For the second straight week, Trigg County fell into an early hole. Unlike the first week which resulted in a 37-19 loss to Monroe County, the Wildcats were able to bounce back and rally for a 31-22 win over McLean County Friday at Perdue Field. The Cougars (0-2) used their ball control offense to jump ahead 16-0 on touchdown runs of 12 yards by Peyton Carraway and 77 yards by Tyler Beals. McLean had 29 rushing attempts in the first half alone for 138 yards.
The tide stemmed for the Wildcats in the second quarter as they were able to make some traction with their ground game. After rushing for just 37 yards in the loss to Monroe County in week one, Trigg had 98 yards by halftime.
Zac McIntosh’s blocked punt set up Trigg’s first score, a 15-yard run by Tyson Bush with 1:02 left in the half.
Down 16-6 at halftime, scored the first three touchdowns of the second half. Cam Jordan scored on a three-yard run and a four-yard run sandwiched around a 15-yard scoring pass to Jakobe Bridges.
Kyron Grubbs had two interceptions, one of which he returned for an apparent 100-yard touchdown. However, an unsportsmanlike conduct flag 25 yards behind the play on Trigg nullified the score.
Grubbs nabbed a second McLean pass and returned it inside the Cougar five which set up Jordan’s second TD run with 7:48 left in the game.
McLean answered three minutes later when quarterback A.J. Cline, facing a fourth-and-1 play, plodded ahead on a sneak then broke from the pack untouched for a 62-yard touchdown run.
Trigg salted the game away when Tayshaun Barker scored from 37 yards out. Barker finished with 73 yards on five carries, while Tyson Bush added 66 yards on nine carries. Cam Jordan ran for 89 yards and threw for 80 more.
McLean County ran the football 58 times for 389 yards, led by 103 yards from Noah Baldwin and 96 yards from Tyler Beals.
The contest was the first between the schools since 2000. Trigg has now won four straight against McLean County.
Trigg County will travel to Crittenden County next Friday. The Rockets, who beat Stewart County, TN 62-27 in their season opener last week, were idle Friday.