Things finally came together for Caldwell County in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s game against Madisonville-North Hopkins.
Down 14-3 through three periods — and producing only six points in their first seven quarters of the season — the Tigers erupted for 22 points in the last stanza against the Maroons, rallying for a 25-14 victory at Tiger Stadium in Princeton.
Gus Fox’s 37-yard pick-six with 9:03 to play pushed Caldwell in front.
The Tigers (1-1) had ended their touchdown drought just moments earlier when quarterback Jack Stevens crawled over a defender and stretched the ball out over the goal line with 10:43 left in the contest. Max Kramer then took a handoff and threw back across the field to Logan Smiley for the two-point conversion to cut the margin to 14-11.
Fox came up with the play of the game on the next series, stepping in front of the Madisonville pass on third-and-3 and taking it to the house. Blake Vivrette kicked the extra point to put Caldwell up 18-14.
The Tiger defense then forced a punt, giving Caldwell the ball back near midfield. Stevens again called his own number to finish off the drive. He faked the handoff to Logan Smiley, then slipped around the left side and raced 29 yards to paydirt. That helped extend the margin to 25-14 with just 3:31 left in the contest.
Smiley was the workhorse for the Tiger offense. He rushed 23 times for 112 yards while also catching a pass for 36.
Stevens had 38 yards rushing and the two touchdowns. He was 7 of 16 in the passing game with an interception and 90 yards.
Madisonville (0-2) outgained Caldwell 292 yards to 224, but the Tigers had more first downs, 15-11.
Wyatt Coleman connected on 9 of 16 passes for 169 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for Madisonville.
Coleman hooked up with Travis Hobbs for a 30-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that put the Maroons up 6-3 at halftime.
Vivrette had given Caldwell a 3-0 lead with a 42-yard field goal late in the first quarter.
Coleman and Hobbs hooked up again with just 21 seconds left in the third quarter. This time it was an 80-yard strike down the left side that helped Madisonville build its 14-3 advantage.
Momentum certainly seemed to be on the Maroons’ side at the point, but Caldwell was able to regroup behind the three fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Drew Davis led the Tiger defense with 11 tackles. He also had a sack and a blocked punt. Elijah Shaheen had nine tackles and a sack.
The Tigers will hit the road for the first time next week when they play Hopkinsville (0-2) at the Stadium of Champions.
