For the Hopkinsville Tigers’ football team, all the previous six games have led up to this.
The Tigers open Class 6-A, District 1 play Friday night at home against McCracken County in a game many feel could decide the district championship.
Hoptown is on a two-game losing streak, falling to No. 3-Ranked South Warren two weeks ago and to an undefeated Carterville, Ill., team last week. The Tigers are 3-3.
Meanwhile, McCracken County is 2-4 and coming off a 59-56 loss last week to Murray. The Mustangs average just more than 36 points per game.
Hoptown Head Coach Dustin Lopez said the Mustangs can be explosive on offense.
Defensively, McCracken has been gashed several times this year and gives up nearly 41 points per game.
Meanwhile, the Tigers are generating nearly 36 points per game while giving up just more than 25 points.
Lopez said his team understands it’s a big game and must have a good effort and execute without mistakes on both sides of the ball to get a win tonight.
The Tigers’ defense will have to try and slow down McCracken senior quarterback Maddox O’Neal, who has thrown for nearly 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, while only tossing five interceptions.
Hoptown will counter with senior running back James Bradley Jr., who has run for nearly 600 yards and 10 touchdowns as well as sophomore quarterback Jasiah McCarley, who has thrown for 1,015 yards and 10 scores.
Hoptown is asking fans to wear black to the game for a “black out” game.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. with airtime scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Newsradio 99.3 FM and 1230 AM WHOP.
File Photo by Danny Vowell