Hopkinsville’s big play capabilities were on full display on Friday at Trigg County’s Perdue Field as the Tigers had five touchdowns of 30 yards or more and a pick six in notching a 55-28 win over the Wildcats.
Hoptown jumped ahead 14-0 in the first quarter and allowed the Wildcats to get to within seven points once, and had an answer for every Trigg score for the remainder of the contest.
Jasiah McCarley, who played at Trigg County last year, threw for a career-high 324 yards and four touchdowns as the Tigers rolled up 461 yards of offense on just 36 plays for a staggering 13 yards per snap.
McCarley found Tremayne Clay on a 33-yard scoring strike on the fourth play of the game, and James Bradley, Jr. added a 17-yard run later in the quarter for a 14-0 Tiger lead. The second score was set up by an interception by Clay.
Trigg County countered with a 14-play, 58-yard drive that ate 5:17 off the clock. Caden Scott hit Ahmari Alexander on a 14-yard screen pass for the Wildcat’s first score.
The Wildcats thought they had recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but the official ruled the runner down before the ball popped loose. Hoptown took full advantage as McCarley hit Bradley on a seam route for a 60-yard scoring pass with 3:37 left in the half for a 21-7 Tigers’ lead.
Trigg County figured to have the momentum just before halftime as Scott found Peyton Williams on a 23-yard scoring pass with 55 seconds left that drew the Wildcats to within 21-14.
However, McCarley found Bradley on a short pass on the first play after the kickoff, and the senior weaved through the Wildcat defense for the back-breaking score and a 28-14 lead with just a few seconds left until intermission.
The teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter – Hoptown got a 9-yard touchdown run from Jeremiah Smith, and Trigg scored on a 7-yard run by Alexander, which was set up by a 72-yard kickoff return by Deon Edison. The last 30 yards or so came with one shoe.
After Trigg County recovered a fumble on Hoptown’s next drive – Trigg’s first takeaway since week one – the Wildcats gave it right back as Foster Jackson picked off a pass and returned it 33 yards to put the Tigers ahead 41-21 with 4:23 left in the third quarter.
Trigg County, playing without leading rusher and scorer Davaree Gude, who was ejected in last week’s loss to Marshall County, ran 38 more plays than Hoptown and dominated time of possession by a two-to-one margin. But they couldn’t overcome Hoptown’s big play machine that scored three touchdowns on the first play of the drive.
Clay hauled in five passes for 169 yards and a pair of scores, and Bradley had 212 all-purpose yards to go with three touchdowns.
Scott completed 21 of 35 passes for Trigg County for 175 yards. His 21 completions are tied for fourth most in a game by a Wildcat quarterback.
Deon Edison ran for a career-best 96 yards on 14 carries and caught three passes for 23 yards and a touchdown.
The game was the 21st and final one in the series between the schools, with Hopkinsville owning an 18-2-1 record.
Hopkinsville (3-1) will host South Warren next Friday, while the Wildcats (1-3) will open district play at Caldwell County.
HOPKINSVILLE 55 TRIGG COUNTY 28
Hopkinsville 14 14 13 14– 55
Trigg County 0 14 7 7– 28
TEAM STATS
TOTAL YARDS – Hopkinsville 461; Trigg County 304
RUSHING YARDS – Hopkinsville 21-92; Trigg County 36-129
PASSING YARDS – Hopkinsville 369; Trigg County 175
FIRST DOWNS – Hopkinsville 16; Trigg County 22
3rd DOWN CONVERSIONS – Hopkinsville 2-6; Trigg County 5-14
4th DOWN CONVERSIONS – Hopkinsville 0-2; Trigg County 5-7
TIME OF POSSESSION – Hopkinsville 16:32; Trigg County 31:28
TURNOVERS – Hopkinsville 1; Trigg County 2
PENALTIES – Hopkinsville 10-71; Trigg County 8-70
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING – HOPKINSVILLE – Bradley 11-80; Smith 4-17; Cannon 4-9; McCarley 2-(1-14); TRIGG COUNTY – Edison 14-96; Alexander 13-15; Calhoun 3-11; Scott 4-4; Williams 1-3; Team 1-0
PASSING – HOPKINSVILLE – McCarley 9-14, 324 Yards, 4 TD; Bailey 1-1, 45 yards, 1 TD; TRIGG COUNTY – Scott 21-35, 175 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
RECEIVING – HOPKINSVILLE – Clay 5-169; Bradley 2-132; Jesse 2-45; Teal 1-23; TRIGG COUNTY – Williams 6-54; Renfroe 5-27; Bellows 3-34; Alexander 3-31; Edison 3-23; Calhoun 1-6
SCORING
H – Clay 33-yard pass from McCarley (Harton kick), 9:46, 1Q
H – Bradley 17-yard run (Harton kick), 3:58, 1Q
T – Alexander 14-yard pass from Scott (Renfroe kick), 4:02, 2Q
H – Bradley 60-yard pass from McCarley (Harton kick), 3:37, 2Q
T – Williams 23-yard pass from Scott (Renfroe kick), 0:55, 2Q
H – Bradley 72-yard pass from McCarley (Harton kick), 0:35, 2Q
H – Smith 9-yard run (Kick blocked), 7:20, 3Q
T – Alexander 7-yard run (Renfroe kick), 7:01, 3Q
H – Jackson 33-yard interception return (Harton kick), 4:23, 3Q
T – Edison 12-yard pass from Scott (Renfroe kick), 10:04, 4Q
H – Clay 50-yard pass from McCarley (Harton kick), 9:47, 4Q
H – Clay 45-yard pass from Bailey (Harton kick), 1:33, 4Q
