A plethora of early Red Devils touchdowns on Friday night at Rash Stadium led to the demise of the visitors from Grayson County by a score of 58-7. Capturing the headlines for the home team was the defense, which made life difficult all night for quarterback Kaylor Decker and the Cougars, forcing five first-half turnovers and allowing just six yards of total offense during that time.
Along with a stifling performance from Sahvon Hines and a huge interception from Zach Clark, special teams contributed to the victory in a big way. In fact, it was Andrew Lanz’s opening kickoff that got the Red Devils off and running. The onside kick caught Grayson County off guard, which Khalil Rogers secured on the Cougars 48-yard line. Two plays later Rogers ran in a 31-yard touchdown reception on a screen pass that was exquisitely executed.
The next Grayson County possession resulted in a punt, though Maurice Moorman’s return was ruled a fumble through the back of the end zone, resulting in a touchback for Grayson County. A bizarre play led to better field position for the visitors, though a turnover on downs was the result. And with 4:16 on the clock in the first quarter, Tramel Barksdale found his way into the end zone, untouched on a 1-yard rush.
A fumble recovery for Jeremiah Goodwin and an interception by Zach Clark resulted in a pair of touchdowns on the next two Cougars drives, giving the Red Devils a 28-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was hardly better news for Grayson County, as Sahvon Hines recovered a fumble and ran in a 21-yard touchdown, on the heels of a punt returned for a touchdown by Maurice Moorman. Moorman ran 60 yards on the play, scampering past several Cougars en route to his redemptive touchdown after a fumble on his last try. The pair of touchdowns was complemented by a safety, which was forced by the Red Devils defensive line, and finally, a 44-yard touchdown pass from Kasey Boone to Kenyatta Carbon.
At halftime, it was all Owensboro, as they led by a score of 51-0. In the second half, with a running clock and a run-heavy package, the Red Devils swapped touchdowns with the Cougars to bring the game to a close at 58-7. Freshman quarterback Trevor DeLacey looked sharp as he managed the game clock, while Kenyatta Carbon featured in a handful of different looks as he continues to ramp up on his way back from a mid-season injury. Deion Winstead’s 83-yard touchdown run was the lone score for Owensboro in a quick second half.
After the game, Owensboro head coach Jay Fallin was proud of his team’s execution in both special teams and in defense.
“Coming into the night we had scored thirteen non-offensive touchdowns,” Fallin said. “That is something our kids pursue, and it’s part of our culture on defense and special teams. Tonight was no different. You want to be playing your best this time of year, and we started fast tonight.”
Fallin bemoaned the lack of offensive snaps for his team but was proud of the showing he saw from the freshmen and reserve players.
“Going into one of the oldest rivalries in the state with Henderson County coming around next week, I’d have loved to seen a few more offensive snaps tonight,” Fallin said. “But when the coaches all talked at halftime, we kind of agreed that the worst possible scenario would be to get out in the second half and have a key injury. I thought the young guys gave a good accounting of themselves as well and that was really good to see tonight.”
An oft-overlooked aspect of football is the kicking game. Last night, as has been the case all season, junior placekicker Andrew Lanz acquitted himself nicely on extra points and kickoffs. Fallin attributed the opening kickoff to both Lanz and special teams coach Blake Roberts in the moments after the final horn, which helped get Owensboro off and running with all the momentum they needed.
“Blake has taken up a role as the head of special teams this season as coach Houston has moved into a new role this year,” Fallin said. “Blake has done a great job taking up the mantle for us and carrying forward our philosophy in that aspect of the game. He saw something in film this week that he felt we could take advantage of in their alignment on special teams, and Drew did a great job placing the kick in the perfect spot for us to do exactly that. When you have a kicker who can put the ball in a specific spot at will, it changes the complexion of your attack.”
The Red Devils will look to stay hot next week, as Henderson County comes to town for a rivalry game that has persisted for nearly 100 years. Grayson County, on the other hand, will look to bounce back from a tough road loss at home to Hart County next Friday night. Both games are set for a 7:00 PM kickoff in the last regular-season matchups for both squads.
