Mayfield 17, Murray 7
The Murray High Tigers will enter their bye week with a bad taste in their mouths as they missed an opportunity Friday night against their rival Mayfield Cardinals. Turnovers were the deciding factor in this matchup of 2A district foes as Tigers could not take advantage of an uncharacteristically large amount of empty drives by the Cardinals.
Tied 7-7 at the half, Mayfield head coach Joe Morris made an adjustment, moving Kevin Caldwell from wideout to tailback. Caldwell capitalized quickly, scoring a 25-yard touchdown less that three minutes into the third quarter. On the ensuing drive, Murray lost a fumble, but their defense continued to come up big as they created a takeaway of their own, intercepting Mayfield quarterback Landon Arnett late in the third.
Neither defense bent much, but Cardinal kicker Sidney Herndon drilled a 25-yard field goal to go up two scores. Murray punted on their next drive, but picked off Arnett again in the end zone to give themselves a chance late.
A red zone fumble, however, would squash the comeback hopes for the Tigers. Mayfield's offense ran the clock from there to lock up their sixth win of the season.
The win for Mayfield all but ensures them home field advantage throughout the playoffs and sets up a good chance at a rematch between these two squads back at War Memorial Stadium.
Both teams are idle next week.
McCracken County 63, Ohio County 14
Bus trouble on the way to Paducah may have been a sign of things to come for Ohio County as this one was nearly over before it started. The Mustangs hung 35 points on the scoreboard in the first quarter including an astounding 21 points in only 20 seconds of game time.
McCracken backup quarterback Max Howard filled in well for the injured Cash Jones, going 6-of-9 for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns. Zy'Aire Hughes continued his assault on the box score with 112 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns on only 12 touches. Tyce Daniel, Darian Woods, Cory Fike, and Abijah Williams also found the end zone for the Mustangs.
McCracken County hosts district opponent Henderson County next Friday.
Paducah Tilghman 50, Trigg County 0
If Paducah Tilghman head coach Mike Rogers had any concern about backup quarterback Dalton Ferrell filling in for the banged up Jessie Dunigan, that anxiety was relieved quickly on Friday evening. The Tornado didn't need much from their passing game as Sayveon McEwen ran all over the Wildcats, scoring 4 times and racking up 142 yards in the first quarter alone. Up 43-0 at halftime, Rogers sat his starters for most of the final three quarters.
The Blue Tornado showed they have a short memory after a loss last week and evened their district record to 1-1. They are idle next week.
Graves County 47, Marshall County 23
The storied rivalry between the Eagles and the Marshals looked primed to go down to the wire, but a 3rd quarter onslaught by Graves lifted them to 2-0 record in district play.
A bungled snap on a Graves County field goal attempt early in the third quarter led to an 85-yard touchdown return and a 17-13 lead for the Marshals. But, a 99-yard touchdown on the ensuing kickoff by Dakota Dixon quickly shifted the momentum back in Graves' favor. The Eagles put up another 21 unanswered points to put the game out of reach and push their record to 4-3. They have next week off before hosting a big district game against Christian County on October 16th.
The Marshals drop their third in a row and fall to 1-5. They will be on the road to take on Owensboro next week.
Calloway County 47, Hopkins County Central 12
Calloway forced five turnovers and bullied the Storm from the outset of this one, using their pass-happy offense to take a 20-12 lead into the halftime locker room. A quick fumble recovery and interception to start the third quarter propelled the Lakers and they didn't look back.
The Lakers have become the feel good story of the 2015 season. After dropping their first three games, Mickey Garrison's team has pulled their record back to even and are now 2-0 in district play. They look to extend their winning streak next week as they travel to Webster County.
Ballard Memorial 56, Webster County 14
Ballard Memorial's winning ways continued Friday night as they steamrolled Webster County in a class 2A district matchup. Ballard scored on their second play from scrimmage and it was all Bombers for the rest of the night. The Trojans could never cut the game to within two scores as Ballard was too much to handle on both sides of the ball.
The victory moves Ballard to 4-2 on the year and 1-0 in district play. The Bombers return to action in two weeks on the road against Mayfield.
Other local scores:
Russellville 66, Fulton County 8
Crittenden County 43, Fulton City 12
Caldwell County 40, Union County 14
Owensboro 49, Christian County 24
Henderson County 35, Muhlenberg County 12
Hopkinsville 45, Madisonville 14
Herrin 50, Massac County 6
