Eyeing that he had two players to beat, Owensboro freshman Peter Mbayo made his move, dekeing past Daviess County’s defense and ripping it from 40 yards out, beating goalie Harrison Dunaway for a 3-1 lead in the district nine championship game. Turning around, Mbayo sprinted toward his sideline and jumped in the air to celebrate, while the Red Devils fan’s cheers echoed around the arena.
Mbayu finished the game with two goals and two assists to lead Owensboro past Daviess County for their first district title in over a decade.
“Peter was huge. That shot he had from far out was tremendous,” Owensboro head coach Ryan Haley said. “He’s a special player. He really is. He’s the type of player who can change the game and we are just happy he’s on our side.”
The Panthers opened the scoring, with Cameron Bell scoring in the first 10 minutes. Halfway through the first half, off a feed from Mbayu, Denis Juma tied it for Owensboro. Shooting at the middle of the goal, Dunaway was in position to make the save, but the shot went right through his hands.
In the 38th minute, a recently subbed in Byaruhanga Mutabazi broke the scoreless tie to give the Red Devils a 2-1 lead entering halftime. The second half was the Mbayo show, with the 14-year-old scoring both of his goals in the 54th and 69th minutes.
The district championship game was the tale of two different programs – the Red Devils who over the past decade couldn’t get over the hump that was Daviess County and the Panthers who have won the last 11 straight district titles. This time, the Panthers finally bested their longtime rivals.
“It feels excellent. This is something we’ve wanted for a long time,” Haley said. “Something I have personally wanted and it has been one of my goals to win a district title. We haven’t been able to do so because Daviess County has been pretty difficult to get past. Our team has worked hard in order to compete and prevent the Panthers from winning 12 in a row.”
The Panthers entered the match with multiple key players out with injuries and lost a few more throughout the game. With regionals starting next week, Daviess County hopes to have multiple players back before the start of the tournament as they look to win their 11th straight regional title.
Later this week the seeding will be announced for both the boys’ and girls’ regionals tournaments and the Red Devils will find out if they will be awarded one of the two byes.
