A week after scoring twelve points in a late loss to district rivals Logan County, the Hopkinsville Tigers erupted for 30 1st-quarter points on Friday night and throttled hosts Madisonville-North Hopkins 44-7.
The Tigers’ Kemaure Mumford got started on a monster night with a tackle in the endzone for a safety after the Maroons fumbled the snap on a punt deep in their own end.
Just three minutes later, another bad snap on a Madisonville punt put the Tigers in business at the Maroon 9-yard line. Quarterback Trey Jefferson found the endzone on 3rd down from two yards out for a 9-0 score.
Mumford recovered a Madisonville fumble and returned it to near mid-field, setting up a Jefferson pass across the middle to Daisjaun Mercer for a 25-yard touchdown with 5:44 left in the first quarter.
Mercer returned a punt to the Maroon 27 and was rewarded with another TD pass from Jefferson for a 23-0 lead with just under three minutes to play in the first. Finally, on 3rd and 7 from the Madisonville 23, Mercer once again hauled in a pass over the middle and found his way to the endzone as time expired.
The Maroons posted their only points of the night inside the first minute of the 2nd quarter when quarterback Wyatt Coleman found Quintin Rodgers down the sideline for a 70-yard scoring strike.
A pair of touchdowns late in the half would round out the scoring for the night, beginning with a 9-yard scoring run by Emmanuel Cheatham with 3:43 left. After Mumford’s second fumble recovery of the night and a return to the Maroon 2-yard line, Jayden Dillard punched it in from there for a 44-7 score.
Jo’Vaun Jackson appeared to tack on another Hoptown touchdown on a pick-6 as the half ended, but a flag wiped out the return and time expired.
With a running clock and the Tigers content with their lead, many of the Hoptown starters got an early start on their bye week ahead of a visit from Calloway County on October 15.
The Tigers ran 43 plays for 273 total yards and 13 1st downs, compared to only 58 total yards and five 1st downs for the Maroons. Hoptown held Madisonville to -84 yards rushing on 22 tries.
Cheatham led the Tigers on the ground with 84 yards on 10 carries, followed by Dillard with 56 yards on nine attempts. Jefferson ran six times for 27 yards and Jackson carried five times for 24 yards.
Mercer made three catches for 73 yards, all touchdowns, and Jefferson threw for 82 yards on four completions.
Jaiden Metcalf and Mumford terrorized the Maroons, combining for 11 tackles and seven sacks. David Boswell and Leonarion Pendleton each made three tackles.
Hopkinsville improves to 3-4 on the year and 1-1 in district play. Madisonville slips to 2-5 ahead of a visit from Logan County next week.
