Darren Doyle, story and photos:
Edmonson County High School senior athlete Chance Lucas signed with Campbellsville University today to play not only football but also run track.

Lucas signed the documents with his family, coaching staffs, and fellow players. ECHS Head Football Coach Nathan Smith addressed the audience at today's ceremony and shared some positive thoughts about the senior.

"This is a testament to how hard he's worked," Smith said. "If you'd have told me as a freshman that he was going to go on to play college football, I don't that I'd have believed you," he said with a smile. "But he's absolutely worked his hind-end off the last four years to put himself here at this opportunity, so we're really proud of him."

Chance Lucas also spoke to the audience, giving thanks to those that included friends, teammates, and coaches. 

"I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for all of you all," he said. "I also want to thank my parents and all family. I also want to thank my girlfriend."

Chance is the son of Howard and Laura Lucas. Both of the proud parents had plenty to say about this special day for their son.

"I'm really proud of him," said Howard, who also said he knew Chance would achieve great accomplishments even when Chance was in the second grade. "He's very relentless, he's dedicated, he never gives up. He's had a 4.0 ever since I can remember. When he was little, we went to one of the graduations and he told me 'dad, you know what? When I graduate, they're gonna have all kinds of stuff to say about me,' and I said boy, I hope that's a good thing."

His mother, Laura, also shared her excitement for this special day. 

"He has worked and worked and worked, and he always told us he was going to play college football," she said. "He's very smart and very determined, and he's all in it."

Campbellsville University is a private college in Kentucky with an enrollment of 12,000.

Edmonson Voice Sports:
Edmonson County's only regional championship baseball teams will be recognized on Thursday, February 20, 2020, as ECHS takes on Grayson Co. High School in a boy/girl doubleheader. 

The 1982 Regional Champion Wildcats rode an explosive 1982 team to the school’s first ever state tournament appearance after winning the 12th District and Region 4 crowns with first year head coach Mike Houchin and Assistant Coach Ricky Houchin.  The team lost to Henderson County in first round action and wrapped up the season with a 17-4 record. 

The 1983 team pulled off an encore performance the following year during a 14-5 campaign that eventually ended with a loss to the Owensboro Red Devils in the first round of the sweet sixteen by one run, 7-6.  OHS won the state championship three games later.

ECHS fans are encouraged to attend and help welcome back these former Wildcats. Team members are sending a special invitation to the Classes of 1982 and 1983 to come out and join a team reunion while cheering on the Wildcats against the Cougars.

1982 and 1983 ECHS Baseball Team Members
1982 Team Members:  Mike Buttram, Glendale Meredith, Lynn Meredith, Sonny Prunty, Kevin Raymer, Barry Vincent, Todd Webb.

1983 Team Members:  David Alexander, Brad Houchin, Keith Ohmer, Bryan Thompson, Jimmy Wilson, Mark Woosley.

1982 AND 1983 Team Members:  Robbie Alexander, Tim Basil, Craig Browning, Dion Houchins, Scott Key, Greg Meredith, Shane Meredith, Eugene Spradlin, Kevin Ray, Chris Raymer, Roland Simmons, Jason VanMeter, Allen Vincent.  Assistant Coach – Ricky Houchin.  Head Coach – Mike Houchin.       ​

Darren Doyle, story:
​Both the Wildcat and Lady Cat basketball teams have had success as of late, and some of that success can be credited to two more players that have reached the milestone of 500 career rebounds.

Chaz Wilson, a junior forward, grabbed his 500th rebound on January 31st of this year against Butler County at home. Wilson currently averages 10 points and 6 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he averaged 14 ppg and 10 rpg. He missed the first part of this season due to a baseball injury in the summer, but after lengthy rehabilitation he has since returned to the starting lineup.

Coach Mike McClintic said that Chaz is an everyday hard worker and is the team's vocal leader.

"He's very focused on doing whatever he needs to do to hep his teammates win," he said. "He's a very coach-able player and he's a great person off the court as well."

During his three years as part of the Wildcats, he's scored a total of 769 points and grabbed 532 rebounds. The Wildcats are 11-12 on the season with a regular district season record of 2-3. The Wildcats have won 8 of their last 10 games. The District 12 Tournament is scheduled for next week at Grayson County for both the boys and girls.

Senior Lauren Ballance reached the same milestone on Saturday, February 15th in a 51-44 win over Warren Central. Ballance finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds to put her at 502 career rebounds. Now in her fourth season as a Lady Cat, she has scored 807 career points. She currently averages 14 points and 7 rebounds per game. The Lady Cats have won 9 of their last 12 contests.

Coach Bart Weaver said that rebounding and defending have always been attributes for Ballance and that her success in rebounding should be even more noted because she doesn't have the advantage of size like other players.

"Lauren's 500 rebounds are remarkable because she's battling much bigger girls," Weaver said. "She seems to have a natural instinct for where the ball comes off the rim. She's now gained much more confidence, which has led to her becoming our leader scorer this year," he added.  

The Lady Cats' Madison Harrison reached the 500 rebound mark on January 28th in a win over Metcalfe County. Senior Emma Rose Vincent currently has 469 career rebounds, needing 31 to join her teammates with a minimum of four games left for Edmonson County.

