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Week 6 Brings Pivotal District Games

Week 6 Brings Pivotal District Games
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By Eric Chumbler
Sep. 20, 2018 | WESTERN KENTUCKY
By Eric Chumbler Sep. 20, 2018 | 07:48 PM | WESTERN KENTUCKY
District play kicks off Friday night and the (1-4) McCracken County Mustangs travel to Owensboro to take on Class 6A District 1 favorite (3-2) Daviess County.

The Mustangs and the Panthers split their head-to-head matchups last season; the Mustangs won the week 5 matchup last year at McCracken County 56-40 while the Panthers took the rematch in the 2nd round of the playoffs 34-21. Daviess County returns nearly every starter from last year’s team, a team that went to the regional semifinals in a 27-20 loss to Central Hardin.

McCracken head coach Marc Clark is hoping for an offensive resurgence his team had one year ago this week. “We really found our offensive stride against Daviess County a year ago,” Clark said on the McCracken County Coaches Show on 99.5FM The Fan Wednesday night. "We scored 56 points in that game and used it to ignite our winning streak, we’d love for the same thing to happen Friday night."

The Mustangs came into last week’s contest against George Washington Carver (Birmingham, Alabama) the healthiest the team had been since they’re opening week matchup against Paducah Tilghman. Unfortunately, the streak of health did not last long for the Mustangs. With the game tied 18-18 in the 2nd quarter, junior quarterback Elijah Wheat checked out of the game with a shoulder injury. In the 3rd quarter, sophomore running back Hunter Bradley came out of the game with an apparent injury. Both Wheat and Bradley are questionable for Friday night’s tilt with the Panthers.

Daviess County features the top quarterback and wide receiver statistically in Class 6A. Senior quarterback Joseph Cambron had a monster junior season; lighting up the scoreboard with 49 touchdown passes on 4,078 yards passing, averaging just under four touchdown passes a game. His top target and the state’s leading wide receiver, Marquel Tinsley, had 22 touchdown receptions and 1,447 yards receiving last year for the Panthers. So far this season, Cambron has 11 touchdown passes and 1,128 yards passing while Tinsley has six touchdown receptions and 459 yards receiving.

While the offense for Daviess County has been dominant this season, Coach Clark has been pleased with the progress of his defense. “We really could not be happier with where our defense is at the moment,” Clark said. “They’ve been put in some situations so far this season where they’ve really had to step up and they’ve done a great job the last several weeks.”

The Mustangs and the Panthers kick off at 7pm at Daviess County High School in Owensboro.

Another big matchup looms in Tornado Alley Friday as (4-1) Paducah Tilghman welcomes district rival (3-2) Caldwell County in Class 3A District 1 action.

Caldwell County has had their way with Paducah Tilghman since realignment put the two schools together, winning all three seasons against the Blue Tornado. Last year was the closest contest yet as the Tigers held on late to a 24-21 win in Princeton.

Both teams come into the contest riding a wave of momentum. Caldwell County is playing their best football of the season as they’re coming off a strong 34-14 win over a high flying Henderson County team. Two weeks ago, the Tigers used a 2nd half run to knockoff the then unbeaten Crittenden County Rockets 32-20. Paducah Tilghman comes into Friday night having made quick work of both Hopkinsville and Graves County.

Caldwell County’s recent success can be found in their use of a balanced offense. Senior quarterback Joby Jaggers has passed for 6 touchdowns the last two weeks while the ground game has churned over 300 yards the last two weeks, which is impressive when you consider Henderson County features a strong run defense.

Caldwell County and Paducah Tilghman kick off at 7pm Friday night at Tilghman’s McRight Field.

One of the top matchups across the state Friday night features (5-0) Mayfield against (5-0) Corbin.

This new rivalry between the Cardinals and Redhounds started in 2015 and Mayfield has taken two of three so far from the Redhounds. Two years ago, Mayfield got a late score to squeak out a 35-34 win, while last season the Redhounds got their revenge with a 20-17 nail biter.

The Cardinals have had little resistance with their 2018 schedule so far. In the opening week, Mayfield used a 2nd half surge to overcome Union City 43-27. Since then, the Cardinals have outscored Hopkinsville, Paducah Tilghman, McCracken County, and Graves County by a combined score of 193-77.

Junior quarterback Jayden Stinson has been everything Mayfield fans could’ve hoped for so far this season. The junior has 17 touchdowns and no interceptions to this point, passing for 1,266 yards on 60-of-96 passing. Last week against rival Graves County, Stinson had one of his best games of the season as he threw for 256 passing yards and four touchdowns on 11-of-15 passing. Senior tailback Kent Trey Matthews has anchored the ground game for Mayfield this season with 752 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns on the season.

The Cardinals and the Redhounds square off Friday at 7pm at Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tennessee.

No team could use a win right now more than (1-4) Graves County. The Eagles start district play Friday night as they welcome the other Eagles of the district, the (4-1) Apollo Eagles.

Graves County started the season on a high note this season, knocking off a quality Murray team 41-21 at Eagles Stadium. Since then, Graves County has lost four games in a row. While the schedule has not been easy during that stretch, the alarming statistic for any Graves County fan would be the amount of points the Eagles are giving up.

During this four game losing streak, the Eagles have given up 163 points, an average of just under 41 points per game, while only scoring 19.5 points per game during that stretch. The biggest problem for the Eagles has been the rushing defense. In five games, Graves County has given up 1,117 yards rushing, an average of just over 223 rushing yards given up per game.

The offense struck early last week for Graves County against Mayfield as Cody Goatley scored from 60 yards out on the opening play of the game. A fumble return for a touchdown opened the flood gates for the Cardinals, who closed the first half scoring 28 straight points in the 56-21 win over Graves. Goatley, who has become the starting tailback in the absence of Tavis Brown who is out with an injury, has 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Graves County. Clint McKee has 116 yards rushing on 23 carries for Graves County as well.

The Eagles and the Eagles kick off Friday at 7pm at Eagles Stadium in Mayfield.

 

 

 

Friday Night's Games

Corbin vs. Mayfield

Fulton City at Clarksville Academy, TN

Union County at Crittenden County

McCracken County at Daviess County

Trigg County at Fort Campbell

Greenfield, TN at Fulton County

Apollo at Graves County

Hopkins County Central at Logan County

Calloway County at Madisonville

Christian County at Marshall County

Russellville at Murray

Caldwell County at Paducah Tilghman

Massac County at Harrisburg

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