MAYFIELD — In west Kentucky high school football, some mistakes can be brushed aside, never to be addressed again. They don’t change an outcome, so players and coaches can forgive and forget.
But War Memorial Stadium — home of vaunted Class 2A Mayfield — is an unforgiving hellscape for visiting opponents, where one problem quickly becomes many.
With red-clad fans tailgating along the fences, mistakes are magnified. Placed under a microscope, blown up on chalkboards and remembered forever. It’s a place where even playing the best, doesn’t always lead to victory.
Friday night was a snowball-turned-avalanche for the Hopkinsville Tigers, who fell to the Cardinals 36-0 and were down by as much at halftime. Energy, hype and gameplans quickly melted behind three first-half turnovers (two interceptions, one lost fumble), while a particularly painful offsides call was immediately followed by a 76-yard bruising touchdown from Mayfield running back Jutarious Starks.
He’d break three tackles along the Cardinals’ sideline, then zip down for a 28-0 lead — Mayfield’s crowd muffling any groans from the Tigers.
That kind of night for the Orange & Black.
“You can’t come out, with the quality of opponent that Mayfield is, and not play a clean game,” noted Hopkinsville coach Marc Clark. “And really tonight, we had an all-systems failure in all three phases. It’s a humbling experience. You know how good that Mayfield is. They did the exact same thing [to Graves] last week. And we just have to be cleaner across the board. Offense. Defense. Special teams.”
Hopkinsville’s troubles unfortunately began right away. Following a three-and-out to start the game, Mayfield’s dangerous returner (and starting point guard) Brajone Dabney took Zach Moss’s punt to the Hopkinsville 21. A quick 19-yard completion from Zane Cartwright to Isaac Stevenson, and a two-yard score from Starks, had the Cardinals up 6-0 less than two minutes into regulation.
On the Tigers’ very next play, the Cardinals (namely, linebacker Jax Rogers) forced and recovered a fumble on a rush, and with 7:34 left in the first quarter, Cartwright would scramble and find time before Dabney came open over the middle for a 16-yard touchdown, and a 13-0 advantage.
Moss, still working to learn a new offense and take the rightful reins as Hopkinsville’s quarterback, started that next drive well, and picked up the team’s first move-of-the-chains with a dart over the middle to Deondre Coleman.
Three snaps later, however, a pass to the left flat was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by senior defensive back Michael Hughes. A two-point conversion from Ian Williams made it 22-0 Mayfield, with 6:05 left in the first frame.
It was a three-score deficit in a literal blink, and certainly not what Hopkinsville was expecting following a gutsy 22-0 road loss at Ballard last week. A Ballard squad that notably downed Male Friday night, 12-7.
The Tigers’ fourth drive opened wonderfully with a return to near midfield, but no dice. And it was after this, that Mayfield cashed in its second chance for Starks’s second score.
Hopkinsville’s best chance to muster mojo came with 2:40 left in the first quarter. Moss unleashed a terrific deep ball over the middle to the Miami (OH)-bound Mercer, who wriggled free from his consistent bracketed coverage for a (skinny-post, maybe?) 44-yard snag.
On fourth down, though, Moss’s pass was tipped — and the plucky Hughes was there for pick No. 2.
“Last year, [Moss] started two games, and this is the first year where it’s his,” Clark said. “It’s a new offense, And he’s learning, and I think you’re going to see him progressively get better. You throw any kid in the first year when he’s starting, and being the guy, there’s going to be some stuff that you’ve got to work through.”
It didn’t help either that the Tigers had their running game throttled. Mayfield allowed less than 30 yards on the ground, and that’s a place Clark had hoped would prove more successful.
Hopkinsville’s first two games have been beyond difficult, and Week 3 might not be easier. It’s another road trip for a meeting with a Caldwell County team that’s also 0-2 and seeking some identity. The Tigers’ home opener, meanwhile, is September 9 against Bowling Green, and that’s a Purples squad that in Week 1 rolled North Hardin, and on Friday night mauled McCracken County 42-7.
Mayfield, meanwhile, closed its scoring with another pass from Cartwright to Dabney — a 20-yard screen with 2:10 left before halftime. The Cardinals didn’t seem to be looking ahead to next week’s home opponent: 2021 Class 3A runners up and storied rival Paducah Tilghman — which moved to 2-0 Friday night with a 25-7 win over Graves County.
“It’s not here yet,” smiled Cardinals coach Joe Morris. “But we’re excited for it.”
Of note, the Hopkinsville and Mayfield matchup was Kentucky Sports Radio’s “Game of the Week,” with Freddie Maggard in town.
MAYFIELD 36, HOPKINSVILLE 0
Hopkinsville (0-2) 0 0 0 0 — 0
Mayfield (2-0) 29 7 0 0 — 36
SCORING
MAY: Jutarious Starks 2 rush (Lincoln Suiter PAT), 8:38 1Q, 7-0
MAY: Michael Hughes 25-yard INT TD (Lincoln Suiter PAT), 7:34 1Q, 14-0
MAY: Brajone Dabney 16 pass from Zane Cartwright (2PT good, Ian Williams), 6:05 1Q, 22-0
MAY: Jutarious Starks 76 rush (Lincoln Suiter PAT), 4:05 1Q, 29-0
MAY: Brajone Dabney 20 pass from Zane Cartwright (Lincoln Suiter PAT), 2:10 2Q, 36-0
PASSING LEADERS
HOP: Zach Moss 5-16-89-0-2; MAY: Zane Cartwright 7-13-2-0.
RUSHING LEADERS
HOP: Devin Coleman 11-16, Daisjaun Mercer 2-(-1), Zach Moss 2-5, Darrius Green 5-(-1); MAY: Jutarious Starks 7-99-2, Mehki Dumas 6-23, Isaac Stevenson 1-11, Caden Morris 7-34, Braden Morris 1-4
RECEIVING LEADERS
HOP: Deondre Coleman 1-12, Jacquez Coleman 1-0, Daisjaun Mercer 1-44, Tru Matt 1-24, Jakob Gavin 1-9; MAY: Brajone Dabney 3-36-2, 18 2-25, 1 1-16, 15 1-12
OTHER
Total Offense: HOP 108, MAY 256. First Downs: HOP 5, MAY 10. Turnovers: HOP 3, MAY 0. Penalties: HOP 8, MAY 5.
