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It was not an easy night for the Edmonson County Wildcats as they faced a very talented Central Hardin Bruin team at ECHS tonight.

Central Hardin hit 14 three-pointers tonight while the Wildcats turned the ball over 23 times. While the Cats had four members in double figures, it wasn't enough as the Bruins simply had too much firepower for Edmonson County.

The Wildcats got off to a decent start as they did a good job matching the intensity of the Bruins early, trailing 23-19 after one. The Wildcats tied the score at 26 early in the second but a 10-0 run from the Bruins rattled the Cats into a couple of timeouts. Central Hardin's 1-3-1 defense caused plenty of problems for Edmonson County and the Bruins capitalized on the offensive end. They took a 42-33 lead into the locker room at the break with the help of 8 made three-pointers.

The Bruins continued their run of three-pointers in the second half, adding six more to take a solid 74-52 lead after three. Central Hardin cruised in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats struggled to keep up the pace with the Bruins and the Cats fell 86-62.

Leading the way for the Cats was Braden Wall with 11 points and 5 rebounds, Trace Taylor added 11 points and 4 rebounds, and Evan Stice scored 11 points. Cole Saling had 10 points off the bench, Tyler Anderson had 9 points, Braxton Highbaugh had 5 points and 7 assists, and Zander Bass scored 2 points.

Edmonson County is 10-10 on the season and will take on Grayson County on the road Friday night in a G/B doubleheader starting at 6PM.

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After the first quarter, Lady Cat fans expected a blowout from their team as Edmonson County connected early on three-pointers and took a 21-9 lead; however, that lead wouldn't last long and the game got interesting pretty quickly.

Edmonson County eventually found a way to win after trailing with just over two minutes to go, thanks in part to key rebounds, defense, and much improved free throw shooting in the final seconds. Thanks also in part to junior point guard Annie Kiper, a Grayson County transfer, who in only her second game as a Lady Cat, scored 20 points on 5-8 shooting (62%) from the field, which included 2-3 from the three-point line (67%). She was also a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line, including two with 9.5 seconds left. She has not missed a free throw as a Lady Cat.

Edmonson County had a terrible second quarter as they scored only 4 points and allowed Clinton County to tie the score at 25 at the half.

From there on, it was nip-and-tuck with the Lady Cats leading most of the way, but only by one or two points.

Clinton County took their first lead of the game on a free throw by guard Aysha Sutton with 6:22 to play. The Lady Bulldogs would lead for the next four minutes, but that would be all.

With Edmonson County trailing 41-38, Lady Cat eighth grader Cariann Williams (4pts, 6rbs) grabbed a rebound off a missed free throw from Clinton with 2:23 to go. Kiper hit Hallie Cassady on a backdoor cut and she scored to cut the Lady Bulldog lead to only one with 2:13 to go.

Edmonson County's Kiper picked the pocket of Clinton County's Mackenzie Cope in a full court press. Kiper slipped in the process, kept her dribble while on the ground, recovered and was fouled by Cope on the layup attempt with 2:01 to go. She hit both free throws to give the Lady Cats a 42-41 lead, their first since the end of the third quarter.

The Lady Cats led as much as 6 with just 31 seconds to go; however, the Lady Bulldogs grabbed an offensive rebound on a missed shot and hit a three to cut the lead to 47-44 with only 21 seconds to go. They stole the inbound pass from the Lady Cats on the next play and were fouled with 20 seconds left. Clinton County inbounded and got a cheap foul call against the Lady Cats with 13.9 left. They hit both free throws and cut the Lady Cat lead to 47-46.

Kiper caught the inbound pass and was fouled hard as Clinton County's Cope wrapped her arms around Kiper's body and took her down. No intentional foul was called, despite the argument from the Edmonson County bench. With a swollen elbow from the fall, Kiper iced her two free throws with 9.5 seconds left and the Lady Cats held on to win as Clinton County missed their last shot attempt.

Head Coach Bart Weaver said the halftime discussion revolved around Clinton County's ability to score off put-backs, which allowed them back into the game. Edmonson County narrowly lost the rebounding battle (34-33) but he said lower turnovers (15) and outstanding free throw shooting (81% compared to 48% on Friday) were the differences, mixed in with the strong performance from Kiper.

"She's a leader," he said. "I thought that of her when she wasn't here, she was (playing) somewhere else. I've always admired her for being such a great leader and she's continued that, coming here and she's won everybody over. That's a credit to her, and listen, it's a credit to our kids, to let an outsider come in from across the street."

Lily Jayne Vincent also had a solid performance with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She also hit 4-5 from the free throw line; two down the stretch.

In addition to Kiper, Vincent, and Williams, also scoring for the Lady Cats were Hallie Cassady with 4pts and 6 rebs, Emma White with 3, Jaedlyn Simon with 3, and Paige Wolfe added one.

Edmonson County is now 7-12 on the season and will travel to Logan County tonight for a JV/V game beginning at 6pm. The boys are scheduled to take on Central Hardin tonight at home with a JV/V starting at 5:30.

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Wildcat Head Coach Brad Johnson had some specific things in mind as the team traveled to Butler County last night for a district 12 match up and he knew it would take the Cats doing all those things if the boys were to upset the Bears (11-5). That's exactly what happened and Edmonson County grabbed a district win on the road last night, led by Trace Taylor's 26 points.

Edmonson County shot 62% from the field (29-47), 70% from the free throw line, committed only 9 turnovers, and shot 40% from behind the three point line (6-15). The biggest difference in this game was that the Wildcats executed when they needed to. When they needed a big shot, they made it. When they needed a free throw, they hit it. When it was time for a defensive stop, they got it, and when the buzzer sounded, they were the ones coming out on top.

"We were down a couple guys that I have a lot of confidence in. You know Zander (Bass) and Jarrett (Prunty), they've bought in to what I'm trying to do and nobody's happier than those two tonight, I guarantee you that," Coach Johnson said. "We have talked about it until they're blue in the face and at halftime I said 'ok, here you are, what are you going to do?' In the third quarter, 'here we are again, what are we going to do? Are we going to do something about it?'"

The score was tied at 33 at the half and tied again at 49 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

The score was tied once more at 53 with 6 minutes to play. Edmonson County went on a 10-2 run that gave the Cats a 63-55 lead with 2:21 to go. Despite a couple of turnovers and some made baskets by Butler County, some in the final minute, the run would be enough to thwart off the Bears as they never trailed again.

