Madisonville North Hopkins High School

Madisonville-North Hopkins running back Markezz Hightower has been named the Class 5A District One Player of the Year by the Kentucky Football Coaches Association. The Maroon senior ran for 1,554 yards and 25 touchdowns this season and added 13 catches for 159 yards. He had three games where he topped 200 yards and scored four touchdowns. One of those was a season-high 231 yards against Hopkinsville. Hightower finished his career with 5,426 rushing yards and 71 touchdowns. His rushing total is third-best in Madisonville history, behind his brother Jeriah, who ran for 6,343 yards from 2016-19, and Sonny Collins, who rushed for 6,200 yards from 1968-71. Hightower also caught 57 passes in his career for 713 yards and six touchdowns. He totaled over 6,100 yards from scrimmage and scored 63 touchdowns on offense. Other Region 1, District 1 players of the year were Zayden Kinney, Fulton County (1A, D1); Caden Howard, Crittenden County (2A, D1); Wyatt Robbins, Murray (3A, D1); Avery Thompson, Paducah Tilghman (4A, D1), and James Bradley, Jr., Hopkinsville (6A, D1).