Owensboro Catholic will play Daviess County at home in a city-county matchup for week 2, while the other four area schools are set to hit the road. Owensboro will play another defending state in Bowling Green, a rematch of last year’s class 5A state semifinals. McLean County and Hancock County are coming off impressive wins and look to keep their momentum going, while Apollo will be on the road at McCracken County.
Daviess County (Class 6A, District 1) @ Owensboro Catholic (Class 2A, District 2)
The Aces dominated their season opener against Apollo, winning 50-13. Quarterback Brady Atwell looked like the reigning 2A Player of the Year, scoring six touchdowns, while linebacker Miles Edge forced three turnovers. Despite his team’s dominance, Owensboro Catholic head coach Jason Morris wants to see his squad eliminate any miscues.
“With so much returning experience, we’re just trying to clean ourselves up,” Morris said. “We have to focus on ourselves. Last week, in the first half, we had some little things that we need to clean up to win big games.”
The Panthers fell short in their opener against Franklin-Simpson 31-13. Jace Hunt was responsible for both of the team’s scores, catching both touchdowns from Remi Davis. Daviess County head coach Anthony Payton understands the challenge they face with Owensboro Catholic.
“It will be a difficult game,” Payton said. “Catholic is very talented. They have great coaches and phenomenal players. Anytime you mix that, it will be a long day. We need to go in firing on all cylinders, and it will take us playing mistake-free football to win.”
Morris said his team will look to spread the ball to their skill players and allow Atwell to take over. Payton said his defense will need to apply pressure and make him uncomfortable to slow down Atwell.
Morris said he’s expecting the Panthers to run a balanced spread offense and will utilize Hunt.
“They will run between the tackles and will be looking to get the ball to Jase Hunt,” Morris said. “He’s their best player.”
Payton knows this game will be challenging but wants to see his team trust their system.
“I want our QBs to be more confident in their reads and for the team to stick to the process,” Payton said. “If we can do that, then the outcome will take care of itself. Go out there, play strong football as a team, and come out healthy on both sides of the ball.”
Owensboro (Class 5A, District 1) @ Bowling Green (Class 5A, District 2)
Quick notes: Owensboro fell short in its season opener against Christian Academy-Louisville, and for the second straight week, the Red Devils face off against another reigning state champion. This time, it’s Bowling Green. Bowling Green won both contests against the Red Devils last year, including 42-28 in the regular season and 38-6 in the state tournament.
Head coach Jay Fallin said: I want to see us get better and show progress from week 1. I thought we did some good things last week, but we need to clean up our third-down defense. We also need to clean up penalties. We had some touchdowns called back last week. We cannot afford to turn the ball over. When you play great teams, the margin for error is slim.”
Our rivalry with Bowling Green has been one-sided as of late. It’s a very old rivalry that goes way back and means a lot to both communities.
They are very strong offensively, and their quarterback makes it happen. He’s mobile, poised, and moves in and out of the pocket well.
I want to see us make progress, and we need to continue as the season goes on. It is important that we make progress every week. We want to compete and fight to the end. It will be very hot, so they need to stay hydrated and push through adversity.
Apollo (Class 5A, District 1) @ McCracken County (Class 6A, District 1)
Quick notes: Apollo struggled in their season opener against perennial powerhouse Owensboro Catholic. One of the Eagle’s bright spots was QB Maxwell Johnson, who was responsible for both of his team’s touchdowns. This week, they travel to McCracken County, which beat them last year 48-12.
Head coach John Edge said: We didn’t get off to a good start last week. McCracken is a good team; we must get off on the right foot.
We will run no-huddle and need to get back to it on defense. McCracken will run a version of no-huddle, but they will huddle at times to slow things down. We need to stop their quarterback, Maddox O’Neal. If we can slow him down from throwing and running, we will have a great chance. Whoever has the most plays and time of possession will come out on top.
We are a young team with many sophomores and juniors. We can’t start in a hole. I want a good, clean start.
McLean County (Class 3A, District 1) @ Muhlenberg County (Class 5A, District 1)
Quick notes: McLean County blew out Ohio County in their season opener 44-6. Aden Bolden was the star of the show, rushing for 273 yards and three scores on only 15 carries. On the road for the second straight week, they are traveling to Muhlenberg County, whom they shut out a year ago 48-0.
Head coach Zach Wagner said: We need to fix a few things that I think we did poorly. Ball security: we turned it over four times, including twice in the red zone last week.
Our MO hasn’t changed. We want to establish the run and take some shots downfield. We need to be more physical on the offensive side, be the aggressor, and seek out contact. We need to ramp up our physicality and take care of the ball.
Hancock County (Class 3A, District 1) @ Breckinridge County (Class 4A, District 2)
Quick notes: The Hornet’s defense was dominant in their season-opening win over John Hardin. Quarterback Dylan Morris completed 11 of 16 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns, while Wyatt Emmick scored twice. Hancock County travels to Breckinridge County, which they beat a year ago, 22-12.
Head coach Bob Eubanks said: We want to come in and finish four quarters of football. We had a great first half against John Hardin but got kind of stagnant on offense in the 2nd half. We want to continue to improve in all three phases of the game.
Breckinridge is a hard-nosed football team with a great runner as their quarterback. He rushed for 250 yards and 5 TDs last week. They will be run-heavy but can also throw the ball and have a big target with their TE. We will continue our style of play – we want to strike early and keep the pressure on. Defensively, we must contain their QB and keep him in front of us.
I just want to see us come out from the first whistle, improve on our mistakes last week, and play as complete a game as we can in week 2.
