Home Team Friday Week 8 “Power 10”

HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) — The tristate shows off some of the most talented high school football teams in their respective states each week. But how do fans know who is the best of the best when the lights turn on Friday night? That’s where the Home Team Friday “Power 10” comes into play.

Our expert sports team constantly studies dozens of teams each week to create a top-10. Wins, losses, injuries, strength of schedule, and margin of victory/defeat are all factors in the decision-making process.

Home Team Friday Week 7 “Power 10”

Here are the Week 8 “Power 10” rankings:

1. Owensboro Catholic (Owensboro, Ky.)

(7-0)

Week 7 ranking: 1↔️

And exhale…it’s the bye week. Another scintillating win at home makes the Aces 7-0. Owensboro Catholic has now outscored their last three opponents 140-8 and has no intention of slowing down. Brady Atwell is on the cusp of another monster passing season with over 1700 yards and 25 touchdowns. Everything is coming up Aces and should continue to do so as the regular season nears an end next month.

2. Memorial (Evansville, Ind.)

(7-0)

Week 7 ranking: 2↔️

Somehow Memorial has gotten exponentially better with every game played this season. Their most impressive win was last week’s 47-7 drubbing of Reitz at Enlow Field. Matthew Fisher threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns with three of them coming on 60+ yard plays. The Southern Indiana Athletic Conference’s leading tackler Alex Broshears paced the defense, again, with 15 tackles. Whatever head coach John Hurley wanted his team to do, they found a way to do it against the Panthers. But the next two games will not be easy by any means with Vincennes Lincoln followed by Castle to close out the season.

3. Heritage Hills (Lincoln City, Ind.)

(6-1)

Week 7 ranking: 3↔️

We are not sure how many more adjectives there are to describe Jett Goldsberry and Heritage Hills. A fifth consecutive win for the Patriots when allowing seven or fewer points is a remarkable stat when they also have averaged 42.4 points per game over that span. Goldsberry has tallied 25 total touchdowns on 224.3 total yards over seven games which is miles ahead of last year’s pace of 36 scores and 170.5 total yards in 15 games. The Junior is on pace for 53 touchdowns IF he can lead his team back to a state championship game. They travel to Princeton this Friday night.

4. Castle (Newburgh, Ind.)

(6-1)

Week 7 ranking: 4↔️

Phew, that was a close one. In a 14-13 win over Jasper, Castle may have been spared by the risky and ultimately failed two-point conversion attempt near the end of the game. Recently, Castle has turned a corner thanks in part to a stout defense and exceptional ground game, but Friday’s win over the Wildcats may have hinted at reality a bit. Defensively, there might not be a single team that matches up well against the suffocating front seven of the Knights, though that doesn’t mean a team cannot catch them on an “off” day. Castle hosts Central in Week 8.

5. Mater Dei (Evansville, Ind.)

(6-1)

Week 7 ranking: 5↔️

The last of five schools that have not moved up or down in this week’s ranking is Mater Dei. The Wildcats are a top-five team in class 3A Indiana football and there is no debating that. When you line them up with the best schools in the tri-state, the same sentiment reigns true. Mike Goebel has done a marvelous job of strengthening the young offensive core to produce touchdown after touchdown with Tate Mallory, Nolan Shickel, and Caden Thacker as the focal points. Mater Dei hosts Harrison at the Reitz Bowl this Friday.

6. Gibson Southern (Fort Branch, Ind.)

(5-2)

Week 7 ranking: 7📈

The Titans season has been on schedule. They play all the best teams in close, tightly contested games and dominate their other, weaker opponents. Despite the shutout loss to Heritage Hills in Week 6, head coach Nick Hart’s squad has, at the very least, met expectations so far this season. They will have their work cut out for them when Mt. Vernon, a sneaky good team in 3A heads to town this week.

7. North Posey (Poseyville, Ind.)

(6-1)

Week 7 ranking: 8📈

North Posey has hung around well since their Week 5 loss to Heritage Hills. Now at 6-1, Waylon Schenk’s team is beginning to believe again—of course, if you asked him, he would say they never stopped. Star running back Jed Galvin has averaged nearly 150 rushing yards and 1.5 rushing touchdowns per game. Every coach in the Pocket Athletic Conference, and every coach in the tri-state, still says they haven’t figured out a way to stop him yet. Southridge aims to be the first to do so this Friday night when the Vikings travel to Huntingburg.

8. Hancock Co. (Lewisport, Ky.)

(7-0)

Week 7 ranking: 9📈

The final of the three undefeated teams in the tri-state is Hancock Co., a perfect 7-0 to begin the season. Senior quarterback Dylan Morris just tallied a career-high 417 yards and six touchdowns leading his squad to a 59-0 win over the Webster Co. Trojans. Head Coach Bobby Eubanks has been 5-0 twice before in 2020 and 2022 but has never found his way over the hump until now. His Hornets are eyeing down a perfect regular season with three games and this week’s bye remaining on the schedule.

9. Southridge (Huntingburg, Ind.)

(5-2)

Week 7 ranking: 10📈

The Raiders beat South Spencer 48-12 this past week. The team rushed for over 350 yards and six touchdowns, with Noah Pollard collecting three scores and more than half of the gained yardage. Southridge is now 4-0 in the PAC Small with a chance to virtually solidify a regular-season championship this week against North Posey. Defensively, the Raiders have allowed just 19 points in conference play, but the Vikings will most likely increase that mark this Friday.

10. Reitz (Evansville, Ind.)

(5-2)

Week 7 ranking: 6📉

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Following their first regular season loss in almost three years, the Panthers made it a double, losing miserably to the SIAC-best Memorial Tigers. Ordinarily, losing to the city rival would not be the end of the world, but a 47-7 loss stains the glass on Reitz’s chances of re-entering the top five this season. They travel back to Enlow Field on Friday, this time to play the Bosse Bulldogs.

Dropped out of ranking: None

Just missed the cut: Owensboro (Owensboro, Ky.), Madisonville-North Hopkins (Madisonville, Ky.).

A new ranking will be released at the beginning of each week throughout football season until the playoffs begin.

Tune in to Eyewitness News for all things high school football and watch “Home Team Friday” every Friday night at 10:35 CT on ABC 25.

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