A couple of mistakes dug a deep hole for Daviess County, and they had trouble capping off their drives with points in Friday’s 49-10 loss to Central Hardin on the road. Head coach Matt Brannon said there were still plenty of good signs to focus on going forward.
“I think the biggest thing for us is we come away with a lot of positives,” he said. “I think it’s one of those games where you look at the score and it wasn’t quite indicative of how we played, especially in the first half.”
The Bruins (1-0) were first to score, using a 6-yard rushing touchdown by Deonco Wilkerson plus a 2-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead.
Less than a minute later Shane Riley rushed for a 5-yard score, but it was the only touchdown of the night for the Panthers (0-1). Down 15-7, DC’s Carter Hoagland hit a 26-yard field goal with 6:00 left in the half.
It was the closest the Panthers could get. Though they got inside the 20-yard line three more times, those drives ended with turnover on downs twice and one interception.
“We have to be more efficient inside the red zone,” Brannon said. “Overall we were physical and we moved the ball pretty well.”
Central Hardin took a 23-10 advantage into the break but extended the lead by returning the second-half kickoff for a touchdown. DC also had a punt blocked, and a snap on another punt sailed high.
Brannon said those mistakes kept the Panthers in poor field position most of the night. He’s still keeping a positive outlook and expects improvement going into week two.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow losing your opener in that fashion, especially on the road, but I think the staff and the kids actually left feeling like we’ve got some things that we can fix,” he said.
The Panthers will return home to a new stadium Aug. 30, when they host Owensboro Catholic in a city-county rivalry.
“We’ve got to be prepared,” Brannon said. “Knowing Catholic has a high-powered offense, we’ve got to find ways to slow them down a little bit and control the ball.”
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