MORGANFIELD, KY. (October 1, 2026) – The Union County Braves will look to carry momentum from their best defensive performance of the season into Friday night when they welcome Hopkins County Central to Morganfield for the opening game of Class 3A, District 1 play.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Union County High School.
Union County enters the matchup at 2-4, while Hopkins County Central comes to Morganfield with a 3-3 record. More importantly, both teams enter Friday 0-0 in district play, making the matchup the first step toward determining postseason positioning in a district that also includes Murray and Webster County.
The Braves are coming off a much-needed 28-6 road victory over Hancock County last Friday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak and marked the fewest points Union County has allowed in a game this season.
Union County opened the season with a 59-19 loss at Madisonville-North Hopkins before picking up a 21-20 victory over Crittenden County. The Braves then dropped three straight against Caldwell County, 26-14; Graves County, 35-13; and McCracken County, 43-7, before bouncing back against Hancock County.
Through six games, Union County has scored 102 points while allowing 189. The Braves will now try to build on last week’s defensive effort as they return home for the first time since September 11.
Hopkins County Central will also arrive in Morganfield with some momentum.
The Storm defeated Russellville 49-26 last Friday in Madisonville, improving to 3-3 on the season.
Hopkins Central has been a high-scoring team when things have gone its way this season.
The Storm opened with a 47-0 loss to Caldwell County before exploding for a 66-18 win over Todd County Central. They followed with a 63-12 loss at Madisonville-North Hopkins, a 41-20 victory at Fort Campbell and a 56-6 loss to Kentucky Country Day before last week’s 49-26 win over Russellville.
That has produced an interesting trend through the first six games. Hopkins Central has scored at least 41 points in each of its three victories while being held to 12 points or fewer in all three losses.
Friday’s matchup also continues a series that has heavily favored the Braves in recent years.
Union County defeated Hopkins Central 42-22 in Madisonville last season. The Braves also won 49-13 in 2024, 50-28 in 2023, 42-0 in 2022 and 34-15 in 2021. Union County has won 16 of the 18 meetings between the two programs dating back to 2004.
The district opener begins an important stretch for both teams.
Following Friday’s game, Union County will have a week off before traveling to Murray on October 16 and Webster County on October 23. The Braves close the regular season at home against Greenwood on October 30.
Hopkins Central will also have an open week following Friday night’s game before hosting Webster County on October 16 and Murray on October 23.
Murray currently owns the best overall record among the four District 1 teams at 5-1, followed by Hopkins County Central at 3-3, Union County at 2-4 and Webster County at 0-6. All four enter district competition at 0-0.
For Union County, Friday night is an opportunity to build on last week’s road victory and get district play started on the right foot at home.
The Union County Braves and Hopkins County Central Storm kick off Friday night at 7 p.m. at Union County High School in Morganfield.
Catch all the action on 101.3FM, online at wmskradio.com, on video via Youtube.
For the first time ever the game will be available on our all-new WMSK APP!
Available now on the Apple App Store.