Football Preview Week 11: What you need to know about this week’s games

The regular season ends tonight, and the highlight of the local game lineup is the Daviess County City-County matchup hosting Apollo. Elsewhere, McLean County is home, with Hancock County, Owensboro and Owensboro Catholic all on the way.

Apollo 4-5 (Class 5A, District 1) @ Davis County 1-8 (Class 6A, District 1)

The game won’t have any impact on the playoff standings, but that won’t make the game any less important for the longtime rivals.

“We need to finish strong,” Apollo head coach John Edge said. “It’s a rivalry game and a win could give us momentum heading into the playoffs. We’ve only beaten Davis County once since 2012 and the boys are looking forward to this matchup.”

It’s been a tough year for the Panthers, but the team is looking to rally it around for a win over City and County.

“We need to convert first downs, believe in what they call and trust it,” Davis County head coach Anthony Payton said. “The kids have worked so hard this year.”

Payton knows his team will have to make Apollo QB Maxwell Johnson uncomfortable in the pocket and limit his ability to roll out.

The Eagles offense has been hitting its stride lately, only having to score once in each of the last two games. But Edge said he knows the offense isn’t perfect and is working with them to eliminate stupid penalties.

Owensboro 4-3 (Class 5A District 1) @ Henderson County 4-5 (Class 6A District 1)

Quick Notes: Fresh off a district win, the Red Devils head into the regular season finale against longtime rival Henderson County. Owensboro has dominated this competition as of late, winning last year 34-6.

Head Coach Jay Fallin said: This is a very long-standing rivalry, and we have not lost to them since 2014. It’s almost always a good game and a competitive game. Over the years, teams have always been good at the same time, and this has led to very competitive games over the last decade and a half.

They are run first and get hit at QB. They are currently on their third QB of the season. He can run and has an impressive arm. They are big and aggressive in attack. Henderson is strong and well-coached on defense. They are aggressive and fly towards the ball.

This game is important for dynamics and RPI. We need to play better defense than we did last week. We need to leave the field quickly.

Owensboro Catholic 7-0 (Class 2A, District 2) @ North Hardin 7-2 (Class 6A, District 2)

Quick Notes: A win tonight would all but guarantee the A’s home field advantage throughout the playoffs and would mark their second straight undefeated regular season. The Aces improved to 9-0 last week after beating Campbell County 50-0. QB Brady Atwell threw for over 200 yards and five touchdowns.

Head Coach Jason Morris said: We’re expecting a packed house and a great atmosphere on Friday night. This is our first home game in almost a month. The kids know the value of our RPI and a win in this game will secure the number one seed in the playoffs.

We are two very similar teams. Both attack with spread and take what the defense gives. Defensively, they use a four-man front as their base, but switch to a three-man front when necessary. I expect them to fight on different fronts depending on what works for us.

Josiah Hope is their star defender and we need to come up with some kind of special plan to make sure he is blocked. He looks about his size, can run, is big and explosive. He is also athletic enough to be a fast player. Like Hope, receiver Ronald Luntz is also popular across the country. He lines up in the slot but also outside.

We need to improve our ability to tackle space and not giving up yards after contact will be critical. We have one stupid failure every game and we need to eliminate that.

McLean County 4-3 (Class 3A, District 1) vs. Marshall County 3-6 (Class 5A, District 1)

Quick Notes: Thanks to their running game, the Cougars are on a three-game winning streak. Camden Walters and Aden Bolden combined for over 200 yards and five touchdowns last week. Tonight McLean County hosts Marshall County, who they beat 38-17 a year ago.

Head Coach Zach Wagner said: We will be significantly outnumbered compared to Marshall’s offensive and defensive fronts; we must be reliable in execution and technique.

Marshall uses spread formations, but prefers to use some power formations and throw the ball around the perimeter to get his tall receivers to put the ball in space. Their offensive line and defensive line are huge compared to us in size.

We need to be able to get a positive result on the first run and stay on schedule. Defensively, we can’t lose in the secondary.

Hancock County 7-1 (Class 3A, District 1) @ Grayson County 7-2 (Class 5A, District 4)

Quick Notes: A week after losing to Union County, the Hornets bounced back in a big way to beat Hopkins County Central. QB Dylan Morris, who has been dangerous with his arm all season, scored two touchdowns on the ground. Tonight they travel to Grayson County, which the Hornets narrowly lost to a year ago, 15-14.

Head coach Bob Eubanks said: We just need to stay focused this week and continue to improve as we finish the season and get into the playoffs.

Grayson is a very good team. They enjoy running around and will also play action and load up to keep you off guard. Our style of play will be balanced; we want to be able to take what we are given, either on the ground or in the air.

Kadan Hanshaw is their RB and is very good. As a team, they rushed for nearly 2,500 yards. Hanshaw and their QB Colby Chaffins are their leading players and will be difficult to contain.