IN SEPTEMBER, WINNING 33-21.
HOPKINSVILLE AND SOUTH’s FIRST-ROUND OPPONENT — BEFORE A FORFEIT — WILL MERGE INTO A SINGLE SCHOOL NEXT SUMMER
South Warren High School’s football team is steeped in tradition, but the Spartans got a jolt before they opened KHSAA postseason play last week.
They wouldn’t be competing in first-round play against their assigned opponent, the Christian County High School Colonels.
Christian County took a pass on the KHSAA Class 6A playoffs, before closing regular-season play with a road trip to mighty Paducah TIlghman, which drubbed the Colonels, 54-7.
The unbeaten Spartans, meanwhile, went back to work, practicing four times last week before taking a break for the second night of KHSAA postseason football.
That’s when Hopkinsville High School, Christian County’s crosstown rival, was crushing visiting Daviess County, 50-20, at Hoptown’s famed Stadium of Champions.
As fate would have it, Hopkinsville happens to be South Warren’s second-round opponent. South Warren (11-0) plays host to the Tigers (7-4) on Friday night, with the winner advancing to the regional championship round.
IS A DUAL-THREAT QUARTERBACK.
SHINES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE.
BASICALLY ASSURES THE SPARTANS
WOULD PLAY AT HOME NEXT WEEK.
Here’s the rub:
Hopkinsville and Christian County high schools are merging for the 2026-27 school year. The Kentucky New Era of Hopkinsville proclaimed it a “new era … on the horizon for Christian County schools,” but the Spartans are far more concerned about the here and now.
Namely, a playoff game against the team willing to make 62-mile journey to South Warren High School, with the winning team’s next opponent to be determined by the KHSAA’s RPI formula.
The Spartans definitely had a zip in their step, a hop in their bop last week, and then again over the last few days. They’re chomping at the bit.
“I think the key, for us, is the same as it’s been all year,” South Warren junior quarterback Camden Page said. “When we practice, we’re making sure we focus on ourselves first, and the intensity in practice gives us an edge …
“When we practice like that, it’s like we think nobody can stop us.”
So far, nobody has.
THE SPARTANS WITH 50 RECEPTIONS
FOR 678 YARDS AND SEVEN TDs.
IS IMPRESSED WITH THE TIGERS.
THE SPARTANS A CHANGE OF PACE
IN THE PASSING GAME.
Including Hopkinsville coach Dustin Lopez’s squad.
The Tigers have won their last four games, and they played South Warren as tough as any of the Spartans’ 10 opponents to date.
South Warren used Page’s solid passing night, while the Spartans’ Kayden York carried the ball 18 times for 85 yards and a touchdown. South Warren knocked off the Tigers, 33-21, before dominating three consecutive opponents, Pulaski County (35-0), Meade County (55-3) and Central Hardin (49-0).
Since then, the Spartans have derailed two more opponents, Daviess County and Logan County, by the identical score of 49-14.
All of which seems to paint South Warren is a strong favorite for Friday night’s second-round matchup, but veteran Spartans coach Brandon Smith is quick to question the veracity of that narrative.
Smith and his squad have already seen the Tigers, up close and personal. And they’re duly impressed.
“They played us better than anybody,” Smith said, “and I don’t think it was a fluke or anything like that. They’re a good team. Underrated. Explosive skill players. They’ve won four in a row …
“They did a lot of things that kind of exposed us, at midseason … I think it’ll be a close game.”
AND HIS TEAMMATES ADVANCED
VIA A FIRST-ROUND BYE LAST WEEK.
HAS COMPILED A 32-5 RECORD SINCE 2023.
HAS RUSHED FOR 612 YARDS AND 15 TDs.
Sophomore quarterback Jasiah McCarley has given the Tigers stability at the game’s most critical position, completing 92 of 189 passes (49 percent) for 1,871 yards and 17 touchdowns. McCarley has been intercepted just six times.
In the backfield, Hopkinsville coach Dustin Lopez can count on 5-foot-10, 195-pound senior James Bradley, who torched the Tigers’ first-round opponent, Daviess County, by carrying the ball 22 times for a whopping 223 yards and FIVE TOUCHDOWNS. For the year, Bradley has rushed for a team-leading 1,407 yards and 25 touchdowns.
On the flanks, Hopkinsville has three players with six or more touchdown receptions, Bradley and fellow HHS senior Aiden Jesse, along with junior wideout Tremayne Clay.
South Warren has a hard-nosed defense, led by the likes of senior defensive tackles Malik Butler and Chrishaun Woods, along with talented junior linebackers Ryley Oiler and Will Mayes. Senior cornerback Isaiah Bridges leads the Spartans with five interceptions, followed by Kayden York, on loan from the South Warren offense, with three.
All of which tells South Warren coach Brandon Smith that his team needs to be on top of its game.
“You’ve still got to go out there and play,” he said. “Go out there and do it. Offensively, they’re probably as good as anyone we’ve played all year … I didn’t like it, the disruption in the schedule last week. Everybody likes to get in a routine heading into November …
“We did everything we could to put that practice time to good use.”
COMING FRIDAY: AN OVERVIEW OF SOUTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY’s SIX TEAMS ALIVE IN THE KHSAA PLAYOFFS.
AN 11-0 RECORD INTO
FRIDAY NIGHT’s GAME …
THREE KHSAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
IN ITS15-YEAR HISTORY ON NASHVILLE ROAD.
ANDREW McCLOUD HAS A CATCH WITH
HIS SON, RHETT, DURING A BREAK IN PRACTICE …
TO PRACTICE AT FRANKLIN-SIMPSON HIGH SCHOOL …