Week 3 features yet another city-county matchup, this time with a pair of 0-2 teams looking to get in teh win column as Owensboro hosts Daviess County. Apollo, McLean County, and Hancock County are all at home this week, while Owensboro Catholic hits the road.
Daviess County, 0-2 (Class 6A, District 1) @ Owensboro, 0-2 (Class 5A, District 1)
Daviess County is coming off of a rough performance against Owensboro Catholic, and their schedule doesn’t get any easier with the Red Devils.
“Owensboro is a good team and they will be prepared,” Daviess County head coach Anthony Payton said. “We are working on getting prepared and fighting through injuries. This is an opportunity to get better.”
While the Red Devils are 0-2, those losses came at the hands of a pair of defending state champions. OHS is eager to bounce back against the Panthers, who they beat a year ago 50-7.
“We don’t subscribe to moral victories, but not all defeats are equal,” Owensboro head coach Jay Fallin said. “I say that because we played two state champions, two very well-coached and good teams. I thought we gave a better accounting of ourselves in week one than we did in week two. Bowling Green is very good and I don’t want to take that away from them. I think it refocused us, humbled us, and we’re excited about the opportunity to get back and try for a win this week.”
Despite being very familiar with Daviess County, Fallin acknowledged that the Panthers have a new look due to a new coaching staff.
“They have some talented players. They are youthful in spots, but they have some talented players,” Fallin said. “They play hard, especially early in the game, and we will need to match that intensity.”
Daviess County’s offense has struggled out of the gate in the first two contests, failing to cross the 50-yard line before halftime in either game. Heading into tonight’s game, Payton wants to see his team improve their consistency and show growth.
“The biggest thing is for the team to stay together, stay healthy on both sides of the ball and improve,’ Payton said. “Even if it’s just one percent better.”
Fallin wants to see his team clean it up on all three phases of the ball, but especially on offense in order to stop the losing streak.
“You can’t beat yourself. We need to stay ahead of the sticks on offense, and execute on first and second down to give ourselves manageable third downs,” Fallin said. “We can’t turn the ball over and we need to put series together. We can’t afford to have killer penalties which we had in each of the first two games.”
Owensboro Catholic (Class 2A, District 2) @ Greenwood (Class 5A, District 2)
Quick notes: The Aces are 2-0 with back-to-back impressive wins and look destined for another deep playoff run. Last Friday, Brady Atwell dismantled Daviess County’s defense, scoring five total touchdowns in their 58-8 win. This week they travel to Greenwood, whom they beat a year ago 43-13.
Head coach Jason Morris said: We will look to continue to get better and become more crisp in the passing game. We want to clean up our tackling and play an overall cleaner game.
I look for us to play up-tempo. We want to wear them down early and take what they give us via the run or passing game. I expect them to pound us on the ground. They will be the exact opposite of us. They will take their time, ground it out, and try and keep the ball from us.
Our motto for this week is to stay humble. Humble and hungry. Not get ahead of ourselves. One game at a time.
Apollo (Class 5A, District 1) Vs. Meade County (Class 6A, District 3)
Quick notes: After being blown out in the season opener, Apollo bounced back last week as they rallied to beat McCracken County 40-36. Senior Niles Board was the star of the show, finishing with over 400 total yards and four touchdowns. They host Meade County this week and will look to avenge last year’s 45-19 loss to the Green Wave.
Head coach John Edge said: We’re coming off of a tough road win against a really good 6A opponent. We’re expecting the same outcome against Meade County. We want to play cleaner on both sides of the ball.
They will want to slow it down. We like to speed it up. Whoever can set the pace first will be in control. If we can force a three-and-out, they will be forced to play fast. Same thing if we go three-and-out, we might be forced to play slow.
Regarding Niles Board, we will look to find ways to get him the ball. He will be keyed on and that opens it up for other players. It’s a win/win situation. The more they key on him, the more they get away from their defensive structure.
We need to keep playing clean football. We had some really good defensive plays last week. Our defense forced multiple turnovers and that put our offense into position to score.
Hancock County (Class 3A, District 1) Vs. Ohio County (Class 5A, District 2)
Quick notes: After blowing out back-to-back opponents, the Hornets are 2-0 to start the season. Last week in their 62-7 win over Breckinridge County, QB Dylan Morris used his legs to score three touchdowns and threw for a fourth. Tonight they host Ohio County, who they shut out last year 37-0.
Head coach Bob Eubanks said: We really want to focus on playing four quarters. We’ve had fast starts the previous two weeks and wasn’t as sharp coming out of the half.
We are gonna play our game, take what the defense gives us. We want to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Ohio County is a run-first team that has some really nice athletes who can run and catch. The QB is elusive and has a great arm. We need to contain him and keep everything in front of us.
We want to continue to improve week by week. We are already in Week 3 of the season and need to make sure we are getting better every day we are together.
McLean County (Class 3A, District 1) Vs. Grayson County (Class 5A, District 4)
Quick notes: McLean County is 2-0 after their come-from-behind victory against Muhlenberg County. The Cougars run game continues to be a focal point, as Ayden Rice and Aden Bolden combined for five rushing TDs in their recent win. Tonight they will host Grayson County, who they lost to a year ago 27-8.
Head coach Zach Wagner said: We have been uber cognizant about ball security all week in the hope of rectifying those issues, as well as starting fast.
Grayson County will play a physical brand of football and utilize its size and its running game. It is our hope that our play will be more aggressive and physical than it has been in the previous two weeks.
Grayson’s tailback will be tough to stop. He’s a tough, strong back with good vision and patience.
We are hoping to take better care of the ball and not turn it over in the red zone, and come out ready to play from the start.