Taylor also added 8 rebounds to his team-high 26 points. Braxton Highbaugh scored 11 points and pulled 7 rebounds. Braden Wall added 9 points and 8 rebounds. Evan Stice added 8 points, Cole Saling added 7, Wil Alexander added 6, and Tyler Anderson scored 4 points. Anderson also took two charges for the team in the 4th quarter that helped keep the momentum on the Wildcats' side.

Edmonson County is now 10-9 on the season and is scheduled to take on Central Hardin at home on Tuesday, January 25th in a JV/V match beginning at 6PM.

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While it goes down in the books as a loss, Coach Bart Weaver said the effort and overall performance of the Edmonson County Lady Cats was at least something that wouldn't keep him awake last night. The Lady Cats led only once during the contest (10-8), but Edmonson County was never really out of the game until the very end. It was also the first game for new point guard Annie Kiper, a transfer from Grayson County.

"I can go home and sleep tonight," he said. "I haven't slept a lot here in the last month. It's the first game with her, (Kiper) and if we make free throws, we were right there for the win."

The record and the stat sheets tell only part of the story. They don't always reflect the entire effort, decision making, team work, and overall feel for a game. Kiper adds some much-needed ball handling for the Lady Cats, who have struggled with turnovers throughout the season. That's largely in part to several players that have had to take on new roles this season.

Edmonson County struggled from the free throw line, hitting only 10-21 (48%) for the game. As coach said, had the girls executed at the free throw line, the outcome could have been different; however, games aren't won and lost by the things that could've been.

"At two different times in the second half we cut it to six," Weaver said. "Maybe five or six, then we come down and we make two or three turnovers in two or three possessions. It's plagued us all year, but the biggest thing tonight was 10 for 21 from the free throw line and it killed us tonight. It kept the differential in scoring because we couldn't hit free throws, but I'm proud of them. It's the first game with Annie being our little floor general. We're only going to get better--this is the first game they've played together."

Edmonson County was led by Cariann Williams with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots. Hallie Cassady had 7 points and 3 rebounds, Kiper had 6 points, Lily Vincent added 4 points and 10 rebounds, Paige Wolfe had 4 points, and Emma White added one point.

The Lady Cats are now 6-12 on the season and are scheduled to host Clinton County on Monday at ECHS for a girls JV/V game with JV action starting at 6PM.

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The Wildcats allowed Trinity to erase a good start and early lead last night at ECHS as the Raiders outscored Edmonson County 38-18 in the second and third quarters as the Cats fell 67-55.

The Wildcats led 27-18 with 5:24 left in the second quarter but Trinity went on a 17-4 to end the half that put the Raiders up 35-31 at the break.

It would prove to be enough to keep the Wildcats playing catch up for the rest of the game, but they never caught up. Trinity led as much as 18 in the fourth quarter, despite the hard-nosed effort from the Wildcats.

Coach Brad Johnson discussed the tough zone defense from the Raiders that played a big part in the 24 turnovers from the Wildcats.

"We don't see a lot of zone, so we had two days to prepare, two practices where we played zone the whole blame time," he said. "We had two different ways to line up against it but sometimes the other guy comes in and kicks your tail, and they just kicked our tail. But Coach West (for Trinity) is a classy guy and he called it off there at the end, where an 18-20 point loss turned into a 12 point loss and I appreciate that."

Trinity pushed the ball hard off missed shots from the Wildcats that led to easy buckets in transition.

Edmonson County was led by junior Braden Wall, who had 24 points and 9 rebounds, who came of a 15 point, 10 rebound effort against Hart County in a Wildcat win on Monday.

Trace Taylor added 14 points, Tyler Anderson had 6, Braxton Highbaugh had 4, Boden Bates added 4, and Evan Stice had 3.

The Wildcats are now 8-8 on the season and are scheduled to travel to Owensboro Apollo tonight for a JV/V match with varsity tip expected around 7:30PM.

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The Edmonson County Lady Cats struggled  Friday night against the Trinity Lady Raiders in a 53-25 loss with only seven players as virus quarantines proved to play a big part in the District 12 match.

With 13 players on the roster being out due to COVID protocols, the Lady Cats were extremely short-handed. With one starter and most all bench players out, Edmonson County players didn't have much time for breaks. 

Edmonson County shot as poorly in the first half as they have in years, hitting only 3 of 26 shots for a mere 12% from the field. Things didn't get much better in the second half as the girls were unable to generate any more offense. They shot 17% (8-48) for the game.

Coach Bart Weaver alluded that he disagreed with the quarantine policy when the comment was made after the game that he did about all he could do with the shortened roster and the tough situation.

"I'm going to try to bite my lip a little bit on our quarantine procedures," he said. "I'm gonna have to bite my lip, but yeah, I agree, it's tough. We didn't make shots. You can't win when you shoot 17%. We had a lot of girls out that play a lot of minutes, but we had four starters, so there's no excuse for that."

The Edmonson County school district implemented a board-approved COVID policy that includes quarantines at the beginning of the school year that they said are based on KDE and local health department guidance. Superintendent Brian Alexander said that when it comes to a situation like this, there are no good options.

"No one hates it anymore than I do," he said. "It's hard on our kids, our teams, and our coaches, but we try to look at it from every angle."

Quarantines or not, Coach Weaver had the option of cancelling last night's game; if so, it would have been a COVID forfeiture loss, as per KHSAA regulations. He said he would've played the game and at least tried to win, even if he'd only had five players.

"I'm not taking a forfeit," he said. "It's a district game, you know."

Edmonson County was led in scoring by 8th grader Cariann Williams, who had 7 points and 12 rebounds. Paige Wolfe added 6 points, Hallie Cassady had 4 points and 7 rebounds, Julie Norris added 3 points in her varsity debut, Maham Shahbaz also had 3, and Lily Jayne Vincent added 2.

Edmonson County is now 6-10 on the season. They are scheduled to travel to Green County on Monday for a JV/V game.

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Edmonson County High School has announced Zach Vincent as the new head coach for Wildcat football.

Vincent replaces Ed Smart, who served one year as head coach. The Wildcats had an 0-10 record, with two of those losses coming as a result of COVID cancellations. Edmonson County won their last game on November 20, 2020.

