Daviess County football has a plethora of goals in mind with a strong core returning, but the Panthers have their eyes specifically fastened on a district title.
Leading the pack will be a Division I level talent in quarterback Joe Humphreys, who has steadily grown over the past three years of his career.
He’ll have top returning wide receivers Decker Renfrow and Max Dees, as well as Isaiah Tomes, to give him an arsenal of targets downfield.
A collarbone injury has starting running back Bryson Parm out for at least a few weeks, so Gunner Evans, Carter Hamilton and DaMarian Garner will all share time in the backfield in his absence.
On the defensive side of the ball, Evans and Parker Crews will hold things down at the linebacker position, with Isaac Blue helping out as the team’s best defensive and offensive lineman as well.
Head Coach Matt Brannon also has some newcomers and players who didn’t see the field as much last season that he expects to make an impact this year.
“We are really excited about our young DL Sam Clark,” Brannon said. “Preston Crosley has shown a lot of improvement and will start at LT. Most improved from last season is Brandon Shepherd. Shep played a lot last year, but had injuries that really hindered him from reaching his potential. I look for him to have a breakout year.”
Brannon and company are looking to improve defensively from a season ago, hoping that the experience from those returning and some newcomers will help in that area.
“We must control the line of scrimmage and make teams beat us through the air,” Brannon said. “We have a lot of experience in our defensive backfield, so our front seven to eight really have to step up and play unselfish team defense. I like our start so far, but the real challenge will come late in the year when we are facing teams with deep rosters and big lineman on both sides of the ball.”
With a strong offensive and a defensive group looking to improve daily, the Panthers have lofty goals of postseason play.
“Expectations are high,” Brannon said. “We want to win our district and we have to beat McCracken and Henderson to make that happen. Obviously we would like to add our names back to the City-County trophy, but our eyes are on the district title. We want a home playoff game, and a chance to compete for a region title.”
With these goals in mind, keeping the team in pristine health will be key and each player stepping up when their name is called will be crucial.
“We are going to continue to be diligent about avoiding Covid and quarantine situations,” Brannon said. “Our depth here is always an issue, so keeping ourselves healthy will be another challenge. We have already been dealt a major blow with Parm, we just have to continue to challenge our players to adopt the ‘next man up’ mentality and make sure we do everything in our power to prepare all of our players for all situations.”
