Paducah Tilghman rolled up 679 yards of offense and remained unbeaten all-time against Trigg County with a 63-26 win over the Wildcats Friday in Paducah.
The Blue Tornado moved to 2-1 overall with the win and 1-0 in district play. The Wildcats are now 1-2 and 0-1 in the district.
It was a pair of freshmen who did most of the damage on Tilghman’s senior night. Jack James came into the game at quarterback midway through the first quarter and ended up 11-of-15 passing for 263 yards and four touchdowns in the first extensive action of his career.
Fellow freshman Malachi Rider ran for 184 yards on 13 first half carries and reached the end zone once.
However, it was junior LeBran McMullen that got the scoring started for Tilghman in the game’s first minute when he took a handoff 69 yards to paydirt.
Trigg County answered on its second drive of the game when Jacob Wease connected with Dillion Skinner for a 23-yard touchdown. Skinner caught the pass at the 10, spun away from a defender, and broke a tackle at the goal line. Keller Nichols’ PAT gave the Wildcats a 7-6 lead with 4:26 left in the opening quarter.
Tilghman quickly scored on its next drive when a 54-yard run by Cam Marshall set up a 3-yard run by McMullen with 3:33 left.
James entered the game on the Tornado’s next drive and led the home team to a pair of touchdowns. James hit Brian Thomas with a 41-yard scoring pass and Landon Fitzgerald on a 15-yard strike to help Tilghman build a 28-7 lead with 11:15 remaining in the first half.
On Trigg’s first play of the ensuing drive, Wease hit Kendric Adams in the flat for what turned out to be a 70-yard TD run down the right sideline to bring the Wildcats to within 27-14.
They would get no closer as Tilghman closed out the half with touchdown runs by Rider and Marshall for a 41-14 lead.
Trigg closed out the scoring in the half when Adams caught a 3-yard scoring strike from Wease with 2:37 left to make the score 41-20.
The Tornado scored on a pair of long plays in the third quarter to put a running clock into effect.
Trigg’s final score came on a 10-yard run by Kelsey Parham, who led the Wildcats with 81 rushing yards on 14 carries.
The Wildcats had 310 yards of offense and moved the sticks for 17 first downs. Wease finished 12-of-23 passing for 203 yards and three touchdowns. Adams finished with four catches for 91 yards, while Jaquellus Martin, who didn’t play in last week’s loss to Murray, added four catches for 55 yards.
Tilghman had 418 yards rushing as part of a 679-yard night. Eight different receivers caught a pass with only Marshall catching more than two.
Trigg County is now 0-11 all-time against Paducah Tilghman, the most winless games against any opponent. The Wildcats fall to 0-6 all-time in games played at McRight Field although the 26 points Friday is three more than they scored in five previous trips combined.
Tilghman’s game next week with DeSales is expected to be canceled which will likely have them scrambling to fill the slot.
Trigg County will host Crittenden County at Perdue Field, the first of three straight home games for the Wildcats.
SCORING BY QUARTERS
TRIGG COUNTY 7 13 0 6—26
Paducah Tilghman 20 21 15 7—63
TEAM STATS
RUSHING
Trigg County 32-102; Paducah Tilghman 25-418
PASSING
Trigg County 12-23-0, 208 yards; Paducah Tilghman 12-18-1, 261 yards
TOTAL YARDS
Trigg County 310; Paducah Tilghman 679
YARDS PER PLAY
Trigg County 5.6; Paducah Tilghman 15.7
FIRST DOWNS
Trigg County 17; Paducah Tilghman 21
PENALTIES
Trigg County 6-50; Paducah Tilghman 11-115
TURNOVERS
Trigg County 2; Paducah Tilghman 1
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING
TRIGG COUNTY – Parham 14-81; Adams 8-37; Martin 4-2; Harris 1-0; Wease 5-[-18]
PADUCAH TILGHMAN – Rider 13-184; McMullen 2-75; Marshall 2-72; Allen 1-36; Ragland 3-32; Barner 1-17; Virzi 1-3; Sabbs 1-0; Ragsdale 1-[-1]
PASSING
TRIGG COUNTY – Wease 12-23-0, 208
PADUCAH TILGHMAN – James 11-15-1, 263; Marshall 1-3, -3 yards
RECEIVING
TRIGG COUNTY – Adams 4-91; Martin 4-55; Lockard 3-34; Skinner 1-23
PADUCAH TILGHMAN – Marshall 3-37; Thomas 2-110; Starks 1-67; Humphrey 1-17; Fitzgerald 1-15; McMullen 1-10; Ragsdale 2-6; Sabbs 1-[-2]
