Bowling Green is in unfamiliar territory after losing back-to-back games for the first time since 2002.
Fortunately, the Purples will get a chance to rebound on Friday night after losses to Pleasure Ridge Park and St. Xavier by hosting 5A opponent Owensboro.
The Red Devils (2-1) have had great success in 5A play after leaving the 4A ranks after the 2014 season, in which they made a run to the state championship game before dropping a 49-42 heartbreaker to Ft. Thomas Highlands.
Nevertheless, the Purples have had Owensboro’s number since their last loss to them, 28-21 in the 2008 Class 5A playoffs.
Flash forward to the present, the Red Devils come to Bowling Green on a hot streak after a 47-12 win over 2A powerhouse Owensboro Catholic.
Bowling Green beat the Red Devils twice in 2016, 47-0 in the regular season and 50-21 in the 5A playoffs.
Players to Watch:
Bowling Green
Bowling Green quarterback Beau Buchanan has done a fine job of stepping into the shoes left behind by Clark Payne. Buchanan has completed 49-of-89 passes for 511 yards and three touchdowns on the young season.
Sophomore running back Vito Tisdale has gotten most of the touches in the Purples’ backfield, carrying the rock 33 times for 193 yards and five touchdowns on the season.
The combination of receivers Ziyon Kenner (17 catches, 223 yards, one touchdown) and Nash Hightower (10 catches, 124 yards, two touchdowns) has proved to be a big-play threat all season long for the Purples.
Defensively, most of the attention has been on Georgia Tech commit linebacker Justice Dingle, who has posted 30 tackles for the Purples this season. However, senior linebacker Devan Jackson has stepped up to lead the Bowling Green defense with 32 tackles.
Owensboro
The Red Devils are forced to replace a host of talent from last season’s team.
One of those players is running back Landon Board, who finished third in Class 5A standings in 2016 with 1805 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdowns in Owensboro’s fast-paced option offense.
The Red Devils have spread the ball around a little more on the ground in 2017, as they have three backs with more than 150 rushing yards through three games.
Ezekeil Brown leads the team with 284 yards (and three touchdowns), but Josh Cowherd (194 yards) and Imonte Owsley (155 yards) both have four rushing touchdowns.
Austin Gough has 30 tackles to lead the Owensboro defense while Terion Hall has two interceptions.
Owensboro is ranked No. 2 in 5A and No. 13 in Kentucky in the latest Litkenhous Ratings. Bowling Green is ranked No. 6 in 5A.
