by Jared Jensen
The Paducah Sun
December 6, 2024
Used with permission.
LEXINGTON — The Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornado have finished what they started out to do three years ago after falling short in the 3A State Championship. They claimed the 4A state championship Friday night at Kroger Field in a 27-20 ballgame over Franklin County to cap off a perfect 15-0 season.
That 3A loss was a hard one for many on this team as they were freshman at the time. They crossed off their final high school game on a high note, bringing home the golden ball with experience under their belts.
“On defense we had 10 seniors starting, on offense I think we had eight and when you’ve got that many guys who have been here before and know what it takes to get here, they learned how to finish,” Paducah Tilghman head coach Sean Thompson said. “That’s what this season was about. Every week people have got something to say about why you can’t do something, and when you have purpose driven kids wanting to prove everybody wrong, this is the outcome you get.”
This was the most closely contested game with the narrowest margin the Blue Tornado have seen all season, providing the perfect atmosphere for championship football.
Tilghman led by as much as 13 points after trailing 7-0 early, but the Flyers dug deep to get back within a touchdown down the stretch. The deciding play came after a Tilghman fumble with 3:45 to play, but a long 42 yards to go.
The Flyers got down to the 21, but the Blue Tornado defense proved once again why they are one of the best in the state, forcing an incomplete pass on fourth and seven to turn the ball over on downs. This gave Tilghman the ball and all that was left was to run the clock out and take the knee in the victory formation.
In his final high school game, senior quarterback Jack James threw for 350 yards, connected on one touchdown, went 29-for-38 and suffered an interception. He also took care of business on the ground, marching for two more touchdowns himself with a total of 22 rushing yards.
He ends his career as the QB with the most career passing touchdowns, most pass attempts, most pass completions and most total yardage in KHSAA history.
“It means everything,” James said about all of his personal records. “I’ve got to give all the glory to God. My teammates and O-line have protected me and I wouldn’t have been able to do all of that if I was hurt so they have kept me safe and injury-free.”
Fellow senior and future Kentucky Wildcat Martels Carter Jr. finished off the night 165 receiving yards, a TD on the ground and in the air, and had five total tackles. This earned him the game MVP and his first win on his future home turf.
“I just wanted to show BBN (Big Blue Nation) fans what they can expect out of me,” Carter said.
Reflecting on the season, the Coach Thompson has said multiple times that the goal is to ‘win the last one’ and Friday night was the ultimate last one.
“The goal was to win state,” Carter said. “We came in every day wanting to prove people wrong and I think we did that today.”
The Blue Tornado put up 536 yards of total offense, 350 in the air and 186 on the ground. Franklin County had 179 rushing yards and 97 passing for 276.
The Championship win marks the fourth in Paducah Tilghman’s history, the last one coming in 2009 in a 21-0 win over Somerset in 3A action.