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 Darren Doyle, photos: Nearly two dozen senior athletes from fall sports were honored with their families Friday night at Edmonson County High School for the 2020 Fall Sport Senior Night Ceremony. Seniors from football, golf, cheer, cross country, and band were recognized. The following seniors were honored at midfield at Wildcat Stadium on Friday night, November 20th.
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 Clay Walden runs his way to a 102-yard touchdown after breaking up a Clinton County touchdown. Darren Doyle, story and photos: Edmonson County senior Clay Walden made sure to leave his mark on the field during 2020 senior night against Clinton County in the first round of the KHSAA Class AA Playoffs, as his big night led the way for a 26-12 win over the Bulldogs. Walden has earned respect as one of the area's top kickers, but his defense tonight led to one of the biggest Wildcat plays of the year, which was an end zone steal from the Bulldogs and a 102-yard touchdown that stunned Clinton County and shifted all the momentum back to the Cats It was a long time coming, as Wildcat football was back after nearly a month without games as a result of the coronavirus. Edmonson County had to pause the season due to quarantining, losing three games in the process. An extra week was added to the season statewide, as KHSAA hoped coronavirus numbers would improve.  Clinton County quarterback Chase Stines is taken down by three Wildcats.   Senior Isaiah Johnson makes a run against Clinton County. Wildcat senior Isaiah Johnson got things started off well for the Cats with a big 50+ yard run, but Edmonson County was unable to score. On the Bulldogs' next play, Clinton County senior quarterback Chase Stines connected with Bryson Cross for an 8-yard touchdown. The two point conversion was no good and Clinton led 6-0 with 5:29 in the first. Edmonson County once again tried getting into the end zone but took the field goal opportunity with 3:05 left in the first as Walden connected on a 30-yard kick, which cut the Bulldog lead to 6-3. It would be Walden again early in the second quarter as senior quarterback Jon Smith connected with him for a 35-yard touchdown. The Wildcat two-point conversion was no good but the Cats took their first lead of the game at 9-6 with 9:29 to go.   Senior quarterback Jon Smith runs the ball against Clinton County. With time running out in the second quarter, the Bulldogs got into the red zone. A pass went into the hands of a Clinton County receiver while he was airborne in the end zone, but he never gained control of it and Clay Walden snuck right in and snatched it away. Rooster tails flew from the senior's cleats as he blistered the entire field for not only a pickoff, but also a 102-yard touchdown run as the Bulldogs did their best to try to figure out what just happened. What should have been a 12-9 lead for Clinton County was quickly transformed into a 16-6 lead for the Wildcats after Walden's extra point kick with 30.3 seconds left in the half. Edmonson County never trailed again. The Wildcats scored again on a 6-yard touchdown run from Logan Davis and the extra point from Walden made it 23-6 with 3:07 in the third. Walden wasn't finished as he came close to the school field goal yardage record, with a 43-yard kick that extended the Wildcats lead to 26-12 with 4:59 left in the game. The record currently stands at 46 yards, which was accomplished by WildcatsLive broadcaster Granville Meredith in 1988. Edmonson County held on for the 26-12 win, which also secured a home game advantage for the district finals in the second round of the playoffs against Metcalfe County. Head Coach Nathan Smith discussed the big win and Walden's huge play that helped seal the deal. "Anytime you get a playoff win after taking a six-week break from football, I think that's a pretty big deal," he said. "It looked like the kid had the ball and bobbled it a little bit, Clay went over the top and just took the ball right out of his hands. 102 yards. That has to be close to a school record. I don't know what it is, but I'd say it's right there. You can't get much farther, can you?" Smith then discussed the seniors on the team and what they've meant to not only him, but also the football program over their years of service. "This senior group, I've been coaching some of them since they were in the 6th grade," he said. "I'm pretty proud of them, and I'd like to just go through the list if you want me to," he said as he then discussed each one. Edmonson County improves to 4-3 on the season and will face the Hornets next Friday night at 7pm for the District Championship game at ECHS, a title that the Wildcats hope to defend.   