The Bragging Rights Trophy will stay at Hopkinsville High School forever after the Tigers roared past host Christian County Friday night in a football game at the Stadium of Champions.
James Bradley, Jr., scored two rushing touchdowns and returned a kickoff for a score and the Tigers’ defense had two pick-six scores and Hoptown routed Christian County, 48-13, in the final game ever in the cross-town series.
The victory improves the Tigers to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in Class 6-A, District 1 play. The Colonels fall to 1-8 overall and 0-3 in the district. The Hoptown win guarantees the Tigers the No. 2 seed and a home playoff game in two weeks. The Colonels will be the No. 4 seed and will travel to face South Warren in a first-round playoff game in two weeks.
Bradley, who went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season with 57 yards rushing on 12 carries, got the scoring started for Hoptown. The senior went untouched off the left side for an 18-yard touchdown with 9:46 to play in the first quarter. The point-after kick was no good leaving the score 6-0.
On the Colonels’ first play from scrimmage, Tremayne Clay intercepted Tom Johnson and returned the ball 25 yards for a score. Bradley Jr. ran in the conversion for a 14-0 lead with 9:33 to play in the quarter.
The Colonels botched a punt and turned the ball over on downs at their own 42-yard line on the next possession. Keyshun Teal capped a seven-play drive with a 2-yard scoring run. Jordan Catlett had the conversion run to make it 22-0 with 5:50 left in the quarter.
Christian County put together a six-play, 65-yard scoring drive on its next possession. Deasian Harris scored on a 2-yard run to cut the lead to 22-6 with 3:32 left in the opening quarter.
Harris would finish the night as the leading rusher with 82 yards on 13 carries. However, the junior running back picked up his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second half and was ejected from the game. He will not be able to play Friday night at Paducah Tilghman in the team’s regular season finale.
Someone flying a drone over the field delayed the game for nearly 15 minutes and after the drone finally landed, the game bogged down. The first half took almost 90 minutes to play. The Colonels’ offense also floundered in the second quarter. The Colonels went for -24 yards of offense in the period.
Johnson was flagged for intentional grounding on fourth down and the Colonels turned the ball over on downs at their own 17-yard line. Bradley Jr., went untouched 17 yards on the Tigers’ first play and the lead ballooned to 28-6 with 8:53 to go in the half.
Another intentional grounding call on the Colonels’ next possession resulted in Hoptown getting the ball at the Christian County 16. Five plays later, the Jasiah McCarley hit Aiden Jesse for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Gavin Harton’s point-after kick pushed the lead to 35-6.
Jesse then picked off a pass two plays later and returned the ball 30 yards for a score and the Tigers led 41-6.
In the third quarter, the Colonels’ showed some signs of life, as Harris ripped off a 52-yard run to the Hoptown 15. Johnson capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Darius Finch. Jayleigh Campbell’s point-after kick cut the lead to 41-13 with 7:23 to go.
However, the Tigers’ Bradley Jr. returned the ensuing kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown. Harton’s point-after kick ended the scoring with 6:37 to play.
Hopkinsville finished the night with 119 yards rushing and 119 yards passing. The Tigers also held the Colonels to only 43 yards in the first half. Christian County ended the night with 90 yards rushing and 124 yards passing.
Clay led the Tigers in receiving with four catches for 61 yards. Zyon Wharton led Christian County with three catches for 81 yards.
The Colonels also were flagged 16 times for 169 yards on the night compared to eight penalties for 80 yards for the Tigers.
Hopkinsville’s win gives the Tigers a 30-29 advantage on the field in the all-time series. However, due to Hoptown’s forfeit in 1997 due to using an ineligible player, Christian County wins the all-time series between the two schools, 30-29.
The schools will consolidate into the Christian County Tigers in the fall of 2026.
Hopkinsville will complete its final regular season schedule Friday night against WEB Dubois at the Stadium of Champions. Christian County will travel to take on Paducah Tilghman Friday night.
Score by Quarters:
Hopkinsville 22 19 7 0 – 48
Christian Co. 6 0 7 0 – 13
Individual Scoring:
H: James Bradley Jr., 18-yard run; Kick failed.
H: Tremayne Clay, 25-yard interception return; Bradley, Jr., conversion run.
H: Keyshun Teal, 2-yard run; Jordan Catlett, conversion run.
CC: Deasian Harris, 2-yard run; Conversion failed.
H: Bradley, Jr., 17-yard run; Conversion failed.
H: Jasiah McCarley, 10-yard pass to Aiden Jesse; Gavin Harton, kick.
H: Jesse, 30-yard interception return; Kick failed.
CC: Tom Johnson, 10-yard pass to Darius Finch; Jayleigh Campbell, kick.
H: Bradley, Jr., 76-yard kickoff return; Harton, kick.
Photos by Danny Vowell