Finding the hole and seeing nothing but open space in front of him, Evan Hampton took the ball 57 yards to the house, pointed to the student section, and threw up his arms to flex. It was the exclamation point for Hampton, who finished with 187 rushing yards and three total touchdowns to power the Owensboro (6-3) to a 38-28 win over Madisonville-North Hopkins (6-3) at home Friday.
With a chance to win the district outright, the Red Devils knew what was at stake.
“If we won this game, we had an opportunity to host some playoff games and if we lost this game, we had an opportunity to go on the road,” Hampton said. “This game meant a lot to us, and for the preparation throughout the course of the week, this was everything for us.”
Starting with the ball, the Red Devils marched down the field before QB Trevor DeLacey threw a 28-yard strike to Cayden Ray for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Undeterred, the Maroons answered right back, thanks to a Markezz Hightower four-yard rushing touchdown.
DeLacey and company quickly got back to work and moved right down the field. Facing a third-and-11 from their own 36, DeLacey spun out of the pocket, ran to his right, and while signaling for his receiver to cut, hit him in stride for a 15-yard gain. After a Hampton 32-yard rushing touchdown was negated due to a block in the back, DeLacey found his start running back for an eight-yard score and a 14-7 lead.
Late in the second quarter, the Maroons tied it after a 17-yard rushing touchdown, but the Red Devils responded to take a 21-14 lead into halftime. DeLacey threw his third touchdown of the half from nine yards out.
At halftime, there was a special ceremony honoring the 50th anniversary of the Red Devils’ 1974 State Championship. With numerous alumni in attendance, the former players and coaches gathered at midfield and were introduced one by one.
Current head coach Jay Fallin has talked to his team numerous times about how special it is to be a Red Devil, dating back to the legacy the 1974 team left behind and all the way to 1895 when the football program was founded.
“It means everything to win the district in front of the alumni,” Hampton said. “Those guys gave everything they had for Owensboro High School. This school is a tradition of excellence and you come here to play major high school football. Tonight we took that with us, took some pride in that, and we wanted to play for those guys as much as we wanted to win this game.”
With 7:42 remaining in the third quarter, the Maroons tied the game on an eight-yard touchdown run. Just over four minutes later, the Red Devils retook the lead 28-21 on Hampton’s 57 rushing touchdown.
As had been the case all night, the Maroons struck right back, this time on another Hightower touchdown run from eight yards out. Getting back to work, the Red Devils marched deep into Maroon territory before stalling out and settling for a Romer Payne 31-yard field goal.
After struggling to get off the field for the majority of the second half, the Red Devils defense showed up when it mattered most – holding the Maroons to a three-and-out.
Just needing to run out the clock, Hampton iced the game with his third touchdown of the night, running it in from 25 yards out to put Owensboro up 10. With just over three minutes left and facing fourth-and-10, the Maroons turned it over on downs and the Red Devils ran out the clock.
DeLacey finished 14/19 for 211 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. The Red Devils accumulated 439 total yards and finished 5-9 on third downs. On defense, Owensboro forced a fumble and turnover on downs. The Maroons finished with 379 total yards and were also 5-9 on third downs.
“Tonight was so big for so many reasons,” Fallin said. “Were undefeated in the district and the one seed. This was a big game and a big win. I am just proud of the guys and happy for them to have a night like tonight.”
Next week the Red Devils travel to Henderson County for their regular season finale.
