An eager crowd roared as the clock hit zero. The Owensboro High School football teams were champions once again. Nearly four decades after their last title, the Red Devils were dominant in their Class 5A championship win on Saturday. The result may have never been in doubt, but that didn’t make the victory any less meaningful to the team and the OHS faithful who braved a chilly night at Kroger Field.
The Red Devils took care of Pulaski County 35-7 to win the Class 5A 2025 UK HealthCare Sports
Medicine State Football Finals. It’s their first Class 5A title, and their third state title overall.
“It was a great win. The team came out and did exactly what we expected to do,” Ganaway said. “It was a great game. All hats off to Pulaski. We knew it would be physical, but if we just focused on us, we were hoping this would be the outcome.”
Owensboro used a single key play to jump out to an early 7-0 lead. After OHS forced a punt on the Maroons’ opening drive, Kalil Shemwell ran backwards in an attempt to get to the outside, shrugged off being tripped up, and weaved his way 84 yards up the field to the house.
It set a record for the longest punt return for a touchdown, with the previous benchmark of 78 yards previously set in 1967 by Mount Sterling’s Hobert Owens.
“When I saw the ball drop into my hands, I just knew that I had to try my best to find open space and know that I could trust my teammates to find blockers for me,” Shemwell said. “I know I just have to trust my speed and my capabilities to break away.”
Owensboro’s defense then forced a second straight punt, but a bobbled catch allowed the Maroons to recover it on the Red Devils’ 20. A few plays later, Kasen Brock burst into the endzone from three yards out to tie the game.
The Red Devils answered right back when Evan Hampton found a seam and scampered 43 yards to paydirt, virtually untouched, for a 14-7 advantage.
Forcing another punt on Pulaski County’s ensuing drive, Owensboro seemed poised to run away with the game, but a fumble gave the ball back to Pulaski on their own 46. However, OHS forced and recovered a fumble to regain possession on their own 20.
From there, Owensboro was nearly able to score at will. With the final seconds ticking and no timeouts, OHS went hurry-up, and Hampton dove over the goal line on the last play of the first half.
“In that moment, I kind of just reflected back on all the work we put in throughout the course of the season,” Hampton said. “No one was going to stop me.”
Just 91 seconds into the third quarter, Owensboro pushed the lead to 28-7 when quarterback DaMarcus Ganaway Jr. connected with a wide-open Chadyn Morris from 41 yards. Five minutes later, Hampton iced the game and completed his hat trick, running it in from three yards out.
Hampton finished the game with 91 rushing yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries, while Ganaway Jr. was 13-18 for 166 yards and a touchdown. Dillard led the Red Devils in receiving, hauling in seven catches for 82 yards.
Ty Ashley recorded a team-high 14 tackles, Tee Green and Amare Roney both picked off passes, and Jayden Adams recovered a fumble.
The Red Devils’ win over Pulaski County capped off a dominant postseason run in which the Red Devils outscored opponents 229-41 and never once trailed.
“We want to continue this,” Ganaway said. “We don’t want it to be another 39 years before we get back here.”
