Ripley opens 2026 season at home against Mooreville in rematch of last year’s defensive battle
Ripley will open the 2026 football season Friday night at Tiger Stadium against Mooreville, beginning Year 2 under head coach Rico McDonald with a roster that is still young but far more experienced than it was at this point a year ago. The Tigers won last season’s meeting 10-3 on the road, and Friday’s rematch will offer an early look at whether a group that was forced to grow up quickly in 2025 is ready to take another step.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Ripley. Both teams enter the opener with returning playmakers and second-year head coaches, but the Tigers come into the matchup with a number of familiar faces who played significant varsity snaps last season.
Ripley finished 3-7 overall and 1-3 in Region 3-4A in McDonald’s first season, reaching the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. The record did not always reflect the amount of youth on the field, as the Tigers routinely leaned on freshmen and sophomores in key roles on both sides of the football.
That remains one of the biggest storylines entering 2026. Ripley has approximately 58 players on the roster, but only four are seniors, with 18 juniors, 13 sophomores and 23 freshmen making up the rest of the team.
The difference now is that several of those underclassmen are already proven varsity players. Sophomore Kyran McDonald is one of the best examples after emerging as one of Ripley’s most productive offensive pieces as a freshman.
McDonald rushed for 519 yards and three touchdowns on 98 carries last season while also completing 64 percent of his passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns. His ability to play quarterback, running back and safety gives Ripley one of the most versatile players on the field and gives the Tiger offense multiple ways to create favorable matchups.
Junior Trace James also returns after throwing for 685 yards and seven touchdowns last season, while junior Skylar Barkley gives Ripley another option at quarterback. With multiple players capable of taking snaps and McDonald able to move around the formation, the Tigers should have more flexibility offensively than they did during stretches of last season.
Ripley also returns proven production at receiver. Junior Cohen Wright caught 26 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns last year while also becoming one of the Tigers’ top defensive backs, and junior Cole Rakestraw gives Ripley a bigger target in the passing game.
Wright’s value goes beyond offense. He recorded 12 pass breakups and two interceptions last season, making him one of the leaders of a secondary that could be one of Ripley’s stronger defensive units in 2026.
Junior Nathan Boyd returns to help anchor the offensive line, while sophomore Aking Richard is expected to contribute at running back and linebacker. Ripley still has plenty of youth across the roster, but the Tigers enter this opener with much more varsity experience than they carried into last year’s trip to Mooreville.
That experience could be especially important against a Mooreville team that has its own returning offensive weapons. The Troopers finished 4-6 overall and 0-4 in Region 2-4A in Jacob Massey’s first season, but they return one of the more productive running backs in the area in senior Kason Mathis.
Mathis rushed for 862 yards and five touchdowns last season while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. He also finished with more than 1,000 all-purpose yards and will again be the focal point of the Mooreville offense.
Ripley, however, already has a successful blueprint for slowing him down. In last year’s 10-3 win, the Tigers held Mathis to just 58 yards on 21 carries, an average of 2.8 yards per attempt, while limiting Mooreville to only 99 yards from scrimmage.
Repeating that defensive effort will be one of Ripley’s biggest priorities Friday night. If the Tigers can keep Mathis from consistently reaching the second level, Mooreville will be forced to rely more heavily on its passing game.
That passing game should be more settled this season with junior Cameron Cady at quarterback. Cady began 2025 as a wide receiver before moving to quarterback midway through the year, eventually throwing for 478 yards and five touchdowns.
His development gives Mooreville a different look than the team Ripley faced last season. The Troopers completed only two passes for 12 yards in that game, allowing the Tigers to focus almost entirely on stopping the run.
Cady now enters the season with an offseason of preparation at quarterback and should give Mooreville a better chance to create balance. Jett Hussey is expected to be one of his primary targets, while sophomore Levi Gray can also provide carries behind Mathis.
For Ripley, that makes early-down defense especially important. If the Tigers can limit Mathis and put Mooreville in obvious passing situations, Wright and the rest of the secondary should have opportunities to make plays.
On the other side of the football, Ripley could have an opportunity to test a Mooreville defense that is replacing five of its top six tacklers from last season. Senior Eli Rodgers is expected to move from the defensive line to middle linebacker after recording 33 tackles and four tackles for loss, while senior Kolby Hart returns in the secondary.
Junior D.J. Prince also returns along the defensive front, but Mooreville will still be breaking in several new starters. That could work in Ripley’s favor if the Tigers are able to use motion, multiple quarterbacks and the versatility of McDonald to force the Troopers to communicate and adjust on the fly.
One of the bigger questions for Ripley will be whether the offense can produce more consistently than it did a year ago. The Tigers averaged just over 15 points per game in 2025 and relied heavily on their defense to create winning situations.
All three Ripley victories last season came when the Tigers held the opponent to three points or fewer. Every loss came when the opposing team scored at least 28, showing just how important defensive control was to Ripley’s success.
The Tigers will still want that defense to set the tone, but the returning experience on offense gives Ripley a chance to be more balanced this season. If McDonald, James, Wright and Rakestraw can turn more routine plays into explosive gains, the Tigers should be better equipped to win games that require more offensive production.
Friday’s matchup also features an interesting roster contrast. Ripley appears to have considerably more overall depth, while Mooreville’s smaller roster is more heavily concentrated among juniors and seniors.
That could become important as the game progresses, particularly in an August opener where conditioning and two-way players can become factors. Ripley’s larger roster could give the Tigers more flexibility with substitutions and help keep key players fresher late in the game.
Special teams could also become important after last year’s matchup produced only 13 total points. Ripley expects Paxton Kennamore to handle punting duties, Andy Diaz to kick and Hayden Hopper to long snap, while Mooreville is expected to use Blaine Richey at punter and could use Hart in the kicking game.
The historical series also belongs to Ripley. The Tigers have won all five recorded meetings between the two programs, including four straight games from 2005 through 2008 before the series resumed last season after a long break.
Those older results have little to do with Friday night, but Ripley’s most recent success against Mooreville is much more relevant. The Tigers have already shown they can control the Troopers’ running game, limit their passing attack and win a physical, low-scoring contest.
The question now is whether Ripley can pair that defensive formula with a more explosive and mature offense. With several young players returning after being tested early in their careers, the Tigers enter Friday with a chance to show that last season’s growing pains are beginning to pay off.
Mooreville has enough returning experience to make the opener a difficult test, especially with Mathis in the backfield and Cady more established at quarterback. Still, Ripley enters the game at home with more depth, several proven playmakers and a defense that has already had success against the Troopers’ top offensive weapon.
For the Tigers, Friday night is about more than starting the season 1-0. It is the first opportunity to show that a young team that spent much of 2025 learning how to compete at the varsity level is ready to turn that experience into progress.
How to watch
Fans who cannot make it to Tiger Stadium can still follow all of the action live. Tippah County Sports will carry the Ripley-Mooreville game live on Facebook, with the broadcast also available through RCTV 19 streaming and online at www.RCTV19.com.
Coverage will include the full game broadcast from Tiger Stadium, giving fans at home another way to follow the Tigers as they open the 2026 season against Mooreville.