Vincent is a 2009 graduate of ECHS and played 4 years under former head coach Kyle Pierce. He later served as an assistant coach under Pierce for two seasons then served as an assistant at Drakes Creek for 4 years. He has been an assistant with Wildcat Football for the past 3 years and as the head coach at ECMS for the past 2 years.

"I'd like to bring some old things back to Wildcat football that worked in the past," he said. "My first year back to Edmonson County was the 2019 district championship team and you'll see some offense and some plays from then. I want to bring some stuff back from when I played under Kyle Pierce. I think you'll see some hard-edge football. We're going to make it simple. We're going to move it down the field, we're going to eat up clock and we're going to try to win games. If you're going to beat us, you're going to have to out-hit us."

Coach Vincent said he wants to bring a sense of pride back to ECHS football, and after a really tough season last year, he wants to start that immediately.

"We're going to take ownership, take pride in where we're from," he said. "We don't want anyone to try and smother that out just because we're a little county."

ECHS Principal Jonathan Williams said he is excited to welcome Vincent as the head coach.

"Coach Vincent will bring an energetic and positive approach to our program while providing academic and athletic discipline to our student athletes," he said. " Zach was an outstanding player for us and has coached under Kyle Pierce and Nathan Smith here, and alongside several excellent assistants.  Zach will be a role model and mentor to our young men."

He described both Coach Vincent and his wife, Calli, who is a kindergarten teacher at Kyrock Elementary, as "great young people." 

"They both went to school here and both are serving our community as teachers, they are raising their children here and I’m so proud of them both," he added. "I’m looking forward to this season."

ECHS Athletic Director Brad Johnson agreed that Vincent was a great player at ECHS and hopes that Vincent's players will emulate the kind of player he was and the person he is.

“We’re proud that a former Wildcat is going to take the reigns and inject positive enthusiasm into the football program," said Johnson.

Coach Vincent, who also currently serves a science teacher at ECMS, begins his duties immediately. He said while the current roster has many young players, the freshmen and sophomores from last season got a ton of varsity experience.

"We were pretty thin on the roster last year, but there's plenty of potential there," he said. "One real advantage we have is that the guys coming back have really good experience and you don't always see that. We've also got some older kids returning and overall, I'm pretty excited with the crew we got."

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The full court pressure from the Owensboro Catholic Lady Aces was too much for the Lady Cats of Edmonson County to handle last night in the championship game of the All A Classic, hosted in Whitesville as EC fell 62-23. The Lady Aces kept the full court press on through the first 3 quarters, even as their lead reached 30 points. That pressure helped to force a season-high 34 turnovers on the Lady Cats. Coach Bart Weaver said sometimes you just have to forget about certain games and move forward to the next one.

"We've got to forget this game and move on because we've got Cumberland hopefully on Saturday, then we've got Whitesville," he said. "We've got a stretch next week where we've got Friday, Saturday, and Monday, where we have Whitesville (a district game), Monroe, and Green. All three good teams, and you know, we're gonna have to fight tooth-and-nail on those games, so we gotta forget this one."

When the Lady Aces weren't forcing turnovers, their deflections on Lady Cat passes were enough to disrupt their offense. While Edmonson County shot 38% for the game, they only attempted 24 field goals as a team, less than half of what Owensboro attempted. The Lady Aces were 22-49 for 45% shooting.

Catholic also shot lights out from behind the arc, making 11-21 shots for 52%. Edmonson County never made a three-point basket. When the Lady Aces weren't making threes, they were turning Edmonson's turnovers into baskets in transition.

Paige Wolfe led the Lady Cats in scoring with 7, Lily J. Vincent had 6, Cariann Williams added 3, Maham Shabazz added 3, Emma White had 2, and Jenna Cook added 2.

Several Lady Cats were named to various All A honor teams, that included:

• Maham Shabazz, All Academic Team
  
• Paige Wolfe, All Tournament Team
  
• Lily Jayne Vincent, All Tournament Team
  

Edmonson County Cheer Team member Kayden Collins was also honored with the All A 3rd Region Cheerleading award.

Edmonson County falls to 5-9 on the season and is scheduled to play at Cumberland County on Saturday at 6:30PM, weather permitting. The boys team is scheduled to take on Breckinridge County tonight at home; however, ECHS is already trying to reschedule due to the impending winter weather forecast that has already resulted in school being cancelled in EC today. Snow started falling around 9:20AM this morning so it's not likely the game will take place tonight, according to school officials, although no official announcement has been made at the time of this article.

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The Wildcats laid it all out there last night in the All A Classic in Whitesville against a very tough McLean County team, but their effort landed just a bit short as they were defeated by the Cougars 43-33.

The low-scoring contest was a reflection of the Wildcat defense that held McLean County 20-plus points under their average. The Cougars are normally a high-traffic team that pushes their offense up the floor but Edmonson County did their best to take them out of their routine. The Cougars were still able to best the Wildcats despite the adjustment.

The very quick and physical Cougars held the Wildcats to just 5 points in the first quarter and only 12 points for the half as Edmonson County struggled to make shots early. Edmonson County shot 25% for the game on 12 for 47 from the field. McLean shot 45% on 17 of 40. No Wildcat landed in double figures last night; however, they out-rebounded the Cougars 31-22 and held their leading scorer, Brady Dame, a fifth-year senior (15.3ppg) to 9 points.

The Wildcats played pretty evenly against the Cougars after the first quarter; however they weren't able to overcome the early deficit. Coach Brad Johnson said there were several areas where the Cats could've done better but there was certainly no shortage of effort.

"When we got some guys having some off nights, you gotta be a man and go out and play better," he said. "But I asked 'is anybody seeing lack of effort?' and everybody said no, because everybody was playing hard."

He said some nights, you just have to credit the other team.

"It's the best defensive team we've played all year," he said. "We had three good days of preparation, good enthusiasm I thought, and we came over here to win this thing and the attitude was good, but sometimes you just gotta give the other guys credit. They just kinda out played us and man-handled us a little bit."

Trace Taylor led the Cats in scoring with 8pts along with his 5 rebounds. Braden Wall added 7pts and 10 rebounds, Evan Stice had 6pts, Cole Saling added 4pts, Braxton Highbaugh had 3pts and 9rebs, Tyler Anderson added 3pts, and Jarrett Prunty added 2 points.

Edmonson County falls to 7-7 on the season and is currently scheduled to take on Breckinridge at home on Thursday, weather permitting.

