score some points this year,” Hawkins said. “We’ve got some kids that can make plays. When you’ve got enough of those it really gives you some options. It gives you the ability to score points when you need them.”
With the offense off to a solid start, Hawkins said the focus this week is on the other side of the ball.
“We’ve worked on our defense,” he said. “We’ve got to slow some teams down. That’s been the center of our attention this week is shoring up some things defensively and just continuing what to work on what we do offensively.”
Caldwell County picked up a 19-14 win in week one, only a week after longtime head coach David Barnes passed away. Hawkins said with emotions and change after the recent loss, he’s not sure what to expect from the Tigers.
“It’s been an emotional couple of weeks from them, so we’re liable to see anything,” he said.
What Hawkins can be sure of, though, is the Eagles showed a fighting spirit in last week’s win, scoring 24 unanswered points after going down by 14 in the fourth quarter.
“That’s a step in the right direction,” he said. “That’s been a focus over the winter was how to compete and stay in games and not quit. I was super proud of that effort.”
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2019 football coverage is presented in part by Drew Cunningham, agent at State Farm.
