From 2017-19, Madisonville North Hopkins High School had not one, but two trains running every night.
The first trickled, and still does, along the railroad tracks almost parallel to Maroon Stadium.
The second, however, was former running back Jeriah Hightower — who, during his teenage career, mustered more than 6,300 yards rushing and 60 touchdowns, including an incredulous, and historic, 3,001 yards and 33 touchdowns on 348 carries in 2019.
It was the kind of season Mad’ville won’t soon forget, as Coach Jay Burgett, Hightower, quarterback Hayden Reynolds and so many others helped contribute to an 11-3 finish — their only losses to Logan County, eventual state runner-up Mayfield and eventual state champion Johnson Central.
And it was the kind of season remembered again Friday night at Maroon Stadium, when Hightower was joined by friends and family at halftime against Union County, in order to embrace the five-year anniversary and the retirement of his “No. 29.”
“It means a lot to me to have my jersey retired, especially against Union County,” Hightower said. “It’s a team that we played every single year when I was in high school. And it just means the world to me to be able to come back here and be honored, and not only just for me, but for my past teammates as well. Our teams were really special.”
Indeed, they were.
Hightower had to truly earn his role within the Maroons offense, and didn’t scratch for much his 2016 freshman season, seeing action in only three games while finishing with eight carries and 45 yards. Madisonville North Hopkins would go 4-7, its season snipped clean after a 48-20 loss at South Warren.
His sophomore season in 2017 proved to be a coming-of-age moment, where he become Burgett’s bell cow for 233 rushes, 1,528 yards and 15 touchdowns. The Maroons went 7-5, but were throttled by Franklin-Simpson 62-6 in the playoffs.
In 2018, Hightower found another gear — logging 251 carries, 1,769 yards and 23 touchdowns, but a 10-3 season fell just short again, when Franklin-Simpson edged away with a 12-10 victory in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.
In 2019, it was simply go time.
“Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about the yards then,” Hightower said. “I was more thinking about the wins. Every single day, we came in with a mentality of ‘we have to work this week, so we can win on Friday.’ I never really cared that much about the yards. I was honored to be able to put up the yards, and it felt special doing it. But during the day, the thing that mattered most to me was getting it every day with those guys and just trying to get a win every week.”
One of those brotherhood battles came at Maroon Stadium Friday, November 1, 2019, when Burgett hosted his Alma mater and vaunted annual Class 2A championship contender Mayfield for a much-needed litmus test.
Madisonville erased a 24-point halftime deficit and nearly pulled off the comeback, before falling 53-50 in arguably one of the best regular season matchups in recent western Kentucky football history. Hightower finished with 190 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 27 carries, while Reynolds — a dual threat — added 235 yards passing and another 112 on the ground. Krey Cunningham and Blake Moody combined for more than 25 tackles, while Cunningham had a pick six and Marquise Parker had an interception. Nick Grant and Deljuan Johnson each had a receiving touchdown, and all of it was nearly enough to unseat the efforts of Hall of Fame coach Joe Morris, Cardinals QB Jayden Stinson and his complementing talents.
“Senior night, my senior year, we played Mayfield, and we were down by quite a bit going into halftime,” Reynolds said. “It never really fazed us, quite honestly. We knew Mayfield was a good team, and we just came out and played our game. We ended up in a loss, but honestly it was one of the best games I’ve ever been a part of; I had family come from all over the state, and they told me it was the best game they’d ever witnessed in their entire lives.”
It was one of those defeats in which the team learned, then put to use, by defeating bitter rivals Hopkinsville, Logan County and Franklin-Simpson all in a row for a rare regional title.
“My favorite memory is definitely beating Franklin-Simpson in the regional championship at home,” Hightower added. “That’s a team that’s plagued us as long as I can remember, and beating them in the fashion that we did was just extra sweet. I think that’s the most touchdowns I’ve ever had in a game in my life. And it was just such a fun game, and finally getting over the hump, it felt like such a relief where we could take that next step. They had put us out of the playoffs the previous two years before that.”
Hightower had 37 carries, 324 yards rushing and six touchdowns. Yep. That’ll do.
Eventually a two-star recruit with offers from Murray State, Illinois State and UT Martin, he was chosen first-team all-state by the Kentucky Associated Press, leading the state in rushing. His rushing total was eighth-most ever in single-season history, and he’s the school’s all-time career rushing leader.
After graduating from EKU, Hightower has transitioned to Bethel University in McKenzie, Tennessee, where he’s in pursuit of a master’s degree and more football glory with the NAIA Wildcats. Their first game is at home against Point, 7 PM August 31.
“Wouldn’t have done it without him”
Now Paducah Tilghman’s athletic director, and a former state champion at Mayfield, Burgett has some clear understanding on how to pursue, and maintain, a winning football culture.
That was no clearer than from 2016-19, where Madisonville matriculated from four wins in 2016, to 11 wins in 2019.
He said none of it, however, would have been possible without Hightower’s arrival.
Looking back at that Saturday, November 16, 2019, Hopkinsville game, actually, Hightower had 21 carries for 174 yards and two touchdowns. But the slated time was rare for the moment.
Almost as rare as Hightower’s talent.
Burgett also noted that he and his staff knew they had someone particularly special after Hightower’s sophomore year.
A different style of play, for a different type of talent — one now enshrined in school lore.
