Lines of scrimmage particularly impressive; Zach Moss looked comfortable at the controls of the offense
Hopkinsville was more physical and dominated the lines of scrimmage, on offense and defense, more than I was expecting. We know there are athletes in Hopkinsville. After all, it is Hopkinsville. If they can play up front commensurate with what I witnessed it could be a tremendous year in the Stadium of Champions.
Fletcher W. Long, KPGFootball Senior Scout
Hopkinsville invited a 6A football team from the state along its southern border to come up for a little football tutorial. West Creek, which is a member of the 5th-District in Tennessee’s 6A classification is hardly a “patsy,” if any of you are old enough to enjoy the reference.
To quote a former Hoptown head football coach prior to the present one, “they [West Creek] aren’t exactly a bunch of Joe Slappies.” Not really sure what a Joe Slappy is…but, trust me, you don’t want to be one.
By our count, we had the contest (which we witnessed in person) 31-7 in favor of Hoptown. Of course, the Junior Varsities got some run too and Hoptown’s JV even posted a late score but, in any event, the game never seemed in jeopardy to us.
We were able to talk with Coach Marc Adam Clark after the contest. He seemed pleased with what he saw.
“[Daisjaun] Mercer obviously shined…[Both scrimmage lines] played better than we expected going into the contest
Head Football Coach Marc Clark
Clark told KPGFootball, “[Daisjaun] Mercer obviously shined. We were pleased with the offensive and defensive lines which played better than we expected going into the contest.”
There were just a ton of guys who played well.
Head Football Coach Marc Clark
Coach Clark continued, “Jaron Mills was extremely physical out there tonight. There were just a ton of guys who played well.”
We have before featured CJ Stallworth. Stallworth, a 6’4,” 230 or so pounder who plays OL and DE was formerly one of our weekly Mingua Beef Jerky Protein-packed Performers.
We were really impressed with his work off the edge from his DE slot. We were impressed with how well he used his length and upfield twitchy burst to pose problems for the West Creek offense during the scrimmage and detrimentally impact both West Creek’s run-game and passing attack.
We thought Guy Blythe played awfully well too. We were expecting him to shine at his center post along the offensive front. We were surprised at how well he played on the defensive line along the interior.
We would also credit the steady play of QB, Zach Moss. Of course, Moss has committed to play baseball to the University of Kentucky’s Wildcats. Moss is a D-1, SEC athlete and he looks the part.
Looks aside, Moss didn’t always look steady and sure of himself spelling last year’s QB-1, Tre Jefferson. Moss looked much more assertive and comfortable running the offense in the scrimmage than he did at any point last season.
Moss being able to provide high-quality QB-play in Clark’s high-octane offensive scheme will prove big for the Tigers going on into the season. If Coach Lopez’s (DC, HHS) defenders can continue to control the run box like they did against West Creek, this team has a lot of pieces in place for a deep playoff run.
Overall, Hoptown looked exactly like what we expected from the Tigers this close to the curtain going up on the ’22 season. Hoptown looked like a 4A contender. Will they be? Well, curtain’s going up…we’ll just have to see.
This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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