Hoisted upon the shoulders of his teammates, Jay Bland held a tight grip on the Bragging Rights trophy. In the ultimate act of redemption, there was no way the Hopkinsville High School senior quarterback was letting it go.
One year after having his junior season ended in a rivalry football game against Christian County, Bland returned with a vengeance Friday at Stadium of Champions, as the crafty cannon threw a school-record six touchdown passes and led the Tigers to a 41-13 victory over the Colonels.
It’s the third time in five games that Bland has thrown four or more TDs this season, and the six-pack of scores surpassed his previous high of five – a feat he completed against Logan County during his sophomore campaign in 2017.
Ironically, however, it wasn’t Bland’s favorite target – rising junior prospect Reece Jesse – who did the bulk of the damage. With Jesse, who was held to just 77 receiving yards, drawing double coverage the duration of the contest, the other Hoptown receivers received one-on-one coverage.
And Bland took full advantage.
With a pair of touchdown throws to both Lane Rushing and Tyrell Gray-Lewis, one to Jesse on a 59-yard breakaway dagger and another to junior Ryan Myers, Bland – who finished 11-of-23 for 218 years – increased his 2019 passing touchdown total to 17.
County (0-5), which remains winless midway through the regular season, fell behind 14-0 on Friday, but was right in the thick of things when Cameron Coleman’s nine-yard TD catch in the corner of the end zone capped a six-minute, 60-yard drive and pulled the Cols within 21-13 of HHS to start the third quarter.
That’s as close as they would get, though. The Tigers responded with 20 straight points and a fourth-quarter shutout to win their first Bragging Rights trophy since 2014.
The first half was a rushing-to-Rushing approach for Hopkinsville. Using a run-heavy approach to spread the field, primarily behind the work of Jayden Dillard and Isaya Brooks, Hoptown drew in the Colonel defense and set up two Rushing TD catches out of the gate.
And after County’s Niko Bussell blocked a Tiger punt that Emarion Davie recovered in the end zone for a touchdown, the Bland onslaught continued. Set up by CCHS penalties on consecutive plays, Gray-Lewis caught the first of his two scores with 15 seconds left in the second quarter to give HHS a 21-7 advantage at halftime.
After allowing the long drive to open the second half, Hoptown’s swarming defense – led by senior linebacker Hayden Lackey – never allowed the Colonels a chance to even think about a comeback. Dejuan Mercer added a late interception for the Tigers; County’s Stephen Bussell had a pick for his squad.
The Colonels will look for their first win of the season next week, traveling to Hendersonville, Tennessee, to take on Pope John Paul II. Hopkinsville (3-2), meanwhile, will begin district play, hosting winless Calloway County. The Lakers (0-5) lost 45-21 Friday at Paducah Tilghman.
SCORE BY QUARTER
HHS (3-2) 7 14 13 7 – 41
CCHS (0-5) 0 7 6 0 – 13
SCORING PLAYS
HHS (1Q, 3:33): Lane Rushing 12-yard catch from Jay Bland (Mason Marschand kick)
HHS (2Q, 11:00): Rushing 7-yard catch from Bland (Marschand kick)
CCHS (2Q, 4:20): Emarion Davie blocked punt recovery in end zone (Austin Grant-Hall kick)
HHS (2Q, 0:15): Tyrell Gray-Lewis 27-yard catch from Bland (Marschand kick)
CCHS (3Q, 7:00): Cameron Coleman 9-yard catch from Donta Abren (PAT no good)
HHS (3Q, 5:30): Ryan Myers 10-yard catch from Bland (Marschand kick)
HHS (3Q, 2:30): Reece Jesse 59-yard catch from Bland (PAT no good)
HHS (4Q, 10:46): Gray-Lewis 39-yard catch from Bland (Marschand kick)