Capping off the end of the regular season, Apollo is set to host Daviess County in an important city county match, while Hancock County is on the road. In other action, McLean County, Owensboro, and Owensboro Catholic are all at home.
Apollo (5-4) (Class 5A, District 1) Vs. Daviess County (4-5) (Class 6A, District 2)
Riding a three game win streak, the Eagles enter the final game of the season looking to beat Daviess County for a second straight year.
“This is a rivalry game so both teams will be ready and amped up for this game,” Apollo Head Coach John Edge said. “Both teams will expect to win this game.”
QB Max Johnson has been dominant down the stretch, scoring nine total touchdowns over the team’s last two games. Entering tonight, Daviess County Head Coach Quadarius Wallace wants to see his defense contain the star QB.
“Johnson is a good player,” Wallace said. “He can make plays with his legs and make plays outside of the pocket. He can make things happen by scrambling and he does a good job of keeping his eyes downfield, so we have to contain him.”
Wallace emphasized that his defense will also have to keep their eyes on Landen Bratcher and Ehmadjai Badger at all times, while also stopping the run.
For Apollo, Edge wants his defense to know where Jace Hunt is at all times.
“He could be in the slot, out wide, or in the backfield,” Edge said. “Sometimes he is a wildcat QB. So, we need to know where he is at all times because he’s going to get the ball a lot. They have other players in Ridge Roberts and Hunter Corbin as well.”
Hancock County (7-2) (Class 2A, District 2) @ Bethlehem (4-5) (Class 1A, District 2)
Quick notes: The Hornets are fresh off a dominant 62-13 win over Fort Knox, which saw the ground game rush for 313 yards and six touchdowns. Tonight, they travel to Bethlehem.
McLean County (4-5) (Class 2A, District 2) Vs. Ohio County (2-7)
Quick notes: The Cougars are looking to bounce back after falling to Owensboro Catholic last week. Tonight they host Ohio County, whom they beat a year ago 44-6.
Head Coach Zach Wagner said: They will be riding high, as this is their last game of the season and they have ripped off two weeks of wins.
Isiah Cook will be someone to keep an eye on; he plays both OL and DL. He is a force on the DL and their best pulling lineman.
Owensboro (7-2) (Class 5A, District 1) Vs. Henderson County (4-5) (Class 6A, District 1)
Quick notes: Since starting the season 0-2, the Red Devils have won seven straight and are fresh off beating Madisonville-North Hopkins for the district title. DaMarcus Ganaway threw for 395 yards and six touchdowns, and the defense forced three turnovers. Tonight, they host Henderson County, whom they beat last year 28-14.
Head Coach DaMarcus Ganaway said: Henderson County is physical, and we will be a little undersized in the box. We will need to play our best to attack the line of scrimmage and stop the run. Their QB is pretty athletic, and their running back is pretty stout and hard to tackle. All eyes need to be on where they are supposed to be in the box, and making sure we are reading our keys and knowing exactly what we can get from those two.
I want our offense to continue rolling like they did last week. Efficiency is key for us and it has been weeks since we have punted with our first team offense. I think third downs are the biggest thing for us.
I want our defense to come with the same energy and mentality that they had last week. Last week we had all 11 guys flying to the football.
Owensboro Catholic (7-1) (Class 2A, District 2) Vs. Elizabethtown (7-2) (Class 4A, District 2)
Quick notes: The Aces are fresh off another District Championship title and are looking to end the regular season on a high note. Tonight, they host Elizabethtown, whom they haven’t played since 2022.
Head Coach Jason Morris said: Elizabethtown is a very talented, but young team. They are having a good season and will come looking to pull off an upset. The future looks bright with how young they are.
Their offense is similar to us, but they might be more run-focused. A lot of the plays that they run are similar to us. The fact that they like to screen you and they will also mix in the pass and run very well.
The main thing we need to do defensively is to continued to get aligned properly. What I want to see is us making sure we are where we’re supposed to be and tackling better.
They run a 4-2 base defense and a lot of one-high cover three. They will also go to a three-man front on second and third and long situations.
Our offense will have to continue to take what they give us, and we can’t try to score on every single play. If that is taking shots over their head, we will do that, but for the most part, we just need to catch the football in space and make them tackle us.
