John Edge is excited to take the reins at Apollo.
Edge was formally introduced as the Eagles head football coach Monday afternoon, and he’ll be a familiar face on the sidelines on Friday nights this fall.
Before spending two seasons as the head coach at South Spencer (Ind.), Edge had quite a successful 14-year tenure with Owensboro Catholic. During that span, the Aces went 130-53, finished runner-up in the 2A state tournament three times (2004, 2005, 2010) and won five region titles.
Edge said he was eager to throw his name in the mix at Apollo after Phillip Hawkins resigned in December.
“I was really interested whenever it came open,” he said. “I thought this was the best time to do it. I thought this was a good move coming back to Owensboro. (The Apollo program) is very attractive. It’s a 6A football school and they’ve got a lot of kids.”
Apollo athletic director Dan Crume said there were a few really strong candidates, and it was nice to see a familiar name among them.
“He’s always run a good program,” Crume said. “He’s been successful where he’s been and he’s always seemed to have done it the right way. That’s the key stuff you’re looking for.”
Edge is eager to get started with the Eagles and is confident in a roster full of returning talent.
Key among them will be running back Harold Hogg — one of the state’s leading rushers last season with 2,142 yards and 23 touchdowns — and quarterback Damian Lovinsky, though most of their supporting cast are expected to return on both sides of the ball.
Edge said he won’t shy away from airing the ball out — something the Aces were well-known for while he was at the helm — but he’s comfortable with leaning on a ground attack if necessary.
“They’ve got some true tight ends that I would like to use and they have some really good linemen,” he said. “I’m going to take whatever the defense gives you. If the defense lets us throw the football, we’re going to do it. If we’re supposed to run it, we’ll run it.”
On top of a talented roster, Edge said a newly renovated stadium and facilities was certainly a big draw as well.
“You look at their facilities and it’s top-notch,” Edge said. “I just looked at their fieldhouse and it’s beautiful. Any time you get new facilities, it means the community is invested. The kids like to see that and they play harder.”
Edge said he wouldn’t assign a number to what it will take to be successful with the Eagles. While winning city-county, region and ultimately state titles are eventual goals, he said Apollo has to start small.
“You’ve got to do those little things right first and pay attention to detail,” he said. “Once you get into that and make sure they’re doing those little things, then you can start looking at the bigger picture.”
Still, there will likely be one game with extra buzz this season when Apollo takes on Catholic.
“That’s my alma mater,” said Edge, a 1994 graduate of OCHS. “You have to cheer for them for nine weeks in the season, but when they come over here it’s a different story.”
Stay up to date on all your local sports coverage by following @OwensboroSports on Twitter and by liking us on Facebook.
