Joe Imel/Daily NewsBowling Green seniors celebrate their 35-13 victory Friday over Owensboro at Rash Stadium. The win sends the Purples to a third straight state championship game, where they’ll meet Fort Thomas Highlands on Friday at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in Louisville. Click here for more photos from the game.

Bowling Green coach Kevin Wallace harped all week about how turning the ball over would be deadly to the Purples’ hopes of defeating Owensboro in the Class 5A semifinals on Friday.

He was wrong.

Despite turning the ball over five times in the first half – four in the first quarter – the Purples scored five unanswered touchdowns to finish off Owensboro 35-13 at Rash Stadium.

Click here for more photos from the game.

“Apparently we didn’t harp on it enough,” Wallace said. “I wish I had the answers. We’ve had eight turnovers all year long, and now we have had more than that in the last two games. I don’t get the sense that it is nerves. But I am proud of our coaching staff, because they did a great job of keeping our kids calm.”

The victory over the Red Devils (12-2) gives Bowling Green a chance to compete in its third straight state championship game. The Purples (13-1) play Fort Thomas Highlands at Papa John’s Stadium in Louisville on Friday.

“It is every senior’s dream to be able to go to state,” senior quarterback Trent Steelman said. “We want to finish it off right this time and come home with a win. We can’t come out sluggish against Highlands, because they are a really good team.”

Bowling Green’s offense finished the game with 440 yards, while the Purples’ defense held Owensboro to just 136 total yards.

Owensboro relied heavily upon junior runningback Yori Shemwell, who finished with 102 yards on 19 carries.

Bowling Green’s biggest score may have come with just seconds left in the first half, when it was trailing 13-7 with just 1:35 remaining. Bowling Green started with the ball on its own 42-yard line and drove 58 yards in just five plays, capped by a Steelman run. The score gave Bowling Green a 14-13 lead at halftime.

Steelman finished the game 15-of-17 for 226 yards, threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another.

“That drive was a big boost for our confidence, just knowing we can move the ball,” Steelman said. “They are a great defense, but when we drove the ball there at the end of the half, we knew we could come out and move the ball in the second half.”

Bowling Green’s passing game was strong in the first half as Steelman threw for 122 yards. His biggest target was senior D.L. Moore, who finished the game with seven catches for 118 yards.

But in the second half, the Purples’ rushing attack took over to hammer out two touchdowns and 159 yards.

“I thought during the first half they really controlled the line of scrimmage,” Wallace said. “But in the second half we didn’t have to have long runs, we were able to get some movement up front.”

While the offense was able to pull together, it was the defense that kept Bowling Green in the game early.

The Purples had four possessions – and turned the ball over on each one – in the first quarter. Each turnover gave the Red Devils the ball inside Bowling Green territory, twice inside the red zone, yet the Purples’ defense was able to hold Owensboro to just 13 points in the first half – once causing a Red Devil turnover with Owensboro inside the Bowling Green 10-yard line.

“Good teams build on defense and defense is what wins championship,” senior linebacker Jared Carpenter said. “To have a championship team, the defense has to come up big no matter what the offense is doing. We came up big and held them to just one touchdown and a field goal.”

Bowling Green 0 14 14 7 -35

Owensboro 3 10 0 0 – 13

First quarter

OHS Trey Cain 31 field goal, 8:18

Second quarter

OHS Austin Moss 4 pass to Blake Roberts (Cain kick), 11:54

OHS Cain 29 field goal, 6:17

BG Lavance Anderson 1 run (Max Oldham kick), 2:46

BG Trent Steelman 10 run (Oldham kick), :39.9

Third quarter

BG Steelman 1 run (Oldham kick), 6:18

BG Anderson 3 run (Oldham kick), 10:46

Fourth quarter

BG Steelman 20 pass to Ryan Wallace (Oldham kick), 8:07