It has been a bit of an unfriendly
rivalry for the Blue Tornado of late. A complete decade, to be exact,
as the Cardinals have won 10 games in a row over Tilghman, the
longest winning streak held by either side in the long rivalry.
Some
of the wins by Mayfield during that stretch have been close. In 2010,
Mayfield edged out Tilghman in overtime, 23-20. And other matchups
the past decade have ended in routs. The last two seasons, Mayfield
has defeated Tilghman by a combined score of 84-35, including a 37-14
win at Tilghman’s McRight Field last season. Mayfield leads the
all-time series, 47-46, with 10 ties.
Regardless of their decade of success
against Tilghman and their opposite starts to this season, Mayfield
coach Joe Morris realizes the game against Tilghman is always going
to be a tough one.
“All that in the past means nothing right now
because it’s a new year with new teams and new players,” Morris
said. “One of the great things about this rivalry is that it’s
the 2nd longest in the state of Kentucky and full of hard, tough
games in which nobody knows who’s going to win.”
Much like the rivalry of late, Tilghman and Mayfield’s 2016 seasons have been polar opposites of each other. Paducah Tilghman comes into the contest losing their opener in convincing fashion to McCracken County, but showing a vast improvement last Friday night in their 29-21 loss on the road at Central Hardin.
Mayfield comes into Friday night’s
matchup fairly uncontested this season; having outscored their first
two opponents of the season (Fort Campbell and Marshall County) by a
combined score of 104-7. Morris attributes the strong start to his
players.
“Our kids are playing hard,” Morris said. “We’re
trying to get better in certain areas like all teams, but the team
has a great attitude and is working hard.”
Mayfield has been led this season on
the offensive side of the football by seniors Landon Arnett, Trajon
Bright, and Anton Lumson. Arnett is off to a good start this season
completing 19 passes in 33 attempts for 343 yards and six touchdowns.
Trajon Bright leads the Cardinals in rushing this season with 287
rushing yards on 32 attempts with six touchdowns.
Against Marshall
County last Friday night, Bright had a big game as he ran for 154
yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. And senior receiver Anton
Lumson leads all Mayfield receivers with 105 yards receiving on just
five receptions.
Tilghman’s offense showed improvement in their 29-22 loss to Central Hardin Friday night. Seniors Dalton Ferrell and Alec Gold both improved over their numbers vs McCracken County, with Ferrell throwing for 157 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-28 passing, and Gold ran for 131 yards on 22 carries. Senior Hunter Watkins led all receivers for Tilghman with 58 yards receiving on five receptions.
While Tilghman showed some improvement in their loss to Central Hardin, it will have to show exponential improvement to get a win on the road against the top-ranked Cardinals. I think Mayfield makes it 11-in-a-row.
PREDICTION: Mayfield- 35, Tilghman- 14
(0-2) Madisonville-North Hopkins at (2-0) McCracken County – The McCracken County Mustangs host Madisonville-North Hopkins in their home opener Friday night after winning their first two road games this season by a combined score of 96-24.
Madisonville is seeking their first win of the season, but a very difficult schedule to this point is the culprit for the Maroons early season struggles. Madisonville opened up the 2016 season hosting traditional powers Evansville Harrison (Indiana) and Owensboro and did not fare well in the two contests.
And it doesn’t look to be getting any
easier for Madisonville. The Mustangs have benefitted from short
field positions in both of their dominant wins over Paducah Tilghman
and Warren Central, and even though the starting offensive unit has
yet to play more than one half in a game this season, the offensive
numbers for McCracken have been big.
Senior quarterback Cash Jones is
off to a great start this season completing 30-of-40 pass attempts
for 411 yards and 9 touchdowns to just one interception. Jones only
played in the first half against Paducah Tilghman and Warren Central.
Jones has spread the football around as
well with 11 different McCracken receivers with at least one
reception this season. Senior Darian Woods and junior Lawson Parrish
lead all McCracken receivers this season in reception yards; Woods
with 116 yards on seven receptions and one touchdown and Parrish with
115 yards on 8 receptions and two touchdowns.
And seven different
receivers have at least one touchdown reception this season,
including seniors Darian Woods, Tyce Daniel, Thomas Haliburton and
Dalton Lanphere, junior Lawson Parrish, sophomore Alex Miezio, and
freshman Franklin Hayes.
The ground game has also provided a spark for the Mustangs this season led by junior running back TaeShawn Allen. Allen has six rushing attempts for 72 yards and a touchdown and senior Cory Fike also helping out with 7 rushing attempts for 41 yards.
The early season schedule for the Maroons has been tough, and I don’t think it eases up on them this week.
PREDICTION: McCracken County- 49, Madisonville-North Hopkins-14
(2-0) Ballard Memorial at (0-1) Marshall County- The Ballard Memorial Bombers put together a decent 2015 campaign, stringing together a 5-5 record in a tough Class 2A field, but their most impressive win last season came at Marshall County’s Traylor Stadium. The Bombers went into Marshall County and squeaked out with a 26-22 win over the Marshals. The Bombers look to continue that success into the 2016 campaign and move their record to 3-0.
Ballard Memorial returns much of the
offense from last season, including five of their top six offensive
producers last season. Sophomore quarterback Erick Marinelli looks to
build on a freshman campaign that saw him throw for 1,196 yards on
77-for-135 passing with 14 touchdowns. Marinelli’s top two targets
return as well as seniors Jamarrion Williams and Dru Collier return
for the Bombers.
Williams had 432 yards receiving with six touchdowns
last season, while Collier had 375 yards receiving with three
touchdowns. Also returning for the Bombers is senior running back
Devyn Bledsoe. Bledsoe rushed for 919 yards and seven touchdowns last
season for Ballard Memorial.
The Marshals had a tough opening week assignment, traveling to defending state champion Mayfield in adverse weather conditions at War Memorial Stadium. Marshall County fell 49-7 against Mayfield, but the Marshals have some pieces this year to be competitive.
The Marshals return five of their top six offensive producers last season, including junior quarterback Skyler Smith. Smith threw for 850 yards last season with six touchdowns, and his top two receiving targets are back as well with seniors Lucas Forsythe and Tristen Prange. Forsythe had 26 receptions for 447 yards and three touchdowns last season, while Prange had 16 receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown for the Marshals.
Can the Bombers pull off a victory at Marshall County’s Traylor Stadium for the second year in a row? Senior experience favors the Bombers this season. Look for the Marshals to reel off some wins this season, but it will be tough against Ballard Memorial.
PREDICTION: Ballard Memorial- 31, Marshall County- 21
(1-1) Murray at (1-1) Graves County- The Graves County Eagles got back on track last week as they took care of Trigg County 21-0 in a weather-shortened game.
Sophomore quarterback Ryan Mathis was 10-for-24 accounted for all three scores against the Wildcats, passing for 120 yards and two touchdowns. But the big story for Mathis was what he did running the football. Mathis averaged just over 16 yards a carry as he carried the ball seven times for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Murray comes into Friday night still searching for their identity a bit. Senior running back Andrew Pajor went down with a knee injury in the opener against West Greene, and the Tigers have been searching for offensive production since then.
The Eagles have figured a few things out on offense, and that should be enough to get by Murray High Friday night.
PREDICTION: Graves County-27, Murray-14
Week 3 Games:
Paducah Tilghman at Mayfield
Madisonville-North Hopkins at McCracken County
Murray at Graves County
Ballard Memorial at Marshall County
McLean County at Crittenden County
Fulton County at Fulton City
Caldwell County at North Hardin
Caverna at Trigg County
Massac County at Nashville, IL
