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Graves Goes for 11th Straight Win Over Marshall

Graves Goes for 11th Straight Win Over Marshall
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By Eric Chumbler
Sep. 29, 2016 | WESTERN KENTUCKY
By Eric Chumbler Sep. 29, 2016 | 06:28 PM | WESTERN KENTUCKY
Two up-and-coming programs in western Kentucky square off Friday night as Graves County (4-2, 1-0) hosts Marshall County (3-2, 0-1) at Eagles Stadium.

It has been a lopsided series between the two schools of late. Graves County leads the overall series 17-9 and has won the last 10 meetings with the Marshals. Marshall County’s last win over Graves County was a 20-6 win in 2005.

The Eagles have won four of their last five games, including a 51-28 rout of Ohio County last Friday night. Graves County sophomore quarterback Ryan Mathis accounted for five touchdowns in that game. Mathis was 16-for-26 passing for 273 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 70 yards on five carries and three touchdowns.

Senior running back Brennan Culp led the ground attack for Graves Friday night. Culp rushed for 137 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown against Apollo. Junior wide receiver Trevor Grant had six receptions on 126 yards and junior Jake Mills had five receptions for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

Marshall County lost their district opener last week to Christian County 40-13, but the Marshals have already eclipsed their entire win total from last season with their three wins so far.

The bulk of the Marshals production this season has come from the ground game. Through five games, the Marshals have rushed for 1,056 yards and seven touchdowns. Mason Green leads all Marshall County rushers with 675 yards on 113 carries with five touchdowns. Dalton Nelson has also chipped in for Marshall on the ground with 277 yards on 65 carries and two touchdowns. However, Nelson suffered a broken ankle in last week's game and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Graves County had two questions coming into this season: How well were the Eagles going to be able to run the football? And, how big of a season could Ryan Mathis have as a sophomore quarterback? Mathis is having a good sophomore campaign and with his dual-threat nature, the Eagles running game has progressed throughout the season.

The winner of this game will likely be whoever does a better job establishing the running game. With the Eagles having better luck with that of late, I think the matchup favors them slightly. I expect it to be a battle, but the edge goes to Graves County on their home turf.

 

PREDICTION – Graves County-24, Marshall County-14

 

(4-2, 1-0) McCracken County at (2-4, 0-1) Ohio County- The Mustangs look to continue their perfect stretch through Class 6A District 1 as they travel to Hartford Friday night to take on Ohio County at 7 pm.

McCracken County moved to 12-0 all-time in the district with their big 62-20 win over Daviess County last week. The Mustangs used a 28-0 3rd quarter run to stretch a 21-7 halftime lead to 49-7.

The Mustangs had exactly 600 yards of offense against Daviess County. Senior quarterback Cash Jones was 28-for-38 passing with 270 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 52 yards on eight carries for a touchdown. Junior running back TaeShawn Allen also contributed with a big performance as he rushed for 129 yards on just four carries with a touchdown.

Ohio County dropped its district opener last week to Henderson County, 55-13. However, the Eagles do boast one of the top passing games in the state. Quarterback Heath Simmons is 149-of-249 passing this season with 1,548 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Ohio County is young. Very young, actually. Of the 22 starting positions on offense and defense, roughly 10 of those positions are filled by underclassmen. McCracken County will be too big and have too much depth for the young Eagles. Look for McCracken to score early and often.

 

PREDICTION – McCracken County-56, Ohio County-7

 

(1-5, 0-1) Paducah Tilghman at (2-4, 0-1) Trigg County – It has been a rough start to the season for Paducah Tilghman, who has lost five of their first six games of the season, but the schedule lightens up quite a bit for the Blue Tornado in the second half of the season.

Tilghman looked like they had improved in their 48-21 win over Madisonville-North Hopkins two weeks ago, but took a step backwards in their 45-20 district opening home loss to Caldwell County last week.

Senior quarterback Dalton Ferrell has had a solid senior campaign for Tilghman this season. In six games, Ferrell is 91-of-189 passing for 1,283 yards and 12 touchdowns. Junior running back Alec Gold leads all rushers with 791 rushing yards on 117 carries and eight touchdowns.

Trigg County does have two wins on the season, but both wins come against winless teams; Caverna and Todd County Central. Trigg has had some tough opponents on the schedule including Russellville and Graves County. The Wildcats fell 41-0 to Russellville and 21-0 to Graves County in a weather-shortened game.

The ground game is what has hurt Trigg the most on defense. On the season, Trigg County has given up 1,236 rushing yards in six games while giving up just 780 yards passing. That is good news for both Alec Gold and Dalton Ferrell of Paducah Tilghman. Look for both of them to have big games Friday night.

Look for Tilghman to exploit the ground game and come away from Cadiz with the much needed road win Friday night.

 

PREDICTION – Paducah Tilghman-49, Trigg County-14

 

Friday Night's Games

Marshall County at Graves County

McCracken County at Ohio County

Paducah Tilghman at Trigg County

Union County at Caldwell County

Crittenden County at Fulton City

Russellville at Fulton County

Calloway County at Hopkins County Central

Mayfield at Murray

Ballard Memorial at Webster County

Owensboro at Christian County

Muhlenberg County at Henderson County

Massac County at Herrin

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