Franklin-Simpson is one of just two road teams in 4A to have advanced to the second round, holding on against a game John Hardin team by a 42-35 score, sealing the game in the red zone with an interception.  It's the third straight first round victory for the Wildcats, who are back in 4A for the first time since 2022.  They'll visit Paducah Tilghman, the defending state champions, who were somewhat lackluster in a 28-0 victory over Taylor County, but a shutout is a shutout.  Paducah Tilghman is seeking their fifth straight trip to the region final round, while Franklin-Simpson seeks their first region final appearance since 2019.  

Paducah Tilghman, champions of the 1st district, are 10-1 on the season, and closed the regular season as BGP's #6 team.  Franklin-Simpson, the third seed out of District 1, are 7-4.  This is the second meeting of the year between the teams, with Paducah Tilghman winning at home on September 19th by a 35-14 margin.  Paducah has won four in a row against Franklin-Simpson, though this year's first meeting was the first between the teams in 21 years.  Paducah Tilghman leads the all-time series 15-3, and the postseason series 5-3.  

Paducah has not been quite as dominant as many expected coming into the year, but appear to still be healthy favorites entering this contest.  After all, they haven't lost to a 4A opponent in two years.  Can Franklin-Simpson close the gap or is Paducah going to continue their march to a title defense?

The burning question. What will PT do at qb for this game? 

After Stone Crowe was pulled after his 4th interception, wide receiver Avery Thompson took over. He did play qb some while he was in middle school, but that's a big ask right now. 

Blair Sains, who was the qb at Ballard Memorial last season could also see action. He played really well there last year. 

Do they go back to Crowe? 

Do they put an athlete in and run some kind of version of the Wildcat?

I have no idea, but this offense has the potential to look a lot different a week from now. This week's practices are gonna be really important. 

 

19 minutes ago, TilghmanPride said:

The burning question. What will PT do at qb for this game? 

After Stone Crowe was pulled after his 4th interception, wide receiver Avery Thompson took over. He did play qb some while he was in middle school, but that's a big ask right now. 

Blair Sains, who was the qb at Ballard Memorial last season could also see action. He played really well there last year. 

Do they go back to Crowe? 

Do they put an athlete in and run some kind of version of the Wildcat?

I have no idea, but this offense has the potential to look a lot different a week from now. This week's practices are gonna be really important. 

 

I just hope we don’t see that officiating crew the rest of the season.Pathetic crew putting it mildly.

Just now, Golf2074 said:

I just hope we don’t see that officiating crew the rest of the season.Pathetic crew putting it mildly.

That was as bad as it gets. I had people messaging me after the game asking about them. I'm not trying to be funny, but I believe they may have just got their credentials right before the game.

5 minutes ago, TilghmanPride said:

That was as bad as it gets. I had people messaging me after the game asking about them. I'm not trying to be funny, but I believe they may have just got their credentials right before the game.

Seriously that crew needs to be blackballed from calling another Tilghman game.

6 minutes ago, Golf2074 said:

Seriously that crew needs to be blackballed from calling another Tilghman game.

They need to use this game as quality assurance on what not to do as a ref. They called that game so bad to the point it affected the kids mentally in a negative way.

Franklin Simpson is just a tough hard nosed team.  It's hard to go on the road in the playoffs and win and they have already done that against a good John Hardin team.

Tilghman sounds like they are looking for answers on offense at the moment.  If the Wildcats could go on some long clock chewing drives I think it would help them control the game a bit.

Tilghman should still be too much IMO, but you just never know.  Good luck to both teams!

9 hours ago, Golf2074 said:

Seriously that crew needs to be blackballed from calling another Tilghman game.

The guy in the white hat looked like Santa Claus.  

I’m going with the upset. I don’t think MNH was a great team and it seems like PTs offense is on the struggle bus. Give me FS 28-27.

I don't think Tilghman will be interested until next week. That showed a bit last week. I think Tilghman takes care of business and pulls away for a win that looks larger on paper than in person.

Tilghman by 23

BLUE TORNADO!! 

On 11/7/2025 at 10:15 PM, TilghmanPride said:

The burning question. What will PT do at qb for this game? 

After Stone Crowe was pulled after his 4th interception, wide receiver Avery Thompson took over. He did play qb some while he was in middle school, but that's a big ask right now. 

Blair Sains, who was the qb at Ballard Memorial last season could also see action. He played really well there last year. 

Do they go back to Crowe? 

Do they put an athlete in and run some kind of version of the Wildcat?

I have no idea, but this offense has the potential to look a lot different a week from now. This week's practices are gonna be really important. 

 

PT will win this game. As far as Crowe goes, he played lights out against Mayfield, he was a stud. He must have fallen off the face of the earth to get to the point where they are thinking about replacing him. I don't here about #5 that much either, how's he doing?

3 hours ago, snakesnot_2000 said:

PT will win this game. As far as Crowe goes, he played lights out against Mayfield, he was a stud. He must have fallen off the face of the earth to get to the point where they are thinking about replacing him. I don't here about #5 that much either, how's he doing?

He has really struggled since earlier in the season. Wade's production has slowed down because of it, along with everyone else. Lots of interceptions and underthrown passes when multiple guys are wide open routinely. If he could get them the ball in a timely manner, PT could literally score every possession. 

I don't want to act like he's the only thing holding them back, because that's not true, but it's a big part of it when you are in a pass heavy offense. 

It's been a strange turn of events for sure. The whole team seems to be in a funk. 

I still hold out hope to get it turned around, but it's pretty faint at this point. 

Hope your Cardinals make it a long way! Good luck the rest of the way.

 

I think it’s worth mentioning that Coach Love’s defense has been lights out the last few weeks.  I know Taylor Co was missing some key guys but how many first downs did they have?  Maybe 3?  The Sun said they had 60 yards of total offense.  
I think the D Line has stepped up and the LBs are playing very well too.  Also the secondary!

Yes I think the Offensive pass game has struggled but hopefully the Defense keeps them rolling on.

Just run the ball.  You have 2 D1 OL and 2 good RBs.  RUN THE BALL and give your QB easier throws and let the WR do the work.