It’s week two of the high school football season, and there are three games in town — including a city-county matchup. All games have been pushed to 8 p.m. due to the heat. The games feature Daviess County hosting Owensboro Catholic, Owensboro taking on Bowling Green, and Apollo facing McCracken County. Here’s what to know about tonight’s games.
Owensboro Catholic (Class 2A, District 2)
at Daviess County (Class 6A, District 1)
8 p.m. at Reid Stadium
Highlights
While the Aces rolled out of the gate with a dominant showing on both sides of the ball, the Panthers struggled to get anything going and couldn’t find the end zone in week one. That’s primarily because Owensboro Catholic is loaded with returning playmakers, while Daviess County’s roster was depleted in the offseason and they’re still looking for this season’s playmakers. The Panthers made some big defensive plays a week ago and will have to do the same this week to slow a dynamic attack from the Aces.
Last week
Owensboro Catholic: Won 42-6 against Apollo
Daviess County: Lost 24-0 at Warren East
Coaches’ thoughts
Owensboro Catholic Head Coach Jason Morris: I think they’re going to try to shorten the game. I look for them to try to play keep-away and run the football as much as possible, especially in this heat. I think they’ll try to limit the amount of time we’re out there by making the clock run. They’re going to be looking to make us turn the football over and those kinds of things. The main thing our team has to do is continue to not get ahead of themselves and just take each game seriously and make sure that we’re taking care of ourselves and trying to get better at the things we need to work on. We have a very experienced group that to this point has done that very well.
Daviess County Head Coach Matt Brannon: They are a very talented team. With Atwell leading the charge they’re going to come out, try to play fast, and get the ball in the air. We had some success last year putting some pressure on him, and so we’ve got to do a good job of keeping their receivers close to our defensive backs and try to make him make decisions that he doesn’t like to make. We’ve got to establish the run first. We are more of a smash-mouth team this year, but I think we’re prepared. I like our plan, we’ve just got to execute it. We’ve got to be able to withstand the big plays that they make, and we’ve got to respond with similar big plays. I think our big plays are going to have to come defensively, like we’re gonna have to turn them over and try to get a score on defense if we can.
Bowling Green (Class 5A, District 2)
at Owensboro (Class 5A, District 1)
8 p.m. at Rash Stadium
Highlights
The Red Devils and Purples took losses in week one, but against two of the best teams in the state across all class sizes. Both teams are hungry to get in the win column, and the history of this matchup will make it especially meaningful. For 2023, BG returned their quarterback, leading rusher, and two leading receivers from last season, while OHS is still developing a fairly inexperienced squad. The last time these squads met, the Purples outlasted the Red Devils for a 17-7 win in the 2020 5A state championship.
Last week
Bowling Green: Lost 56-52 to Lexington Christian Academy
Owensboro: Lost 28-14 at Christian Academy-Louisville
Coach’s thoughts
Owensboro Head Coach Jay Fallin: They’re a great team. They’re 0-1 like us, but they’re 0-1 after playing one of the top teams in the state in what I think was widely considered one of the best games in week one. They’re battle-tested like us, and coming into the game we’re both hungry for a win. They’re very, very good at quarterback, they’re good at receiver, and they’re good in the backfield. Defensively, they’re good at all three levels. We’ve gotta get better in all three phases. I don’t care if we win or lose, that would be the case. I think it’s going to be two very evenly matched teams, two of the better teams in 5A in my opinion. It’s going to be who can make the fewest mistakes. I thought we made more mistakes than CAL last week, and that was the difference in the ballgame.
McCracken County (Class 6A, District 1)
Apollo (Class 5A, District 1)
8 p.m. at Eagle Stadium
Highlights
The Eagles and Mustangs were in the same district for the last few years and faced off six times, with the lone Apollo win coming in 2021. They may no longer be in the same district but both teams have something to prove after lopsided losses a week ago where they each only scored one touchdown. A fairly even matchup on paper, this game will come down to which team can execute and eliminate mistakes. Both teams lost several playmakers and are still working to get everything squared away on both sides of the ball.
Last week
McCracken County: Lost 42-7 against Paducah Tilghman
Apollo: Lost 42-6 at Owensboro Catholic
Coach’s thoughts
Apollo Head Coach John Edge: We’ve just got to bounce back from the Catholic loss and be ready to go. That’s it. Go on and get this W and get our season rolling. We had some penalties, and defensively we didn’t stop them on third down enough. We’ve got to do a better job of getting teams off the field on third down. I think you’ll see a whole lot of improvement in our team. We’ve got some things fixed. Hopefully, this will result in a win.
