Apollo will have an opportunity to get their second win of the season Friday night in a big district matchup against Marshall County.
The Eagles are coming off a tough 62-28 loss to Henderson County last Friday night. Apollo had a hard time slowing down the Colonels offense, as they tallied nearly 600 total yards.
The Apollo offense was able to get going early, as senior running back Donte Dixon took a short pass from Christian Combs 52 yards to the endzone on the first drive of the game. The Eagles couldn’t convert on their next few drives though and found themselves down 34-6 pretty quickly in the second quarter.
Dixon found the endzone again just before halftime, running it in this time from six yards out. Apollo entered halftime trailing the Colonels 34-14. The Eagles were able to get in the endzone a few more times in the second half but weren’t able to get any stops on the defensive side of the ball.
The Apollo defense has continued to struggle this season, allowing a total of 357 points scored in just seven games, the most in the state in class 6A. Eagles head coach John Edge stressed how important his defensive will be in this upcoming matchup.
“Playing our best defensive game this year is a key to winning Friday,” Edge said. “Conner Nix, their quarterback, is what makes their offense go. Their offensive line is a very physical group and protect him very well.”
The Marshals (3-4, 0-3) also present a diverse rushing attack led by their aforementioned offensive line. Running backs Landon Utley, Aiden Dunigan, Kameron Bowerman, and Luke Webber have all recorded over 200 rushing yards on the season. The running back room has also accounted for 20 touchdowns on the year.
The winner of this district matchup will likely become the four seed in the 1st District and will face the winner of the Daviess County vs. Henderson County matchup in the first round of the KHSAA playoffs. Although this is not set in stone, as Apollo will face cross-town rival Daviess County next Friday to round out the district standings.
“Obviously, we need this win for playoff seeding,” Edge said. “This week in practice we have worked on playing mistake-free and clean football.”
The Eagles and Marshals are set to face off at Eagle Stadium Friday night at 7 p.m.
