The Hopkinsville Tigers’ football team fell 35-20 to the Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons, putting a damper on the Tigers’ homecoming celebrations. The Tigers would continually cripple themselves, committing eight turnovers, while struggling to stop the Maroons ground attack.
Hopkinsville received to start the game and moved the ball to midfield, but punted and pinned the Maroons on their own 14. Madisonville went 3 and out and punted, giving the Tigers great field position at the Madisonville 26 yard line. After penalties on both sides, the Tigers punted once again, pushing the Maroons back to their own 13. The Maroons moved the ball out the the 34 on a sweep, but a holding penalty and a good play by the Hoptown defense to stuff a reverse, forced another Maroon punt.
The Tigers took over around midfield, but went backwards and faced a 3rd and 15. Maroon junior DB James Gilbert stepped in front of a sophomore Jay Bland pass and returned it to the Hopkinsville 31 yard line. The Maroons would convert on a 3rd and 8 from the Hoptown 28, and would get in the end zone on a 5 yard touchdown run by junior Aaron Miller, taking a 7-0 lead after a converted PAT.
The Tigers committed their second turnover on the ensuing kickoff, fumbling and presenting the Maroons with ideal field position on the Tiger 33. After a tackle for a loss by Tiger senior Andrew King, Madisonville would punt, leaving Hopkinsville inside their own 20 yard line as time expired on the 1st quarter. The teams exchanged penalties before Bland scrambled 15 yards, picking up a first down. Bland fumbled the snap on 2nd and 6 and looked to be in big trouble before pitching to senior JaKevis Bryant, who broke multiple tackles before reversing field and hitting the sideline for a 56 yard touchdown. After the PAT by senior Taylor Harton, the game was tied 7-7 with 8:25 left in the half.
After a good return to their own 42, and a loss of 7 yards on 1st down, Miller picked up 20 yards on a run to the Hoptown 46. The Maroons would face a 3rd and 2 on the Tiger 32 and Miller came through once again with a run to the 11. On 3rd and 4 from the 5 yard line, sophomore Jariah Hightower got in the end zone, putting the Maroons in front 14-7 after a successful PAT.
The Tigers moved the ball to the Madisonville 25 on two completions to King and a facemask penalty with 3:10 remaining in the half. However, once again the Tigers turned the ball over, with a fumble by Bland giving the Maroons the ball on their own 31. A huge run to the Tiger 26 by Hightower had the Maroons in good position, but a King tackle for a loss and two incompletions in the end zone, including one on 4th down, gave the Tigers the ball on their own 30 with 1:14 left.
At 3rd and 3 the Tigers just missed on a pass attempt to senior Gavin Marschand and were forced to punt. The Tigers would turn the ball over again as Harton dropped the snap and Madisonville recovered at the Tiger 16 with 33 seconds left in the half. The Maroons moved the ball down to the 8 yard line to attempt a 25 yard field goal as time expired, but the Tigers would get a hand on the kick and it fell harmlessly in the end zone.
Madisonville took the opening possession of the second half on their own 30, before a first down run and an encroachment penalty moved them to the Hoptown 43. On 3rd and 4 from the 39, sophomore quarterback Hayden Reynolds hit Miller for a touchdown pass, taking the Madisonville lead to 21-7 after a successful PAT. After a kickoff that went out of bounds, the Tigers took possession on their own 35, but fumbled on first down, with Maroon sophomore Nick Grant scooping it up and returning it for another Maroon touchdown. The converted PAT gave the Maroons a 28-7 lead with 8:08 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
Tiger senior Mitchell Degenhardt returned the ensuing kickoff out to the 42, but a sack on 1st down would lead to a 3rd and 18 from their own 34. Bland would again be sacked and cough the ball up, resulting in Madisonville setting up on the Hopkinsville 32 yard line. After a 1st down run, Reynolds’ pass attempt would be picked at the goal line by freshman Elijah Austin, and returned out to the Hoptown 35 with 5:06 left in the 3rd quarter.
The Tigers went 3 and out and punted, giving the Maroons possession on their own 31. After a holding call and a fumbled snap Madisonville was able to recover, the Maroons would punt. The Tigers took advantage of the good field position, with Bland hitting Marschand for 39 yards down to the Maroon 6. Bland finished off the drive with a short touchdown pass to King, pulling the Tigers to within two touchdowns with 1:42 left in the 3rd.
The Maroons returned the kickoff to their own 31, including a Tiger facemask penalty. The Maroons would be called for holding on 1st down, before a big pick-up by Hightower to the Hoptown 44 as the 3rd quarter expired.
Madisonville began to pound away on the ground, moving from the Hopkinsville 39 down to the 5, before Miller punched it in on 3rd and goal from the 1, giving the Maroons a commanding 35-14 lead after the PAT.
After the kickoff, the Tigers took control on their own 21 and picked up a 1st down out to the 33 on a completion to Marschand. With 6:03 remaining, the Tigers faced a 4th and 5 from the 38, but Bland hit King for the 1st down. After each team picked up a personal foul penalty, Bland was picked off on 1st and 10 from the Madisonville 42. Gilbert grabbed his second interception of the game and returned it to the Hoptown 46.
The Maroons went backward and went for it on 4th and 13, but Tiger senior Elijah Rawlins came up with the sack, resulting in a turnover on downs on the 45 yard line. A completion to Marschand got the Tigers out to the Madisonville 47, but an incompletion on 4th and 2 gave the Maroons the ball with only 2:29 left. The Maroons ran into the Hopkinsville defensive line 3 times before taking a delay of game penalty that left only 18 seconds on the clock.
The Maroons punted and the Tigers took over on their own 30. Instead of a hail mary, the Tigers opted for a running play, and Degenhardt broke a 70 yard touchdown run as time ran out for the final 15 point margin.
The Tigers fall to 1-5 on the season, and face a daunting task in a trip to undefeated Logan County (6-0) next Friday.