The last month for Trigg County football has been as bad as the first two months were good. The Wildcats enter the postseason losers of three of their last four games and will try and pull a 180 Friday night at Hart County in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
Trigg County (7-3) has scored just two touchdowns in its last 10 quarters since Jacob Wease went down with a shoulder injury. The Wildcat offense, which was averaging 203 rushing yards and 221 passing yards before the injury, had 282 rushing yards and 147 passing yards combined in losses to Union County and Caldwell County.
Trigg County Coach Chris Ezell said Wease would be a game-time decision Friday but he’s leaning toward his senior quarterback suiting up and starting the game. Wease has thrown for 1,888 yards and 17 touchdowns in eight games. It would also allow Jerimyah Shearer, who played quarterback in Wease’s absence, to return to the receiver slot and give the Wildcats more explosiveness in the passing game.
The Wildcats will also feature senior Kelsey Parham, whose 1,501 rushing yards makes him the seventh Trigg County running back to rush for over 1,500 yards in a season.
While Trigg’s woes have been tied to its offense over the past three weeks, the Wildcat defense will be tasked with stopping a Hart County wing-T offense that runs for 336 yards a game.
Junior Jordan Bradley has run for 431 yards in six games since returning from injury and has over 2,000 yards for his career. Junior Joshua Dan Crump leads the Raiders with 934 yards and nine scores and has totaled over 1,700 yards in two seasons.
Hart County’s defense allows just 16 points a game and 215 yards of offense and has pitched a shutout the past two weeks.
Trigg County has lost five straight first-round playoff games and has never lost six. Their last postseason win came in 2014 over Edmonson County. Trigg County last won a road playoff game in 2006 against Caldwell County.
Hart County, meanwhile, has never won a playoff game in 12 appearances. The Raiders are 8-2 — their highest regular season win total in over 30 years.
Friday’s game is the first-ever football meeting between the schools.
You can hear Friday’s playoff game on WKDZ 106.5 FM and online at wkdzradio.com. YourSportsEdge Football Friday begins the coverage at 6 pm. The Trigg County Farm Bureau Pregame Show starts at 6:30. Kickoff is at 7 pm.
