Coming off of a late clutch win for Daviess County over North Hardin in the opening round of the playoffs, the Panthers will have themselves another big test this week as they travel to take on Central Hardin.
Despite a rough stretch offensively against the Trojans, Daviess County had a strong week on that side of the ball behind a solid game from junior quarterback Lake Wilson (17-29 passing 255 yards, two touchdowns). He also ran for 35 yards and a touchdown on five carries, while it was senior Bryson Parm who stole the show last week with 143 rushing yards and a touchdown on 32 carries.
However, Parm suffered a season-ending injury last week and now the Panthers will have to fill in for that production, with senior quarterback Jack Ball being a likely candidate to pick up some carries. Ball has been a part of their two-quarterback system all year, while also seeing time at wide receiver and running back—including last week’s first-round win (20 rushing yards, one touchdown, seven carries).
The Bruins have a mobile quarterback of their own that Daviess County will have to worry about in junior Zakery Spurrier, as he averages 62 passing yards and 56 rushing yards per contest. However, Central Hardin’s key weapon is in the backfield, as junior Mason Gardner can put up points in a hurry.
He was instrumental in their first round win, defeating Apollo for the second time in the 2022 campaign with a whopping 236 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries. The Bruins sit at 10-1 overall and the only time they’ve scored less than 30 points this season was in that loss, so if the Panthers want to keep their postseason alive their defense must be clicking on all cylinders when they take the field at 7 p.m. on Friday night.
