‘They learned how to finish.’ Paducah Tilghman turns back Franklin Co. rally for 4A title.

For the first time in 15 years, Paducah Tilghman gets to make the long drive back to far western Kentucky with a state football title in hand.

The Blue Tornado held off a late rally by Franklin County in the Class 4A UK HealthCare Sports Medicine State Football Finals on Friday night at Kroger Field. Their 27-20 victory gave the program its fourth state title.

“Our goal was to always prove people wrong, and I feel like we proved it today,” said Martels Carter, a wide receiver who took game MVP honors.

In its only other previous trip to Kroger Field — the KHSAA finals have been played there each season since 2017 — Tilghman lost a heartbreaker to Belfry 33-28 in the 2021 Class 3A game. Most of its starters Friday night — 10 on defense and eight on offense, all unique players — were freshmen on that team.

That group followed up its early finals trip with narrow losses to an eventual state champion in 2022 (Christian Academy of Louisville, 3A) and a runner-up in 2023 (Covington Catholic, 4A). They finally stood alone this year, and unblemished at 15-0.

“They learned how to finish,” Tilghman coach Sean Thompson said. “That’s what this season was about. Every week, people’ve got something to say about why you can’t do something. And when you have purpose-driven kids that want to prove everybody wrong, this is the outcome.”

Carter, who signed with the University of Kentucky on Wednesday, scored twice in the first half — first on a 38-yard pass from Jack James to match an early Franklin County touchdown, then again on a 3-yard run to put the Blue Tornado in front with 9:01 left to play in the second quarter.

Franklin County stopped Carter at the goal line as time expired in the first half, but couldn’t capitalize on the shot of momentum following the break; it stalled after receiving the second-half kickoff and yielded an 81-yard drive capped by a TD run by James, putting Tilghman up 20-7 with 4:26 left in the third.

The Blue Tornado then gambled, and lost, on an onside-kick attempt. Franklin County seized the opportunity, pulling within 20-13 on a 16-yard pass from Knox Barrett to Jacob Taylor. But Tilghman responded quickly with another 80-yard march punctuated by a James TD.

Franklin County took advantage of an iffy no-call late in the fourth quarter — it appeared that Paducah Tilghman recovered a would-be fumble but the receiver was ruled down by an official — to pull within a score with 5:11 to play. The Flyers then recovered a fumble by James a minute and a half later to position themselves to tie or take the lead, but they stalled at Tilghman’s 21-yard line with 2:07 — and no timeouts — remaining.

“At that point it was fourth-and-7 and we had to take a shot,” Flyers coach Eddie James said of the final offensive play, a long pass up the sideline into triple coverage. “What we thought was going to be there wasn’t, and (Tilghman) just made the play.”

Franklin County (13-1) was without its leading rusher, Christian Moore, who suffered a knee injury in the final game of the regular season. The Flyers are no strangers to heartbreak themselves; they’ve now lost to the eventual state champion or runner-up each of the last five seasons. They’ve been one of the final four teams playing in Class 4A each of those campaigns.

And they intend to stay in the hunt.

“Our culture’s built on toughness and grit, and I know in society today that’s not really appreciated, so it’s even harder to draw that out of kids,” Eddie James said. “But these kids really set the example for us. They represent everything that’s right about football.”

Notes

▪ Jack James, who’s signed with Troy, finished his five-year high school career with several KHSAA passing records. He broke two during Friday’s win — career yardage (13,993) and total completions (969). He extended career-record marks for passing TDs (181) and attempts (1,563). “I like to give all glory to God and my teammates, my o-line, for protecting me,” said James, who played an extra season as a result of the pandemic. “I wouldn’t be able to do that if I was hurt. They kept me safe and injury-free. And I’ve thrown to some great guys.”

▪ Vanderbilt signee Vanzale Hinton finished with 133 all-purpose yards (68 receiving, 65 rushing) for the winners.

▪ LeDarrius Simmons led Franklin County with 138 all-purpose yards (75 rushing, 63 receiving).

▪ Paducah Tilghman improved to 4-7 in championship appearances. In its previous wins, the Blue Tornado defeated Somerset (21-0 in 2009, 3A), Belfry (29-14 in 1985, 3A) and Boyd County (27-8 in 1973, 2A). “I can tell you that this senior class has done as much for Paducah Tilghman as any group has ever done, taking it back through the tradition of the ‘70s, ‘80s and early ‘90s,” Thompson said. “I gotta say, because they’re mine, they’re at the top until someone knocks them off.”

This story was originally published December 7, 2024 at 8:30 AM.