Daviess County will be looking to avenge their first loss of the season that came at the hands of the Owensboro Red Devils in week four, as they have another big challenge in taking on Ryle on the road.
A close one throughout in week three, Owensboro was able to pull away at the end at Rash Stadium last Friday, with a final score of 24-14. Senior Decker Renfrow led the way once again for the Panthers on both sides of the ball, scoring both of their touchdowns on the night.
Senior quarterback Jack Ball found Renfrow for a 53-yard bomb over the Red Devil defense. Moments later, Renfrow picked off Owensboro’s quarterback and took it 55 yards to the house again for the pick-six. Senior Bryson Parm was able to convert the two-point conversion to make it 14-10 just before halftime.
Daviess County will make the long trek to Ryle High School this Friday to take on the Raiders, an unfamiliar opponent. Ryle and Daviess County each made it to the quarterfinals of the Class 6A State Playoffs a season ago, where they both would eventually fall to teams in Louisville.
Although these programs know a lot about each other, this will be the first time they’ll meet on the gridiron. Panthers head coach Matt Brannon sounded excited when asked about the upcoming matchup.
“This is going to be a great opportunity for our players and our program. Ryle is a traditionally rich program with a roster full of talented players,” Brannon said. “They are consistently ranked in the top ten in 6A. This will be a great atmosphere and could potentially have playoff implications with both teams RPI rankings.”
Daviess County will have their hands full this week trying to slow Ryle down on the offensive side of the ball. Seniors Jayce Harden and Kaden Gardner headline this Raiders offense, averaging nearly 100 yards each so far this season.
Junior quarterback Logan Verax can also be very impactful for the Raiders in the air as well as on the ground. Brannon mentioned how impactful this offense can be on the game.
“They are big and physical up front and have a wide receiver (Gardner) that is dangerous with the ball in his hands. Their quarterback (Verax) is a good runner and has a strong arm,” Brannon said.
The Daviess County head coach presented a couple of important keys for the Panthers to get the win this Friday.
“We must manage the atmosphere and the long trip,” Brannon stated. “We also must continue to create turnovers, protect the football, and clean up our mistakes on special teams in order to put ourselves in position to come away with a win.”
The Panthers and Raiders are set to kickoff at 7 p.m. in Union, Kentucky on Friday night.
