The Hopkinsville Tigers surrendered 5 touchdowns of 30 yards or more on the way to a 35-7 loss to hosts Mayfield on Friday night. The Tigers slip to 0-2 for the second year in a row, after losing six of their first seven last season. However, the Tigers got hot down the stretch in 2017, winning 5 straight before falling to Franklin-Simpson in the playoffs. Mayfield, coming off a state title and two runners-up since moving to 2A, now stands at 2-0.
The Tigers began the game with rushing first downs by JaTorion Dillard and Jordan Hopson, but quarterback Jay Bland was intercepted by the Cardinals’ Alonzo Daniel. After Daniel returned the ball to the Hoptown thirty-two yard line, the Tiger defense held and Mayfield had to punt. Neither team would threaten for the remainder of the quarter and it ended scoreless.
With just under ten minutes to play in the half, Mayfield took the lead on a 40-yard touchdown run by Trey Matthews. The Cardinals doubled their lead when Diaz Perry took a screen pass 50 yards for another score. With just over two minutes left until the break, Matthews broke a 30-yard touchdown run, giving the Cardinals a 21-0 lead at the half.
Diaz caught his second TD pass in the third quarter, going 63 yards to give Mayfield a four-score advantage. The Tigers offense finally got going with five minutes left in the third. Bland hit Reece Jesse for 15 yards, followed by two completions to Ellis Dunn down to the Mayfield thirty-five. After losing 10 yards on a fumbled snap, Bland broke off runs of 16 and 14 yards to move the ball to the fifteen. Bland hit Dunn again, before finishing the drive himself with a 5-yard TD run.
As the third quarter closed, Bland found Jesse down the sideline for a 39-yard gain to midfield. However, with a chance to cut the lead to two scores, the Tigers’ offense stalled and they were forced to punt. With just over six minutes to play the Cardinals tacked on their final score on a 46-yard run by quarterback Connor Guthrie.
The Tigers will be back on the road next Friday to face Caldwell County (1-1) in Princeton. Mayfield will host the 2-0 Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornado.