The Madisonville-North Hopkins are certainly hoping that things go better this Friday night at Bowling Green High School than they did the last time they visited the campus. The Maroons and the Purples will get together on the Purples’ home field Friday night in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs.
The last meeting between the two teams was in the opening round of the 5A playoffs back in 2010. Coach Will Weaver’s Maroons entered that game at 5-5, having won 4 of their last 5, and were blanked by the Purples 25-0. Bowling Green would then lose the following week to eventual state runner-up Christian County.
The last win for Madisonville-North Hopkins in the series came in 2004. The Maroons went to Bowling Green in the second round of the Class AAA playoffs at 9-2. The Purples were undefeated and had outscored their opponents by nearly 400 points over 11 games. Coach Dixie Jones’ Maroons came up with a special performance that night and handed Bowling Green their only loss of the season 18-13. Sadly, the season for Madisonville-North Hopkins ended with a tough 3-point loss the following week at Hopkinsville.
Coach Chris Price and the Maroons face a similar challenge as they head to Bowling Green Friday night. The Purples are 8-2 and are averaging 38.9 points a game while giving up just 15.2. The Bowling Green losses have come to Frederick Douglass and crosstown rival South Warren.
While they can run the ball when they need to, the Purples will throw the ball, a lot. Senior quarterback Deuce Bailey has passed for more than 2,300 yards and 34 touchdowns. Four different receivers have caught at least four touchdown passes for the Purples, led by Trevy Barber, who has 15 TD receptions and nearly 900 receiving yards.
The Purples have only been held below 20 points once, that in the season-opening loss to Frederick Douglass. The potential good news for the Maroons is that Bowling Green has given up points at times, 35 to Frederick Douglass, 28 to South Warren, and 22 to Bryan Station.
The Maroons head into the game at 7-3 and coming off arguably their best performance of the season. They manhandled Murray last Friday, limiting the Tigers to just 186 yards of total offense. Maroon QB Kanyon Johnson ran for three touchdowns and passed for two others as the Madisonville-North Hopkins offense put up 40+ points for the seventh time this season. The Maroons are 6-1 in games where they scored at least 40.
Kickoff between the Maroons and the Purples is set for Friday night at 7pm at Bowling Green High School.
