Daelyn Lander had a hand in six touchdowns as Caldwell County advanced in the Class 2A playoffs for the first time in six years.
Lander threw five TD passes and ran for another score as the Tigers won at Fort Campbell 51-22 Friday night.
Caldwell (5-6) will visit Mayfield (8-2) in the second round. The Cardinals routed Todd County Central 50-12 on Friday.
A blocked punt led to the Tigers’ first score at Fort Campbell, and Caldwell never trailed.
Layton Wall got a hand on the punt on the Falcons’ first possession of the night. Eli Stevens fell on the ball at Fort Campbell 14. Caldwell cashed in when Lander hit Gus Fox in the back corner of the end zone on fourth down. The play covered 10 yards. Sutton Ritchey kicked the extra point as the Tigers went up 7-0 just 3:55 into the contest.
Fort Campbell (5-5) answered with a TD of its own when J.P. Perryman hit Eric Greene from 39 yards out. However, a run failed on the try, leaving Caldwell up 7-6 with 5:30 left in the first half.
But the next four scores belonged to the Tigers, who opened up a 35-6 advantage late in the first half.
After the Falcons got to within a point, Luke Maddox returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a score to make it 14-6.
Lander hit Fox from 10 yards out to push the margin to 21-6.
Maddox hauled in a 4-yard scoring toss on the next series to make it 28-6.
A deep pass from Lander to Luke Parker turned into an 80-yard touchdown play.
Fort Campbell broke the Caldwell streak when Keshawn Dixon scored on a 5-yard run. Greene carried it in for two points to trim the margin to 35-14.
The Falcon defense then turned away Caldwell on fourth down deep in Fort Campbell territory.
However, on the first next play, a bad snap led to a safety as the ball was fumbled out the back of the end zone. That came with just 9 seconds left in the half and put the Tigers up 37-14 at the break.
Caldwell continued its offensive onslaught in the second half.
A 53-yard scoring pass from Lander to Kam Wilson came just 1:30 into the third period and made it 44-14.
Caldwell reached the mercy rule for a running clock with 3:51 left in the third quarter on a 12-yard scoring run by Lander. Ritchey made it 7-for-7 on PATs as the margin grew to 51-14.
Fort Campbell put up the final points of the night on what ended up being the final play of the third period. Perryman made a 20-yard TD catch from Tannar Walters. Torrance Dixon ran for two, but the Falcons could get no closer than 51-22.
Lander finished the night 14 of 23 passing for 269 yards with the five touchdowns and one interception.
Parker made four catches for 104 yards and a score while Wilson had three grabs for 104 and a score. Fox had four receptions for 32 yards and two TDs.
Wilson also ran for the ball six times for 62 yards. Kam Spikes had 14 carries for 50 yards.
Caldwell totaled 402 yards in the contest, including 133 on the ground.
Meanwhile, Fort Campbell had 239 total yards, with 144 in the air and 95 in the running game.
Keshawn Dixon ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
Perryman made four catches for 62 yards and a score. Greene had three receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Caldwell’s Parker tied a school record with his ninth interception of the season in the second half. That equals Pete Moore’s total from the 1963 season.
The win came with a cost, however, for Caldwell. One of its top playmakers, Maddox, suffered multiple injuries after being tackled following a long kickoff return in the second quarter and will miss the rest of the season.
Caldwell had been 0-3 against Fort Campbell in playoff matchups before Friday’s game. However, the Tigers have now won 10 straight overall against the Falcons.
Caldwell will carry a three-game winning streak into next week’s game at Mayfield.
