Mayfield vs. Paducah Tilghman:
The second longest football rivalry in the Bluegrass resumes on Friday night as the Mayfield Cardinals travel to McRight Field looking to extend their winning streak over Paducah Tilghman to ten games. At the helm since 1999, Cardinals head coach Joe Morris admitted that the winning streak is something the he's thinking about. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about it a little. These two programs have been playing for over a hundred years and the series is basically even. Sure, I think about it, but we don't take that approach with our kids. We are going to prepare just like any other week."
Coach Morris was accurate when he mentioned the all-time record. According to MayfieldCardinals.net, the series, which dates back to 1911, currently sits at 47-45-11 in Tilghman's favor. A win by the Cardinals on Friday night will make for an enthralling storyline going into next season's game with Mayfield having the possibility to even the overall series.
For the Blue Tornado and head coach Mike Rogers, Friday is a chance to bounce back from their week two defeat at the hands of Central Hardin. "We really struggled against the run, "Rogers said in an interview on Tuesday, "and Central Hardin is a great running team. We've got to be better in that aspect." Rogers' defense will have its hands full with Mayfield tailback Trajon Bright. Rogers echoed these praises saying, "He's a great football player. He's why they can look to run first and dictate their offense from there. We just have to practice hard this week and be prepared."
Rogers, like Morris, acknowledged the excitement around the rivalry, "These are two great programs that respect each other and respect the rivalry. There is going to be a lot going on, but we have to focus on what goes on on the field."
Also on the line is Mayfield's shutout streak. They have not allowed a single point in the first two weeks, a stretch that will be hard to maintain against Paducah Tilghman this week and McCracken County next week.
Kickoff for the 103rd matchup between the Cardinals and the Blue Tornado is set for 7:30 at McRight Field in Paducah.
McCracken County vs. Madisonville-North Hopkins
New McCracken County head coach Shawn Jackson takes his Mustang bunch on the road for the first time this week and they travel to Madisonville-North Hopkins to battle a Maroons squad that has been outscored 90-9 in its first two contests. After a tough loss to Paducah Tilghman in week one, the Mustangs got things back on track in week two against Warren Central. "I couldn't be happier with our improvement offensively last week", Coach Shawn Jackson told Eric Chumbler on the McCracken County Coaches Show Wednesday night. "I'm looking for us to keep improving each and every week and Madisonville won't be easy."
Jackson spoke specifically to the Maroons' holes on special teams. "I'm not sure they're going to kick to us," Jackson said in an interview on Thursday, "they've given up a handful of return touchdowns already. We have to be ready for fakes and all that stuff."
Despite their slow start this season, the Maroons have amassed 16 wins since 2013. But this week, they are looking to play the spoiler against the 6A Mustangs. Kickoff, in Madisonville, is set for 7:00.
Graves County vs. Murray
Much like McCracken County, the Graves County Eagles entered last week's match up against Trigg County in dire need of a victory. The 5A state runners-up a year ago, the Eagles experienced quite a bit of roster turnaround from last season. Eagles head coach Lance Gregory was enthusiastic about his youthful squad's quick turnaround last week. "Our defense was so much better last week. We played better fundamental defense and, most importantly, our tackling was improved," the seasoned head coach stated on Tuesday. Gregory's defense didn't provide much resistance in the season opener, surrendering 48 points to Hopkinsville. But, they bounced back well, allowing only 20 points out of Trigg County, a team with a similar makeup and scheme to the Tigers.
Gregory spoke to his team's improved efficiency on the offensive side as well: "We finished drives with points. [Freshman quarterback] Ryan Mathis is getting more comfortable out there, and is getting in better sync with his receivers." With Dakota Dixon rushing for 195 yards on only 16 carries against the Wildcats, a lot of the pressure was taken off Mathis and he was able to find his two favorite weapons, sibling wideouts Hunter and Trevor Grant, a total of eight times for 142 yards and two scores.
Murray, on the other hand, is looking to keep the ball rolling as they enter this week undefeated. The Tigers have averaged 48.5 points in their first two contests. But, Tigers head coach Keith Hodge is looking for improvement out of his quad after what the saw as a lackluster execution last week against their crosstown rival Calloway County. "The first two weeks we came out and played really hard, but we executed a lot better in the first week than we did in the second," the second year head coach said, "we had too many turnovers and really just kind of fell off a little bit." Harsh words from Hodge, as the Tigers were still able to defeat the Lakers 48-21. "We have to make sure we keep momentum on our side. A lot of that comes from the little things."
The outcome of this contest will heavily depend on both defenses. While Murray has only given up 24 points combined in its first two contests, the Tigers have yet to see a running game as stout as Graves County's. On the other side of the coin, the Eagles' defense will have to continue to improve as they go up against their third consecutive dual-threat quarterback in Desjahvonni Miles. Kickoff between Murray and Graves is slated for 7:00 in Murray.
Ballard Memorial vs. Marshall County
Ballard Memorial's struggles from their week one loss carried over to last weekend's matchup against an improved Fulton City squad. Veteran head coach John Elliott was unimpressed by his team's ability to finish drives in the first half against the Bulldogs, "We still really struggled offensively in the first half. We had the ball inside the 20 five times and only scored one touchdown." However, the Bombers figured it out in the second half as running back Devyn Bledsoe amassed 194 yards for the game as the Bombers cruised to a 34-8 victory. Running the ball won't come as easy this week as Ballard Memorial travels to Marshall County and their cumbersome front seven. "I don't know that we can counteract their size, they are a big football team. We have skill guys that can make plays, though."
That Marshals, idle in week one, are looking to notch their first victory and first points of the season after losing the Mayfield 37-0 at home last week. "That's likely the best team we'll play all year," Marshall County head coach Evan Merrick said of Mayfield, "they exposed a lot of our weaknesses and really showed us what we need to work on." The Marshals struggled to get anything going both on the ground and through the air, amassing only 76 yards of total offense against a Mayfield defense that hasn't allowed a point in 2015. Coach Merrick acknowledged that his team has to get things straight at a fundamental level if they expect to take down Ballard Memorial. "That's a good team," Merrick said in reference to the Bombers, "they're going to look to run first and they have some kids with a lot of football talent." The second-year head coach also noted that his team's offensive success is going to hinge upon an improvement along the offensive line, "we had a lot of missed assignments along the line, we kind of need to re-identify ourselves and clean it up this week."
The last time these two programs met saw the Marshals top the Bombers 35-7 in 2011. Friday night's game kicks off at 7:00 in Benton.
You can hear Marshall Toy every Monday from 5:00-7:00 as he hosts Marshall Toy Sports and every Friday from 5:00-6:00 as he anchors The Tailgate Show with Marshall Toy. Both programs can be heard exclusively on 99.5 the Fan.