The Lady Cats will travel back to Whitesville tonight for the All A Classic Championship game against Owensboro Catholic.

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The Edmonson County Lady Cats defeated the McLean County Lady Cougars 46-43 in the semi-finals of the All A Classic, hosted by Trinity High School in Whitesville on Monday night. The Lady Cats were able to begin play in the semi-finals thanks to a bye in the tournament.

Despite early turnovers and poor free throw shooting, Edmonson County established an early lead which could be credited to buckets scored in the paint on dribble drives. The Lady Cats also crashed the boards early (30 rebounds at the half, 41 for the game) and held McLean County to a miserable 16% first half shooting on 5-32 from the field, which included 3-18 from behind the arc.

After a solid start and a 16-9 first quarter lead, Edmonson County had trouble at times with offense as McLean turned up the defense with full court pressure. The Lady Cats held the Lady Cougars to only 6 points in the second quarter, but only put up 8 points themselves as they held a 34-26 halftime lead.

McLean County, who only averages 3 made three-pointers per game, shot the 3 early and kept on shooting them--29 of them, in fact. While they eventually shot 28% from behind the arc, they missed and missed badly in the first half, several of which were air balls that sailed out of bounds. However, 5 of those came in the second half (two in the final minutes) as the Lady Cougars cut their deficit to only two points on multiple occasions and one point with the game on the line. It was during these times that the memory of some ugly Lady Cat basketball in spots was erased as they hit key free throws that sealed the deal and some tough defense in the final seconds that gave Lady Cat fans a huge scare.

With 2:13 left in the game and the Lady Cats leading 41-33, McLean County's Sarah Miller connected on a three-pointer that cut it to 41-36. The Lady Cats were unable to score on their next possession out of a timeout and McLean's Maria Blades hit another three for the Lady Cougars to cut it to 41-39 lead with 1:32 to go.

Hallie Cassady was fouled as she drove to the right side with 1:19 to go. She hit one of two shots for a 42-39 lead. McLean County's Kashlynn Rice drove the lane and banked in an off-balance shot to cut the lead to 42-41 with 1:01 to go. McLean County called a 30 second timeout and afterwards, Edmonson County's Lily Jayne Vincent was fouled with 46 seconds to go. Going to the line for a 1-and-1, she nailed both free throws (4-4 on the game) to give the Lady Cats a 44-41 lead. Cariann Williams blocked a Lady Cougar shot with 22 seconds left but she was unable to hang onto the ball and the Lady Cougars in-bounded the ball for another possession. McLean was able to draw a foul which put Natalie Patterson at the line. She hit both free throws with 18 seconds left to cut Edmonson's lead to 44-43.

Edmonson County was able to beat the full court press without putting the ball on the floor when senior Paige Wolfe was fouled with 4.2 seconds on the clock. She hit the first foul shot when McLean took a timeout. Wolfe hit her second one which left McLean with their final possession under full court pressure from the Lady Cats. A pass was made to McLean's Sarah Miller, who was met by Lily J Vincent and Emma White near the half court line. She picked up her dribble for a millisecond and put the ball back on the floor as she made a 35-footer with 0.6 seconds left. The shot would have tied the game but the double-dribble call voided the shot. Edmonson County in-bounded the ball as time expired and the game ended.

Wolfe led the Lady Cats with 23 points, Vincent added 8 points and 13 rebounds, Cassady had 8 points and 5 rebounds, Williams added 5 points and 8 rebounds, and Emma White had 2 points and 4 rebounds.

Edmonson County improves to 5-8 on the season and will take on Owensboro Catholic (11-4), who defeated Trinity 64-32 last night in the semi finals, on Wednesday at 6PM.

Edmonson County's boys will take on McLean County tonight at 7PM in Whitesville. The winner will advance to the boys' final, which is scheduled for Thursday night; however, that game could be moved up to Weds after the girls' final, due to potential snow in the forecast for Thursday.

The boys and girls basketball teams split a win and a loss last night at the 2021 Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic as the girls fell to Logan County, 51-41 and the boys won over Monroe County, 68-63.

The girls got things off to a good start with an early lead, which was exactly what Coach Bart Weaver had planned. The Lady Cats led 10-7 but Logan County's TyKiah Mason nailed a three at the first quarter buzzer to tie it at 10-10.

Logan County was able to take the lead in the second with the help of second chance points on offensive rebounds. Edmonson County also failed to capitalize on several easy baskets in the paint. The Lady Cougars beat the Lady Cats on the boards 33-20 for the game. Logan led 28-15 at the half and they never trailed again, despite a decent third quarter effort from Edmonson County.

Edmonson was led in scoring by Paige Wolfe with 11, Lily J. Vincent, Emma White, and Leah Ballance each had 7 points, Hallie Cassady had 6, Cariann Willams had 2, and Jaedlyn Simon added one point.

Edmonson's girls are now 3-5 on the season and will take on Monroe County tonight at 5:15PM in the final night of the Caveland Classic.

Wildcats 68, Falcons 63

The Wildcats were looking for a bounce-back game after poor shooting hindered them against the more athletic Todd County Central on Monday night. Edmonson County looked sharp early as they attacked the basket, but Monroe County was red hot behind the three-point line, knocking down 12 for the game. The threes from the Falcons helped them grab a 27-22 lead with time winding down as the Wildcats held for the last shot of the half. Braden Wall missed a three with seconds left, it was rebounded by Cole Saling, who then missed another three, then Braxton Highbaugh grabbed the rebound and put it back as the buzzer sounded. It appeared he didn't beat the clock at first, but his basket counted and the Cats trailed 24-27 at the half.

Senior Evan Stice nailed a three at the top of the key to tie the score at 27 as they began the third, but the Wildcats were still playing catch-up throughout the quarter as Monroe was able to stay a basket or two ahead. The Cats trailed 40-44 heading into the final quarter.

A three-pointer in the corner gave Monroe County their largest lead of the game at 50-42 with 6:44 left to play but Edmonson County went on a 10-2 run over the next two minutes to take their first lead since 2:54 in the first quarter at 11-9. Trace Taylor picked the pocket of Monroe County's Brison Nuckols near half court as the Falcon point guard was in the midst of running the offense. Taylor's breakaway layup gave the Wildcats a 54-52 lead and they never trailed again.

