While the stakes were high the first time around, they will be even more so this Friday night when Hopkinsville hosts Madisonville, with a berth in the Class 4A quarterfinals on the line. The two teams advanced with hard fought wins Friday night in the opening round of the playoffs.
Hopkinsville had a surprisingly difficult time putting away Calloway County, while Madisonville rallied late for a come from behind win at Logan County.
The first time the two teams met, back on October 11, the Maroons had to hold on with everything they had to pick up a 20-18 win. Halfway through the 3rd quarter, the Maroons led 20-0 and appeared to be cruising to a big win.
However, Jay Bland caught fire over the last 18 minutes of the game, tossing three touchdown passes, two of those being caught by Reece Jesse. The comeback would end up just short though, as Madisonville stopped the Tigers on a 2-point version attempt that would have tied the game with 21 seconds left.
This will mark the second year in a row that the Tigers and the Maroons have met in the playoffs. Last season, Hopkinsville went on the road and fell 20-0 to Madisonville, after losing to the Maroons 14-0 in their regular season matchup.
With the Tigers being the #1 seed in the district, this year’s game will be played at the Stadium of Champions.