McLean County is enjoying its best football season in almost 30 years while Caldwell County has bounced back from one its worst starts in over 20 years.
The two squads square off Friday night in a Class 2A 1st Region playoff contest at Tiger Stadium in Princeton — the first meeting on the gridiron between the two schools in 22 years.
The Cougars have forged an 8-2 record this season behind a run-heavy offensive attack out of the Wing-T formation. It’s McLean’s best mark since the 1993 squad went 9-1 during the regular season and then beat Caldwell 28-6 in the first round of the playoffs before falling to Mayfield 23-0 in the second round.
McLean has rushed for almost 2,400 yards and 30 touchdowns through 10 games, led by senior running back Zach Clayton’s 687 yards and nine touchdowns.
However, Clayton is not the only running threat in the Cougar backfield. Quarterback Brodie Cline, a junior, had 500 yards and four TDs while junior running back Elijah Baldwin has run for 445 yards and seven scores.
McLean puts the ball in the air only six or seven times a game, with Cline going 23 of 52 passing for 508 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions.
Senior Evan Ward has hauled in 19 of the Cougars’ 31 completions as a team this year, totaling 449 yards and six scores.
Clayton, besides being the leading rusher, is also McLean’s top tackler with 86 stops this season from his linebacker spot. Senior lineman Will Taylor is next with 73 tackles, but 12 of those have gone for losses, including nine quarterback sacks.
As a team, the Cougar defense has registered 24 sacks this season.
Meanwhile, Caldwell, at one time, was 0-5 this season. But the Tigers finished the regular season with four wins in their last five outings — and picked up a forfeit win in the season opener after Christian County self-reported that it had played an ineligible player. That allowed the Tigers to conclude the regular season with a .500 mark at 5-5.
The Caldwell offense largely rides the legs of Jamus Carneyhan. The senior running back has accounted for 899 of the Tigers’ 1,092 rushing yards and nine of its 12 touchdowns on the ground this season.
Caldwell’s passing game struggled early in the season but has become a bigger threat over the last half of the season. Sophomore quarterback Luke Parker is now 85 of 160 in the passing department for 870 yards and six touchdowns with four interceptions.
Senior Zavy Bumphus leads the team with 27 receptions for 306 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Logan Chambliss has 18 grabs for 234 and a score. Carneyhan has 15 catches for 125 yards.
Defensively, Carneyhan has a team-high 85 tackles from his linebacker spot. Senior defensive end Camden Woford has made 58 stops while sophomore linebacker Gus Fox has 54 tackles, five interceptions, five sacks and a fumble recovery.
Caldwell is looking for its first playoff win since beating Edmonson County 37-20 in the first round in 2018. That means this year’s senior class is looking for its first playoff victory this week.
McLean last won in the postseason in 2019, making its longest playoff run ever by beating Hancock County 36-8 and Owensboro Catholic 37-36 before falling at Somerset in the third round 41-6.
For two schools only about an hour’s drive apart, this week will mark just the eighth meeting in football. Caldwell leads the all-time series 5-2 and won the last matchup in the 2000 season, 33-6 in Calhoun.
McLean won at Caldwell 19-12 the previous season — part of an 0-5 start that season for a Tiger squad that finished the year 2-8. Of course, that 1999 Caldwell squad had lost a large senior class from the year prior — when the Tigers went 14-1 and won the Class 2A state championship.
Kickoff time is 7:00 for McLean and Caldwell this Friday.
The winner will face the Owensboro Catholic-Fort Campbell victor in round two.
