Red Devils hold off Panthers in crosstown battle

September 19, 2020 | 12:05 am

Updated September 19, 2020 | 12:00 am

Photo by Tyler Dixon

With just a few seconds remaining on the clock, the Daviess County Panthers had the ball inside the Owensboro Red Devils’ 10-yard line with a chance to score and possibly tie the ballgame on fourth down. But, that wasn’t in the cards for DC Friday night at Rash Stadium. 

The pass fell incomplete and Owensboro knelt on the ensuing possession to escape with a 42-34 win over a crosstown rival. 

Red Devils coach Jay Fallin wasn’t pleased with his team’s four turnovers Friday, but he was glad to leave his home stadium with a victory as they improved to 2-0 on the season. 

“I want to give (Daviess County coach Matt) Brannon and his staff, his kids a ton of credit,” Fallin said. “To say as though the game being close and a battle was just the result of our mistakes is not fair to them. They’ve got a really good team. Coach Brannon does a great job and his staff does a great job. Their kids played with a ton of heart tonight. I thought they had better intensity than us tonight, right out of the gate. We had to find a way to match that.

“Sometimes when you get behind in that category, it can make for a long ballgame because that is momentum, hustle, heart and intensity — such a big part of the game. They brought it tonight.”

Brannon said he was proud of the fight in his players as they left everything out on the field, but he knows they still have another step to get where they want to be. 

“We’re trying to grow our program to be an elite program and we have to win games like this,” he said. “We have the confidence as a team and a staff that we can win every game. It doesn’t matter who our opponent is, it’s the way we prepare, it’s the way we work. We have talent. We have the recipe, we just have to get over that hump.

“We’ve got to learn from this. As much as it would have been nice to win the game in the grand scheme of things, it’s a non-district contest. They’re a great team. They’re going to do fine in the postseason.”

The game remained scoreless until Red Devil junior and standout quarterback Gavin Wimsatt found Treyvon Tinsley for the 16-yard score with under a minute left in the opening frame to give OHS a 7-0 lead. 

After two touchdowns from each team in the second quarter, including two rushing touchdowns from Wimsatt and two total touchdowns from DC quarterback Joe Humphreys, the Red Devils had a 21-13 lead going into halftime. 

Last week, Owensboro used a big play at the start of the second half to put the game away, but that wasn’t the case Friday. 

Humphreys struck twice in the first five minutes as he found Carter Hamilton for a 66-yard touchdown then hit Alex Floyd for an 18-yard score. Ethan Avery finally found the end zone for the Red Devils in the third. 

Wimsatt hit Avery for a touchdown to start the fourth, but Humphreys responded with a 9-yard pass to Max Dees. However after a missed extra point, OHS held a 35-34 lead. 

Red Devil speedster Steven Stevenson found the edge with 1:56 left when he scooted 51 yards to the house for the final score of the game, and the OHS defense had to make a couple plays before the game was put away. 

Despite the win, the Red Devils turned the ball over four times, including two picks from Wimsatt. 

“We did them a lot of favors,” Fallin said. “Especially on the offensive side of the ball. We had four turnovers, they had one. Any time you lose the turnover battle by three, you’re going to be in a good game, if you even have a prayer to win, it’s going to be a tight game.”

Brannon said his defensive coordinator Quadarius Wallace did a great job getting the defense ready. 

“I thought going into it, he looks like a Power Five quarterback when he’s on the move so we wanted him to have to sit back in the pocket and make some plays,” Brannon said of Wimsatt. “Coach Wallace does a great job with our coverages, mixing them up. We didn’t pressure all night but they didn’t either. I thought we played good up front on both sides of the ball, took away their run game, but he’s a special player, did it with his legs too.”

DC quarterback Joe Humphreys shined in his first start of the season as he threw for 274 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. 

“I think Joe has put in the work from the offseason,” Brannon said. “He’s been looking forward to this stage. He sees the publicity that Gavin gets and the recruiting. I think it’s fueled. You can see it physically, you can see his mental development. He did excellent. It helped they didn’t have any film on him too … I don’t think they would expect us to run with him as much. I think he has emerged as a true second-run threat for us.”

Opposite Humphreys, Owensboro’s Austin Gough continued to anchor the Red Devil defense from the linebacker position. 

Gough was all over the field Friday as he racked up tackles in the victory. 

“He is who we knew he was,” Fallin said. “He played with a ton of heart. Even on the plays he wasn’t in on, he’s right where he needs to be forcing the ball back to somebody else. He’s also a leader. You don’t hear that maybe in the stands, you don’t hear the conversations we’re hearing at halftime but he is a leader for us and he keeps our kids calm in times like tonight. He did that for us in addition to his contributions on the field.”

Both teams hit the field again next week as Owensboro hosts Ohio County at Rash Stadium. Daviess County hits the road to take on Marshall County. 

Owensboro 42, Daviess County 34
DC (1-1) 0 13 15 6–34
OHS (2-0) 7 14 7 14–48

Scoring Plays
First quarter
39.6: (OHS) Gavin Wimsatt 16-yard pass to Treyvon Tinsley (PAT good) 7-0
Second Quarter
11:26: (OHS) Wimsatt 49-yard run (PAT good) 14-0
6:31: (DC) Joe Humphreys 22-yard pass to Carter Hamilton (PAT no good) 14-6
4:32: (OHS) Wimsatt 1-yard run (PAT good) 21-6
6.3: (DC) Humphreys 7-yard run (PAT good) 21-13
Third quarter
10:31: (DC) Humphreys 66-yard pass to Carter Hamilton (two-point is good) 21-21
7:34: (DC) Humphreys 18-yard pass to Alex Floyd (PAT good) 28-21
4:29: (OHS) Ethan Avery 9-yard run (PAT good) 28-28
Fourth quarter
11:15: (OHS) Wimsatt 7-yard pass to Ethan Avery (PAT good) 35-28
7:51: (DC) Humphreys 9-yard pass to Max Dees (PAT no good) 35-34
1:56: (OHS) Steven Stevenson 51-yard run (PAT good) 42-34

Total yards
OHS: 506
DC: 493

Passing yards
OHS: 218
DC: 274

Rushing yards
OHS: 288
DC: 219

Turnovers
OHS: 4 (2 interceptions, 2 fumbles)
DC: 2 (interception, fumble)

September 19, 2020 | 12:05 am

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