For the last seven years, the Daviess County Panthers have had the Apollo Eagles’ number as DC has controlled the rivalry for the better part of the last decade but on Friday night, that all changed.
With just 22 seconds on the clock, Apollo senior Harold Patterson scored his third touchdown of the quarter to give his team a 40-34 lead and the Eagles’ first win over the Panthers since 2012 when Dan Crume, Apollo’s athletic director, was at the helm of the Eagles.
“It felt really good,” Patterson said. “I feel like everything’s falling into place and we should make it very far in the playoffs. We’re just getting better every week. O-line is doing their job, defense is coming up doing their job, having a lot more stops.”
Apollo coach John Edge is in his first year as head coach of the Eagles but he’s no stranger to the AHS program and their rivalry with the Panthers.
He said they did what they needed to do to win Friday night.
“I’m proud of our team, I’m proud of the way we came back,” he said. “Defensively, we played well the first half. Offensively, we came out and we got it done.”
The Eagles led the way the first half as Patterson scored his first touchdown of the night on Apollo’s first drive, as he and senior quarterback Damian Lovinsky took turns slicing and dicing through the Panther defense.
“Harold and Damian, they’re a two-headed monster,” Edge said. “They’re very good. We just got in some different stuff this past week that’s going to help us. We didn’t change anything concept-wise, we just got in some different formations to help us out. Proud of our team. They fought. Our receivers fought. Our blockers blocked really well. We didn’t throw the ball much tonight … It’s part of it. Those guys know that we got to do what it takes to win.”
A Lovinsky touchdown gave Apollo a 13-0 lead before Daviess County’s Joe Humphreys found the endzone from a yard out to make it 13-6 Eagles at the break.
But as night grew cooler, the offenses heated up at Reid Stadium.
DC struck twice in the third as Lovinsky ran in his second touchdown of the game for the Eagles in between the Panther scores.
For the Panthers, Humphreys hit Decker Renfrow for the 36-yard score then Bryson Parm scored his first touchdown late in the frame to tie it at 20-20 heading to the fourth.
The fourth frame was the Patterson and Parm show as the running backs shined in crunch time for their teams.
Parm had touchdown runs of 64 yards and 28 yards, his last touchdown tied the game at 34-34 until Patterson got his hands on the ball one more time.
Patterson scored three touchdowns in the fourth and he did it all from inside the redzone with runs of 1-yard, 14 yards and his 4-yard run to win the game inside of a minute.
Patterson said he knew they had to finish on Friday night to get a victory.
“We got to get in the endzone,” he said of the final possession. “We got to win this game. We’re tired of losing. We’re ready to be on the winning side.”
Edge said they didn’t need to do anything special.
“I’ve always been that guy,” he said. “Take what the defense gives you. Once you do, you’ll win. Daviess County had a good gameplan. They’re a good football team. We’ve got another city rivalry then another game to get ready for the playoffs.”
The Panthers had a chance to tie and possibly win the game as Humphreys tossed a pass toward the endzone but it came up incomplete as again Patterson was the field for a big play, helping break up the final pass.
He said he’s ready to do anything he can for the team.
“Being somebody that knows when they’re on the field, they can make change, make stuff happen,” Patterson said. “It felt real good to know they could rely on me like that.”
Edge said the win will boost his team’s confidence going forward as they take on Owensboro Catholic next week before finishing the regular-season at home against Central Hardin on Nov. 6.
“That was one of the most exciting games that they’ve had in a long time,” he said. “They’ve been in a bunch of them but we’ve always been the victim. Now, our kids are happy and that was a good win. I’m very happy and I’m proud of them.”
The district became a little more interesting Friday as Henderson County upset McCracken County in Paducah.
Edge said that opens the door for them to make a run.
“This district is the wild west and anybody can win it,” he said. “I’ve said that, we went down to McCracken the first time and we were right there. We turned the ball over a couple times and typical McCracken, they’re going to make you pay for it. Now they’re kind of beat and battered, what’s their mental psyche now. We let Henderson off the hook. We’re a good football, we just have to finish.”
Daviess County heads to Warren East next week before their matchup with Owensboro Catholic Nov. 6 to end the regular season.
Apollo 40, Daviess County 34
AHS (3-3) 7 6 7 20–40
DCHS (2-4) 0 6 13 14–34
Scoring plays
First quarter
10:04 (AHS) Harold Patterson 5-yard run (PAT good) 7-0
Second quarter
2:45 (AHS) Damian Lovinsky 4-yard run (PAT no good) 13-0
8.9 (DC) Joe Humphreys 1-yard run (Two-point no good) 13-6
Third quarter
8:20 (DC) Joe Humphreys 36-yard pass to Decker Renfrow (PAT good) 13-13
4:28 (AHS) Damian Lovinsky 8-yard run (PAT Good) 20-13
12.8 (DC) Bryson Parm 2-yard run (PAT good) 20-20
Fourth Quarter
10:13 (DC) Bryson Parm 64-yard run (PAT good) 27-20
8:29 (AHS) Harold Patterson 1-yard run (PAT good) 27-27
6:40 (AHS) Harold Patterson 14-yard run (PAT good) 34-27
1:37 (DC) Bryson Parm 28-yard run (PAT good) 34-34
22.0 (AHS) Harold Patterson 4-yard run (PAT no good) 40-34
