The Caldwell County Tigers took the early lead in the race for the top seed in the district Friday night as they edged Paducah Tilghman 24-21 at Tiger Stadium. The game, which had been back and forth all night, came down to the final seconds, and was not decided until Boyce Nichols connected on a 19-yard field goal with one second to go.
Caldwell County began the night being opportunistic, as Paducah Tilghman mishandled the opening kickoff. The Tigers scored shortly after on a touchdown run by Jameer Riley to take a 7-0 lead. Tilghman quickly got things on track, scoring 14 unanswered points to take a 14-7 lead to the locker room at the halftime break.
Early in the 3rd quarter, the Tigers tied the game at 14 on a touchdown pass to Trel Riley. Again, Tilghman responded scoring on a short run about five minutes later to take the lead at 21-14. Back came the Tigers, as Joby Jaggers found Oliver Parker again this week to tie the game at 21-21 late in the third quarter, setting the stage for a tense 4th quarter and for Nichols heroics.
The win was the 5th in a row for Caldwell County since their season opening loss to Christian County. The Tigers will be on the road next week for a district matchup against Union County, who beat Crittenden County Friday night.