Owensboro High School broke through against crosstown rival Owensboro Catholic for the first time in three years Friday night, using a dominant second-half surge and a stingy defense to earn a 34-21 victory in front of a packed house at Rash Stadium.
The atmosphere was electric. Maybe it was the Red Devils’ new sound system booming “Swag Surf” across the crowd, but head coach DaMarcus Ganaway said his team’s grit that carried the night.
“Man, I’m just excited. I’m proud and happy for the boys,” Ganaway said. “They’ve been working hard for it. It was a big game, and I think they proved to themselves that we can get the job done on any given night.”
Catholic struck first when senior running back Miles Edge scored from a yard out midway through the second quarter, giving the Aces a 7-0 lead. Owensboro answered minutes later as senior Evan Hampton broke multiple tackles on a 35-yard touchdown run to tie it at 7.
The score stayed even through halftime, but the Red Devils seized control with a 27-point third quarter. Hampton opened the surge with a 10-yard touchdown, then followed it up with a 72-yard sprint down the sideline.
Quarterback DaMarcus Ganaway Jr. kept it himself for a 2-yard touchdown before connecting with Chris Coy on a 25-yard strike to make it 34-7 late in the third.
Hampton finished with 208 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries, while Ganaway accounted for two scores through the air and on the ground.
“Nothing really changed, just halftime adjustments, trusting our guys and executing,” Ganaway said. “The run game kept getting positive yardage, and then Kingston Dillard and some of our screens gave us a spark.”
Owensboro’s defense forced two turnovers — including a key interception by Ty Ashley in the third quarter — and repeatedly stalled Catholic’s offense in critical spots.
“We’ve won the turnover battle these past two weeks, and that’s been crucial,” Ganaway said. “We practice it every day, and it’s starting to show up on the field.”
Ashley led the defense with 12 total tackles, three of them for loss, while Xavier Conrad added seven stops and two tackles for loss.
The Aces mounted a rally in the fourth quarter behind Edge, who punched in his second touchdown after an Owensboro fumble gave Catholic the ball deep in Red Devil territory. That cut the margin to 34-21 with just over two minutes left, but Owensboro recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
Catholic head coach Jason Morris credited the Red Devils for capitalizing on opportunities but said his team didn’t execute well enough.
“I knew in the first drive of the game, when they didn’t have a cornerback out there and we didn’t score a touchdown, we were in for a long night,” Morris said. “You have to execute and not give a team like that momentum at home. We allowed them to stick around when we could have taken care of the game in the first half.”
The loss was Catholic’s first in the regular season in nearly 30 games, something Morris said will test his senior group.
“These guys have never experienced a regular-season loss as starters,” he said. “Now they get their first test of seeing what kind of team they really are. I’m excited for the challenge.”
Owensboro (2-2) will travel to Graves County next Friday, while Owensboro Catholic (3-1) will host Bardstown.
