The Daviess County football team executed in all three phases to roll to a 43-19 win over crosstown rival Apollo in the final game of the regular season Friday.
The offense was clicking from the start, the defense got several stops, and the special teams came up big to help the Panthers (6-4) stymie the Eagles (5-5). Daviess County head coach Matt Brannon said he didn’t have any trouble motivating his team.
“If you can’t get up for a Daviess County-Apollo rivalry game, then you’re playing in the wrong sport,” he said. “Our guys really wanted it. They’ve been practicing really well, and things have been coming together really well.”
Brannon said the Panthers’ main focus was to stop the dangerous ground game of Apollo, and they were mostly successful.
“We felt like if we could stop their run game, then we’d been in great shape,” he said. “That’s what we did. We played really well up front on both sides of the ball. I can’t say any more about the way they played tonight.”
The Eagles did score each of their touchdowns on rushing plays, though it wasn’t enough to keep up with the aerial assault of the Panthers.
Marvin Ramirez gave Apollo a brief lead when he scored on a 4th-and-6 from the Eagles’ 49-yard line just more than 2 minutes into the game.
Daviess County’s quick drive was capped off with a 10-yard pass from Joey Cambron to Blake Baker to even the score. Minutes later, a snap sailed over the head of the Apollo punter, who kicked the ball through the endzone for a Daviess County safety. The Panthers went up 9-7 and never looked back.
Alex Nalley caught a 10-yard touchdown pass late in the quarter, and Marquel Tinsley took a screen pass 74 yards for a score early in the second.
Ramirez added his second touchdown on a short run with 34 seconds left in the half to cut he lead to 22-13.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Brannon said. “We knew if we could extend the lead and make them play from behind, that they’d get away from grinding the ball. They’re a great run team with a big offensive line.”
Neither team had much going to start the second half, but Blake Baker and JQ Fletcher caught touchdown passes for Daviess County in the final four minutes of the third quarter.
Shane Riley added a touchdown run early in the fourth, and the final Apollo score came with 5:09 to play when backup quarterback Damian Lovinsky scrambled for a 22-yard score on 4th-and-2.
The Panthers also got help on special teams, recovering a couple of onside kicks as well as keeping possession on a punt after the ball bounced off an Apollo player.
“It just goes into preparation for us,” Brannon said. “We’ve gotten better every week. We want to be playing our best football as we go into playoffs. I felt like we played a complete game tonight.”
Brannon said one player who’s been playing especially well is Cambron, who struggled at times early in the season.
“He’s playing at the highest level he’s played in a long time, probably all season,” Brannon said. “He made great reads all night. He did what he had to do. He wasn’t greedy. That’s what we have to have going into a really tough game next week.”
The Panthers will hit road for the first round of the state tournament. They will take on Louisville Ballard (6-4) Friday night. Brannon said he hasn’t seen much film on the Bruins, but he knows they have size.
“I know they’re big physical guys,” he said. “We’ve got to get over traveling to Louisville, but our guys are ready to play. They are poised to make a run in the playoffs. We have to go down there and play great defense and execute on offense. We have a shot to beat anybody.”
Apollo will also travel for their first game of the playoffs. They’ll take on South Warren (10-0), whose closest call was a 39-22 win over Warren Central in week two.
