The Hopkinsville Tigers closed the regular season on a 3-game win streak with a 36-29 victory at Greenwood on Friday night. The Tigers head into next week’s playoff match-up at Warren East (6-4) at 4-6 overall, while the Gators now stand at 2-8 and will go on the road to Owensboro (8-2) on Friday.
Reed Slone led the Gators to a 14-0 lead, scoring on a 42-yard pass from quarterback John Morrison, before breaking a 47-yard TD run. With 2:16 left in the opening quarter, the Tigers got on the board on a 71-yard TD pass from Ellis Dunn to Reece Jesse. JeVon Leavell tied the game with a 75-yard pick 6, and a 4-yard scoring run by Dunn gave the Tigers a 22-14 lead with 8:40 to play in the first half. Just before the break, Triston Wilson found the end zone on a 10-yard run for the Gators to tie the game at 22-22 at the half.
With 6:55 left in the third quarter, Greenwood regained the lead on a 3-yard TD run by Alex Rhodes, but the 2-point conversion was unsuccessful. The Tigers answered with 7:43 left in the game on a 1-yard scoring plunge by Jordan Hopson. Hopson tacked-on the 2-point conversion to give Hopkinsville a slender, 30-29 advantage. With 2:17 to play, JaTorion Dillard sealed the victory with a 39-yard touchdown run for the final 36-29 margin.
Hopkinsville ran 46 total plays for 352 yards of offense, including 217 yards on 34 rushing attempts and 135 yards through the air. Greenwood rushed 52 times for 230 yards and completed 7 passes for 98 yards for 328 yards of offense on 62 total plays.
Dunn led the Tiger ground attack with 101 yards on 12 carries, followed by Dillard with 83 yards on 11 tries and Hopson with 31 yards on 7 attempts. Dunn completed 5 of 12 passes, with Jesse hauling in 2 for 88 yards and J’Quan Patterson making 2 catches for 30 yards.
On the defensive side, Red Barns finished with 11 tackles, Keyshawn Palmer had 9, Jaxson Davis had 8, and Erick Grubbs and Conner Lackey both recorded 7.