Key free throws were hit by both Taylor and junior Braxton Highbaugh down the stretch. Edmonson County was an impressive 15 of 18 from the free throw line for 83% shooting. They shot 43% from the field.

Four Wildcats landed in double figures, led by Trace Taylor's 18pts and 3 rebounds, Tyler Anderson added 16pts and 4 rbs, Highbaugh had 12pts and 7 rbs, Braden Wall had 11pts and 7 rebounds, Evan Stice had 9pts and 2rbs, and Cole Saling added 2pts and 2rbs.

The Wildcats improved to 5-4 on the season and the win snapped a two-game losing streak. They are scheduled to take on Glasgow tonight at 7PM in the final night of the Raffery's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic.

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The Wildcats faltered in the second half after a solid performance in the first half against Todd County Central in the Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic at Edmonson County High School on Monday night.

Edmonson County led 22-21 at the half with help from Trace Taylor's 13 first half points and Braden Wall's ten, first half rebounds. However, the Wildcats didn't do well against increased pressure from the Rebels in the third quarter, as Todd Central started the third with a 9-0 run. They outscored the Cats 18-9 in the quarter, which was enough to keep the lead for good, as they went on to win 58-40.

Edmonson County was uncharacteristically 1-13 from the three point line (7%), which hurt them tremendously against the quicker, more athletic Rebels.

Led by Trace Taylor's 21 points and 4 rebounds, the Cats only had 5 turnovers at the half; however, they had that many more in the third quarter alone, which helped the Rebels in their early second half run.

Braden Wall finished with 9 points and 12 rebounds, Braxton Highbaugh added 3 points and 6 rebounds, Zander Bass had 3 points, and Tyler Anderson, and Cole Saling each added 2 points.

Coach Brad Johnson said he was obviously surprised at the poor three-point shooting effort from his team.

"We can't beat a quick, athletic team shooting 1 for 13," he said. "We drive it, then we cut, and that has to leave a three open, and we gotta knock some of those in. If we just shoot a normal, say, 5 of 13 from threes, then we have 15 more points, and it's a different game. But give them (Todd) credit, they're very well coached, well schooled, and played hard."

Coach Johnson said he was proud of the Wildcat effort; however, the execution fell just short of the goal.

Edmonson County is now 4-4 on the season and is scheduled to take on Monroe County tonight in the second night of the Caveland Classic at ECHS, which is scheduled for a 7PM tip off.

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It wasn't the prettiest at times, but it was a win for the Lady Cats last night at the 2021 Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic, hosted by Edmonson County, as they defeated the Green County Dragons 39-27.

With Green County out-rebounding the Lady Cats 33-30 and with 17 turnovers for EC, Coach Bart Weaver credited his team's defense last night as the difference maker in this contest, as the Dragons were held to only 18% shooting, on 9-49 from the field.

"At this point, we just needed a win in the worst kind of way" he said. "If we can cut our turnovers down and hit some more shots, our defense is solid," he said. "It keeps us in the game."

Edmonson County led 8-7 after the first quarter and after Green County took a lead in the second, the Lady Cats were able to tie the score at 15 at the half after Vincent's two free throws. Edmonson County was able to efficiently disrupt the Dragon offense in the third as they grabbed a 26-19 lead going into the fourth and never trailed again.

Edmonson County was led in scoring by Lily Jayne Vincent with 11 points and 4 rebounds. Paige Wolfe added 10 points and 5 rebounds and Cariann Williams scored 9 points, added 6 rebounds, 6 blocked shots, and 3 assists. Hallie Cassady also impressed with 10 rebounds and 2 points.

The Lady Cats were without Callie Webb, who is dealing with a knee injury, and Jaedlyn Simon was out of the lineup due to illness.

Emma White added 3 points, while Leah Ballance and Jenna Cook each added two points.

Edmonson County is now 3-4 on the season and will face Logan County (6-2) tonight at 5:15PM. The game will be live streamed by the Edmonson Voice.

Edmonson Voice Sports:
The annual Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic will return to Edmonson County High School next week after last year's event was skipped due to the pandemic.

The event is scheduled for Monday, December 20th through Wednesday, December 22nd with games beginning at noon each day and ending with boys basketball each night with the final games starting at 7PM.

This year will feature girls teams Monroe, Green, and Logan County, and boys teams from Monroe, Green, Todd, Ohio County, and Glasgow.

Daily admission is $8 per person and good for all games that day, or $20 per-person passes are available that include all games throughout the event. Edmonson County season tickets will be honored for all games.

The Lady Cats will play nightly at 5:15PM and the Wildcats will follow each night at 7PM. All ECHS games will be broadcast by the WildcatsLive crew on the Edmonson Voice.

Darren Doyle, story:
The girls and boys basketball teams split a win and a loss last night on the road in a doubleheader at Allen County-Scottsville with the girls falling 43-39 and the boys winning 73-48.

The Lady Cats were down 22-16 at halftime. They were able to stay within one or two points away throughout the third until senior Paige Wolfe's three-pointer with 14 seconds left in the quarter gave them a 31-29 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Led by Lily Jayne Vincent's 18 points and 9 rebounds, the Lady Cats and Lady Patriots went back-and-forth throughout the final quarter.

With the score tied at 37, eighth grader Cariann Williams was fouled as she went for a shot with 1:59 to go. She hit both free throws to give the Lady Cats a 39-37 lead; however, those would be the final points scored for Edmonson County.

ACS's Jayleigh Steenburgen nailed a three-pointer in the corner with 1:09 left to put the Lady Patriots up 40-39.

It would be untimely turnovers that would keep the Lady Cats from regaining the lead. Edmonson County had the ball with 28 seconds left and threw the ball away. They were forced to foul ACS's Chloe Cook with 14.3 seconds on the clock and she hit both free throws to extend the lead to 42-39.

Edmonson County squandered their final possession with another turnover with 3.4 seconds remaining, which forced EC to foul again with 2.2 seconds. ACS hit one more foul shot and the Lady Patriots held on for a 43-39 win.

Williams added 8 points and 4 rebounds off the bench for Edmonson County and Paige Wolfe added 8 points and 5 rebounds. Jaedlyn Simon scored three points.

The Lady Cats are now 2-3 on the season.

It was a different situation with the boys game as the Wildcats took an early lead and rolled over the Patriots in a big way, earning their first true road win of the season with a 73-48 victory.

