This was the showdown that I had been waiting for with much anticipation. Owensboro was going to field not one, but two, minor league football teams in an epic battle of football. Was I a Nightowl fan or a Wildcat fan? I really couldn’t tell, but that was beside the point. I was going to see Owensboro field two teams in a battle for the hearts and minds of Owensboro’s football fans.
I knew as soon as both teams took the field that something had gone awry for Ray Lowery’s Wildcats. I had talked to him about a month ago, and he seemed really upbeat about his team’s chances to make a go of it this year. As soon as the opening coin toss was underway, I knew his pain. He only dressed about 15 players for this game, and that was due to some dropouts that had left the team. He did what any football-loving, hard-nosed battler would do – he played anyway!
I saw the wildcat defense battle through every play as the game wore on. There were the expected injuries to deal with as the depleted Wildcat roster kept getting up to battle the next play out. Players left the field, only to return a little bit later after having a time of short-lived recuperation. My hat’s really off to the on-field determination of Lowery’s Wildcats to never say never, continue to tough it out, and strive for the best possible outcome.
That being said, this game’s outcome belonged to an explosive Nightowl team that executed plays with extreme aggression. There was no letup in this team, either. They played to win, and the final score displayed that fact when time fizzled out and the scoreboard showed a 69-0 win for the Nightowls!
Gilbert Johnson ran a perfect pass route right up the Nightowl sideline on one play, caught a perfect floating pass from quarterback Evan Harvey, and found himself with an easy 6 points for his team. The former Wildcat from last year revealed that the play was indeed executed exactly as planned. Johnson (Fern Creek HS ’07, KWC) really displayed his prowess on that play. He finished the game with just that one catch, but it was huge – a 45-yard TD! He also was 2nd in tackles on defense with 5.
Another big play in this game came from big #25, Aquado Douglas. You’ll remember that name from a few years back when he played for both Owensboro HS (’10) and KWC. Douglas provided some long, drawn-out fireworks when he tore through the line on a simple rushing play, and turned it into a 65-yard rushing TD! The man turned it on!
I asked him about his run right after he came to the sideline. “It was designed to go that way. My line picked up blocks really good. I just followed the way into the end zone.” I asked him if he sensed that he had a severe opening that he could exploit. “I had it all the way.” He finished the game with 104 yards on just 3 carries!
Another hero came in the person of J’Michael Collins, a big, bruising runner sporting #33. He scored on a fantastic play; QB Evan Harvey pitched to J’Michael, and Collins did the rest. “The pitch was a little short, but it was an intentional toss so he was a little behind me and I went down the line with it, and scored.” I asked him what was going through his mind as he caught that toss. With a laugh he responded, “I need to hurry up and recover if I get hit.” J’Michael finished with 29 yards on 3 carries.
Collins and head coach J. R. Bryant were expecting a good game from the Wildcats, but both understood the quandary that Lowery was faced with. Coach Bryant stated, “We had an idea that we were going to come out and play great football. We didn’t know quite what to expect out of the Wildcats – we hadn’t really seen them or heard much from them this year. There were a lot of problems for them with only 15 guys. I have been there, so those guys are not giving up and that is really what football is about. As far as the way we were playing I thought we would come out and have a great game.”
I noticed that Bryant’s offensive schemes seemed to be working rather well, and wondered if the lack of scoring by the Owensboro was due to the fact that the Wildcats did not have the personnel they needed. “Well as the defensive coordinator I would like to say it was all us. We came in with a pretty good scheme. We played a great game last week. We held up to about to a hundred yards total offense. We were pretty confident about defense but I am sure the cumulative effect of them having so few guys here not being able to substitute at will. Our defense is definitely contributing to the goose egg.”
With about 9 minutes to go I found myself standing along the sideline with linesman, Bryan Snyder. Snyder stands about 6’2” and weighs in at about 235 – in short, he had all the trademarks of a former player himself. I wasn’t wrong – he played for Evansville Central HS, and went on to play for some prestigious schools in college, as well. “I played for one season at the University of Pittsburgh. I didn’t play a whole lot. After that, I went to Wabash College and played in division 3. I played quite a bit up there. I played a little indoor football after that.”
I was just a little curious about the refs we had here at our new minor league venue. Bryan has been a certified referee for football games for 7 years, and let me in on the past history of the crew he works with. “I’ve been with various leagues. We were with the Great Midwestern football league last year. There has been at least 3 or 4 leagues that we have been with over the past 6 or 7 years. We are all patched through the Indiana Athletic Association. We go through all the testing and things like that. The Great Midwestern Football League had a test they wanted everybody to take for the NFL rules so that you could be authorized to do their games.” There you have it – what better reason to come on out to see our very own minor league football teams play? Great football being refereed by competent refs!
That was the showdown – the very first one between our two teams. If you missed it, then you really missed it! Come August, you’ll get a chance to revisit this showdown. I don’t think Ray Lowery will throw in the towel just yet, and the Nightowls are on a roll after having handed a very good Tennessee team a 14-8 loss. Lowery will be revamping his arsenal, looking for vengeance, and the Nightowls will be prepping for another go at this Wildcat team that never seems to stop getting up. Another showdown…I can’t wait!
