Week five features Apollo hosting Muhlenberg County, and Owensboro traveling to Graves County in a pair of district matches, while Owensboro Catholic hosts Bardstown. In other action, Daviess County, Hancock County, and McLean County are all on the road against Henderson County, Tell City, and Webster County.
Apollo (1-3) (Class 5A, District 1) Vs. Muhlenberg County (4-0) (Class 5A, District 1)
Quick notes: The Eagles are fresh off their first win of the season, beating Hanock County 42-7. QB Max Johnson threw for five touchdowns, including two to Landen Bratcher. Returning home, the Eagles will have their hands full with an undefeated Muhlenberg County team, whom they shutout a year ago 41-0.
Head Coach John Edge said: This will be a great matchup. Muhlenberg comes in 4-0. They are a very good team that is hungry. We are fast-paced, and they slow the game down with their option game.
We have to do a good job on Klay Wilken and force him to pitch the ball. Their defense is led by their leading tackler Zack Stewart. We have to get him blocked.
Daviess County (2-2) (Class 6A, District 2) @ Henderson County (1-2) (Class 6A, District 1)
Quick notes: The Panthers are back in the win column after blowing out Christian County 60-7 behind Ridge Roberts’ three rushing touchdowns. Tonight, they travel to Henderson County, whom they lost to a year ago, 35-7.
Head Coach Quadarius Wallace said: Despite being 1-2, Henderson County have played teams with a lot of talent and some very competitive teams. Their strong suit is defense.
Preparing for their run game will be big for us. We also need to look out for Hezekiah Harris. He’s a good receiver and goes up and gets the ball. It is always tough when you have bigger receivers who can go up and get it, especially when you don’t have super tall guys.
Their kicker Miles Pryor is really good, and he can boot it.
Offensively, we need to run the ball and take what they give us. If they give us a light box, we will need to run it, and if they give us a heavy box, maybe we throw the ball.
On defense, we need to create turnovers because when we do, good things happen. We also need to improve our tackling a bit.
Hancock County (3-1) (Class 2A, District 2) @ Tell City
Quick notes: The Hornets are looking to bounce back after falling to Apollo 42-7. Tonight, they travel to Tell City, whom they beat last year on the final possession of the game, 27-24.
Head Coach Robert Eubanks said: After last week’s tough loss to Apollo, we’re focused on regrouping and playing disciplined football. I expect our guys to come out hungry, execute cleanly, and compete for four quarters. Tell City’s a scrappy team, so we’ll need to match their physicality and stay sharp to get back in the win column.
This will be a hard-nosed, ground-and-pound battle. Tell City leans on a tough running game, and we’ll counter with our own physical yet balanced offensive attack. Both teams want to control the line and the clock. Defensively, we’ll focus on stopping their run and keeping plays in front of us to limit big gains.
Offensively, their running back, Brandon Casebolt, is a workhorse who can break games open. We’ll need to gang-tackle and limit his yards after contact.
Defensively, their front seven can be a problem as they are physical and quick guys who are hard to block. They play extremely hard against the run, and we are ready for a gritty road game.
McLean County (2-2) (Class 2A, District 2) @ Webster County (0-4) (Class 3A, District 1)
Quick notes: Last week, despite a strong second half, the Cougars were unable to dig themselves out of their early hole, losing 28-20 to Hart County. In the second half, Muhlenberg County had few answers for McLean County’s run game, with Aden Bolden rushing for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Tonight, they travel to Webster County, whom they beat a year ago 32-10.
Head Coach Zach Wagner said: We need to focus on our mental errors that were made last week and assure that they do not continue to happen. Both teams will look to run the ball this week.
Ty Phillips is a tough downhill runner and a force on defense.
Owensboro (2-2) (Class 5A, District 1) @ Graves County (1-3) (Class 5A, District 1)
Quick notes: The Red Devils have won two straight and are fresh off their first win in three years over rival Owensboro Catholic, 34-21. Evan Hampton had his best game of the season, rushing for 209 yards and three touchdowns, while the defense came away with two interceptions. Tonight, they travel to Graves Count, whom they beat a year ago 42-7.
Head Coach DaMarcus Ganaway said: Graves County is physical, and they have some athletes in some places that typically give us some challenges. Their QB is a game changer for them, and on defense, they have an outside linebacker, nickel-type player in their secondary, and around the box, who is the guy we definitely have to watch out for.
Our defense needs to continue to fly around and play well. Our defense has been doing a great job of flying around, reading their keys, and trusting in their preparation. The thing we have improved upon over hte last two weeks is tackling in space.
Our offense needs to expand on what we did last week. We are starting to put together consistent drives where the run game and pass game are starting to mesh. The production has been great lately.
Owensboro Catholic (3-1) (Class 2A, District 2) Vs. Bardstown (4-0) (Class 3A, District 4)
Quick notes: The Aces are looking to bounce back after falling to Owensboro, their first regular-season loss since the 2022 season. Against the Red Devils, Miles Edge scored all three of the team’s touchdowns, while the defense recovered a pair of fumbles. Tonight, they host an undefeated Bardstown team.
Head Coach Jason Morris said: I expect a similar type of game to last week. They are very talented with a lot of speed and are 4-0, playing with a lot of confidence. We’re expecting a battle.
The boys are locked in, focused, and resilient. It is good to see because both the junior and senior class had yet to experience a regular season loss as varsity players. I’m kind of interested and excited of the challange of adversity.
They are a spread offense and love to run jet sweeps and counters off of their jet sweeps. Their receivers have good speed, and they will try to get the ball out in space with screens. Their running back is very talented and skilled downhill and outside. He catches the ball well and is a solid high school running back.
Our defense needs to be perfect on their alignment and assignment. We have to tackle better and get more hats to the football.
On offense, we need to complete balls and move the sticks. We need to keep Dre’mail clean, and our receivers have to be able to play more physical. I am just looking for major improvement after last week.
