Craig Clayton knew Boyle County would be the best team his Hopkinsville Tiger squad would face all season. Friday’s loss to the Rebels did nothing to change that opinion.
The Rebels scored in five of their seven first half possessions and rolled to a 55-0 win over the Tigers in the Class 4A semifinals in Danville. Boyle County moves into Friday’s state championship game against Franklin County, who unseated defending state champion Johnson Central 20-12.
Hopkinsville’s defense forced a three-and-out on Boyle’s first drive of the game. They wouldn’t keep them out of the end zone again until the final play of the half.
Using a balanced offensive attack, the Rebels scored on their next five possessions.
Will McDaniel ran for 159 yards in the first half on 17 carries. He scored on runs of 6 and 12 yards to put Boyle ahead 12-0 with 5:06 left in the opening quarter.
He added his third score of the quarter on a 38-yard run up the middle with 4:05 showing on the first quarter clock.
Cole Lanter capped an 11-play, 98-yard drive with an 8-yard catch from quarterback Jagger Gillis to put Boyle ahead 26-0. Gillis later added a 10-yard run with 3:26 left in the half to give the Rebels a 33-0 lead.
Hopkinsville struggled to run the football against a Rebel defense that came into the game giving up just 44 yards a game. Hoptown ran 10 times in the first half for minus-19 yards. The Tigers managed just one rushing yard in the second half.
Hoptown punted on its first three drives. Their best chance to score of the night came late in the first half, but a Trey Jefferson deep pass down the middle was picked off by Lanter at the 2-yard line.
Jefferson finished 7-of-19 passing for 103 yards. He was picked off once and sacked five times.
Reece Jesse caught four passes for 34 yards in his final game as a Tiger. Jesse owns the school records in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns.
Hopkinsville had 43 yards of offense in the first half and 85 for the game. They managed only four first downs.
Boyle County ran up 386 yards in the first half and 526 for the game. The Rebels ran 16 more plays than Hoptown and amassed 27 first downs.
Hoptown’s defense had trouble getting the Rebels off the field on third down with Boyle converting 5-of-6 chances.
Gillis was 17-of-21 passing for 224 yards. Lanter had seven catches for 105 yards – all in the first half. McDaniel finished with 170 rushing yards on 19 carries.
Hopkinsville was making its 11th state semifinal trip and looking to advance to the state championship for the first time since 1997. The 55 points equal the second-most allowed by the Tigers in the postseason. Warren Central beat Hoptown 67-7 in the 2012 first round which also the largest playoff margin of defeat.
Regardless of Friday’s outcome, the Tigers finished the season with a record of 7-3. The senior class racked up a four-year mark of 26-21 with a 7-4 mark in the playoffs.
