Jim Mashek

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LCHS COACH TODD ADLER: ‘WE WERE RIGHT THERE … IF WE MAKE A COUPLE TACKLES, HERE AND THERE, I THINK WE WIN THE GAME …’

PADUCAH, Kentucky — Logan County High School football coach Todd Adler is in his 10th season as the head coach on the Russellville campus, and he’s pretty much seen it all.

Breakthrough victories. Grueling defeats. Games decided by a fluke play, an official’s error, you name it.

Paducah Tilghman’s McRight Stadium, which can seat crowds in excess of 10,000 souls, became the land of opportunity for the Cougars on Friday night. The defending KHSAA Class 4A state champion, the mighty Blue Tornado, was playing host to a key district game against Adler’s squad, which brought a strong contingent of Logan County fans to the Four Rivers area.

The Cougars took Paducah Tilghman to the wire. And then some.

Adler descended from the stadium’s steep grandstand, after doing his customary radio interview. The Blue Tornado turned back the Cougars, 35-27, in a critical KHSAA Class 4A, 1st District showdown. It was a fight to the finish, with Logan County scoring its final points with 15 seconds showing on the McRIght Stadium clock, on sophomore quarterback Luke Rogers’ deft 9-yard touchdown pass to teammate Christian Helle in the right corner of the end zone.

After two penalties against the Blue Tornado for unsportsmanlike conduct — a common theme for the night, as the yellow laundry fell countless times against both teams — Adler went to his Wildcat formation package. The Cougars’ Cooper Parker was stopped just short of the goal line, and Paducah Tilghman’s Mason Copeland recovered an onside kick attempt to seal the deal.

The Blue Tornado improved to 6-1 overall, and 3-0 in district play. Logan County dropped to 6-1 overall, and 2-1 in district play.

Todd Adler’s squad heads into an open date, coinciding with Fall Break, before resuming district play with a road trip to tangle with tradition-rich Franklin-Simpson on October 17.

The Wildcats, a 56-24 winner over a talented Calloway County squad on Friday night, check in at 5-2 overall and 2-1 in district play. Bring a hard hat when these two teams hook up; it’s gonna be a physical affair.

“We were right there, right there at the end,” Adler said. “If we make a couple tackles, here and there, I think we win the game …”

Adler was upbeat in addressing his squad when it was over, in the aftermath of a game that sometimes seemed more like a street fight. Paducah Tilghman coach Sean Thomas, meanwhile, seemed none too pleased, seemingly reading his team the riot act for the unusually high number of penalties.

The Blue Tornado was tough between the tackles, with 5-foot-9, 220-pound bruiser D.J. Wilson finishing with 157 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Logan County trailed by just seven points when Cougars QB Luke Rogers couldn’t quite connect with Christian Helle on a fourth-down pass in the end zone, Wilson broke away for a 42-yard touchdown run that seemed to put the issue to rest.

Adler, Rogers and Company had other ideas, of course, and the Cougars are hoping they’ll get another shot at Paducah Tilghman in the KHSAA Class 4A playoffs. Tilghman has won 21 of its last two 22 games, dating back to last year’s state championship season, and the Blue Tornado whipped Logan County, 49-14, last year in Russellville.

“I think we played pretty good,” LCHS senior defensive end/fullback Cooper Parker said. “I’d love to see them in the playoffs … They’re a beatable team.”

Todd Adler will tell you the Blue Tornado is LOADED with talent — “they’ve got two D-I defensive tackles, their two receivers are (NCAA) Power Four recruits,” he said — but you get the idea that he’d like another shot at Tilghman, too.

“They haven’t been in our district very long, but it’s usually been (a KHSAA-mandated) running clock, in the second half,” Adler said. “This open date is coming at the perfect time, and I don’t want to look too far ahead, because we know the Franklin-Simpson game is gonna be a big one …”

The Blue Tornado took a 21-14 lead into halftime, after the Logan County defense delivered a goal-line stand in the final seconds of the first half. The Cougars returned 20 minutes later, poised for a challenging second half that had plenty of drama, hard hitting and momentum changes.

But Paducah Tilghman was able to stay in front for the duration of the second half.

“(Tilghman running back) D.J. Wilson, on the offensive side of the ball, stepped up and did a great job tonight,” Paducah Tilghman coach Sean Thompson told Will Muiter of the Paducah Sun. “The offensive line opened the holes for him, he ran really tough … That’s the D.J. Wilson we want, that’s the D.J. Wilson that people fear, and we want him to continue to be that.”

The Cougars did not seem intimidated. Not one bit.

“Nobody thought we could play with this team, this time,” LCHS sophomore quarterback Luke Rogers said. “Sure, we’d like to play them again …”

TySean Thomeczek, Logan County’s do-it-all sophomore tailback/receiver, had a big night for the Cougars. Thomaczek caught Rogers’ deep ball for a 67-yard touchdown reception midway through the third quarter, trimming the Tilghman lead to 28-21, but D.J. Wilson’s second touchdown run of the night put the Blue Tornado in front, 35-21.

The Cougars managed one last score, on Rogers’ nifty TD pass to Helle in the final minute of the game. Logan County coach Todd Adler was upbeat when it was over, and his players were, too.

“We know there’s a lot of football to be played, three games in the regular season,” Rogers said. “But if we get another shot at those guys, we’ll be ready.”