The old saying “the most important game of the season is the next one” definitely applies to the Logan County Cougars this week.

That truth applies equally to their opponent, the Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons, who will come to 2200 Bowling Green Road, Russellville, tonight.

It’s become increasingly obvious that the Cougars and the Maroons are the two best teams in Class 4A, Region I, District 1. Coach Todd Adler’s Cougars are 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the district. They’re ranked fifth in the state by the Associated Press and seventh in the KHSAA’s RPI. The Maroons, who are 5-2 and 2-0, are ranked in a tie for 11^th in AP voting and rated 15^th in the state by the KHSAA.

Since both teams have beaten Hopkinsville, more than likely the winner of tonight’s game will be the top seed in the district and have home field advantage in the playoffs.

Last year on the way to Class 4ssA’s Final Four, the Cougars beat the Maroons twice. The regular season game was on the road, and the top-seeded Cougars were at home for the playoffs.

In comparative scores and in the current Class 4A statistics, the Cougars appear to have the advantage. They each have swept games against the teams from the most populated area of the district—Hopkinsville and Christian County. Logan beat Hoptown 49-28 and the Colonels 49-6, while M-NH took those games 21-14 and 35-19. Logan has scored 40 or more points in five of its last six games.

The Cougars are in the Top 10 in the state in every category except field goals and pass defense. The Maroons are below them in most categories and don’t sit much ahead of them in all the others except pass defense. Passing could be the Maroons best hope of winning, although Cougar quarterback Davin Yates is only 20 passing yards behind Maroon QB Anias Mitchell.

Here’s a look at team standings in the state:

Points per game: Logan 3^rd, 40.6; M-NH 12^th, 33.7

Points allowed per game: M-NH 7^th, 17.7; Logan 10^th, 18.6

Scoring margin: Logan 5^th plus 22.0; M-NH 8^th, plus 16.0

Rushing yardage per game: Logan 8^th, 246; M-NH 11^th, 228

Rushing yardage allowed per game: Logan 10^th, 102; M-NH 14^th, 116

Passing yards per game: M-NH 5^th, 174; Logan 8^th, 164

Passing yards allowed per game: M-NH 13^th, 107; Logan 20^th, 124

Sacks: Logan 2^nd, 19; M-NH 19^th. 9

Fumble Recoveries: Logan 8^th, 7; M-NH 26^th, 3

Interceptions: Logan 8^th, 9; M-NH 10^th, 7

The LoJo

Many Cougars rank among the best in the state. They include:

Conversion kicks: Kyla Bilyeu 1^st with 29; 3^rd with 4.1 made per game

Sacks: Peyton Taylor 2^nd with 8.5; Elijah Hawkins, Isaac Poe & Keenan Uhles tied for 35^th with 3 each

Tackles: Elijah Hawkins 2^nd in solo tackles with 45, 3^rd in total tackles with 73,4^th with 10.5 per game; Isaac Poe with 7.6 tackles per game

Rushing: Ryan Rayno 3^rd in rushing yards with1125, 3^rd in rushing touchdowns, 4^th in yards per game with 161

Passing: Davin Yates 3^rd in completions with 83, 4^th in passing touchdowns with 15,10^th with 1,080 yards; Brady Hinton 37^th with 71 yards

Interceptions: Jack Delaney tied for 4^th with 3; Hunter Holloway, tied for 16^th with 2

Receiving: Zane Batten 4^th in receptions with 27, tied for 5^th in touchdown receptions, 11^th in yards per game with 55; JunVontre Dillard tied in receiving yards per game with 36

Scoring: Ryan Rayno 5^th with 96 points

Field goals: Kyla Bilyeu tied for 9^th with 1

Fumble recoveries: Isaac Poe 10^th with 1 recovered and 2 forced; Ryland Nichols tied for 4^th with 2;

Peyton Taylor, Derek White, Kadin Switzer are all listed in this category

The LoJo

This is the Cougars’ final regular season home game. They only have four at Cougar Field this year.

The Cougars are inviting LCHS football alumni to gather in the end zone before the game,

It will be carried live on WRUS.