On Wednesday, Caldwell County thought it might be without senior running back DeEric Hollowell, who was battling a bout of strep throat, as the Tigers prepared for this week’s game at Trigg County.
But Hollowell got healthy in a big way Friday night.
The Caldwell backfield star ran for a career-high 292 yards and four touchdowns as the Tigers outscored the Wildcats 56-54 at Perdue Field in Cadiz.
The teams combined for 1,100 yards of offense while setting a series records for combined points in a game.
Hollowell’s rushing total was the third-most in school history.
That helped Caldwell overcome a stellar night from Trigg senior quarterback Cam Jordan. The Naval Academy commit set a school record for completions while throwing for 423 yards and four touchdowns. Jordan, who also ran for a team-high 56 yards and two more scores, was 25 of 37 in the air.
Both teams put up eight touchdowns in the contest, but Trigg struggled in the conversion game. A pair of missed PATs early in the contest left the Wildcats chasing points for much of the rest of the night.
Meanwhile, Caldwell kicker Blake Vivrette was 8-for-8 on extra points.
Caldwell took a 21-20 lead to halftime, then opened the second half with a bang. Hollowell took the first play from scrimmage 52 yards for a score. That made it 28-20.
The Tigers (8-2) never trailed after that, but could never shake the Wildcats (6-4) either.
Trigg got to within 49-47 with 4:40 to play on a leaping grab in the end zone by JaKobe Bridges.
But Caldwell countered with a 10-yard touchdown run by Hollowell with 2:47 to play. The Tigers were aided by a short field after a Trigg onside attempt and subsequent personal foul on the Wildcats. That put Caldwell up 56-47.
The Wildcats kept after it, though. A 6-yard scoring run by Tayshaun Barker helped narrow the margin to 56-54 with 1:12 remaining.
Caldwell still needed one more play to pull off the wild road victory. The Tigers got it when Tate VanHooser fell on Trigg’s onside kickoff attempt, and the Tigers were able to take a knee three times to run out the clock.
Trigg had 591 total yards while Caldwell had 509.
The Wildcats also had more first downs, 26-20.
Caldwell amassed 328 yards on the ground behind Hollowell’s big night, which included an 81-yard touchdown scamper early in the fourth quarter.
Russ Beshear threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns for Caldwell while also running for two TDs.
Kion Thompson made seven catches for 207 yards and two scores for Trigg while Josh Visingardi had six grabs for 102 yards and a touchdown.
The previous high for combined points in the series was 101 in a 54-47 Trigg win in Princeton in 2000. Dan Moser passed for 461 yards and six touchdowns that night.
Friday’s point total was the third-most ever in a Caldwell game, trailing a 142-point night in an 80-62 win at Calloway County in 2011 and 135 points in a 78-57 victory at Christian County in 2014.
Hollowell’s yardage on the ground trails only Brandon Sigler (329 yards vs. Reidland in 2010) and Jaylen Boyd (293 yards vs. Christian County in 2014) on the Caldwell single-game list.
Both Caldwell and Trigg will play at home next week when the playoffs get under way.
The Wildcats will host Union County in the Class 3A ranks.
The Tigers will entertain Murray in a Class 2A first round game.
