Reece Jesse caught five passes for 154 yards and a touchdown — and also picked off a pass — as Hopkinsville routed Madisonville-North Hopkins 44-0 Friday night at the Stadium of Champions.
Jesse went over 2,000 career yards receiving as Hoptown picked up the victory in Class 4A 1st District action.
The Tigers (3-2 overall, 1-2 district) led 37-0 at halftime, with Jesse putting the final touches on the Hopkinsville rout with a 55-yard touchdown grab from Trey Jefferson late in the third quarter.
Madisonville (1-4, 0-3) was outgained 369 yards to 108 in the contest.
Hoptown scored on every possession in the first half, starting with a 7-yard run from
Jayden Dillard with 9:56 left in the first quarter. Zach Moss kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.
Moss drilled a 23-yard field goal on the next possession to make it 10-0 at the 5:32 mark of the opening stanza.
The Hopkinsville defense got into the act on the next series, with Marcus Gordon picking off a pass at the Madisonville 31 and returning it for a score. That made it 17-0.
A fumble recovery by Donyea Welch set up Dillard’s second touchdown carry of the night. Dillard scored on an 11-yard run with still 1:14 left in the first quarter to make it 23-0.
Madisonville drove deep on its next series, but that drive ended with Jesse’s interception. He returned the ball 47 yards to the Maroon 48-yard line.
Ventrail Baker made that drive pay off, scoring on an 8-yard run with 7:14 left in the second quarter to extend the margin to 30-0.
Hoptown struck again just before halftime with Jefferson carrying the final 3 yards on a quarterback sneak as the Tigers took a 37-0 lead to the break.
The only score of the second half was Jesse’s touchdown grab in the third quarter.
Dillard led the Hoptown ground game with 76 yards on 10 carries.
Jefferson finished with 215 yards passing and the one touchdown.
Lajuan McAdoo ran for 44 yards for Madisonville while Chris Price had 42 yards on the ground.
The start of the contest was delayed 30 minutes after storms moved through the area prior to kickoff.
Much of the second half was played with one corner of the field darkened after one of the four banks of lights at the stadium went out. Both sides agreed to continue play.
Hopkinsville will face crosstown rival Christian County next week.
