Final.

I thought tournament time might get a little interesting in this region.

:popcorn:

What an incredible atmosphere last night in the Sportscenter. Over 5,000 in attendance. It was incredible. 6 D-1 coaches in attendance. One coach was heard saying, it was the most talent he had seen on a court for a high school game in a long time. Apollo is gelling at the right time and this game was really not as close as the 6 points. No doubt these two teams will play again next Tuesday night in the Regional Championship game.

First of all, it was GREAT to see that many people at the Sportscenter again. I would guess it was the biggest crowd for a high school game in Owensboro in quite some time. That's nice to see. Im also glad there were so many D1 coaches there, because I felt like the action in this game finally lived up to the hype of the two teams a little bit.

 

As a Apollo fan, all I can say is, FINALLY! The Eagles showed up and played with unbelievable energy. While out sized, they were not outworked. I look right to the D1 matchup of Eli Wright vs Aric Holman. Eli guarded him most of the night and with a little help, held Aric to 1 FG. Very impressive. Turn your head to Coomes vs Miller. Ive seen UFC contests that were less physical that this matchup. Coomes played with incredible energy, as usual, and even when we went to the bench with fouls, Nate Hopewell stepped in and defended him VERY well. They did a great job of pushing Miller off the block and make him shoot it from a little further out than he would have liked. All in all, it was a 100% complete team effort for the Eagles. Trace Young filled in nicely for Wright when he went to the bench with 2 fouls late in the half. Apollo even pushed out to a lead without Eli in the game. And how about Zach Hopewell??? Ive been saying all along he was a major x factor for Apollo and he has showed why late in the season. Led Apollo in scoring and was tough as nails all night.

 

On the OHS side, I thought Jacoby Harris really played well. When the other guys were covered up, he took it upon himself to keep OHS in the game. Arius Phillips was very impressive defending Wright one on one as well. I don't know that ive seen anyone defend Eli face up like that. I think Morrow was bothered a little bit by Trace defending him outside some, but still had a very nice game.

 

Baring a major upset, these two teams will meet again. While district titles are a lot of fun, they don't hang banners for district titles. The money is made next week at regional. For almost a year weve been wondering what the Sportscenter would look like for an Apollo/OHS regional championship game.........I think were going to get to find out.

ApolloFan - great assessment of the game last night. Miller was basically a non-factor and Holman was held in check offensively as well. Coomes and Hopewell both did a tremendous job on Miller and Eli showed last night he can do more than take the ball to the hole. Great defensive game. That being said, I do believe that OHS will make some adjustments, rightfully so, however, I think Barker will add a few new wrinkles as well, and for me personally Barker is one of the better coaches in the region. He did a tremendous job at McLean with much less talent than he has at Apollo, and I think the young men at Apollo have finally bought into what Coach Barker has been talking.

 

I also thought the Wells kid stepped up and hit a couple of big shots in the first half to keep Apollo moving in the right direction. I think Apollo will win the region and represent the 3rd Region at Rupp.

I've said for some time Apollo would win this Region...When playing against an equally talented foe Owensboro has big trouble. any team with size will be able to beat them on a regular basis. The mid season addition from Ohio Co. Seems to have put Apollo over the top