Owensboro had eight rushing touchdowns, including four from Evan Hampton, as the Red Devils cruised to a 61-21 win at Apollo in a district matchup on Friday.
The Red Devils (3-3) started intensity out of the gate by taking a 19-0 lead in the first quarter. The Eagles (1-5) were troubled on their opening drive when Owensboro’s Lake Wilson intercepted a pass in Apollo territory. Deion Winstead scored on a 10-yard run just a few plays later.
OHS forced a stop on Apollo’s ensuing drive. On the first play for the Red Devils offense, Hampton streaked up the sideline for a 61-yard score. The PAT was no good, leaving the OHS lead at 13-0.
The Eagles’ next drive ended with a turnover on downs, and Owensboro extended the lead to 19-0 with a 3-yard run by Trevor DeLacey. The 2-point conversion attempt was no good.
The Eagles found some footing in the second quarter on both sides of the ball, recording multiple sacks and defensive stops and finally getting on the scoreboard. Less than 2 minutes into the quarter, quarterback Max Johnson moved Apollo into scoring range with a few long passes. He finished the drive himself with a 1-yard dive to cut the deficit to 19-7.
Owensboro again turned to Hampton, who nearly replicated his run from the first quarter by scoring on another 61-yard rush.
In addition to his big night in the backfield, Hampton had multiple long kick returns. His all-around effort warranted praise from OHS head coach Jay Fallin.
“He’s got good vision, but he’s got elite speed,” he said. “He’s the kind of fast in high school football to where a kid who’s used to tracking at a certain angle can’t get that angle because he bursts away so quickly.”
OHS extended their lead to 33-7 with 7:12 left in the half when Winstead scored another rushing touchdown, this one from 2 yards out.
Apollo didn’t back down, answering just 2 minutes later. On a pinpoint pass from Johnson, Eli Masterson made a difficult falling catch through coverage to cut the Red Devil’s lead to 33-14, a score that held through halftime.
Owensboro nearly tacked on a score as time expired when DeLacey hoisted a pass deep into the endzone, where the ball was jostled around by multiple players on both sides before it was knocked to the ground.
The Eagles lost steam when the Red Devils extended their lead to 40-14 with their first drive of the second half. DeLacey completed a short pass to Dereon Crowe, who took it 36 yards for the touchdown.
Later in the quarter, Apollo’s defense forced a turnover on downs on their own 2-yard line, but an interception by Taveon Bennett gave possession back to the Red Devils on the Eagles’ 14. Hampton scored on a 7-yard run moments later for a 47-14 advantage late in the third quarter.
The Eagles got one final score when Johnson found open space and rushed in a 20-yard touchdown. Johnson has proved in the last couple of weeks that he’s got the speed and accuracy to grow into a promising quarterback, and he earned praise from Fallin.
“I want to give a lot of credit to Max Johnson,” Fallin said. “He’s a nice player and he’s gonna get even better in the years to come. They have been much better on offense here recently because it’s both his arms and his legs. He can extend the play, escape from the pocket and he can find receivers downfield. That’s really tough to deal with.”
Owensboro scored twice more in the fourth quarter, once on a 5-yard run by Hampton and again on a 20-yard tote by Braden Burk.
Apollo will remain at home next week when they take on Graves County (3-3). Owensboro will also be at home, facing off against Marshall County (1-4).
