The regular season ends tonight, and the local slate of games is highlighted by the city-county matchup of Daviess County hosting Apollo. Elsewhere, McLean County is home, while Hancock County, Owensboro, and Owensboro Catholic are all on the road.
Apollo 4-5 (Class 5A, District 1) @ Daviess County 1-8 (Class 6A, District 1)
The game won’t have any impact on the postseason standings, but that won’t make the game any less important for the longtime rivals.
“We need to finish out strong,” Apollo head coach John Edge said. “This is a rivalry game, and a win can give us momentum heading into the playoffs. We’ve beat Daviess County only once since 2012 and the kids are looking forward to this match.”
For the Panthers, it has been a rough year but the team is looking to put it together for a city-county win.
“We need to convert on first downs, believe in what is being called, and trust it,” Daviess County head coach Anthony Payton said. “The kids have worked so hard this year.”
Payton knows his team will have to make Apollo QB Maxwell Johnson uncomfortable in the pocket and limit him from rolling out.
The Eagles offense has found its stride recently, only having to punt once in each of their last two games. But Edge said he knows the offense isn’t perfect and has been working with them to clean up silly penalties.
Owensboro 6-3 (Class 5A, District 1) @ Henderson County 4-5 (Class 6A, District 1)
Quick notes: Fresh off of winning the district, the Red Devils enter their regular season finale against longtime rival Henderson County. Owensboro has dominated the rivalry as of late, having won last year 34-6.
Head coach Jay Fallin said: This is a very old rivalry, and we haven’t lost to them since 2014. It is almost always a good game and competitive. Over the years the teams are always good at the same time and it has resulted in very competitive games over the last decade and a half.
They are run first and are banged up at QB. They are now on their third QB of the season. He can run and has an impressive arm. They are big and aggressive upfront. Henderson is tough and well-coached on defense. They are aggressive and fly to the ball.
This game is important for momentum and RPI. We need to play better on defense than last week. We need to get off the field faster.
Owensboro Catholic 9-0 (Class 2A, District 2) @ North Hardin 7-2 (Class 6A, District 2)
Quick notes: A win tonight will almost guarantee the Aces home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and will mark their second straight season going undefeated in the regular season. Last week the Aces improved to 9-0 after blowing out Campbell County 50-0. QB Brady Atwell threw for over 200 yards and five touchdowns.
Head coach Jason Morris said: We’re expecting Friday night to be a packed house and great environment. It’s our first home game in almost a month. The kids know the implications of our RPI and winning this game will lock up the number one seed for the playoffs.
We are two very similar teams. Both run spread offenses and take what the defense gives. Defensively, they run a four-man front as their base but will switch to a three-man front when needed. I expect them to counter with different fronts depending on what is working for us.
Josiah Hope is their star defensive tackle and we have to do some special scheming to make sure he is blocked. He looks every bit of his size, can run, is big, and explosive. He is also athletic enough to also be an edge rusher. Similar to Hope, receiver Ronald Lunz is also getting looks all over the country. He lines up in the slot but also outside.
We need to improve our tackling in space and not giving up yards after contact will be crucial. Every game we have one silly turnover, and we need to eliminate that.
McLean County 6-3 (Class 3A, District 1) vs. Marshall County 3-6 (Class 5A, District 1)
Quick notes: The Cougars are on a three-game win streak thanks to their run game. Last week, Kamden Walters and Aden Bolden combined for over 200 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Tonight, McLean County hosts Marshall County, which they beat 38-17 a year ago.
Head coach Zach Wagner said: We will be significantly undersized compared to Marshall’s offensive and defensive fronts; we must be sound in execution and technique.
Marshall employs spread formations but likes to run some power schemes and throw out to the perimeter to get their tall receivers the ball in space. Both their offensive line and defensive line are massive compared to us in size.
We need to be able to get positive yardage on first down and not get behind schedule. Defensively, we cannot get beat in the secondary.
Hancock County 8-1 (Class 3A, District 1) @ Grayson County 7-2 (Class 5A, District 4)
Quick notes: A week after a loss to Union County, the Hornets bounced back big time by blowing out Hopkins County Central. QB Dylan Morris, who has been dangerous with his arm all season long, scored two touchdowns on the ground. Tonight, they travel to Grayson County, which the Hornets narrowly lost to a year ago, 15-14.
Head coach Bob Eubanks said: We just need to remain focused this week and keep improving as we end the season and head into the playoffs.
Grayson is a very good team. They like to establish the run and will also play action and boot to keep you off guard. Our style of play will be balanced; we want to be able to take what they give us either on the ground or through the air.
Kadan Hanshaw is their RB who is very good. As a team, they have rushed for almost 2,500 yards. Hanshaw and their QB Kolby Chaffins are their leading rushers and will be hard to contain.
