By Lanny Lancaster. The annual battle between the Blue Tornado of Paducah Tilghman and the Cardinals of Mayfield is considered the outstanding game in Western Kentucky and one of the longest and best rivalries in the state. There is and always will be a keen, sometimes bitter, rivalry between the towns of Mayfield and Paducah when it comes to their football.
The Mayfield–Paducah series began in 1911, with the first game being a 0-0 tie. In 1921 the game became a Thanksgiving affair, and “Turkey Day” became the most important day of the year for the two schools. The game remained on Thanksgiving until 1959, when the Kentucky State High School Playoffs began. It is now played early in the season rather than on Turkey Day, but the intensity of the competition has not changed. To many, on both sides, this is still THE game of the year, and the rest of the schedule is secondary in importance.
Next meeting: 2027 (date TBA). The 113th meeting was played September 4, 2026 at War Memorial Stadium — Tilghman won 40-17.
Streaks and eras
By the numbers
- Largest Mayfield win
- 85-6 (1919)
- Largest Tilghman win
- 53-0 (1973)
- Highest-scoring game
- 85-6 in 1919 (91 points)
- Highest-scoring since 1919
- 55-29 in 2025 (84 points)
- Lowest-scoring decision
- 3-2 (1925)
- One-point games
- 6
- One-possession games
- 37
- Shutouts
- Mayfield 11, Tilghman 12
- All-time points
- Mayfield 1,784, Tilghman 1,822
- Average score
- Mayfield 15.8, Tilghman 16.1
- Overtime games
- 2010 (23-20 OT)
- Thanksgiving era (1921–58)
- 10–21–7
One-point games
- 1925 — Mayfield 3-2
- 1972 — Tilghman 21-20
- 1975 — Mayfield 7-6
- 1980 — Tilghman 15-14
- 1984 — Tilghman 7-6
- 1993 — Tilghman 10-9
Decade by decade
Records are Mayfield–Tilghman–Ties. Mayfield swept the 2010s (10–0). Tilghman owned the 1940s (Mayfield went 1–8–1).
| Decade | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 3–2–2 | 7 |
| 1920s | 3–3–3 | 9 |
| 1930s | 3–5–2 | 10 |
| 1940s | 1–8–1 | 10 |
| 1950s | 4–5–1 | 10 |
| 1960s | 4–5–1 | 10 |
| 1970s | 6–4 | 10 |
| 1980s | 4–6 | 10 |
| 1990s | 6–4 | 10 |
| 2000s | 6–4 | 10 |
| 2010s | 10–0 | 10 |
| 2020s (through 2026) | 3–4 | 7 |
Series notes
- Tilghman records show the 1911 game a 0-0 tie; Mayfield’s records show a 22-0 Cardinal victory.
- Tilghman records show the 1912 game a 26-0 Tornado victory; Mayfield records show a 22-0 Cardinal victory.
- In 1925 one player accounted for all five points in Mayfield’s 3-2 win. Weldon “Nappy” Yates booted a field goal and took a safety to preserve the victory.
- Mayfield’s most lopsided margin is 85-6 in 1919. There was no game in 1920 because Paducah “suggested the teams not play since there could be no doubt as to the result.”
- Tilghman’s longest winning streak is 6 (1942–47). Mayfield’s longest is 17, from 2006–2022.
- Mayfield won 17 in a row from 2006 through 2022. Tilghman snapped the streak in 2023 and has won the last four meetings (2023–26).
Early results are from Lanny Lancaster. Later scores are from Mayfield’s season schedules and the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.
