KSR Game of the Week: No. 3 Paducah Tilghman vs. Allen County-Scottsville

KSR is headed to southwest Kentucky this Friday for our Game of the Week. It’ll be a battle between two Class 4A schools, one looking to establish itself as a clear-cut top-three team in the state with the other looking to break onto the stage statewide.

The sixth KSR Game of the Week of the 2024 season will set up shop in Allen County — roughly 30 minutes southeast of Bowling Green, KY — where the Allen County-Scottsville Patriots (5-0) will host the No. 3 Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornado (5-0) on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. local time. Allen County-Scottsville is not currently among KSR’s Top 25 Week 5 rankings but sits just outside at 27th overall.

[UPDATE: Due to expected storms arriving on Friday, this game has been bumped to Thursday night. Kickoff will still take place at 7:00 p.m. local time.]

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— ACS Sports (@acs_sports) September 25, 2024

These two schools have played each four times since 2001, according to Rieherds, with the most recent matchup in 2008 a 28-10 win for Allen County-Scottsville. Paducah Tilghman owns the all-time series 3-1 (twice meeting in the Class 3A state tournament) but will enter this game on a “losing” streak against the Patriots.

Although both teams are undefeated going into this showdown, one is considered a significant favorite. Paducah Tilghman has a 96 percent chance to win, according to On3’s Massey Ratings, with a projected final score of 46-12. But there’s a good chance this one ends up being close until the end.

Let’s dive into our in-depth preview to see what both schools bring to the table. KSR’s Piper McCoun (@PiperMcCounKSR) will be on-site to provide immediate coverage of everything that happens under the lights.

No. 3 Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornado (5-0)

Paducah Tilghman rose to as high as No. 2 in KSR’s Top 25 rankings last week, but a weak schedule halfway through the regular season has prevented the Blue Tornado from locking down that spot. Regardless, head coach Sean Thompson and his team have yet to lose a game — in fact, they’ve yet to allow more than 16 points in a single contest and are coming off their first shutout of the season.

Last Friday against Hopkinsville, Paducah Tilghman won 56-0. Through five games, the Blue Tornado have won them all by a combined score of 247-43. For those keeping track, that’s an average of 49.4 points per game on offense. The competition might not be top-tier so far, but there is value in the consistency that Thompson’s group has shown.

Another reason for the perfect record is the star power on the field, primarily four-star safety Martels Carter Jr., a 2025 Kentucky commit ranked as a Top 200 prospect in the entire country. Playing both sides of the ball, Carter is typically all over the place. He has six carries for 35 yards along with 13 receptions for 130 yards and one touchdown on offense (and that’s without playing last week’s win over Hopkinsville). On defense, Carter has racked up 13 tackles, two tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one 25-yard interception return.

It’s not just Carter though for the Blue Tornado. Senior quarterback Jack James is a Troy commit and he has over 1,600 passing yards (easily the most in the entire state) for 18 touchdowns (to just four interceptions) this season. He also has four touchdowns on the ground. The Hinton brothers of Michael and Vanzale, both seniors, fill out the backfield. Those two have over 400 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns combined. Vanzale is a three-star prospect committed to Vanderbilt who also lines up at wide-out (17 receptions, 245 yards, two touchdowns) and as a defensive back (eight tackles, three interceptions).

James has plenty of options at his disposal out to either side. Along with Vanzale Hinton and Carter, James can throw to senior Jakevion Perry (415 yards, two touchdowns), talented freshman Avery Thompson (311 yards, four touchdowns), or senior Joshua Campbell (290 yards, seven touchdowns).

On defense, Paducah Tilghman is credited with 12 fumble recoveries and six interceptions on the season. Seniors Jimmy Mooney (33 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack) and Julian O’Malley (31 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack) soak up the bulk of the tackling responsibilities. When Michael Hinton isn’t running the ball, he spends most of his time on defense where he has 25 tackles, four tackles for loss, and one sack. Nine other Blue Tornado players have recorded double-digit tackles, including Carter.

RV Allen County-Scottsville Patriots (5-0)

Allen County-Scottsville has been slowly climbing up KSR’s Top 25 rankings since Week 1. A win over Paducah Tilghman would shoot them into the Top 25, likely into the Top 20. Head coach Brad Hood has the Patriots’ offense off to a great start with 39.4 points per game. ACS is beating its opponents by 22.2 points per contest and the closest any team has gotten is within 14 points.

That being said, the Patriots — similar to Paducah Tilghman — haven’t played a tough schedule so far this season. ACS has faced zero teams ranked in KSR’s Top 25 or any of the seven teams currently receiving votes. A 36-22 win over Franklin-Simpson in Week 3 was respectable, but only two of the five teams they’ve played currently have at least three wins — the rest have losing records.

The easiest way to get over that hump? Taking down Paducah Tilghman at home.

Allen County-Scottsville isn’t a team that plans to beat its opposition through the air. Senior Braylon Adams has shown the ability to toss the ball around (eight touchdowns to five interceptions this season), but he and the rest of the Patriots’ offense live through the run game. Senior Chase Ross leads the way with 593 rushing yards and eight touchdowns with Adams not far behind with 394 rushing yards and six more touchdowns on the ground. Junior Braydon Holland also fits in the game plan with his 207 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

If Adams does elect to throw, he’ll likely look for junior De’Ante Grainger (155 receiving yards, one touchdown) or Ross (142 receiving yards, one touchdown). But with a pair of Top 30 rushers in Class 4A in Ross (15th) and Adams (26th), the offense will focus on moving the ball on the ground.

On defense, ACS is led by senior Jackson Morris and his team-high 48 tackles, which includes four tackles for loss and one sack. He’s aided by junior Edy Chavez, who checks in with 39 tackles and two tackles for a loss. Junior Eli McCoy is the sack leader with three on the season (along with one fumble recovery) while senior Mason Hester ranks third on the team in tackles with 27. You’ll also see Grainger in the secondary. He has three interceptions and 15 total tackles.