Wildcat senior Dalton Decker currently sits at 972 career points, needing just 28 more to join the 1000-point club in three years. Decker was not on the varsity team as a freshman.

The Lady Cats are 15-10 on the season and are 4-1 in regular season district play. This is the final week of regular season games with each team having three G/B doubleheaders this week. Tonight, the teams are scheduled to travel to Hart County for a makeup game which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, February 4th. Girls tip is set for 5:30pm with the boys' game to follow. 

You can watch both games on the Edmonson Voice live video stream with the WildcatsLive broadcast team beginning at 5:15pm.  

Darren Doyle, story: Alyssa Doyle, photos:
The Wildcats put their foot on the gas in the third quarter, scoring a total of 32 points during a 21-point differential that put the game out of reach for the Colonels in a 77-53 win for Edmonson County last night.

Both teams looked sharp early with hot shooting from the Wildcats and a strong inside presence from the Colonels' 6'9" Jaxton Dunagan as the Cats took a 12-10 lead after one quarter. Edmonson County continued with solid shooting, rebounding, and low turnovers to take a 26-22 lead at the half, paced by Dalton Decker's 13 first-half points.

The third quarter was the difference maker in this contest as the Wildcats went on a relentless 32-11 run that left Caverna completely disoriented. Edmonson County led as much as 30 plus points in the contest.

The Wildcats were able to control the inside game of Caverna while holding their leading scorer, Deshante Richardson (17ppg) to only 8 points. Their defensive pressure forced Colonel turnovers where Edmonson County was able to convert into points. The Wildcats also out-rebounded Caverna 33-24 and shot 53% from the field. Twelve Wildcats got into the scorebook with Decker (17pts), Chaz Wilson (13pts), and Trent Taylor (10pts) in double figures, with Daniel Woosley narrowly missing double figures with 9 points.

"When we move the ball and get everybody involved, it seems like it picks up the rhythm," said Coach Mike McClintic. "I thought there in the third quarter we really got out there and ran with the ball, shared the ball on the fast break, and even our big boys were down running the break, and that's important."

Also contributing to the offense was Gavin Rose with 5 points, Eli Booker, Jon Smith, Mason Pierce, and Luke Meredith all had 4pts each, Lane Lindsey had 3, and Houston Vincent and Isaiah Johnson had 2 each. All fourteen Wildcats saw game action.

"I thought we really picked up the defense," said Coach Mac. "We got some stops, we dropped down and helped on the big boy, and that made a difference. But we shut down the two kids we wanted to shut down, (Richardson and Rhodes), but getting stops and getting rebounds were the keys to the whole game."

Edmonson County is now 10-11 on the season and have won 8 out of their last 10 contests. They are scheduled to travel to Russellville tonight for a boys JV/V game beginning at 6pm.

Darren Doyle, story: Alyssa Doyle, photo:
The Lady Cats were quite rusty at Caverna last night as they were taken down with a Lady Colonels go-ahead bucket in the final seconds for a 41-39 loss.

Turnovers and poor shooting plagued Edmonson County throughout the contest that Head Coach Bart Weaver described as embarrassing.

"This is a real tough loss. It's by far the worst loss of the season," he said. "It's not the time to be doing this in the middle of February."

Edmonson County schools had to close two different times over the past two weeks as a result of poor attendance due to area wide illnesses. Edmonson County basketball teams had only two practices and no games during the 10-day period, which can be very problematic for the rhythm of any team.

"It is what is," he said. "We crushed them on the boards (38-23) but shot 26% for the game...usually our rebounding and defense overcomes those nights. Our rebounding was good but I thought our defense was pitiful tonight."

Weaver said it seemed like his team was never in any sort of flow in the game. Only 5 team members were able to score in the contest with only one in double figures, which was Lauren Ballance. She led the team with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

"If being embarrassed, losing to a 6-9 team, doesn't do it, I don't know what can do it," he said when asked about how a game like this can motivate his team for the final two weeks of the regular season. 

The Lady Cats jumped out to a 4 point lead within seconds after causing two quick turnovers and scoring, but Caverna adjusted and began driving the lane. The Lady Cats struggled with help defense and Lady Colonels scorers had easy layups. Both teams traded punches throughout the contest and the low-scoring affair was tied at 18 at the half. Caverna took a 28-25 lead going into the final quarter.

Edmonson County led 35-31 with 3 mins left. The Lady Cats took a 37-36 lead on Emma Rose Vincent's free throws with 1:46 remaining. Out of a timeout, Caverna's McKeeya Faulkner hit a three pointer to give them a 39-37 lead with 1:26 to go. The Lady Cats turned the ball over on the next possession. Caverna was fouled but missed both free throws as the Lady Cats rebounded. Lauren Ballance was fouled with 13.7 seconds left. She nailed both free throws to tie the game at 39 but Caverna was able to score with 2.8 seconds left. Edmonson County had to throw up a deep three at the buzzer that fell short.

The remaining box score for the Lady Cats was: E. Vincent 9, Lindsey 4, Harrison 3, McCombs 2.

The Lady Cats are now 14-9 on the season and are scheduled to take on Ohio County at home on Thursday in a girls JV/V match beginning at 6pm.