Year by year
| Year | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1911 | Tie | 0-0 |
| 1912 | Mayfield | 22-0 |
| 1913 | No Game | |
| 1914 | Tilghman | 19-0 |
| 1915 | Tilghman | 27-0 |
| 1916 | No Game | |
| 1917 | Mayfield | 39-0 |
| 1917 | Tie | 6-6 |
| 1918 | No Game | |
| 1919 | Mayfield | 85-6 |
| 1920 | No Game | |
| 1921 | Tie | 0-0 |
| 1922 | Tilghman | 24-7 |
| 1923 | Tie | 0-0 |
| 1924 | Tilghman | 22-7 |
| 1925 | Mayfield | 3-2 |
| 1926 | Mayfield | 10-0 |
| 1927 | Tilghman | 13-6 |
| 1928 | Tie | 0-0 |
| 1929 | Mayfield | 7-0 |
| 1930 | Mayfield | 25-6 |
| 1931 | Mayfield | 14-0 |
| 1932 | Tilghman | 38-0 |
| 1933 | Tie | 7-7 |
| 1934 | Tie | 6-6 |
| 1935 | Tilghman | 25-7 |
| 1936 | Tilghman | 7-0 |
| 1937 | Tilghman | 21-6 |
| 1938 | Tilghman | 19-0 |
| 1939 | Mayfield | 6-0 |
| 1940 | Tilghman | 33-0 |
| 1941 | Tie | 0-0 |
| 1942 | Tilghman | 19-0 |
| 1943 | Tilghman | 41-25 |
| 1944 | Tilghman | 14-0 |
| 1945 | Tilghman | 18-12 |
| 1946 | Tilghman | 14-0 |
| 1947 | Tilghman | 54-6 |
| 1948 | Mayfield | 33-12 |
| 1949 | Tilghman | 39-6 |
| 1950 | Tilghman | 14-12 |
| 1951 | Mayfield | 12-0 |
| 1952 | Mayfield | 20-12 |
| 1953 | Tilghman | 19-7 |
| 1954 | Mayfield | 18-6 |
| 1955 | Tilghman | 53-7 |
| 1956 | Tilghman | 26-7 |
| 1957 | Tilghman | 33-7 |
| 1958 | Tie | 12-12 |
| 1959 | Mayfield | 18-6 |
| 1960 | Tilghman | 20-14 |
| 1961 | Tilghman | 35-19 |
| 1962 | Tilghman | 33-7 |
| 1963 | Tilghman | 13-7 |
| 1964 | Tie | 14-14 |
| 1965 | Mayfield | 27-7 |
| 1966 | Mayfield | 14-6 |
| 1967 | Mayfield | 13-7 |
| 1968 | Tilghman | 21-7 |
| 1969 | Mayfield | 14-6 |
| 1970 | Mayfield | 54-13 |
| 1971 | Tilghman | 7-3 |
| 1972 | Tilghman | 21-20 |
| 1973 | Tilghman | 53-0 |
| 1974 | Mayfield | 17-2 |
| 1975 | Mayfield | 7-6 |
| 1976 | Mayfield | 30-21 |
| 1977 | Mayfield | 14-7 |
| 1978 | Mayfield | 35-6 |
| 1979 | Tilghman | 14-7 |
| 1980 | Tilghman | 15-14 |
| 1981 | Mayfield | 7-0 |
| 1982 | Mayfield | 16-7 |
| 1983 | Mayfield | 13-7 |
| 1984 | Tilghman | 7-6 |
| 1985 | Tilghman | 14-0 |
| 1986 | Mayfield | 17-10 |
| 1987 | Tilghman | 22-10 |
| 1988 | Tilghman | 34-14 |
| 1989 | Tilghman | 16-7 |
| 1990 | Mayfield | 20-17 |
| 1991 | Tilghman | 28-14 |
| 1992 | Tilghman | 28-0 |
| 1993 | Tilghman | 10-9 |
| 1994 | Tilghman | 21-14 |
| 1995 | Mayfield | 28-0 |
| 1996 | Mayfield | 13-0 |
| 1997 | Mayfield | 14-7 |
| 1998 | Mayfield | 14-6 |
| 1999 | Mayfield | 24-21 |
| 2000 | Mayfield | 25-0 |
| 2001 | Tilghman | 17-21 |
| 2002 | Mayfield | 28-22 |
| 2003 | Tilghman | 42-7 |
| 2004 | Tilghman | 27-15 |
| 2005 | Tilghman | 18-15 |
| 2006 | Mayfield | 14-7 |
| 2007 | Mayfield | 16-6 |
| 2008 | Mayfield | 21-12 |
| 2009 | Mayfield | 21-12 |
| 2010 | Mayfield | 23-20 OT |
| 2011 | Mayfield | 24-6 |
| 2012 | Mayfield | 42-21 |
| 2013 | Mayfield | 28-21 |
| 2014 | Mayfield | 47-12 |
| 2015 | Mayfield | 37-14 |
| 2016 | Mayfield | 48-26 |
| 2017 | Mayfield | 47-14 |
| 2018 | Mayfield | 51-27 |
| 2019 | Mayfield | 38-20 |
| 2020 | Mayfield | 36-6 |
| 2021 | Mayfield | 42-28 |
| 2022 | Mayfield | 16-14 |
| 2023 | Tilghman | 35-28 |
| 2024 | Tilghman | 41-10 |
| 2025 | Tilghman | 55-29 |
| 2026 | Tilghman | 40-17 |