Having missed two weeks due to a late-season injury, Owensboro’s Denis Juma showed no signs of rust. Playing in his first State Tournament, and the team’s first appearance since 2012, the junior showcased the full potential of the Red Devils’ offense when he is on the pitch.
In the first half, he scored off an assist from Jackson Sigler to push the lead over University Heights 3-0. The second half saw him showcase his passing ability, assisting Brian Payne and Valor Smith. He also scored his second goal of the night, thanks to a feed from Connor Cundiff.
Yet, it wasn’t just the Juma show as Peter Mbayo, Payne, and Sigler all recorded multiple points, and the defense pitched another shutout in the team’s 7-0 win over the Blazers. On Saturday, they will host South Oldham in the second round of the tournament.
“At first I thought I was going to be a little bit rusty,” Juma said. I hadn’t touched a ball for around two weeks, but I am happy I came back as strong as I did.”
Owensboro jumped all over University Heights early, with Payne drawing first blood. Sigler found Max Knoop to make it 2-0 and after Juma scored his first goal of the night, Kennedy Payne found Mbayo for a commanding 4-0 lead.
“Kennedy gave me a great pass and, in my mind, as soon as I got the ball, I was thinking I have to take this shot,” Mbayo said. “I faked the defender, and I just went for it, and it went in. It was a great shot.”
Juma connected with Brian Payne early in the second half to put the Red Devils up 5-0. In the last 10 minutes, Juma scored his second goal of the game and then immediately found Smith for the exclamation point.
“Our offense has been really consistent,” Sigler said. “Scoring goals has never been one of our issues. Normally, throughout a regular season game, we won every game by three to four goals. Our attack is very strong for our team, and our top three are great offensively.”
Last night marked the first time Owensboro has won a State Tournament game since 1999, when Head Coach Ryan Haley was a sophomore on the team. Despite this being the first time everyone on the current roster has made it to state, the Red Devils showed no signs of being nervous; instead, they attacked from the first whistle.
“We took a tour of all the elementary schools today,” Haley said. “So, when they came out here tonight, we talked about those kids and how they look up to the guys, and how we needed to show them how the Owensboro Red Devils played. They stepped up, and I think they did more than enough of that job to show these kids what can be.”
