In a must-win game for Apollo, it was utter domination from start to finish. The Eagles (5-4, 1-3 Class 5A District 1) blew out Marshall County 50-7 in a contest where both team’s postseason fate hung in the balance.
The Marshals (3-6, 0-4 Class 5A District 1) never really put up a fight, mustering their only score of the night with just under three minutes left in the game.
Head coach Phil Hawkins felt the blowout wasn’t out of character for his squad. Instead, he felt it was simply a return to form for a team who caught some unfortunate breaks in some narrow defeats over the last month.
“Tonight was definitely better than last week,” Hawkins said. “The Christian County game was really a comedy of errors. However, I feel like we are a different team than what the last four games have shown. We just needed for them to see that. Like I was telling the kids, for the weather, 50 points was a really good night, and I’m really proud of them.”
Apollo got off to a fast start in their high-scoring effort. On the initial drive of the game, Marshall County quarterback Ty Buchmeier fumbled the ball on the 50-yard line, where Eagles’ linebacker Cameron Baker scooped it up and returned it all the way to the end zone for the touchdown.
Just two minutes later, senior linebacker Quentin Miller came up with another fumble recovery for Apollo. The ensuing drive was capped 43 seconds later on a 19-yard touchdown reception by Gage Hayden, and that was already more than enough to get the win.
Mariano McKenzie added a 20-yard score later in the quarter, and he got another touchdown on an 8-yard run with 6 seconds to play in the half.
The second half belonged to Marvin Ramirez, who handled the brunt of the ground game for the Eagles while McKenzie continues to nurse a lingering hamstring issue. Ramirez, who usually plays on the defensive side of the ball, ran for more than 100 yards and two scores.
On his third-quarter touchdown runs of 25 and 30 yards, Ramirez also successfully converted two-point conversions. Hawkins was proud of the senior, who he says the team has been working with daily in hopes to get him acclimated to a larger offensive role.
“It was good to see Ramirez have success tonight,” Hawkins said. “We’ve been working with him in practice, and he is a grown man. I’m sure Marshall County was surprised to see him have so much success, because the only carry he’d had prior to this game was in the Christian County game. He fumbled the ball and that was the end of it.”
The Eagles gave up the late score to the Marshalls, but Apollo’s Brandon Husk returned the following kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown.
The offense had a good night in the rushing game (362 yards) and were led by Ramirez (152) and McKenzie (96 yards). Quarterback Colby Clark went 6-for-9 with 63 yards and a touchdown, and Sam Parm had one interception on defense.
Apollo will be back in action this week as they make a short trip to take on crosstown rivals Daviess County. The Panthers (5-4, 2-2 Class 6A District 1) rolled past Ohio County for a district Friday night.
