With 6:30 left in the third quarter Friday night at Jack D. Rose Stadium in Murray, the Spotify playlist clicked over to some Brooks & Dunn.
Blaring out over the speakers were some familiar, catchy lyrics.
“Get down. Turn around. Go to town. Boot-scootin’ boogie.”
Hopkinsville’s standout two-way senior Treston Kay took those words literally, and led the Tigers to an important 41-7 Class 4A, District I victory against Calloway County by scoring five touchdowns: two by punt return, two by rushing and one by receiving.
Per KHSAA statistics and Hopkinsville’s statistician Roy Keller, five or more touchdowns by a non-quarterback last happened in 2006, when Antwain Loving had five. Josh Catlett had a six-TD game in 1998, and legendary back Artose Pinner scored six once in 1996 and twice in 1997. Steve Burse scored five in a game in 1982.
CJ Henagan opened the 2016 season with four touchdowns against Graves County, while Victor Moulden had a four-TD game in 2008 and Loving did the same in 2006.
This effort from Kay brings him to 14 on the season, and with three games left on the schedule before the playoffs, many more could be on the way.
“Before the season, I told myself that I wanted to get to double-digit touchdowns and finish with 2,000 all-purpose yards, after finishing with 1,000 all-purpose yards last year,” Kay said. “One of those goals is complete. We’ve had a couple of tough games, and I just wanted to show what I’m able to do.”
Asked if he has plans to play college football somewhere after graduation, Kay kept it simple: “Yes. Yes I would.”
Hopkinsville got great field position on its opening drive, when a tough Laker snap on third down was followed by a bad snap on the punt. Three plays later, with 8:24 left in the first frame, Kay walked into the end zone on a three-yard score.
Still working through the loss of its starting quarterback at the beginning of the season, and a young roster gaining experience by the down, Calloway County’s second drive of the game was its best — behind a heavy dose of rushing from Logan Smith and Shaun Phillips. On fourth down, Carter Tudor’s lone complete pass was a short screen to Phillips that didn’t develop.
The Lakers were only down 7-0 when they punted to Kay as the first quarter came to an end, and it was with that extra time where he delivered a dazzling 58-yard return for six — taking his right sideline for the clear lane.
Hopkinsville’s first possession of the second quarter was pretty special, too, when senior quarterback Aiden King topped the Laker defense with a 47-yard pass over the middle to Tremayne Clay. King would finish with 140 yards passing and two scores on 7-for-12, his first touchdown going to Kay at the back-left pylon.
“We definitely needed this win,” King said. “Honestly, we’ve played against some tough offenses and some tough defenses. We just really needed this win. Following the Paducah Tilghman game, it’s just been about finding a way to respond. A way to regroup.”
King’s best throw of the night came with 2:08 left in the second quarter, when he put it just out of reach from a pursuing Lakers safety, and comfortably into the hands of DeAvery Ramey for a 19-yard touchdown in his left-third of the end zone. It capped an eight-play, 51-yard drive, and served as the Tigers best four-minute offense of the evening, making it 27-0.
With less than 90 seconds to go before halftime, Calloway County punted to Kay again and for a moment seemed to have him covered. Instead, he gained steam, shimmied a couple of defenders in the midfield, and coasted in for a 62-yard score. A blocked PAT kept the clock from running, but Hopkinsville led 34-0. In frustration, and nearly seeing daylight for a much-needed score, Phillips spiked the football after getting tackled on the ensuing kickoff.
Hopkinsville wasted little time offering its final uppercut, when James Bradley opened the third quarter with a stellar 62-yard kick return down the left sideline. Two plays later, Kay had his fifth score on a 7-yard scamper, making it 40-0 with 11:22, as well as the fourth, remaining.
Against the second- and third-string Tigers, the Lakers did manage paydirt with 7:25 left in regulation. Senior wideout Jay-Dynn Darcus escaped the pocket, and rushed 91 yards down the left sideline for a score — leaving defenders in his wake.
During a post-game interview with Kay and King, senior defensive back Amoni Johnson — No. 5 — walked up with a smile.
He had tweaked something for an injury during warmups against Greenwood, the first game of the season, and Friday was just his second game back since.
“It’s good to be back, man,” he said. “It’s good to be back.”
His return could be pivotal down the stretch. In 2023, he played in all 10 games for the Tigers, and finished with a team-best 50 tackles (including 35 solo and five for a loss), and added two sacks.
HOPKINSVILLE 41, CALLOWAY COUNTY 7
(all statistics provided by Tigers scorekeeper Roy Keller and WHOP’s Jeff Sisk)
Tigers (2-5, 1-2) 13 21 7 0 — 41
Lakers (0-7, 0-3) 0 0 0 7 — 7
SCORING
HOP: Treston Kay 4 rush (Carlo Jones PAT), 7-0, 8:24 1Q
HOP: Treston Kay 58 punt return (kick fails), 13-0, 0:00 1Q
HOP: Treston Kay 10 pass from Aiden King (James Bradley rush), 21-0, 7:56 2Q
HOP: DeAvery Ramey 19 pass from Aiden King (Jones PAT), 28-0, 2:08 2Q
HOP: Treston Kay 62 punt return (PAT blocked), 34-0, 0:57 2Q
HOP: Treston Kay 7 rush (Jones PAT), 41-0, 11:18 3Q
CAL: Jay-Dynn Darcus 91 rush (Riley Hudson PAT), 41-7, 7:20 4Q
STATISTICS
RUSHING LEADERS
HOP: Treston Kay 10-50-2, James Bradley 2-15, Artavius Moses 3-15, Aiden King 3-12, Juan Cannon 3-9. CAL: Jay-Dynn Darcus 2-92-1, Logan Smith 14-32, Shaun Phillips 9-32.
PASSING LEADERS
HOP: Aiden King 7-12-140-0-2, L. Jeffers 1-4-22-0-0. CAL: Carter Tudor 1-6-1-0-0.
RECEIVING LEADERS
HOP: DeAvery Ramey 2-57-1, Treston Kay 2-23-1, Tremayne Clay 1-47, Jayon Bass 1-22, Artavius Moses 1-12. CAL: Shaun Phillips 1-1.
MISCELLANEOUS
First Downs: HOP 12, CAL 7
Rushing: HOP 23-108, CAL 32-113
Passing: HOP 162, CAL 1
Plays: HOP 39, CAL 38
Net Yards: HOP 270, CAL 114
Penalties: HOP 7-62, CAL 2-15
Punts: HOP 1-22, CAL 5-108
Kick Returns: HOP 1-62, CAL 5-81
Time Of Possession: HOP 24:51, CAL 23:09
Third Down: HOP 4-8, CAL 3-10
Fourth Down: HOP 1-2, CAL 0-2
