The rivalry between Owensboro and Bowling Green football deepened Friday night, with the Red Devils again falling to the Purples in the playoffs, this time 27-14. Red zone troubles plagued Owensboro, as they left empty-handed twice due to interceptions.
“We had a couple of red zone opportunities, and we just didn’t come away with points,” Owensboro head coach Jay Fallin said. “In championship games, you need to finish in the red zone. Credit to them because I have always said championship teams play great red zone defense.”
After each team punted on their first possession, Bowling Green meticulously marched down the field before Jaxen Smith ran it in from five yards out to give the Purples a 7-0 lead. The Red Devils were unable to respond, going three-and-out before punting it to midfield.
A few plays into the drive, Purples QB Deuce Bailey threw a screen pass to Trevy Barber, which he was able to take 50 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead. After picking up an early first down on their ensuing drive, a sack derailed everything, and Owensboro was forced to punt.
Bowling Green quickly marched deep into Owensboro territory thanks to the run game and short passes. Facing a first-and-goal from the Owensboro three, the Purples were tackled for a loss. On second down, a touchdown was negated by a personal foul penalty, pushing them back to the 21. From there, the drive stalled, and Bowling Green kicked a field goal to take a 17-0 lead.
Needing a spark Evan Hampton, delivered, returning the kickoff to the Purples’ 47. With seven minutes left in the quarter, QB Trevor DeLacey led his offense down the field, picking up two fourth-down conversions, including a four-yard touchdown to Kingston Dillard to cut the lead to 17-7 with 50 seconds remaining in the half.
Starting with the ball in the second half, Owensboro fumbled a few plays into their opening drive, leading to a Bowling Green field goal for a 20-7 lead. The second half was full of Red Devils miscues, as they had four total turnovers, including a pick at Bowling Green’s one-yard line and another in the end zone.
Neither team scored for the remainder of the third quarter. Just less than two minutes into the final frame, DeLacey found Kingston Dillard from seven yards out to cut the OHS deficit to 20-14.
Needing a stop, Owensboro’s defense was unable to get off the field. Bailey led Bowling Green deep into Red Devil territory before icing the game on a 30-yard touchdown pass with 7:28 left in the game. OHS was unable to respond and eventually turned it over on downs before the Purples ran out the clock.
DeLacey completed 18 of 31 passes for 220 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions while Evan Hampton finished with a team-high 51 rushing yards. Bailey completed seven of 13 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns, while the Purple’s run game accumulated 179 yards and a touchdown.
Despite the loss, the Red Devils left everything out on the field, an aspect Fallin was proud to see from his players.
“We can take solace in the fact that I thought we fought our butts off until the very end,” Fallin said. “That is a very good offense and after the first few series, we frustrated them all night. We made them fight to earn everything. We knew they were strong on defense and points were going to be hard to come by.”
