Owensboro’s defense and special teams shined once again, using a strong first half to defeat Muhlenberg County 65-13.
The Red Devils took no time getting on the board in this contest, as a pick-six from sophomore Javion Robinson made it 7-0 less than 30 seconds into the game.
Special teams got involved minutes later, as senior Maurice Moorman took the punt from the 45 and put Owensboro up 14-0 with 9:44 left in the first quarter.
The Red Devils offense finally took the field after the Mustangs next drive, with junior quarterback Kasey Boone finding junior Khalil Rogers to make it 21-0 with 5:53 left in the first quarter.
Muhlenberg County showed signs of life with a pick-six by senior Brayden Lovan to make it 21-7, but that didn’t deter Owensboro.
Senior Javius Taylor took a handoff 28 yards on the Red Devils following drive, making it 28-7 with 4 minutes left in the first quarter.
Rogers came through for Owensboro again minutes later, this time returning a punt 50 yards to make it a 35-7 game.
Just as the first quarter seemed to be coming to a close, junior Ethan Pendleton sacked the quarterback for a safety to make it 37-7.
Shortly after Boone connected with junior Jeremiah Goodwin for a 15-yard TD to make it 44-7 with 59.8 left in the first quarter and running clock being enforced.
The Red Devils kept things going in the second half, as a pick from Taylor led to a three-yard rushing touchdown from freshman Deion Winstead to take a 51-7 lead going into the locker room.
Senior Tramel Barksdale expanded on their lead in the second half, as he bullied his way 43 yards to the endzone to take a 58-7 lead early in the third quarter.
Both teams found the endzone once more before the game came to a close, with Owensboro inevitably walking away with the 65-13 victory with a dominant performance on both ends of the field.
Coming off of back-to-back strong defensive weeks, Head Coach Jay Fallin was pleased with his team’s efforts.
“[We] obviously executed very well on defense and special teams at first again,” Fallin said. “Almost sort of like deja vu from the beginning of the game last week.”
After three straight games where the Red Devils forced a running clock, they will have a tough matchup against Graves County.
Fallin is concerned with the lack of offensive game reps they’ve gotten lately because of defensive dominance. While they know they can’t perfectly replicate live game action, the depth that the Red Devils have will help them prepare for the Eagles over the next week and a half.
“I think that we’re close to platooned…” Fallin said. “People think that the only goal of platooning offense and defense is so that you’re fresher at the end of the game. That’s part of it. The bigger part of it is the amount of reps you get in practice and the amount of competition you can create in practice. Because you can go one offense on one defense and you can get a pretty good live look.”
Fallin and company know that Graves County’s offense is a potent one, but they are ready for the tough challenge on the road.
“Clint is as good as anybody in the backfield,” Fallin said. “They graduated a lot of offensive lineman, but of course we’ve been studying them as a coaching staff for weeks now and they’re still good up front. Quarterback is good, receivers are good. They’ll be as good an offense as we have faced this year. We’re excited for the challenge.”
Fallin is giving the team until Wednesday off to recharge, as they hope to be rested up and fresh as they prepare for their game against Graves County at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 15.
