Apollo relied on a consistent defensive performance and a heavy ground game on the offensive end to propel them to a 17-14 victory over Meade County Friday night.
The Green Wave (1-1) were knocking on the door late, but an interception by Kyle Rutter with 13.6 seconds remaining secured the victory for the Eagles (1-1). Explosive drives by Meade County culminated in red-zone interceptions for the Eagles on two other occasions.
“Meade is always a very physical and strong team — they’re well-coached,” said Apollo head coach John Edge. “Our philosophy is to stay strong. We never broke – we waited for them to make a mistake and capitalized, and that’s what you have to do.”
(View more photos of the game here.)
Edge attributes much of their defensive success to senior linebacker Kevin Ferguson, who was sidelined due to an injury during last week’s contest.
“Ferguson came back, and he makes a huge difference,” Edge said. “He gets you in the right spot, he gets the secondary in the right spot, and he’s one of the best open-field tacklers I’ve ever been around.”
It wasn’t just the defense that helped the Eagles win, as they also relied on their ground attack for some major production. Running back Harold Patterson produced more than 130 yards on the ground with one touchdown, while quarterback Damian Lovinski added rushed for another 70 yards and a score of his own.
The two split carries all night, assembling a drive early in the fourth quarter that resulted in a Patterson touchdown from four yards out. That pushed them ahead for good with 9:47 to play.
“In this style of offense, we take what the defense gives us — that’s how we call plays,” Edge said. “Even when the defense has six people in the box, if you’re still getting six yards per carry you don’t abort what’s working.”
Harrison Bowman put the Eagles on the board first with a 32-yard field goal with 1:35 remaining in the first quarter. Meade County followed with a 12-yard touchdown run by JT Godsey and a 2-point conversion to give them an 8-3 lead just minutes later.
Lovinski provided the answer with a scramble that turned into a 38-yard touchdown run up the sideline. The Eagles paired that with a two-point conversion of their own to give them an 11-8 lead at halftime.
Meade County struck first in the second half, this time on a 31-yard touchdown run by Levi Stull. A failed 2-point conversion left them with a 14-11 advantage with 3:25 remaining in the third quarter.
Apollo makes the long trip to Paducah next week when they face McCracken County in their first week of district play.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Edge said. “We have to play our best. We have to be sharp this week, and we just have to play hard.”
Apollo 17, Meade County 14
AHS (1-1) 3 8 0 6–17
MCHS (1-2) 0 8 6 0–14
Scoring Plays
First Quarter
1:35: (A) Harrison Bowman 32-yard field goal
Second Quarter
11:09: (MC) JT Godsey 12-yard run (Two-point good)
10:00: (A) Damian Lovinski 38-yard run (Two-point good)
Third Quarter
3:25: (MC) Levi Stull 31-yard run (Two-point no good)
9:47: (A) Harold Patterson 4-yard run (Two-point no good)