Home Team Friday Week 9 “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 8 “Power 10”

Here are the Week 9 “Power 10” rankings:

1. Owensboro Catholic (Owensboro, Ky.)

(7-0)

Week 8 ranking: 1↔️

A bye week thanks to fall break keeps the Aces in the top spot, regardless of the rest of the field. Through seven games this season, senior quarterback Brady Atwell has over 1700 yards and 25 touchdowns, on his way to another standout season in Kentucky. Owensboro Catholic has no easy task this week when they travel to 4-3 Edmonson Co. this Friday.

2. Memorial (Evansville, Ind.)

(8-0)

Week 8 ranking: 2↔️

In a 35-12 win against an above-average Vincennes Lincoln squad, senior quarterback Matthew Fisher may have had his best game of the season. 21 of 27 passes were completed for 289 yards and five touchdowns. Anywhere he wanted to throw, he did. Junior wideout Luke Dockery paced the receiving field with 163 yards and two scores on nine catches, including one for 83 yards—one of the longest plays of the season for the Tigers. Senior Luke Ellspermann caught eight passes for 83 yards and two scores as well. Defensively, it was once again the Alex Broshears show. The senior linebacker is not just making his case for an All-State defender, but maybe even an All-American at this point in the season. 14 tackles, eight of them solo and three for a loss keep him atop the SIAC and move him into the top 15 in the state with 102 on the season. While this team has been difficult to stop on both sides of the ball, their toughest test awaits in the final regular season game of the year. Memorial will play 7-1 Castle inside the friendly confines of historic Bosse Field for, what will most likely decide the SIAC championship.

3. Heritage Hills (Lincoln City, Ind.)

(7-1)

Week 8 ranking: 3↔️

The dominance continues for Heritage Hills as they walked right through Princeton this Friday, 56-7. Not much in the air for quarterback Jett Goldsberry, but the ground game was working for the junior and his right-hand man, senior back Hunter Meredith. The two combined for 249 yards on just eight, yes, EIGHT carries and two scores a piece. But at this point, is any of that even the least bit surprising? Let’s not forget, this is almost the same Patriots team, give or take a few, that made it to the IHSAA 3A State Championship game last year. Led by head coach Todd Wilkerson, this is one of the most capable teams in the state, let alone Southern Indiana. Six different players found the end zone in Week 8 and that is what makes them so versatile and dangerous. In the final week before entering the gauntlet of Sectional 32, Heritage Hills will have no easy task on their hands on the road at Washington.

4. Castle (Newburgh, Ind.)

(7-1)

Week 8 ranking: 4↔️

What can we not say about the Castle Knights? If the top three teams in the ranking did not exist, Castle would be miles ahead of the rest of the pack as the only 5A school on the list. Unfortunately for the Knights and their fans, that’s not how real life works. Still, one of their most dominant wins of the season happened at home last week when they shredded the Central defense for eight touchdowns in a 62-21 win. Once again, Max McCool followed the yellow and blue brick road to the endzone three times for 112 yards. A receiving threat has reemerged for the Castle offense as Izach Salpietra found his name atop the passing game. Three catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns are one of his best outings of the season. Just 37 team tackles highlight just how long—or how short—of a time the defense was on the field. Castle will play for a share of the SIAC regular season title at historic Bosse Field against undefeated, and 3A frontrunner Memorial this Friday night.

5. Mater Dei (Evansville, Ind.)

(7-1)

Week 8 ranking: 5↔️

Mater Dei is in an interesting spot entering the final week of the regular season, one they are quite familiar with. The Wildcats have just one loss this season, courtesy of Memorial, and are the third most likely team to come out of the 3A Sectional 32 grouping behind the Tigers and Heritage Hills. But we say it’s interesting because each time an opposing coach talks about the Wildcats, they all say facing head coach Mike Goebel and Mater Dei is what they’d least like to do in the postseason. The track record in sectionals for the Wildcats in the past decade and a half has been nothing short of sensational. Before last season’s sectional semifinal loss to the eventual 2A runners-up North Posey, the Wildcats had won four straight, and 11 of the past 15 sectional championships, winning at least one game in all of them. The Reitz Panthers match up well against Mater Dei on both sides of the ball, but with consecutive losses for the first time in over three calendar years, the Wildcats will be looking to finish off the regular season with a win as the away team at the Reitz Bowl.

6. Gibson Southern (Fort Branch, Ind.)

(6-2)

Week 8 ranking: 6↔️

Another solid performance from head coach Nick Hart’s Titans keeps them at the six-spot for Week 9. A 62-26 win over Mt. Vernon keeps Gibson Southern in a prime position to feel competitive heading into the season’s final week and beyond. The Titans will travel to Boonville, another team that can sneak under the radar at 4-4, for the final matchup before entering the Sectional round.

7. Southridge (Huntingburg, Ind.)

(6-2)

Week 8 ranking: 9📈

If you open the Oxford Dictionary and look up “statement win,” the only thing you may find is a highlight of last week’s 42-point shutout over North Posey. You may be wondering whether the Raiders are THAT good, or if the Vikings have regressed THAT much, but we’re here to tell you it’s both. While North Posey fell out of the rankings for the first time this season, the Raiders may have solidified their spot in the “Power 10” for the remainder. The Raiders end the season on the road at Forest Park.

8. Hancock Co. (Lewisport, Ky.)

(7-0)

Week 8 ranking: 8↔️

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. Reitz (Evansville, Ind.)

(6-2)

Week 8 ranking: 10📈

They’re sticking around in the ranking, but maybe not for long. A solid but expected win over the Bosse Bulldogs moves the Panthers up to 9 in this week’s ranking. Senior quarterback Ben Davies was inefficient at best under center completing nine of 17 passes for 50 yards and rushing for 16 more. No end-zone completions and one interception make you question head coach Cory Brunson’s team…until you see the ground game and why it’s so efficient. Senior back Jasseim Ussery and sophomore Elijah Darrett combined for 215 yards on 24 carries with two scores a piece. That accounts for over 75% of the total offense on the ground. This Reitz team can win a sectional title and possibly a regional, but the road ahead is laced with challenges the Panthers must learn to overcome.

10. Forest Park (Ferdinand, Ind.)

(5-3)

Week 8 ranking: NR📈

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 to play the Bosse Bulldogs.

Dropped out of ranking: North Posey (Poseyville, Ind.) – Ranked No. 7 in Week 8 “Power 10.”

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

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

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