All 17 Wildcats on the varsity roster saw playing time in the team effort with 12 of them making their way into the scorebook.

Edmonson County led 34-22 at halftime and a big 24-13 quarter from the Cats gave them a commanding 59-35 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats were led by junior Braden Wall's 14 points  and 9 rebounds with Trace Taylor adding 14 points and a rebound, along with Evan Stice's 10 points and 2 rebounds.

The remaining scoring for the Cats was Bass 6, Highbaugh 6, Saling 5, Prunty 5, Anderson 3, Alexander 3, Parsley 3, Clemmons 2, Mills 2.

The Wildcats are now 4-2 on the season. The next scheduled games are this Friday at Todd County Central, where the girls tip is scheduled for 6PM and the boys immediately following.

The Edmonson Voice will stream the audio broadcast for both games.

Darren Doyle story, Madison Doyle, photos:
The momentum built by Grayson County in the second half was a bit too much for Edmonson County to match last night at ECHS as the Wildcats fell 65-52 in each team's first district game of the season.

The Wildcats trailed 13-9 after the first quarter but tied it on Cole Saling's layup with 24 seconds left in the half. The score was 23-23 at halftime.

Edmonson County had some unforced turnovers in the third and Grayson capitalized. The Cougars were able to build a double-digit lead and they kept the Cats at arm's length for the remainder of the contest for an Edmonson County 65-52 loss.

"We didn't want to make excuses, but the truth of the matter is, we had guys in spots for the very first time, we were nervous," said Coach Brad Johnson. "I told them at the half, daggone, if we make our free throws in the first half, we've got the half time lead. Just a decent percentage. We didn't come for a moral victory or anything like that. You know, we want to win and we're 0-1 in the district, so we felt like we were right there. They made good adjustments against our defense. We tried a little matchup zone, we got 'em doing what we wanted for a little while but then we lost some people. We got tired. I played Braden too long. Brayden's been sick this week and you fall in love with his offensive talent and the things he can do and he's our best passer, but I think I've got a mad group in there right now over how they played. I think they'll bounce back. The great thing is, we get to turn around and play again in the morning, that bad thing is, they're a daggone good team, so there's no rest for the weary."

There were no official stats available at the time of this article.

The Wildcats are now 2-2 on the season. They are scheduled to play Campbellsville today at the Don Franklin Hoops Classic at Barren County. Their next game will be Tuesday on the road at Allen County-Scottsville in a G/B doubleheader with girls beginning at 6pm.

Darren Doyle, story: Madison Doyle, photos:
The Lady Cats bounced back from a big loss to Logan County on Tuesday to beat the Grayson County Cougars at ECHS last night in the first District 12 game of the year, 35-26.

Led by senior Paige Wolfe's 16 points and 5 rebounds, Edmonson County was more efficient with their defense than earlier in the week.

The girls got off to an 11-8 lead and led 19-15 at the half.

Edmonson County shot 33% from the field on 14 of 42 shooting but struggled at the line, making only 3/11 (27%).

They were slightly edged in rebounding by the Lady Cougars 26-24 but they held Grayson County to only 22% shooting on the night.

Coach Weaver said the team had some tough practices this week, which he said paid off.

"They were just as aggressive as the other team was tonight, and that's the way we've got to play," he said. "We're blue collar. We've got to play that way. I was proud of them for diving everywhere tonight and just being physical."

Carian Williams had 8 points off the bench. Callie Webb had 4 points and 2 rebounds, Lily Jayne Vincent had 3 points and 7 rebounds, Hallie Cassady had 2 points and 8 rebounds, and Jaedlyn Simon had 2 points.

The Lady Cats are now 2-2 on the season and 1-0 in district play. They are scheduled to travel to Allen County-Scottsville on Tuesday for a G/B doubleheader starting at 6pm.

Darren Doyle, story:
There were dozens of Wildcats that had smiles on their faces last night in Edmonson County's big 69-45 win over Logan County in "Wildcat Hall," or what's currently known as the Edmonson County 5/6 Center. Those Wildcats ranged from those being part of ECHS athletics more than 50 years ago to the eleven Cats that made their way into the game last night.

Former coaches Pete Clemmons, who served as boys coach in Wildcat Hall in 1968-79, 1971,72 and Gerald Meredith as assistant coach during those years as well as the first head coach of girls basketball in 1974, were both honored at halftime. Clemmons was the first coach in the "new" gym in 1968, after the Tandie McIntire era, from 1941-1967.

The first Wildcat starting lineup in that gym consisted of Carlton Alexander, Tommy Houchin, Lonzo Stewart, Keith Madison, and Barry Wood. Houchin is credited with the first points ever scored in the historic gym.

The Wildcats got off to a solid start against the Cougars, grabbing an early 17-5 lead in the first quarter. Stellar defense from Edmonson County caused all sorts of problems for the Cougars, which forced 27 turnovers.

Logan County hung in there for a bit, outscoring the Cats 16-13 in the second quarter and cutting the lead to 30-21 at the half.

A turnover from Edmonson County as they started the third and a three-pointer from Logan cut the lead to 30-24 but the Cats would go on a 20-4 run that would seal the Cougars' doom. Edmonson County was able to allow everyone on the roster some playing time as nine players entered the scoring book with eleven players recording at least one rebound.

Senior Evan Stice led the Cats with 13 points and 2 rebounds with two-three pointers. Tyler Anderson, Braden Wall, and Trace Taylor each had 9 points, Braxton Highbaugh added 7 points and 8 rebounds, and Cole Saling added 5 points and 6 rebounds with Noah Parsley adding 5 points as well.

The remaining box score was: Bates 3, Clemmons 2, Mills 2, Prunty 2, Meredith 1.

Editor's note: due to a technical issue, our photos were lost for this game against Logan County. We apologize to our readers for the issue.

Darren Doyle, story: Madison Doyle, photos:
There was plenty of reminiscing from former players, coaches, and fans last night on "Throwback Night" in the old ECHS Gym, better known as the former "Wildcat Hall," and currently known as the EC 5/6 Center; however, the memory of the first half play against Logan County is something the Lady Cats will want to soon forget.

Edmonson County struggled defensively last night as the Lady Cougars had little trouble getting to the basket and knocking down shots. EC's offense never got off the ground either, as they never got into any rhythm, which was much in part by a very effective half court defensive trap from Logan County.

