The series between Hopkinsville and Logan County has become one of the better football rivalries born in the past decade. The teams will meet for the sixth time in four seasons Friday in the second round of the Class 4A football playoffs.
The rise of the rivalry began in 2016 when Todd Adler took over as Logan County head coach. The Cougars lost to Hoptown 41-0 during the regular season but ended a 42-game losing streak in the final game that year.
In 2017, the Cougars flipped the script and ran off 11 straight wins to start the season. One of the wins came 13-12 over Hopkinsville on the final play of the game, Logan’s first-ever win over the Tigers.
Hoptown returned the favor in the second round of the playoffs by scoring 43 first-half points on their way to a 43-8 win.
Adler is 35-18 in his fifth season and has Logan County on the cusp of the school’s first postseason district title. However, Logan County has never beaten Hoptown in the postseason.
Hoptown is 34-22 in Craig Clayton’s second stint as Tiger coach. They came into the postseason as the No. 3 seed but picked up a 21-17 win at Calloway County last week – their third straight victory.
Hoptown [5-2] looks to avenge a 31-7 loss to Logan County on Oct. 16. The Cougars came out and ran over Hoptown to the tune of 387 yards. Wyatt Blake ran for 250 yards and two touchdowns as Logan County [5-3] outgained Hoptown 434 to 107.
Hoptown’s offense struggled all night as junior quarterback Treyvon Jefferson completed 5-of-22 passes for 72 yards. He was picked off three times. Hoptown’s ground game managed just 41 yards on 12 carries.
Logan County has won three of four games since the Hoptown win, including last week’s 50-30 playoff opener over Hopkins County Central. Wyatt ran for 115 yards and five other Cougars ran for a score. Shutting down a Logan County ground game that averages 200 yards a game will be the key for Hoptown’s defense.
The Cougar defense will need to get off the field on third down and limit the Tiger big plays.
Hoptown is looking for the program’s 50th career postseason win, while Logan County is trying to advance to the third round of the postseason for the first time in school history.
Kickoff Friday at Logan County Stadium is 7 pm.
