(DRAFFENVILLE, Ky.) — The Marshall County Marshals’ homecoming celebration was cut short Friday night as the undefeated Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons dominated at Carroll Traylor Stadium/Jim Shelton Field, winning 55-14.
Playing in front of their home crowd for the first time in three weeks, the Marshals got off to a promising start when they capitalized on a Maroon fumble to take an early 7-0 lead. However, the momentum quickly shifted as Madisonville-North Hopkins responded with 13 unanswered points to take a 13-7 advantage into halftime.
The third quarter proved decisive for the visiting Maroons. After Marshall County failed to sustain their opening drive of the second half, Madisonville-North Hopkins struck quickly with a touchdown and successful two-point conversion to extend their lead to 21-7. The Maroons added two more touchdowns in the third quarter to build a commanding 34-7 advantage.
Though the Marshals managed to find the end zone once more to cut the deficit to 34-14, the Maroons’ explosive offense proved unstoppable, adding three more scores to secure the lopsided victory.
The loss was particularly stinging for Marshall County, as it came during their homecoming festivities. The celebration did feature bright spots, with the student body crowning Ava Moore as Homecoming Queen and Ethan Webber as Homecoming King.
The defeat drops Marshall County to 2-3 at the season’s midway point, while Madisonville-North Hopkins continues their perfect campaign at 5-0. The Maroons entered the contest riding high after pulling off one of the season’s biggest upsets with a victory over Paducah Tilghman the previous week.
Looking ahead, Marshall County will travel to face upstart Muhlenberg County next week, while the unbeaten Maroons return home to host Graves County.