The Lady Cougars held Edmonson County to an abysmal 5-first quarter points. To make things worse, the Lady Cats only found a way to score two points in the second quarter and trailed 24-7 at the half.

Coach Bart Weaver was not shy in expressing his thoughts on the performance of the Lady Cats.

"It embarrasses me to have this great thing tonight and our girls come out and play like that and for me to coach like that," he said. "I'm upset and I was really, really, really, upset with my defense in the first half, I mean, it was pathetic. We may, tomorrow, just have an all-defense-it's-going-to-be-ugly practice because that was horrible."

Edmonson County had 22 turnovers compared to only 13 for Logan County. The Lady Cats shot just 27% from the floor on 8 of 30 shooting.

The Lady Cats had a much better showing in the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Cougars 12-8, but the huge first half deficit was too much to overcome as Logan County won 39-22.

Leading the Lady Cats was eighth grader Cariann Williams with 6 points and 6 rebounds, Callie Webb had 5, Paige Wolfe, Hallie Cassady, and Leah Ballance each had 3, and Lily Jayne Vincent had 2.

The Lady Cats are now 1-2 on the season and are scheduled to take on Grayson County on Friday night at home in the first District 12 game of the season. It will be a girl-boy doubleheader beginning at 6PM.

Darren Doyle, story: Madison Doyle, photos:
Several questions surrounding a new season's Edmonson County Wildcats were answered last night as the Cats opened up the 2021-22 season at home against Nelson County.

Can they win? Yes. Will they play well together? Yes. Will they be fun to watch? At least according to what fans saw last night.

Prior to the game in a conversation with the Edmonson Voice, newly named Head Coach Brad Johnson laid out his expectations for this year's team, which included plenty of hustle, a fast pace, teamwork, and a team that will be competitive throughout the season. His expectations were met in the 10-point win over the Cardinals, led by seniors Trace Taylor (21pts, 5rbs) and Evan Stice (14pts on four 3-pointers).

Coach Johnson said the team was nervous before the game and thought they might have some trouble getting over the first-game jitters, but when the 3-pointers started falling (11 total for the game) the boys looked much more comfortable and he was pleased with the effort.

"We had guys gutting it out," he said. "We had guys rebounding against somebody taller and stronger then they were. I feel like that was really good and I'm proud of the kids."

Nelson County, a well-matched team against Edmonson, also had plenty of scrap, hustle, and hot shooting early. It was almost a mirror image of the Cats' play in the first half. Edmonson County edged them in most categories early except rebounding, and the Cardinals' opportunities for second-chance points kept the score close. Edmonson led 16-15 after the first and held a 27-22 lead at the half.

Twelve Cats saw playing time in last night's game and nine of them landed in the scorebook.

"All in all, it was a good win and we need that," said Johnson. "It gets the ship headed in the right direction and we have a tough test with Cumberland County. They've got everybody back and we played them this summer. We squeaked by them by one or two points."

Junior forward Braden Wall went down in the first half with an ankle injury and his availability is currently unknown.

"We don't know Braden's status. (Swelling) popped up on him pretty good there. We'll ice the heck out it, hopefully. I hate it for him because it means so much to him. Nobody was more anxious to get out here more than Braden tonight, but we say 'pick your teammate up,' and Braden gets a lot of rebounds so somebody else has to rebound above themselves a little bit."

The Cats out-rebounded the Cardinals 18-8 in the second half.

Other scoring for the Cats was: Will Alexander 6, Tyler Anderson 5, Cole Saling 4, Braxton Highbaugh 4, Braden Wall 3, Jarrett Prunty 3, Zander Bass 2.

The Wildcats are now 1-0 on the season and will take on Cumberland County at home on Saturday.

Darren Doyle, story: Joseph Barkoff, photos:
The Edmonson County Lady Cats started the season off right with a 49-39 win over Warren East in Bowling Green in their season opener on Monday, November 29th.

After trailing all of the first half, Edmonson County was able to gain the lead in a huge third quarter as better defense held the Lady Raiders to only two points.

The Lady Cats had some good looks at early open shots that didn't fall as four 3-pointers from Warren East's Natalie Harrell allowed the Lady Raiders to take a 27-22 lead at the half.

Edmonson County went to a box-and-one defense mixed with a triangle-and-two at times that threw the Lady Raiders out of their offense. Turnovers by Warren East were costly as the Lady Cats capitalized in transition, outscoring WE 16-2 in the quarter.

Coach Bart Weaver discussed the third quarter changes and the effort put forth by his team.

"Listen, the kids did a good job," he said. "They listened. You know, after a really bad scrimmage, we had three really good practices and we all focused on taking care of the basketball every possession. I know we still had 18 turnovers but listen, that's an improvement. I just thought that we really bought in defensively, and that's what won this ballgame. We held them to 39 points. I think defense, and we out-rebounded them pretty good, so defense and rebounding has always been my motto."

Junior forward Lily Jayne Vincent led the Lady Cats in scoring with 11 points while grabbing 5 rebounds. Junior guard Callie Webb added 9 points, senior guard Paige Wolfe had 7 points and 6 rebounds, and senior forward Hallie Cassady had 7 points while pulling 7 rebounds.

Also scoring for Edmonson County was Cariann Williams (6), Jaedlyn Simon (4), Emma White (3) 7rbs, and Maham Shahbaz (2).

Edmonson County shot 43% from the field (17/43), 33% from behind the 3pt line, and 42% (9/19) from the free throw line.

They are now 1-0 on the season and are scheduled to take on Muhlenburg County in the Lady Mustang Classic this Saturday at 7PM.

Edmonson County's boys will open their season tonight at home against Nelson County in a JV/V match beginning at 6PM. The game will be streamed live on the Edmonson Voice.

Edmonson Voice Sports:
Edmonson County High School boys and girls basketball is scheduled to begin each season next week with the girls going on the road on Monday, November 29th and the boys getting things started on Tuesday, November 30th at home against Nelson County.

The Wildcats lost seven seniors from last season's squad, which also means they'll have to find new ways to replace those seniors' 48.9ppg and over 20 rebounds per game.

Coach Brad Johnson will lead the Wildcats this season. Johnson steps in for the departing Mike McClintic, who retired after last season and 43 years of coaching. Johnson is certainly no rookie to coaching. His 30-year career in coaching and teaching boasts many accolades, including over 300 wins, a 2015 NABC Court of Honor Inductee, 3-time 3rd Region Coach of the Year, 3-time Regional Champion, and a 2-time KHSAA Elite 8.

