After a year filled with incredible feats — from impressive individual accomplishments to impossible postseason runs — we took a look back at the top high school sports stories of 2019.
Starting with more than 50 headlines across all schools and sports, we narrowed it down to our top 10 (trust us, that was no easy effort with such a banner year for local teams).
Here’s our top three storylines, plus seven of our other favorites in no particular order.
1 — Daviess County boys’ soccer makes miracle run to title game — Read more
The Panthers were supposed to be in somewhat of a rebuilding year after heavy key losses, and were arguably an underdog to Owensboro in their own district. Time and time again, though, DC proved their grit by grinding out wins thanks to the 1-2 punch of senior Jacob Boling and junior Hunter Clark.
After squeaking out an overtime win to claim their sixth straight region championship, the Panthers improbably won their next three games by a single goal as they reached their third title game in four years.
Though DC is a perennial threat, this was perhaps the most impressive postseason run with all things considered. From the way Boling put the entire team on his shoulders all season to the way an inexperienced group found a way to keep winning, the Panthers earned their spot as the top story of the year.
2 — Owensboro Catholic girls’ basketball has record season — Read more
Expectations were high before the season began, but the Lady Aces still managed to exceed them with a historic season that ended with their first ever state tournament semifinal appearance.
Without any overly impressive wins early on, Catholic finally started an upward trend with a last-second win over Murray in the All “A” Classic state tournament. They went on to capture their third All “A” title.
The Lady Aces played with renewed spirit the rest of the year, finishing the season 17-0 against 3rd Region opponents — with each of those wins coming by double digits. Another district championship led to another region title, and they earned a second consecutive trip — and third in four years — to the KHSAA Sweet 16 before claiming their first ever quarterfinal win.
3 — Owensboro football adds to storied history with impressive season — Read more
A pair of significant preseason losses didn’t dampen the spirits of a determined Red Devils’ team.
After a narrow loss in week two, Owensboro went on a dominant 11-game win streak — outscoring opponents 456-63 in that span — and reached their first state semifinal since 2014.
The Red Devils also won their 750th game in school history when they beat Daviess County on Sept. 21 — a win that also locked up yet another city-county title after dominant victories over both Owensboro Catholic and Apollo in the two weeks prior.
Led by a veteran defense, the Red Devils finished the year allowing the third-fewest points of any team in the state.
Rounding out the top 10 (in nor particular order):
Apollo’s Mattingly wins state wrestling title
Preston Mattingly became the first wrestling state champion in program history. The senior, competing in the 120-lb. weight class, finished the season 51-0.
DCHS dance team places first at NDA National Championship
The Daviess County High School dance team earned first place at the NDA National Championships in Orlando, taking home the championship trophy in the Small Varsity Hip Hop division.
Hartz, Edge set numerous records for OCHS football
Quarterback Drew Hartz and top receiver Hagan Edge broke a handful of records in their senior year. Hartz threw nine touchdown passes in one game — tying a state record and setting one at Catholic. He also set the single-season record with 57 touchdown passes, while Edge set the single-season record 24 touchdown catches.
Trinity softball, girls’ basketball reach region tournaments
The Lady Raiders had never reached the 3rd region softball or basketball tournaments since they moved to the 12th District, so doing both in the same year was quite an accomplishment. It ended a 16-year drought for softball and a 15-year absence for basketball.
Catholic baseball claims first district title since 2005
The Aces hadn’t even won a district tournament game since 2005, so upsetting Owensboro in the championship was surely an added bonus. Catholic went on to finish runner-up in the region tournament.
Catholic volleyball uses upset victory to reach state tournament
The Lady Aces battled in a back-and-forth instant classic, finally upsetting heavily favored Breckinridge County in the region championship. By handing the Lady Tigers their first loss to a region opponent all year, Catholic earned their first trip to the state tournament since 2015.
Apollo baseball retires legendary coach Mantooth’s No. 15
Long-time coach Bob Mantooth’s No. 15 was retired this on April 26th. Mantooth stepped down after the 2018 season, finishing his career ranked fifth all-time in wins (977) in KHSAA. Starting with his first region title in 1994 and finishing with his last in 2015, Mantooth led 11 different teams to a region championship. Four of those squads (1994, 2003, 2007, 2008) advanced to the Final Four of the state tournament.
