Both teams 2-5 and both have fallen on ‘hard luck’
In Cadiz, Friday night we will see “A Tale of Two [Teams].” Both of these schools have had curious seasons and both can be said to be much better than the record would indicate. Both teams stand at 2-5 with three to play. Both teams are fighting for their playoff lives in a six-team district. Trigg has played Murray, Barren (6A), Webster, and Hancock only to see all four pile on cosmetic scores to make the final margins appear much worse than the actual games. Central has lost on the road at Crittenden by 5 on a questionable call; lost to Webster in Dixon, Ky by one score; and lost to McLean by a single point, at home, on a questionable call on the two-point conversion made by the same referee who made the call in Marion, KY. This game is important. Central will be favored.
HB Lyon, Scouting Division, KPGFootball
Calpreps.com says: Hopkins County Central 40 (62%), Trigg County 34 (38%)
Most coaches love to say, “You are your record.” Well, that is nice and all but not every record is a reflection on where a team is or even how well the team will do in the coming playoffs.
Brown,
For: YourSportsEdge.com
The best example of this is the ’21 Belfry Pirates. Belfry came out of the gate in ’21 with an 0-5 mark. When they lost the season finale to Johnson Central, the Pirates entered the playoff 4-6.
The Pirates then got on a heater, won five straight, and walked off Kroger Field a 33-28 winner over Paducah Tilghman and the 3A Kentucky Football Champions. The Pirates didn’t throw a single forward pass in the title game. Sixty-two plays from scrimmage, all runs, gaining 466-yards and scoring five (5) TD’s.
Don’t tell me it can’t happen. We have seen it happen with our own two eyes, just two short years ago.
The Storm will travel to Cadiz, Kentucky to play a Trigg County team which has suffered some bad breaks this season, but in a different way. Trigg has allowed teams to beat them late, like how North-Hopkins beat Central late, scoring cosmetic touchdowns to paint an altogether different picture than what really occurred.
Trigg County has a senior, dual-threat QB. Jerimyah Shearer (’24, No. 2) is dangerous as a runner but not too quick to take off down the field, preferring to throw it as opposed to running it. Shearer has completed 75 of his 139-throws for 1,168-yards passing and 17-TD’s against 8-interceptions. On the ground, the senior has gained 392-yards rushing on 99-carries with 3-TD’s.
Shearer is a threat in the back-third on defense too. Shearer has one of the ball club’s two INT’s on the year. He took his pick back 30-yards.
In ’19, Belfry’s Pirates opened 0-5 then won nine (9) of its next 10 to win it all!
KHSAA statistical website
Running back is a slot where the Tigers figure to be particularly hard to corral. The Tigers have one of the better kept secrets in Kentucky 3A football. The Wildcats have a superlatively spectacular running back who has just enough top-end speed to separate and gets down-hill in a hurry making him difficult to tackle.
Brown
For: YourSportsEdge.com
His name is Davaree Gude (’26, No. 3), he is a sophomore, and this might be a name one needs to remember. Gude is a 210-pound battering-ram who has proven elusive in the open field and fast enough to gain third level separation from DB’s engaged in the chase.
Gude in his first seven games has 96 carries for 706-yards with 7-rushing TD’s. Gude is effective out of the backfield assisting the throw game. Gude has caught 11-passes this season so far.
Gude is averaging 7.35 yards a carry, over 100-yards a game, and scores a TD every 14th-carry. We did mention this guy is only a sophomore, right?
Jhaden Vaughn (’24, No. 4) is the guy most recruiters come to see. Vaughn is 6’5″ and has the frame to play on the edge in college at the division one level or bulk up a tad and be a super, hotshot TE. Vaughn has battled nagging injuries this season; but, when has been healthy enough to go, he has shown the ability to take over the game.,
Vaughn has 31-Receptions and has hit “pay-dirt” seven (7) times in ’23. Vaughn isn’t a one-horse parade either.
Peyton Williams (’26, No. 5) is proving to be a downfield threat and has a frame with plenty of length already and height looking “ready to add” as he physically matures. Williams has 18-catches for 291-yards and 5-TD’s.
Brody Renfro (’27, No. 18) has proven a reliable PK. Renfro has converted 75% of his PAT’s.
Defensively, the Wildcats have looked pretty good early but seem to fade as the game gets into the second half, particularly the 4th-quarter
Defensively, the Wildcats have looked pretty good early but seem to fade as the game gets into the second half, particularly the 4th-quarter. Who hasn’t faded is DL, TayShaun Linton (’24, No. 75).
Linton, the holder of a dozen or so college offers to take his game to Saturdays, has been a beast across the Trigg front. Linton has 45-stops, 12-TFL’s and 6.5 sacks.
Brody Calhoun (’27, No. 22), is one of the best freshmen DB’s we’ve seen this year. Calhoun has 40-tackles, 3-TFL’s, and half a sack.
Jack Long (’27, No. 14) is a scratch for this Friday night but both King Williams (’27, No. 17) and he have proven among the better freshmen on the gridiron over the course of this season. Williams has 12-stops in 6-games of varsity run and Long has 11-stops over the same period of time.
So we slide into Friday night on the road with the computer saying The Storm is favored by six (6) points. Of course the Calpreps.com algorithm figures the teams are playing at a neutral site. It doesn’t account for the home field.
How much of a home field advantage would the Cadiz crowd comprise? We have been to many games there and the Wildcats draw well at home and it can be a raucous atmosphere.
Central was a nine-point underdog, at home against McLean, and nearly pulled through. We like the Storm in this game by 10. We believe it will be tight, back and forth in the first half, with Trigg probably taking a lead into the halftime locker room; but, we believe the “Good Guys” will pull it out in the second half to arrive at our margin.
KPGFootball's call: Hopkins County Central 42, Trigg County 32
This is Fletcher W. Long, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
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