Week seven features a plethora of important district games, including Hancock County traveling to Owensboro Catholic. In other action, Owensboro, Daviess County, Apollo, and McLean County are all hosting home games.
Hancock County (4-2) (Class 2A, District 2) @ Owensboro Catholic (5-1) (Class 2A, District 2)
For the first time since 2022, Owensboro Catholic and Hancock County are set to square off. The Aces were battling illness early on in the week, but they enter tonight with the same mindset they have had all season long.
“We have responded well the last two weeks, and we want to keep the same focus and not regress,” Owensboro Catholic Head Coach Jason Morris said. “We are trying to play what we call Owensboro Catholic football and not play down or up to anyone’s level. We just need to be us and make teams beat us. So far we have been really focused at practice.”
The Hornets are looking to bounce back after dropping a tight game to Union County last Friday. They are aware of the numerous offensive weapons at the Aces’ disposal and understand it won’t be an easy battle.
“Carothers is very good at throwing the football, and their receivers do an even better job at finding open space,” Hancock County Head Coach Robert Eubanks said. “The only real way to limit their offense is to try and keep them off the field. Miles Edge is the one that makes their offense go. He’s very good at running the football. He’s a fast, physical player that can break tackles and make you miss. He also is a great receiver out of the backfield.”
The Hornets also have their fair share of offensive weapons including QB Brady Eubanks and Cooper Jones – whom is a threat on both sides of the ball.
“We need to keep eyes and hats on Eubanks and make sure everyone is gap sound in everything we do,” Morris said. “We need to know that when he does scramble, who is responsible for the quarterback, so we don’t lose people in coverage at the same time. Cooper is definitely an all-area football player. He is their big speed threat and plays free safety on defense. He is really aggressive when going to get the ball when it is in the air.”
Eubanks acknowledged that it will also be tough to keep the Aces’ defense off-balanced.
“It’s hard to do,” Eubanks said. “They have seen everything at this point and have done a really good job on defense throughout the year.”
Apollo (2-4) (Class 5A, District 1) Vs. Graves County (1-5) (Class 5A, District 1)
Quick Notes: The Eagles will look to bounce back after losing to Owensboro 42-14 last week. Tonight, they take on Graves County, whom they lost to a year ago, 46-28.
Head Coach John Edge said: I expect us to clean up penalties and play a lot better than we did last week.
Both teams run a high-tempo offense. I think the game will be played fast and both teams will play hard to secure playoff spots. Their nose tackle, Kobe Thomas, is as good as a nose then anyone we have played.
We have to stop their QB Jace Houston and their running back Brady Rozzell.
Daviess County (3-3) (Class 6A, District 2) Vs. Central Hardin (0-6) (Class 6A, District 2)
Quick Notes: After dropping a heartbreaker to Henderson County 7-6, the Panthers took care of business against McLean County in a game that came down to the wire. Ridge Roberts rushed for 186 yards and three touchdowns, and the defense forced a late turnover to help preserve the win. Tonight, they host Central Hardin.
Head Coach Quadarius Wallace said: Central Hardin are a gun team and are fairly balanced on the way they run and throw the ball. They look like a bigger team on film. Big on both sides of the line, their skill players are big, and their QB is a huge back.
On defense, they run a three-man front and will sometimes run a five-man front. Coverage-wise, they play some man, cover 2, and cover 3. They fly around on defense as well.
I want to see our offense continue to dominate the line of scrimmage to allow us to run the ball. Offensively, I want to continue to dominate the line of scrimmage so we can run the ball effectively. I want us to take opportunities in the pass game when they are presented to us.
Defensively, we need to continue to swarm to the football. Last week I feel like we did a really good job of getting a lot of guys to the football and I felt like that helped us.
We need to eliminate mistakes, we can’t turn it over, and we need to force turnovers.
McLean County (3-3) (Class 2A, District 2) Vs. Fort Knox (3-3) (Class 2A, District 2)
Quick Notes: The Cougars’ run game impressed in last week’s 29-20 loss to Daviess County, rushing for 232 yards and three touchdowns. Tonight, they start district play against Fort Knox, whom they haven’t played since 2002.
Head Coach Zach Wagner said: We still need to clean up some self-inflicted penalties and work on being detailed on both sides of the ball.
Fort Knox has some athletes that can be dangerous in open space and must be contained. We will continue to do what we do. Jaylen Irish and Vaughn Fielding Chiles Jr. are their top two guys that we need to be aware of.
Owensboro (4-2) (Class 5A, District 1) Vs. Marshall County (3-3) (Class 5A, District 1)
Quick Notes: After starting the season 0-2, the Red Devils have won four straight and are fresh off beating Apollo 42-14. Evan Hampton was nearly unstoppable, rushing for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Tonight, they host Marshall County, whom they beat a year ago, 21-14.
Head Coach DaMarcus Ganaway said: Practice has been great this week. We cleaned up some things on film – some missed opportunities and missed assignments.
Marshall County is hard-nosed, and they will come out and be aggressive. They tackle well and have great linebacker play. We need to keep an eye out for Wyatt Holey. He seems to fly around and is all over the place. We have to read our keys, and we can’t allow their QB Neyland Jezik to get into a rhythm.
Our defense needs to be able to stop the run. That will be important for us on the back half stretch of the season. We are seeing teams like Marshall, Muhlenberg, Madisonville, and Henderson. All four of those teams are physical, and Marshall is definitely a start. If we aren’t physical, they will hit us in the mouth and be able to stay in the game and oppose a challenge for us.
Our offense just needs to continue to execute. They are in a great spot right now, and they have had a lot of rhythm. Evan is doing a great job this year and in this spot right now, especially of staying with it. Early in the game, you have a lot of eyes, and they are keying on him. He’s only picking up short gains, but he has been very patient and understanding that we are wearing teams down. When he sees a hole, he’s shot out of a cannon on some of those runs when he can get into the open field.
