Three first-year starting quarterbacks. One seasoned veteran. A district game on opening day. Inexperience across the board. Football season is finally here, and there will be plenty of storylines to follow when week one kicks off Friday night.
All four area teams will finally see exactly where they stand entering the 2019 campaign. With some mistakes almost certainly in store in a season opener, mentality and focus will be key in starting off the year in the win column.
Apollo and Owensboro Catholic begin the season at home, while Owensboro and Daviess County hit the road, and all games begin at 7 p.m.
Get more info and coaches’ thoughts about each game below. For live scoring updates from each game Friday, follow us on Twitter @OwensboroSports.
APOLLO vs. WARREN CENTRAL
The Eagles started hot but stumbled down the stretch to finish the 2018 season 5-6, though that still far outpaces the 0-11 record posted by the Dragons. Apollo second-year head coach Phil Hawkins isn’t putting much stock in records, though, as both teams will look different this year.
Apollo has a new quarterback in junior Damian Lovinsky, who provides an extra threat on the ground. And after heavy losses to graduation, Hawkins said the unit as a whole may still take some time to hit full speed.
“I expect they may be a little slow starting out just because we’ve got so much inexperience,” he said. “I think once they settle down, they should be in pretty decent shape, and I think they’ll get comfortable and score a few points.”
Warren Central has a new head coach in Cary Fowler, who spent more than two decades in coaching positions at the collegiate level, and Hawkins said there are several new recruits playing for the Dragons.
“I suspect they’ll be fairly athletic,” Hawkins said. “He just spent (several) years coaching college football, so I have to imagine they’ll have a certain amount of success in some areas. I expect it to be a reasonably decent football game.”
Hawkins is hoping for another opening-day win but said he’ll be playing close attention to the effort his guys put forth as he continues to build the program.
“I just want our kids to play fast and I want them to be aggressive and physical,” he said. “We are trying to build some mental toughness and physicality, and really for me that’s the measuring stick this week.”
DAVIESS COUNTY at CENTRAL HARDIN
Matt Brannon is fairly confident in his team after a productive offseason, but he’s still keeping expectations in check with a roster full of inexperience — including sophomore first-year quarterback Joe Humphreys.
“We’ve had two pretty good showings in our scrimmages, but that’s not a full game situation,” Brannon said. “We’re anxious to get out there and see what we’ve got. I think we’re confident based on what we’ve seen so far.”
While the Panthers’ high-flying offense from 2018 was ravaged by graduation after going 6-5, Central Hardin returns key players from a ground-and-pound unit that struggled to score en route to a 3-8 season. Brannon expects the Bruins to have a strong rushing attack, but thinks they’ll be a threat in the air as well.
“They have a very efficient, potent offense — not necessarily high-powered, but a good offensive line with a senior quarterback and really good running back,” he said. “The one thing that scares me is they can take their smashmouth personnel and turn it into a spread pretty quickly. It’s hard to change your defenses when they don’t make personnel changes.”
With the big guys up front as the veterans this year for DC, Brannon is planning to exploit Central Hardin’s defensive line to create opportunities. While the big goal is to bring home a victory, Brannon is hoping his newcomers will step into their roles early.
“We’re looking for competition toughness — how quickly are our young athletes going to grow and mature to a point we can really trust them,” he said. “I want to see us compete. I don’t want to have to use the excuse that we’re a young team that’s inexperienced.”
OWENSBORO at BRECKINRIDGE COUNTY
The Red Devils have a chance to prove some offseason misfortune won’t keep them down as they take on the Fighting Tigers in a rare district matchup in week one.
Owensboro lost dynamic playmakers on both sides of the ball to injury — Imonte Owsley for the season on offense and Austin Gough for an uncertain amount of time on defense — and will rely on sophomore first-year quarterback Gavin wimsatt, but an overall veteran team that went 10-3 last year still has head coach Jay Fallin confident in his squad.
He’s not taking any opponent lightly and is making sure the Red Devils’ are ready from opening kickoff.
“We better come ready to play,” Fallin said. “We’re playing on the road in a venue we’ve never played in before, so we’ve got to be physically and mentally prepared from the jump.”
Breckinridge County struggled to a 4-7 record in 2019, scoring only 160 points. The biggest returning threat will be their quarterback Gavin Dowell, who threw for 678 yards and eight touchdowns to go along with 88 rushing yards.
“He’s got a pretty good arm, particularly on short and intermediate passes,” Fallin said. “We’re going to have to do a good job of containing him and keeping him in the pocket.”
Fallin said being able to make a statement in the district would be a great way to start the season, but he’s focused on more than a win or loss.
“You get a good gauge for your overall preparedness from week one,” he said. “You want to make sure everything is as smooth as it can possibly be heading into week one. We want to be sharp, locked in and focused and ready to go.”
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC vs. OHIO COUNTY
Over the past two seasons, Drew Hartz has thrown for 4,411 yards and 58 touchdowns for the Aces. More of the same is expected during the quarterback’s senior campaign.
“Catholic has been known for throwing the football over the last 15 of years,” said second-year head coach Jason Morris in a preseason interview. “It’s going to be a little bit more of the same, with probably even a little bit more passing involved by having a quarterback like Drew.”
The Aces and Eagles had vastly different outcomes in 2018 — Catholic dominated most of their regular season opponents to finish the year 8-4, while Ohio County’s lone victory came against winless Butler County.
The Eagles were in rebuild mode last year, as they had only 12 total upperclassmen. Though they lost their top two rushers, nearly everyone else returns for the 2019 campaign. Still, they’ll have to find some way to keep up with the high-powered Aces.
Ohio County only scored 100 points all year, while Catholic put up 482. Hartz nearly had as many completions (162) as the Eagles had pass attempts (196).
The Aces did lose a 1,000+ yard rusher and a handful of top receivers but Morris said he’s confident in the guys stepping into those roles this season.
After being upset in the second round of the playoffs last year, Morris said the focus in his second season at the helm will be to take one game at a time, starting with the opener.
“My approach won’t be to look ahead whatsoever,” he said. “We’re truly going to be on a game-by-game approach this year.”
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2019 football coverage is presented in part by Drew Cunningham, agent at State Farm.
