It is an important night for our coverage teams with both the Owensboro Catholic and Owensboro playing to outright win their respective district championships. Apollo, Daviess County, and Hancock County are also hosting home games, while McLean County is on the road.
Apollo 3-5 (Class 5A, District 1) Vs. Marshall County (Class 5A, District 1)
Quick notes: Recently bitten by the injury bug, the Eagles have multiple starters back this week including QB Maxwell Johnson. In his stead last week, JT Edge led four scoring drives, but now will be able to slot back in as the team’s starting free safety. Tonight, the Eagles host Marshall County, whom they beat a year ago 30-13
Head coach John Edge said: We need to win to get into the playoffs. I felt we played well offensively the last few games, but we need to get stops. Getting players back from injury will help. Johnson is also back from his injury.
They mix it up between run and pass. They run well and we need to stop the run, something we struggled against last week. We need to be able to run to keep them off guard. We will be able to throw against them. Marshall runs a 3-4 but will switch to a 4-2. They will try to key on our passing game.
On their defense, we need to stop their defensive lineman Carson Lichtenberg, and their linebacker Dylan Robinson. Receiving-wise a big threat is their tight end Cash Henson – we need to know where he is at all times, especially in the red zone. Their best attribute is their OL. That entire unit is really good and they gave Owensboro some issues. We need to be able to handle that and pressure them.
We need to get off the field on third and long and clean that up. If we do that we will be fine, if not we will be in a dog fight.
Daviess County 1-7 (Class 6A, District 1) Vs. McCracken County (Class 6A, District 1)
Quick notes: The Panthers’ defense had a solid first quarter last week against Henderson County, forcing and recovering a pair of fumbles. The unit has steadily improved throughout the season, but have a tough test in front of them in McCracken County, which has scored 129 points across their last two games. Last year, the Panthers emerged victorious, winning 14-6.
Head Coach Anthony Payton said: We need to go out there and play hard. The kids played hard last week, but we came up short. We need to finish and the thing is that it comes down to the molecules. The small things and the little things. We can’t turn the ball over, need to play like ourselves, and understand they don’t have to be Superman and to stay the course.
I believe McCracken will look to pass the ball. They do a lot of great things on offense. Spread. Trips. 2 by 2. Run inside and power. Their defense adapts to what is in front of them and utilize multiple fronts.
We need to run the ball and pass well when it’s time to pass. We need to catch the ball, find open guys, block well, play with leverage, and give our QB time to progress through his reads.
Hancock County 7-1 (Class 3A, District 1) Vs. Hopkins County Central 3-5 (Class 3A, District 1)
Quick notes: Hancock County is looking to rebound after their blowout loss against Union County last week. The Hornets have their eyes on securing the second seed in the district. Tonight, they host Hopkins County Central, whom they beat a year ago 30-20.
Head coach Bob Eubanks said: We are looking to bounce back after a loss at Union Co.
Both teams are spread offense. Hopkins County Central likes to run the football out of multiple sets but they also throw the ball well.
#7 Zayden Parker is their leading rusher, big, strong, and hard to tackle. #16 Sylas Gunn is their QB and Leading tackler he and #10 Isac Earl share some of the QB responsibilities. Both are dynamic runners and are good with the ball in their hands.
The biggest thing is to bounce back and play football the way we know how so we can lock up the 2 seed for the playoffs.
McLean County 4-3 (Class 3A, District 1) @ Trigg County (Class 3A, District 1)
Quick notes: The Cougars are coming off of an impressive performance against Webster County – rushing for 320 yards and five touchdowns. Tonight, they travel to Trigg County, whom they beat last year 44-14.
Head coach Zach Wagner said: We must stop their top RB Davaree Guade, we cannot let him get going. He is very explosive and hard to bring down.
Trigg will employ a spread oriented attack with a very capable running game. They have several guys that are dangerous in space.
We need to continue to build on our physical play and not turn the ball over.
Owensboro 4-3 (Class 5A, District 1) Vs. Madisonville-North Hopkins 6-2 (Class 5A, District 1)
Quick notes: Hosting Madisonville-North Hopkins, the Red Devils have a chance to win the district tonight outright. Riding a four-game win streak has found its stride, with RB Evan Hampton leading the charge – scoring three TDs last week. A year ago, the Red Devils fell to Madisonville-North Hopkins 45-38.
Head coach Jay Fallin said: The district championship is on the line. If we win, we win the district outright and guarantee us two home playoff games.
It’s a process of improving everything. I think on great teams there is no point in the season you stop trying to improve. We were plagued by penalties and turnovers against Marshall County, and we need to play cleaner football.
They are a run first team and have a dynamic run attack in their QB and RB. Both are very talented Johnson has a strong arm and can throw it, but is most impactful when running it. We have to be aware of what they are trying to do from an assignment standpoint and make tackles.
Owensboro Catholic 7-0 (Class 2A, District 2) @ Fort Campbell 4-3 (Class 2A, District 2)
Quick notes: The Aces have a chance tonight to win the district outright, traveling to Fort Campbell. Undefeated, Brady Atwell had another stellar performance, scoring four total touchdowns, while the defense pitched a shutout. Last year, the Aces blew out Fort Campbell 56-7.
Head coach Jason Morris said: This will be our first trip to Fort Campbell in a long time. They joined our district last year.
They base their play on their QB and will run multiple formations. We need to contain their QB. He is athletic and does a good job of leading the offense. Breaks tackles and makes negative plays into a positive.
Defensively they have changed from an odd front to an even front. Overall, their entire unit is improved from last year.
We look to come out and be more efficient from the first snap. Same style as play and take what they give us in our spread offense. Get Brady going early. We will play our base defense and we will need to adjust to their multiple formations. Can’t get out leveraged.
We need to play clean football out of the gate. We have made some minor mistakes early the last few weeks that we need to eliminate. I am looking forward to a battle against an improved team in Fort Campbell.