Edmonson Voice Sports: Several Edmonson County Wildcat team members were named to the 2020 all-SKY Conference teams. The SKY Football Conference is made up of southcentral Kentucky schools ranging in size from 1A up to 5A teams. Member schools include Allen County-Scottsville, Barren County, Bowling Green, Edmonson County, Franklin Simpson, Glasgow, Greenwood, Logan County, Metcalfe County, Monroe County, Russellville, South Warren, Todd County, Warren Central, Warren East. In the small school division (1A-3A), two Wildcats were named to the FIRST TEAM DEFENSE: Defensive Line: Preston Mills - Edmonson County Defensive Back: Isaiah Johnson - Edmonson County Three team members were named to the FIRST TEAM OFFENSE Quarterback: Jon Smith - Edmonson County Offensive Line: Jace Conder - Edmonson County Kicker: Clay Walden - Edmonson County Two more were named to SECOND TEAM DEFENSE: Defensive Line: Daniel Pereira - Edmonson County Linebacker: Logan Davis - Edmonson County Finally, one more Wildcat was named to the SECOND TEAM DEFENSE: Offensive Line: Michael Shaw - Edmonson County Ten different Wildcats were named to the 2020 Class AA District 3 all-district teams: First team:
Edmonson County is scheduled to take on Clinton County at home on Friday, November 20th at 7pm in the first round of the Class AA District 3 playoffs.  Girls Finish 11th In State  The 2020 ECHS boys and girls cross country teams at the state meet. Edmonson Voice Sports: The ECHS Cross Country team traveled to Paris, KY to compete in the annual state meet on Saturday, October 31, 2020, where the girls team finished 11th in the state as a team.  Senior Lane Lindsey (right) at the state cross country meet.  Senior Courtney Garrett at the state cross country meet. The girls team narrowly missed a top-ten finish in competition. Junior Caroline Parsley led the girls team with a top-half, 69th finish out of 225 Class 1A runners. Behind her were:
Head Coach Brad Meredith made the announcement on twitter. "Proud of this group," he tweeted. "Goal was to qualify for state, but they came to compete! Boys team faster avg time than region. Girls shocked everyone to finish 11th as a team! Nothing like competing at the State Championships." The girls team loses only one runner after this season, senior Courtney Garrett, who has been a team member since 8th grade. Edmonson Falls 3-1, Ends Season With 9-9 Record  Kaylee Lindsey (11) goes for the kill as Halle Tedder (20), Raven Cast (3), and Emma Woodcock (18) play against Grayson County. Darren Doyle, story: The 2020 volleyball season for the Lady Cats came to a close last night at the 12th District Tournament hosted in Butler County as Edmonson County fell to the Grayson County Lady Cougars in four sets, 3-1. Grayson County sat some of their starters during the first set which helped the Lady Cats take an early 11-6 lead. Momentum was on the side of the Lady Cats and they never trailed during the first set, despite a 8-2 run from the Lady Cougars that brought them within 2 points, and Edmonson went on to take the set 25-20.  Emma Woodcock serves against Grayson County in the District 12 tournament. Grayson's starters were back into the game for set two which was the lineup Edmonson saw all season long; the district favorites that had already comfortably defeated the Lady Cats twice on the season. The momentum gained in set two stayed on the side of Edmonson and the score differential never rose above three points. The Lady Cats stretched the Lady Cougars to the limit, but Grayson was able to score the last two points of the set, winning 26-24, and tying the game 1-1. The last two sets were much different and went the way of the Lady Cougars as Edmonson County struggled against Grayson's offense. Lack of communication and court awareness hindered the Lady Cats during both the final sets and Grayson County was able to obtain double-digit leads throughout. The Lady Cougars took set three 25-11 and set four 25-12 as Edmonson County fell 3-1. Sophomore Kaylee Lindsey led Edmonson County in kills with 10 while adding 3 blocks while sophomore Alyssa Doyle added 8 kills and 2 blocks. Senior Emma Woodcock notched 12 digs, 10 assists, and 2 service aces while senior Abbie Slaughter had 16 digs. Sophomore Rylee Laster had 5 kills, 2 digs, 1 assist, and 1 service ace, and sophomore Halle Tedder had 1 kill and 8 digs. Sophomore Raven Cast had 12 assists and 2 digs. Freshman Alivia Mabery had 7 digs and 1 assist, sophomore Whitney Davis had 2 blocks and 1 dig, and freshman Laura Gibson had 4 digs. Four Lady Cats received All-District honors at the conclusion of the game, which were:
 All-District winners, L-R: sophomore Alyssa Doyle All-Academic, sophomore Kaylee Lindsey All-Season, senior Abbie Slaughter All-Tournament, senior Emma Woodcock All-Season. It was the final volleyball game for three Lady Cat seniors: Emma Woodcock, Abbie Slaughter, and Madalyn Condor, but the roster is young and still has promise for future seasons with three freshmen and seven sophomores on this year's varsity roster. The team also has a host of 7th and 8th grade players in the mix. One bright spot for the Lady Cats this season, which was shortened due to the COVID pandemic, was their .500 record of 9-9 on the year, an improvement as part of the rebuilding from the 2017 season that saw the exit of 8 seniors that year. The Lady Cats finished 8-20 in 2018 and 9-18 last season.  |