KSR Game of the Week: Madisonville-North Hopkins at Owensboro

We’re just a couple of weeks out from closing the regular season, but that means the action is about to ramp up. With postseason play just around the corner, teams are hungrier than ever for their final wins of the season.

KSR’s Game of the Week is heading to Owensboro on Friday to see a Class 5A clash between Madisonville-North Hopkins (6-2) and Owensboro (5-3), the latter receiving votes in KSR’s Top 25 rankings. Owensboro remains undefeated against district teams (4-0), coming into this week fresh off a 56-8 win against district foe Muhlenberg County. The Maroons come in at 3-1 in district play, just defeating Apollo 42-35. Both teams are heavy contenders for the District 1 Championship.

On 3’s Massey Ratings predicts a final score of 42-18 in favor of Owensboro, with an 86% chance of the Red Devils coming out on top. Here’s what we’re considering going into this Friday.

Owensboro Red Devils (5-3)

Owensboro’s offense is led by senior quarterback Trevor Delacey. With 1,296 total passing yards, Delacey has marked 11 touchdown pass completions and averages 162 passing yards per game. He’s got options in the air, too, especially in freshman receiver Kingston Dillard. He totals 525 yards receiving, three touchdown receptions and averages 65.6 yards receiving per game.

Owensboro likes the run game, though, and that’s evident in Evan Hampton. The junior running back totals 992 yards rushing, 14 rushing touchdowns and averages 124 yards per game. Hampton, who is being recruited by Kentucky, will find the gaps, and the Red Devils will likely put his athleticism to good use this Friday.

Defensively, Ty Ashley has been huge for the Red Devils. The sophomore linebacker totals 98 total tackles (62 of those solo), four tackles for loss, and three sacks. Elijah Hampton is another playmaker on defense. The junior linebacker totals 74 tackles, 45 of those solo, and one tackle for loss.

Madisonville-North Hopkins (6-2)

The Maroons have had an objectively easier schedule this season, but they still run an incredibly efficient offense. Senior Kanyon Johnson leads the Maroons in passing with 701 yards total, eight passing touchdowns, and averages 100.1 yards passing per game. But, he’s an even bigger threat on his feet.

The Maroons rely heavily on the athleticism of their runners, including Johnson, who totals 944 yards rushing, 10 rushing touchdowns, and averages 134.9 yards rushing per game. He’ll hand off snaps to Markezz Hightower as well. The junior leads the team with 1,259 rushing total rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns and averages 157.4 yards per game. It’s reasonable to expect this pair to run all over the turf.

Skylar Minton could pose an issue for the Red Devils offense. The senior linebacker totals 81 tackles total, three tackles for loss, and two sacks. If he can break through the offensive line, he could be a problem for Owensboro. Travion Stafford follows that with 52 tackles and two tackles for loss.

All of the action will be on full display Friday night at Rash Stadium in Owensboro at 7:00 p.m. CT.