The Tigers season came to an end last year against rival Mayfield, but the Tigers proved their program is growing into a regional power in Class 2A when Murray went to Owensboro Catholic in the 2A playoffs and came out with a 41-32 win over the Aces. This season, Coach Hodge would like to see his Tigers take that next step in Class 2A.
The most obvious case for optimism for the 2019 Tigers is the return of senior quarterback Hunter Utley. When comparing 1st district quarterbacks across all six classes in Kentucky, you’ll be hard pressed to find quarterback numbers as good as Utley’s. He passed for 2,454 yards last season with 26 touchdowns on 176 pass completions, averaging just under 200 yards passing and two touchdown passes per game. And the good news for Utley – his top two receivers from 2018 return as well with seniors Jaiden Jackson and Jorden Duffy. Jackson led all Tiger receivers in 2018 with 672 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns while Duffy was not too far behind with 648 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns for the Tigers.
Another case for optimism can be directed towards the Tigers defense. Murray has nine returning starters for 2019 including linebackers Tommy Waldrop, LT Armstrong, Noah Merriss, Dijon Miles, and Damon Boyd, defensive lineman Sebastian Lawrence and Alex Shultz, and defensive backs Jaiden Jackson and Kayden Rogers.
A final point of optimism for the 2019 Murray Tigers would be their schedule. The Tigers have a favorable home schedule, including home games against local rivals Graves County, Calloway County, Marshall County, and Caldwell County. The Tigers will have to travel to War Memorial to take on Mayfield, though. But the home schedule looks to be favorable for Murray in 2019.
2019 Murray Tigers Schedule
August 23 – Graves County
August
30 – Calloway County
September 6 – Marshall County
September
13 – at Union County
September 20 – at Trigg County
October
4 – Fort Campbell
October 11 – at Ballard Memorial
October
18 – Caldwell County
October 25 – at Mayfield
November 1 –
Fulton County
