This week will kick off district play for a pair of local teams, as Owensboro hosts Graves County in an anticipated matchup while Apollo travels to Muhlenberg County. In other Friday night action, Owensboro Catholic travels to Henderson County, Daviess County will be at Meade County, and Hancock County will host Tell City. Meanwhile, McLean County’s game at Todd County Central will be played on Saturday evening.
Owensboro 1-3 (Class 5A, District 1)
vs. Graves County 3-1 (Class 5A, District 1)
Quick Notes: Owensboro is 1-3, but records can be deceiving — as those losses came at the hands of a pair of defending state champs and one runner-up. The Red Devils will look to not just get back to the win column but prove they are one of the top teams in 5A against Graves County, a team they’ve beaten eight straight times dating back to 2018. A game that’s turned into a bit of a rivalry in recent years.
The Eagles will come in with plenty of confidence as they are off to an impressive 3-1 start, including a 35-28 win over the reigning 2023 2A state champion Mayfield.
Head coach Jay Fallin said: We’ve been in the district with Graves County since we moved back to 5A in 2015. We’ve played them at least once a year almost every year since then and it is usually always a competitive match. They do a good job and have tough kids. They have a new coach, but he’s used to their system. They return many veterans including their QB Kaden Gregory. They have a solid offensive line and good receivers. Their receiver Lincoln Acree is lightning fast. They prepare hard and are tough. We feel that if we play like we are capable of doing so, we will come out on top. It will be a challenge.
They will be in 10 personnel for most of the game. They are balanced between running and passing and do a good job of getting the ball to their playmakers. They also have a mobile QB.
We had two turnovers last Friday and we need to win the runover battle. We need to clean up the penalties. We had multiple critical penalties last week. We are excited to get back to work and hopefully pick up another win.
Apollo 2-2 (Class 5A, District 1)
@ Muhlenberg County 1-3 (Class 5A, District 1)
Quick Notes: Despite last week’s blowout loss against Bowling Green, Apollo is off to a 2-2 start that has shown they are capable of explosive plays. Running back Niles Board has been the focal point of the offense and had another solid game last week, catching 10 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown. Last year against Muhlenberg County, Apollo shut the Mustangs out 41-0.
Head coach John Edge said: We need to keep playing hard and like we’re supposed to. If we don’t, we will be in for a dog fight. The biggest takeaway from last week is we self-imploded in the second quarter and that gave Bowling Green momentum for the second half.
Against Muhlenberg, you have to be disciplined. They run the triple option and we’ve done a good job this week going over the assignments to stop it. They will slow it way down and look to eat up the clock. We will speed it up and hopefully, our tempo will take over.
Their QB Clay Wilkin does a good job of running their offense. Other players to look out for are Braydan Bakersfield and their defensive backs.
I think the biggest thing for Board is we need to get him the ball quickly and often. That helps us get going. Any of our receivers can take it to the house from anywhere on the field. We need to play sound and disciplined.
Owensboro Catholic 4-0 (Class 2A, District 2)
@ Henderson County 2-2 (Class 6A, District 1)
Quick Notes: Fresh off of an electric performance against rival Owensboro, the Aces’ undefeated season is still intact. QB Brady Atwell scored six total touchdowns against his rival including a 66 rush to the end zone that iced the game. Tonight, they travel to Henderson County whom they beat 41-21 a year ago.
Head coach Jason Morris said: We are expecting Henderson County to be a tough 6A school. They are physical up front on both sides of the ball and are going to try to play keep away against our offense. We will run the same spread offense. We will get the ball to our athletes and take what the defense gives us. We might adjust to running later on.
Henderson is run-dominant and they will throw the ball when they have to. Senior Anthony Burrus is a good back. They lean on him quite a bit and their QB Trajdon Davis is also a big part of their run game. Defensively, we need to keep an eye on Jack Ryan Reusch and Andrew ONan. O’Nan has a high motor and plays hard.
We’re going back every week to the film to find and fix our mistakes. We didn’t play a clean game against Owensboro. We need to quit turning it over and put teams away.
Daviess County 0-4 (Class 6A, District 1)
@ Meade County 2-2 (Class 6A, District 3)
Quick Notes: The Panthers travel to Meade County tonight looking for their first win. Last year, they lost to Meade County 26-14.
Head Coach Anthony Payton said: I expect us to play good football and hopefully pull out our first win. From watching Meade County, they are a wide-open team. They will throw or run. They will take what you give them. Balanced. We need to make the opposing QB overthink. He’s mobile, can spin it, and makes good decisions. We have to make it hard for him to make those decisions. Their defense is by committee and is physical. They get after it and are a good program over there.
We need to put some first downs together and get our QBs to make better reads. We need to get upfield on 4th downs and play fundamentally sound football. Against great teams, we’ve gotten out of our techniques.
We left points out on the field against North Hardin. The message in that is we need to go hard all the time because you don’t know when the opportunities will pop up.
We’ve been focusing on the fundamentals. We have to do everything right and can’t let the small things fall through the cracks. Alignment, assignment, and technique. I want us to play a good game and turn the tide. Get on the road to winning some games.
Hancock County 4-0 (Class 3A, District 1)
vs. Tell City, IN
Quick Notes: Hancock County is 4-0 and is fresh off a big win against district rival McLean County. Receiver Hayden Shearn scored all three of the Hornet’s touchdowns last week, including a 42-yard TD reception from QB Dylan Morris. Last year, Hancock County fell to Tell City 47-20.
Head coach Bob Eubanks said: We need to stay on track on both the offensive and defensive ends; we want to keep getting better every week and make fewer mistakes. Do not allow them to extend drives; instead, maintain drives.
It will be a hard-nosed football game. The more physical team will have a better chance to win the game. They have three really good backs who are very physical runners. We will need to limit their touches and tackle well.
We need to continue to improve and play our style of football. Tell City is really good at what they do and their coaches will have them ready to play.
McLean County 2-2 (Class 3A, District 1)
@ Todd County Central 2-2 (Class 2A, District 2)
*Saturday game
Quick Notes: Originally scheduled for Friday, McLean County heads to Todd County Central on Saturday evening instead due to the limited availability of officials. On a two-game slide, the Cougars have focused on limiting their mistakes and getting out of their own way. The run game led by QB Ayden Rice and running back Aden Bolden is the offense’s strength and a big reason why they won their first two games.
Head Coach Zach Wagner said: We need to lick our wounds from our loss and get back to the win column. We need to regroup after last week’s loss and continue to limit mistakes going into the rest of district play.
Todd County is prone to big plays and has hit big in their last games. Todd County has two RBs they rely on, Jamir Brewer and Titus Rager, to run the ball and look for Brian Farlow to hit on big pass plays.
