It wasn’t their cleanest game, but the Owensboro football team pounded away and used a full team effort en route to a 41-0 district win at Ohio County.
Cameron Thompson had a pair of rushing touchdowns for OHS, while Tyren Hayden added a pair of receiving touchdowns. Eight players caught at least one pass and six carried the ball at least once as the offense led a versatile attack.
The defense, meanwhile, forced three turnovers and limited the Eagles to 60 yards on offense, including 16 rushing yards. The Red Devils allowed only five first downs.
It’s the fourth win in a row and the third shutout this season for Owensboro (5-1, 2-0 Class 5A District 1). Head coach Jay Fallin said he thought his players brought plenty of energy, but they simply didn’t execute well in the first half.
“I wouldn’t say we were flat,” Fallin said. “I thought our energy was good, I just didn’t think we executed in the first half. It was different breakdowns in execution that made it a little closer game at halftime than some might have thought.”
He gave credit to Ohio County (2-4, 0-2) and head coach DaMarcus Ganaway for putting together a good game plan.
“He had a great scheme to keep our offense off the field,” Fallin said. “They took the play clock to the bottom every single time, got a couple first downs, and all of a sudden it’s halftime and we’ve had four possessions and only managed to score on three of them.”
Owensboro scored on their first possession when Gavin Wimsatt hit Jordan Sorrells for a 6-yard touchdown, and the first quarter ended with the Red Devils leading 7-0. Thompson ran in his first touchdown with a 6-yard carry late in the second frame.
A wild finish to the first half ended with another score for Owensboro. Javius Taylor recovered a fumble on the OHS 48-yard line with 1:48 to play, but Wimsatt threw his second interception on the 11-yard line of Ohio County a minute later.
The Eagles then fumbled again with five seconds on the clock, and Wimsatt connected with Hayden for a 4-yard score with one second to play for a 21-0 lead.
“That’s a better football team than a lot of people are giving them credit for,” Fallin said of the Eagles. “We knew they had good football players and scheme and we were going to be in for a fight.”
The third quarter featured a 2-yard keeper by Wimsatt and an 11-yard reception by Hayden that pushed the lead to 35-0. Thompson scored on a 24-yard carry in the fourth.
“I thought the offensive line did a nice job of controlling the line of scrimmage for the most part, both in protection and in the run game,” Fallin said.
Wimsatt finished with a game-high 55 rushing yards, and he went 21-for-31 with 211 yards and three interceptions through the air. Thompson had 45 rushing yards. Treyvon Tinsley and Steven Stevenson each finished with 40 receiving yards, and Hayden had 39.
Defensively, Kobe Skortz led with five tackles and two for loss, while Julius Eberhart had an interception.
Owensboro returns home next week to host Muhlenberg County.
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