Friday night was another setback on the road to rebuild for Apollo and head coach John Edge. The Eagles fell at home to the Central Hardin Bruins by a final score of 51-20 to drop their record to 0-3. Injuries have stymied the start to the season for the Eagles, and key losses on their line, along with an early exit from Donte Dixon due to lower leg pain did not help the cause.
In the first quarter, Apollo’s offense was able to stick to the game plan, running the ball, and the clock, successfully. After the opening drive for the Eagles stalled on the Bruins 42, the defense chipped in forcing a quick three-and-out. With the offense taking over again at the 5:56 mark in the first quarter, Apollo’s second drive was even better than the first.
11 plays, 48 yards, and five minutes and 19 seconds later the Eagles were on the board with the game’s first score. Senior quarterback Christian Combs capped off the drive with a 1-yard quarterback keeper. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the extra-point attempt was unsuccessful, making the score 6-0.
More bad news followed for the blue and white, as Central Hardin scored three touchdowns to go along with a pair of two-point conversions, which made the score 30-6 at halftime. To widen the margin further, the opening drive of the second half resulted in yet another Bruins touchdown.
Apollo found the end zone twice in the second half, though, as Bryson Velotta was credited with two touchdown receptions. The first score was an exclamation point on a drive that spanned 10 plays and 3:00 of game clock. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, however, bringing the score to 37-12. The second came on the Eagles’ final possession, on a diving play in the front right corner of the end zone.
Two more second-half scores for Central Hardin made the final score 51-20, with the game being pushed to a running clock at the 9:52 mark in the final quarter of the game.
Perhaps the highlight of the night came on the Bruins first of their two final scores as junior quarterback and University of Kentucky baseball commit, Zakery Spurrier, ran in a 67-yard touchdown in the third quarter. The defense failed to bring down the 6’2, 210-pound Bruins star as a beautiful block by a Central Hardin lineman opened up a seam that Spurrier was able to exploit in a big way.
After the game, coach Edge was admittedly frustrated with the loss on the scoreboard, but especially with the losses of a few key players.
“We aren’t doing the little things right and that makes it hard to win games,” Edge said. “We have now four linemen out, and Donte Dixon’s injury tonight made things even worse. We have to keep going and keep battling. I’ve been through it before, and we have to stay positive and keep moving forward. The way I see it is that no one will remember our season if we’re able to find success in districts. The end of the year is what really counts.”
As Apollo prepares for the district matchups ahead on their schedule, their next matchup will be on the road against North Hardin at 8 p.m. next Friday. For Central Hardin, a home matchup with John Hardin is slated for next Friday at 7:30 p.m.
