In a game that featured offensive spurts for both sides, a valiant effort by the Hopkinsville Tigers fell short as hosts Logan County rushed for almost 350 yards in a 49-28 District 1 victory on Friday.
The Cougars claimed their third straight win over the Tigers to improve to 5-1, 1-0 in district play. Hoptown slipped to 2-4 and will look to even its district record next week when Madisonville-North Hopkins visits the Stadium of Champions.
After Logan County took the lead on a 30-yard pass from Davin Yates to Harper Butler, the Tigers answered on their first possession with a 17-yard scoring run by Daisjaun Mercer.
However, the Cougars tacked on a pair of touchdowns on runs by Ryan Rayno and Zane Batten to lead 21-6 after the 1st quarter.
Hopkinsville answered with 15 straight points, beginning with a 17-yard TD pass from Zach Moss to Mercer. Mercer added the 2-point conversion to cut the Logan County lead to 21-14.
The Tigers carried the momentum into the 2nd half, tying the game on the opening possession when Moss finished off the drive with a 10-yard run around the right side.
But the Cougars continued to pound the run, responding with scoring plunges by Yates and Rayno to restore the 14-point advantage at 35-21 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Moss found Mercer over the middle, and he did the rest for a 35-yard touchdown to cut the margin in half, but those would be the Tigers’ last points of the night.
Rayno capped a 200-yard night with his third touchdown, rumbling 35 yards on 4th and 4, and JunVontre Dillard found the endzone on a 4-yard dive for the final score.
Logan County rolled to over 500 yards of offense, including 341 on the ground. Yates completed ten passes for 172 yards and a score.
Moss finished 11/28 for 166 yards and two touchdowns but was also intercepted three times. Mercer had five catches for 122 yards, and Jacquez Coleman caught two balls for 39 yards.
The Tigers finished with 346 total yards but were penalized 11 times for 114 yards.
On the defensive side for Hopkinsville, Jaron Mills led the way with 11 tackles, followed by DeAnthony Brown with 10, Mercer with eight, and CJ Stallworth with six.
