Coming off of their bye week the Panthers will look to stifle a dynamic Henderson County offense on Friday night, as they hit the road looking to extend their winning streak.
Daviess County is coming into the road matchup riding a three-game winning streak, having beat McCracken County 48-20 in its most recent game on Sept. 30. Junior Lake Wilson had a strong game at quarterback last week, throwing for 224 passing yards and three touchdowns on 9-18 passing.
Junior Luke Floyd led the receiving corps with 111 yards and a touchdown on four catches in that game, while Parm had a catch for 54 yards and a touchdown while leading the way out of the backfield with 107 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
The bye week rest will be huge for the Panthers, as they are going to be battle-tested against the Colonels on Friday. With both teams looking to remain undefeated in district play, Head Coach Matt Brannon knows they will have to be clicking on all cylinders.
“Henderson County is a tough, physical, athletic, well-coached football team,” Brannon said. “They are a power run team and they do it very well. This will be our biggest challenge of the year. They are really good up front on both sides of the ball and they have speed in every skill position.”
Daviess County will be tasked with taking on a powerful offense, led by running back seniors Jaheim Williams and Jordan Wright and sophomore quarterback Trajdon Davis. Davis tore the Eagles defense apart with three passing touchdowns and 170 yards on 7-9 passing last week, while also running for 79 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries.
Wright and Williams were right there with him, rushing for 139 and 101 yards and a touchdown each. With 34 carries as a team against Apollo, the Panthers know that they will have to stifle Henderson County’s backfield in order to come out on top.
“Our focus this week has to be on how to stop their run,” Brannon said. “Williams and Wright are a dangerous combination coming out of the backfield or the slot positions, and the QB is a dangerous runner as well. We must also be creative in how we protect our QB’s, and allow them to play freely and read the defense. We must also establish our run game early as well.”
On top of knowing where those three players are at all times, Brannon said that they will have to win one-on-one matchups defensively because of the Colonels’ strong defensive lineman to be successful on the offensive side of the ball. The Panthers are excited to go to work Friday night, having put an emphasis on steady improvement over the week in practice or to be best prepared on both sides of the ball as they look to move to 3-0 in district play.
“This game has huge implications for the postseason,” Brannon said. “A win for either team will guarantee a home playoff game, it will be a huge boost in the RPI ratings and sets up next week’s games for both teams as the district championship. Although we are aware of what is on the line, our focus and preparation does not change for any opponent. We must show up each day and continue to improve both physically and mentally. If we can execute our gameplan, we feel confident that we can come out on top.”
