Murray head coach Keith Hodge changed his philosophy a bit this season when it came to Fall Break, and he was quick to point out on the “Jeff Bidwell Show” Wednesday that it seemed to pay dividends for his team.
“We gave them the entire week off and let them spend the entire week with their families, get away for a little bit, and I think it really paid off,” Hodge said. “Things are going well for us and it allowed us to get healthier and figure some things out.”
Murray had scored a combined 57 points on the season going into last week’s contest against Webster County. In one game, the Tigers nearly doubled their scoring output on the season with their 55-19 rout of the Trojans.
Freshman quarterback Hunter Utley was the story for Murray throwing for 367 yards on 14-of-21 passing Friday night. The ground game featured a bevy of running backs as four different backs had at least 25 rushing yards. Senior Jordan Boyd led all rushers with 56 yards on 9 carries and junior Michael Parks contributed with 55 yards on just two carries.
Coach Keith Hodge mentioned Wednesday on the “Jeff Bidwell Show” that his ground game could be receiving major reinforcement with the return of senior running back Andrew Pajor.
“I believe he will be back eventually,” Pajor said. “Things are going well for him and he’s doing everything he can to get better and the signs are that he should be back on the field within the next couple of weeks.”
The Bombers come in to Friday night’s contest coming off a 52-0 loss to top-ranked Mayfield. Erick Marinelli has continued to improve at quarterback during his sophomore campaign. On the season, Marinelli has passed for 1,129 yards on 68-of-115 passing with 16 touchdowns to only 4 interceptions.
Marinelli’s top target this season has been Jamarrion Williams. Williams has 35 receptions for 589 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns. Devyn Bledsoe is next with 276 yards receiving on 12 catches and four touchdowns.
The one element Ballard Memorial has been susceptible to this season has been the running game. In eight games, the Bombers have allowed 1,610 rushing yards.
PREDICTION: Murray-27, Ballard Memorial-14
(6-2, 1-2) Muhlenberg County at (6-2, 3-0) McCracken County – The McCracken County Mustangs look to sweep their Class 6A District 1 opponents for the fourth season in a row and can do that with a win in the “Battle of the MCHS Mustangs” Friday night against the Muhlenberg County Mustangs.
McCracken County moved to 3-0 in the district with their convincing 46-6 win over Henderson County two weeks ago. The win moved McCracken County to an unblemished 14-0 record in their near four seasons of program history against Class 6A District 1.
McCracken senior quarterback Cash Jones continues to put up outstanding numbers. Jones has thrown for 1,697 yards on 122-of-192 passing with 29 touchdowns to just four interceptions on the season. Jones has also added the running game to his repertoire, running for 161 yards on 37 carries and three touchdowns on the season.
The Mustangs continue to have one of the deepest receiving groups in the state. Eleven different wide receivers have caught a touchdown pass this year for McCracken County. Senior Darian Woods leads all receivers with 9 touchdown catches. Dalton Lanphere has four touchdown receptions. Lawson Parrish, Thomas Haliburton, and Tyce Daniel all have three touchdown grabs. Franklin Hayes, Alex Miezio, Ethan Schaaf, Eli Crider and Cory Fike all have two touchdown receptions, and TaeShawn Allen has a touchdown grab of his own.
Much like McCracken County, Muhlenberg County has had a high-powered offense in 2016, but there offense primarily features a heavy dose of the ground game.
On the season, Muhlenberg has rushed for 2,450 rushing yards in only 8 games; that’s an average of just over 306 rushing yards a game. Demond Johnson leads the team in rushing with 1,233 rushing yards on 139 carries and ten touchdowns. Dual-threat quarterback Hunter Combs can also run the football well Combs has 976 rushing yards on the season on 115 carries and 15 touchdowns.
Muhlenberg’s strength in the run game matches up with McCracken County’s strength in the run defense department. In the past three games, McCracken’s first-string defense has allowed just 48 rushing yards with 61 of those rushing yards coming against Henderson County. McCracken held Daviess County to negative 13 rushing yards and Ohio County to zero rushing yards.
McCracken County had their biggest scoring output of the season last year against Muhlenberg County in a 70-7 win. Most of the players on both sides return for this year’s edition. While the Muhlenberg County Mustangs are a tremendously improved team from the 2015 edition, they don’t have the horses
to match up for four quarters with the McCracken County Mustangs. I’m taking the MCHS Mustangs. The McCracken version.
PREDICTION – McCracken County-56, Muhlenberg County-13
(4-4, 0-3) Marshall County at (2-6, 0-3) Apollo – A playoff birth is one the line Friday night as Marshall County travels to Owensboro to take on Apollo.
The Marshals are seeking their first district win since October 5, 2012 when the Marshals defeated Muhlenberg County, 20-6. A win on Friday night would likely send the Marshals to Bowling Green in the first round of the playoffs to take on the Purples.
Marshall County was able to get back into the win column after a 58-14 rout of Trigg County. The win came after the Marshals suffered a 3-game losing streak to district opponents.
The Marshals have been led offensively this season by quarterback Skyler Smith and running back Mason Green. Smith has thrown for 1,089 yards this season with 10 touchdowns on 83 completions. Green has rushed for 1,068 yards and eight touchdowns on 189 rushing attempts.
The Marshals found their footing last week against Trigg County while the Eagles have not had very solid footing all season. Even with the game in Owensboro, I like the Marshals to get their first district win since 2012. Even though the reward is a very challenging Bowling Green team, it’s a challenge the Marshals will welcome.
PREDICTION: Marshall County-34, Apollo-14
Friday Night's Games
Marshall County at Apollo
Logan County at Calloway County
Fulton County at Halls, TN
Hopkins County Central at Hopkinsville
Webster County at Mayfield
Muhlenberg County at McCracken County
Ballard Memorial at Murray
Graves County at Owensboro
Fort Campbell at Paducah Tilghman
Crittenden County at Russellville
Union County at Trigg County
Massac County at Carterville
