Fourth-quarter heroics allowed Daviess County to overcome a 10-point deficit, spoiling the night for Apollo as they played for the first time in the new Eagle Stadium. The Panthers relied on a consistent rushing attack and forced three late turnovers to propel them to 49-45 victory Friday.
Trailing 45-42 with 6:21 left in the game, the Panthers forced a fumble on their own 4-yard line that Decker Renfrow returned all the way for the game-winning touchdown.
The Eagles had one last chance to pull out the win after they blocked a punt and recovered it on the DC 28-yard line with 14 seconds remaining, but Apollo was unable to score.
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For photos from the game, click here.
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The victory moved the Panthers (4-5, 3-1) into a three-way tie for first place in the district with Henderson County and McCracken County, as the Colonels pulled off a last-minute upset of the Mustangs. The Eagles (3-6, 1-3) are locked into the fourth and final district postseason spot.
Panthers head coach Matt Brannon attributed the victory to his team’s relentless mentality.
“It’s an unbelievable win for the program and for these kids,” he said. “For two weeks in a row, we’ve battled adversity and refused to give up. This is a really good Apollo team that’s difficult to contain, but we pieced together some stops at the right time tonight.”
Down by 13 midway through the third quarter, the Panthers failed to convert on fourth down in their own territory. That made way for a quarterback keeper that Damian Lovinsky took 41 yards for a touchdown, extending the Eagles’ lead to 45-28.
Reluctant to give up, the Panthers recovered a fumble on their own 17-yard line that shifted momentum their way for good. The turnover set up a 39-yard touchdown run for Bryson Parm with 1:28 left in the third quarter.
On the ensuing Apollo possession, DC’s Max Dees reeled in an interception that once again placed them on their own 17-yard line. A long drive again ended with Parm finding the end zone, this time on an 18-yard scamper to trim the deficit to 45-42 with 8:54 to play.
“For us to be able to hold it together, piece together some stops, and rely on our offense while slowing down their explosiveness made it an exciting way to win,” Brannon said. “That first fumble was the first opportunity we had to break their stride and get some momentum on defense. The defense came up huge for us when we needed them to, and the offense was there all night.”
Both teams leaned heavily on their running backs, with Parm and Shane Riley splitting carries for the Panthers and Harold Hogg taking on the bulk of the work for Apollo.
Riley led the Panthers in rushing with 257 yards and two touchdowns, while Parm added three scores and 168 yards. Hogg finished the night four touchdowns and 253 yards on the ground.
Apollo head coach Phil Hawkins spoke highly of his lead back and the team as a whole, though he pointed out the Eagles are having trouble closing out games.
“I think we had the team prepared, we just struggle to finish games,” he said. “Hogg is a great football player and this is an unbelievable football team. Anybody that is confused should definitely come out and watch them. We definitely have to teach them how to finish games, but they’re a great football team. D. was just better tonight.”
Though they didn’t end strong, Apollo controlled most of the first three quarters. The Eagles used some trickery on the opening play from scrimmage that allowed Geoffrey Johnson to take it 64 yards and set up an eventual Harrison Bowman field goal.
The Panthers wasted no time responding with Parm’s 59-yard touchdown run on the ensuing possession.
Apollo stayed hot in the first quarter and got a pair of scores from Harold Hogg. The first was a 5-yard rush set up by a big kickoff return from Kyle Taylor, and the second was a handoff to the outside that Hogg took 37 yards.
“He’s a stud,” Brannon said of Hogg. “He’s impossible to be tackled by one person. Schematically we were there, we were hitting him, he’s just breaking tackles all night.”
After the Panthers missed a field goal as time expired in the first quarter, Hogg and Riley traded a pair of touchdowns each in the first seven minutes of the second quarter.
Hogg twice scored from 39 yards out, while both of Riley’s touchdown runs were 49-yard carries. The early rushing attack cleared the way for the passing game in the final minutes of the first half.
Apollo’s Lovinsky connected with Malik Wilson on a slant across the middle for a 32-yard touchdown to push the lead to 38-21, though Joe Humphreys returned the favor with a 15-yard strike to Renfrow with 21 seconds remaining.
Lovinsky finished with 160 yards passing and Humphreys threw for 55 yards.
For their regular season finales next week, Daviess County will host Warren East, while Apollo will make a short trip to take on Owensboro Catholic.
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2019 football coverage is presented in part by Owensboro Health Orthopedics & Sports Medicine.
