Daviess County suffered a 36-6 defeat that knocked them out of the playoffs and ended their season on a heartbreaking note. The Panthers managed to make plays on offense and defense late into the game, but it was too little too late.
Daviess County started their first with flag trouble that saw them punt at the end of the drive. They failed to contain Central Hardin and they opened the scoring with a 10-yard rushing touchdown. Hardin’s interception on the Panthers next drive put them back on defense to try and stop them from getting a comfortable lead early on.
A 29-yard rushing touchdown by the Bruins late in the first quarter extended their lead at the end of the first quarter to 15-0 after a successful two-point conversion.
Central Hardin utilized their rushing the most they could in the first half, and it landed them another touchdown off a short rush into the endzone. Another two-point conversion saw their lead at 23-0 early in the second quarter.
DCHS would often progress up the field and string together multiple plays and first downs, but they couldn’t escape the Bruins defense that had three interceptions on the night. Panthers head coach Matt Brannon said mistakes led to these untimely turnovers.
“We’ve played really clean football, but just weren’t able to capitalize tonight,” he said. “There were just too many mistakes, and you can’t make mistakes like this in this type of a game with this type of a team. They’ll make you pay every time.”
The Panthers began to gain their footing on offense later in the quarter. Their rushing and multiple receptions got them multiple first downs and moved them up the field. Their progression was stunted by an interception that gave them the ball on their own 47-yard line. The score going into halftime was 23-0.
Early in the third quarter, Central Hardin scored from a 14-yard touchdown pass taking the score to 29-0. Daviess County recovered the second of two fumbles they forced, but Brannon said the big turnovers came too little too late.
“It was just too little too late,” he said. “We just couldn’t overcome the size and strength of them. I’m proud of the way the team fought to the end. We finally slowed them down a little bit, but we couldn’t get it going offensively.”
It wasn’t until after the Bruins scored their final touchdown from a 14-yard rush did DCHS find success in the endzone.
On the opposing six-yard line, DCHS quarterback Luke Floyd was forced to scramble back to about the 15-yard line before he let a pass fly that found Tyson Sherron in the endzone. This put the final score at 36-6.
After a rough 0-3 start to the season, the Panthers fought back to end their season with a record of 6-6. Brannon expressed his pride in the team and progressed and believed in one another along the way.
“I’m very proud of the way we finished,” he said. “The guys believed in each other and in us. We continued to fight and get better each day. Ultimately, the results showed out on the field. That’s what you want to ask out of your seniors and your leaders.”
“They put themselves in positions to be successful down the road. The adversity they faced earlier in the year is only going to be a great life lesson for them moving forward. You never give up on it even when times are tough. You continue to work hard and work through it, and that’s what those guys did. We were able to put together six wins when nobody thought we could do it, so I’m very proud of them.”
