In the final game at Eagle Stadium, one thing was for sure — there was no shortage of offense, as Apollo and McCracken County combined for more than 1,300 yards, with roughly 900 coming from the run game.
After 20 scoring drives and nearly three hours of a wild atmosphere, the Mustangs came away with an 81-51 triumph over the Eagles.
“I don’t like the loss, but we got a lot of good stuff out of that game,” said Apollo head coach Phil Hawkins. “Our kids could have laid down and gotten beat by 50. Our intensity was good but we couldn’t get a stop. A couple of stops change the whole complexity, because they couldn’t stop us either.”
Aside from a couple of extra punches by McCracken County (4-2, 1-0 Class 6A District 1), the teams nearly matched each other blow for blow throughout the night.
The Mustangs finished with more than 700 yards, including roughly 500 on the ground. Hunter Bradley was the centerpiece, amassing an astonishing 400+ yards on only 19 carries, seven of which went for touchdowns.
Apollo wasn’t too far behind, gaining nearly 600 yards of their own, with about 400 on the ground. Harold Hogg was the feature back for the Eagles, and he finished with more than 300 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries.
After both teams punted on their opening drives, it was Hogg who started the scoring frenzy midway through the first quarter. On the first play of their second possession, Hogg scampered 58 yards up the middle for a quick score.
At the other end, Bradley capped off and six-play drive with a 20-yard rushing touchdown, and the 2-point conversion gave McCracken County an 8-7 lead with 5:01 left in the first quarter.
From there it was off to the races, though the Eagles were never able to regain the lead.
Each team added two more touchdowns by the end of the first quarter. For the Mustangs, it was a 39-yard catch by Franklin Hayes and a 50-yard run by Bradley. For the Eagles, quarterback Damian Lovinsky scrambled 54 yards and Hogg scored from 12 yards out.
The second quarter proved relatively uneventful and featured only one touchdown and a field goal by McCracken County, who took a 33-20 advantage into the half.
Two plays into the second half, Bradley rushed 40 yards to paydirt. He scored again from 14 yards out with 5:37 left in the third quarter for a 49-20 lead, but Apollo didn’t fold.
With the teams each scoring on their next five drives, the Eagles were unable to fully mount a comeback bid.
Third-quarter scores by Apollo included runs of 23 and 44 yards by Hogg. Bradley countered each with rushing scores of 55 and 44 yards, respectively, to put the Mustangs up 60-32 at the end of the third.
Wes Daugherty opened the fourth quarter with a 7-yard rushing touchdown for Apollo, but McCracken County’s Jeremiah Hughes returned the kickoff 80 yards to the end zone.
The Eagles then got their first passing touchdown, as Brandon Husk hauled in a pass that was tipped and took it for an 83-yard score. After Hughes scored on a 30-yard run at the other end, Husk caught a 17-yard pass for his second touchdown.
A final touchdown by Bradley finally ended the fireworks. Though they didn’t get a win, Hawkins was proud of the offense for fighting until the end.
“I don’t have a whole lot to complain about the offense,” Hawkins said. “Our kids didn’t quit and that’s good to know. We’ve got the weapons, we’ve just got to get some stops.”
Even with a loss, Hawkins said showing they can run up the score on the top team in the district is a good sign as the Eagles move forward.
“McCracken has not been giving up those kind of points,” he said. “Our goal now has to be to go 3-1 in district, and I think that’s feasible for us now. I don’t think the rest of the district is playing on their level.”
Apollo is on the road next when they take on Henderson County.
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2019 football coverage is presented in part by Owensboro Health Orthopedics & Sports Medicine.
