Owensboro Catholic vs. Owensboro predictions

[bugatti]

Very intriguing match-up. I like the Aces this season and this would be a statement victory.

[oldnumber25]

Catholic wins , 21 - 7

[Irish Cat]

I have seen both of these teams play this season against a common opponent, Apollo High School. In addition both of these teams have also played Daviess Co. High School already this season. And while the stats from each team against a common opponent don't always predict the outcome of the upcoming matchup, the numbers certainly seem to favor Owensboro Catholic.

 

Owensboro Catholic defeated Daviess Co. by a score of 49-7. The Aces totaled 421 yards in total offense, while only allowing the Panthers 181 yards of offense. The previous week Owensboro defeated Daviess Co. by a score of 52-19. In that victory the Red Devils only gained 263 yards in offense while giving up 292 yards to the Panthers. I did not see either one of these games so I really cannot comment any further.

 

With regard to games that I did see, Owensboro Catholic opened the season by defeating by a score of 34-20. The Aces gained 473 yards in offense. I was unable to find a stat for Apollo's offensive output in this game. The Aces started out this game really slow and actually trailed Apollo 7-6 at the half. However, after the intermission the Aces offense began to click as Senior running back Russell Hayden took control of the game.

 

This week Owensboro defeated Apollo by a score of 34-13. The Red Devils only had 239 yards of total offense and were again outgained by their opponent as Apollo had 368 yards of total offense. The Red Devils were added by a pair of non offensive touchdowns as they scored on the opening kickoff of the game and as Apollo was threatening to score on their second possession inside the 15, when a Red Devils defender intercepted the pitch on an option play and ran it back untouched. Apollo also fumbled the ball on their last drive of the game near the Owensboro goal line. In my opinion this game was much closer than the final score would indicate.

 

Based upon what I have seen of each of these two teams thus far, my gut says that Owensboro Catholic should win this game. Owensboro's offense has not really clicked in either of their first two games, while Owensboro Catholic is averaging 447 yards of offense per game. Owensboro will have a better defense than either of the Aces first two opponents, but I feel that while the Red Devils will be able to slow down the Aces offense, they will not be capable of shutting them down completely. Unless the Red Devils offense shows tremendous improvement from their first two games, I just don't see that they will be able to score enough to stay on top of the Aces.

 

All that being said, tradition is certainly on the side of the Red Devils. Owensboro has won 20 straight games against their city county rivals and with a win on Friday night would secure their seventh straight City - County Championship. Their last defeat in this series came back on October 29th, 2004 against Apollo.

[The Scribe]

Great breakdown Cat. I'm going to take the Aces by six.

[SLINK]

Owensboro Catholic 38-21.

[tcjkbt]

I'm going with the Aces. I think they will be in the 2A finals. As to their chances then, I will check in in late November.