Our coverage teams are back in action tonight, fresh off of fall break. Apollo is home, while Daviess County, McLean County, Owensboro, and Owensboro Catholic are all on the road.
Apollo 3-4 (Class 5A, District 1) Vs. Madisonville North Hopkins 5-2 (Class 5A, District 1)
Quick notes: With a chance to make a statement against Graves County, Apollo fell short. Now fresh off of Fall Break, they have the opportunity to solidify themselves as third in the district. The Eagles are home tonight, hosting Madisonville North Hopkins, who they fell to a year ago, 36-7.
Head coach John Edge said: We have a chance to get the third seed in the playoffs. We need to execute and the bye week has helped us refocus. We have had a good week of practice so far.
They use the no-huddle, but are run-heavy. Markezz Hightower is a solid back. He’s not as elusive as some but he runs hard. Kanyon Johnson is a great athlete. Defensively, their DTs are very disruptive.
I want us to come out strong on both sides of the ball and shore up things. Defensively, we need to improve our tackling and eliminate silly mistakes such as penalties on third and long. We need to keep being efficient on offense and not just go for home run shots when they aren’t there. Take what the defense gives us.
Special teams are improving. Our returns have been phenomenal all year, but our coverage team needs to shore up.
Daviess County 1-6 (Class 6A, District 1) @ Henderson County 2-5 (Class 6A, District 1)
Quick notes: The Panthers dropped a heartbreaker last week, but received a dominant performance from their defense – forcing three turnovers on downs, two fumbles, and picking off a pass. Running back Gatlin Maysey rushed for over 200 yards and has emerged as one of the top backs in the district. Tonight the Panthers travel to Henderson County, whom they lost to 42-7 last year.
Head coach Anthony Payton said: We need to put together first downs, execute, get through the game plan, and stay healthy.
Henderson will run the ball – they are efficient and run it hard and well. We need to wrap up on our tackles. They have some injuries, so I expect them to keep it on the ground. Their defense is tough. They show different looks, so we need to be ready for everything. They do a good job of switching it up.
We’re going to run the football. We haven’t been pushing the ball down the field through the air well, but we have run the ball well. Make sure our offensive line is in the right spot. I want Maysey to be himself, take the ball through the tackles, and make plays.
Defensively we will need to find the football. I want them to stay consistent. We need to fly to the ball and play bend but don’t break. Keep their spirits up and keep forcing turnovers.
We haven’t been as efficient on offense as we can. The defense has been playing well enough to keep us in games, but we haven’t taken advantage of that. We need to stay true to our strength which has been running the ball.
McLean County 4-3 (Class 3A, District 1) @ Webster County 4-2 (Class 3A, District 1)
Quick notes: Tonight, the Cougars travel to Webster County looking for their second straight win. They won last year’s matchup-handedly 30-16. Two weeks ago, they overcame blowing a late lead – beating Hopkins County Central in overtime.
Head coach Zach Wagner said: We are focused on getting another district win.
Both teams are tough physical teams that employ Wing T systems. All four of WC’s backs including their QB are a threat to pick up yardage on any given snap; they all carry out their fakes well and run extremely hard and physical.
We need to put together a complete game this week, from the start to finish.
Owensboro 4-3 (Class 5A, District 1) @ Muhlenberg County 1-6 (Class 5A, District 1)
Quick notes: Two weeks ago, the Red Devils overcame a trio of turnovers, thanks to Evan Hampton’s three touchdowns. Fresh from Fall Break, tonight Owensboro travels to Muhlenberg County, whom they blew out 62-6 a year ago.
Head coach Jay Fallin said: Were coming off of a bye week and we need to mitigate any rustiness. We have had a good week of practice and we want to come out and play clean.
They run the triple option. We have been working with our scout teams to focus on that all week. We have to get out there and be prepared to play fast. They run multiple fronts and we need to be ready.
We need to limit early mistakes and come out clean. We can still improve on all three phases of the game.
Owensboro Catholic 7-0 (Class 2A, District 2) @ Edmonson County 4-3 (Class 2A, District 2)
Quick notes: The Aces undefeated season continues and entered Fall Break on a high note. QB Brady Atwell’s ankle is 100 percent and the senior is back to full strength. Tonight, the Aces travel to Edmonson County, whom they beat handily a year ago 48-7.
Head coach Jason Morris said: Edmonson County is a vastly improved team, and we expect a tough game from them at their place. They are a hard nose football team and like to control the tempo with the running game.
Edmonson will try to play keep away while mixing in play action. Ground and pound. Defensively, they will be more of an even front-base defense, will look to keep everything in front of them, and hope we make mistakes.
Their running back is a big strong kid. He isn’t overly fast but has good instincts. We need to be ready to bring it when we tackle him. He also is one of the better players in their secondary. They do a good job of running their defensive system.
We will be who we are – running a spread offense and taking what they give us. Defensively, we will make sure we stop the run while not giving up big passing plays.
We had a good week of practice, and they showed great focus. I want to see us come out early and get a stop and not give up anything silly on special teams.
