The large, raucous cheers could be heard from well across the parking lot.
Because in a season full of peaks and valleys, Friday night’s 30-26 road win over Paducah Tilghman at McRight Field felt like the highest of highs for Hopkinsville.
Tied 7-all at the break, the Tigers scored 23 points in the second half — then staved off a massive Blue Tornado fourth-quarter comeback, moving to .500 for this first time this year.
“Pretty exciting,” said Hopkinsville coach Marc Clark, the echoes ringing as he spoke.
The Tigers’ do-it-all star, Daisjaun Mercer, did it once again for the black-and-orange — finishing with seven catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns, rushing six times for 26 yards and another touchdown, coming away with a first-half end zone interception of Tilghman star quarterback Jack James, and converting a needed 2-pointer for a 21-7 second-half lead.
Others, however, contributed mightily.
Senior linebacker and tight end Isaiah Manning was extremely clutch. Tilghman’s first drive ended in his hands — an interception in zone coverage.
Later, wide open, he snagged a 42-yard catch and run on third down, eventually setting up Mercer’s 5-yard touchdown catch from Zach Moss (11-for-19, never sacked) — tying it at 7-all with 8:51 left in the first half.
In the fourth quarter, his 10-yard reception on third down set up Moss for a much more manageable field goal — and one he buried for a 24-14 advantage.
And then, with 3:42 left in regulation, Manning took a telegraph interception all the way back to the mailbox — his 80-yard return putting Hopkinsville up 30-14.
It was the Tiger defense’s third interception of the game, and the most important.
“Isaiah is one of the most consistent players that we’ve had all year,” Clark said. “He shows up. He’s got a great attitude. He’s a leader among the group. And he just comes in every day and goes to work. People value effort, and I believe people who give great effort like he does…get rewarded. And over the last two weeks, he’s really kind of made us a different looking team. Super proud of his production, and he’s involved in so many different ways.”
Hopkinsville needed every wrinkle to top Tilghman, which saw star running back Malachi Rider return from injury and score in the third quarter, and had senior running back Jordauyn White romp for 148 yards rushing, 110 yards receiving and three touchdown catches.
His first touchdown snag came on broken coverage at the start of the second quarter, when James found him down the left sideline for a 27-yard score on fourth down.
His next two scores came in the late comeback, when he bounced off Mercer and went in on a 12-yard catch to cut it within 30-20, and then on a 60-yard go route with less than 40 seconds to go.
On the two quick scores, however, the Blue Tornado missed a 2-point pass completion and a PAT, and even in recovering the onside kick — a touchdown was needed for the victory.
Hopkinsville, however, forced an intentional grounding, and James couldn’t convert 4th-and-42 on the final possession.
“They showed just a ton of toughness,” Clark added. “A ton of toughness to get in there. And that’s a talented team [over there], and I was just super proud of the way our kids played.”
The play of the game: Mercer’s 65-yard catch-and-score over the middle, shaking Tilghman’s Darionte Ragsdale for a 20-7 lead with 6:27 left in the third quarter. It happened right after the Hopkinsville defense thwarted a fourth-down attempt from Tilghman, which went 2-for-5 in those chances.
EXTRA POINTS
Four of Tilghman’s six losses this year have come by four points or less: Hopkinsville, Union County, Henry County (TN) and Mayfield.
With the victory, Hopkinsville is now 12-7 in the series since Oct. 30, 1998.
NEXT UP
Hopkinsville: at Franklin-Simpson, opening round of the 2022 KHSAA Class 4A playoffs.
Paducah Tilghman: vs. Taylor County, opening round of the 2022 KHSAA Class 3A playoffs.
HOPKINSVILLE 30, PADUCAH TILGHMAN 26
Tigers (5-5) 0 7 14 9 — 30
Tornado (4-6) 0 7 7 12 — 26
SCORING
PT: Jordauyn White 27 pass from Jack James (Nolan Waller PAT), 7-0, 11:45 2Q
HOP: Daisjaun Mercer 5 pass from Zach Moss (Zach Moss PAT), 7-7, 8:51 2Q
HOP: Daisjaun Mercer 6 rush (2PT fails), 13-7, 9:01 3Q
HOP: Daisjaun Mercer 65 pass from Zach Moss (Mercer rush), 21-7, 6:27 3Q
PAD: Malachi Rider 6 rush (Nolan Waller PAT), 21-14, 0:51 3Q
HOP: Zach Moss 27 FG, 24-14, 6:25 4Q
HOP: Isaiah Manning 80 INT return (2PT fails), 30-14, 3:42 4Q
PAD: Jordauyn White 12 pass from Jack James (2PT fails), 30-20, 1:23 4Q
PAD: Jordauyn White 60 pass from Jack James (PAT fails), 30-26, 0:35 4Q
PASSING LEADERS
HOP: Zach Moss 11-19-213-2-0. PT: Jack James 15-31-234-3-3.
RUSHING LEADERS
HOP: Darrius Green 14-69, Daisjaun Mercer 6-26-1, Zach Moss 4-21, Trushaun Matt 2-9, Devin Coleman 1-5. PT: Jordauyn White 28-148, Malachi Rider 6-31-1, Jack James 7-17, Joemari Starks 1-13.
RECEIVING LEADERS
HOP: Daisjaun Mercer 7-146-2, Isaiah Manning 2-52, Darrius Green 2-15. PT: Jordauyn White 7-110-3, JoeAvion Starks 4-43, LeBran McMullen 2-29, Banks Lafont 1-36, Shemari Thomas 1-16.
OTHER STATS
HOP PT
First Downs 14 25
Total Offensive Plays 46 73
Total Net Yards 343 443
Time of Possession 20:48 27:12
Third Down Conv. 3-9 7-13
Fourth Down Conv. 0-0 2-5
Sacks 3-17 0-0
