As the 2018 high school football season begins Friday night around the Bluegrass State, a majority of the matchups, as customary, pit a top-tier team against a club that is working to build up its program.
There may be many of those type of Week 1 games, but South Warren won’t be participating in one. It’ll instead be traveling to Hopkinsville for a highly-anticipated meeting with the Class 4A Hopkinsville Tigers.
GAME INFO:
South Warren at Hopkinsville
Friday, 8 p.m.
Stadium of Champions, Hopkinsville, Ky.
Broadcast: STBNTV.com
Updates: Twitter.com/SportingTimes
South Warren – which has turned itself into a dominant program – enters its second season in Class 5A after a dominant campaign in 2017. The Spartans went 11-3 a season ago and advanced to the semifinals of the Class 5A Russell Athletic/KHSAA Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl, where they fell to eventual state champion Covington Catholic.
After a standout year, South Warren will get right back to business – and look to achieve its goal of winning another state title – right off the bat with a tough road matchup against Hopkinsville.
The Tigers finished just below .500 with a 6-7 record last season but caught everyone’s attention with their play down the stretch. Hoptown lost its four games of the year – including a 35-14, season-opening loss at South Warren – and sat at 1-5 entering Week 7.
That’s when everything changed for Hopkinsville.
Following a 35-20 loss at home to Madisonville-North Hopkins on Sept. 29, the Tigers looked like a completely different team the following week. On the road at Logan County, Hopkinsville suffered a heartbreaking 13-12 loss but played hard – and with a purpose – from start to finish and demonstrated that the entire team’s outlook had changed.
From there, the Tigers went on to win five straight – including a 43-8 road victory over Logan County in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs – to put themselves in the state quarterfinals.
Hoptown fell short to eventual state champion Franklin-Simpson, but that didn’t take away from what the Tigers did.
With standout quarterback Javier Bland returning, Hopkinsville is bound to have another successful season – and it’d like for this one to begin with Game One.
Along with Bland, who threw for 2,148 yards and 22 touchdowns a season ago, wide receiver Jordan Hopson will also play a significant role for the Tigers.
South Warren will most certainly be ready for Friday’s challenge, especially with a handful of dominant playmakers returning for Coach Brandon Smith.
Quarterback Gavin Spurrier – who passed for 2,509 yards and 21 touchdowns as a junior – will pilot the Spartans’ offense, alongside wide receivers Clayton Bush and Cameron Harrison. On the defensive side of the ball, Notre Dame commit Jacob Lacey will anchor a veteran unit that includes Pete Cross, Rowdy Shea and Tre Teague, among others.
Friday will mark the third-ever meeting between South Warren and Hopkinsville. The Spartans won the first two matchups against the Tigers.
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