Johnson's first head coaching job was with the Wildcats from 1999-2002, when he replaced Coach Ricky Houchin.

The Wildcats finished the shortened 2020-21 season with a record of 6-13.

They will host visiting Nelson County at ECHS on Tuesday in a JV/V match, beginning at 5:30pm.

Below is the current Wildcat roster for this year, which features 6 seniors and 9 juniors:

• Will Alexander, G, So.
• Caden Mills, F, Jr.
• Tyler Anderson, G, Jr.
• Noah Parsley, PF,  Sr.
• Layne Ashley, G, So.
• Jarrett Prunty, G, Sr.
• Zander Bass, F, Jr.
• Cole Saling, F, Sr.
• Boden Bates, G, Jr.
• Evan Stice, G, Sr.
• Cam Campbell, PF, Jr.
• Trace Taylor, G, Sr.
• Clay Clemmons, G, Sr.
• Tyler Vincent, G, Jr.
• Braxton Highbaugh, F, Jr.
• Braden Wall, F, Jr.
• Nolan Martin, Jr. 
• Kasey Webb, So.
• Noah Meredith, G, So.

Coach Bart Weaver returns as Lady Cat head coach and looks to bounce back after last season's finish of 6-14 on the year, which followed three consecutive district championship-winning seasons.

The Lady Cats lose three seniors from last year's squad, two of which were the top scorers with a combined 29 points per game; however, they have 8 upperclassmen and several young players returning who will look to fill the scoring void.

Weaver also boasts a long a successful coaching and teaching career that spans more than 30 years. He led the Lady Cats to two out of the three consecutive district titles after taking the head coaching position upon the retirement of former coach Kevin Jackson.

The Lady Cats will travel to Warren East on Monday to take on the Lady Raiders in a JV/V match beginning at 6pm.

The Edmonson Voice once again has the exclusive broadcasting partnership with Edmonson County High School and will carry audio and video broadcasts of games throughout the season. You can click on WildcatsLive to watch and listen. All game videos carried by the Edmonson Voice are broadcast live on the Edmonson Voice Facebook Page as well as this site.

The current roster for this year's Lady Cats is posted below:

• Leah Ballance, G, So.
• Jaedlyn Simon, G, Sr.
• Chaney Browning, G, So.
• Kennady Stice, F, So.
• Hallie Cassady, F, Sr.
• Kennadi Swihart, G, Fr.
• Maggie Cassady, F, Fr.
• Lily Jane Vincent, F, Jr.
• Jenna Cook, G, Fr.
• Terashay Watt, G, Fr.
• Karina Dennison, F, Jr.
• Callie Webb, G, Jr.
• Julie Norris, G, Fr.
• Emma White, F, Jr.
• Riley Roy, F, Fr.
• Cariann Williams, C, 8th
• Maham Shahbaz, F, Sr.
• Paige Wolfe, G, Sr.

Darren Doyle, story:
As the 2021-22 high school basketball season approaches with anticipation from players, parents, and fans, after two years of virus regulations, Edmonson County High School has organized a special night for old-school Edmonson County fans.

On December 7, 2021, both the Lady Cats and Wildcats are scheduled to take on Logan County at home; however, this game won't be on the home court of ECHS of 2021. Instead, it's scheduled to take place in what many fans know as "the old gym," "the old middle school," or "the old high school," which is actually the Edmonson County 5/6 Center.

History was in the making for Edmonson County in that old gym as ECHS basketball began a golden era of record-setting and winning that would pave the way for 1976 KHSAA State Champion Wildcats; a history that current school administrators want to see continue for generations to come.

All former ECHS players, coaches, and administrators are invited to the game to be recognized at halftime of the boys game, and will receive free admission,* and a special recognition will be made for former coaches Pete Clemmons and Gerald Meredith, two locals that coached teams in the same gym.

“Last year, Mr. Johnston, Mr. Alexander, and I had discussed how much fun it would be to do this and had no clue that Mr. Johnston would be at the 5/6 Center this year to help make it happen," said ECHS Principal Jonathan Williams, who is also a former member of ECHS basketball.  "We wanted to recreate one of the best atmospheres in the region during the glory days of ECHS basketball, spanning from consolidation through the 1981 season.  We hope our community will come out and help us fill the old gym up one more time.  We hope it's a successful night and becomes an annual event. "Personally, I'd have loved to have played a varsity game in that gym.”

The Wildcats won back-to-back-to-back district championships on the same court in 1973, 74, and 75. Those teams packed the bleachers in the gym from top-to-bottom in those days--an excitement that even prompted an Edmonson-Butler matchup in Diddle Arena, because neither school could contain the crowds that flocked to cheer on their teams.

EC 5/6 Center Principal Chad Johnston said the school was thrilled to have a chance to host the event.

“We are excited about the opportunity to bring the community together and host throwback night at the 5/6 Center. This gym is a place that is sacred in Edmonson County and it is an honor to host an ECHS basketball game in this building for the first time since the early 90s."

The last known ECHS varsity basketball game played in the gym was December of 1993 when the 93-94 Wildcats played in the Caveland Classic under Coach Ricky Houchin.

Superintendent of Schools Brian Alexander said he is as excited about the game as anyone could be.

"My earliest memories of ECHS basketball was in what is now the 5/6 Center gym," he said. "Sometimes the best way to generate excitement for the future is by honoring our past.  We hope Edmonson County fans of all ages will come and watch our Wildcats and Lady Cats and cheer our teams to victory.”

The girls game is scheduled to start at 6PM with the boys game following. They will both be live streamed on the Edmonson Voice. Youth league basketball players will also be recognized during the event.

*Only former players, coaches, and administrators will have free admission. Family members and guests of those will still be required to pay regular admission.

2021-22 Seasons Getting Underway

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
Things felt more "normal" in the ECHS gym last night than they had in two years, with a full crowd on hand, and with that crowd cheering on student athletes from the middle and high school teams at the 2021 Meet the Wildcats event.

In a fundraising event that showcased the ECMS cheer team, middle school boys and girls basketball teams, the ECHS Cheer team, and both the Lady Cat and Wildcat basketball teams, fans packed the bleachers to cheer on their players.

ECHS Principal Jonathan Williams said he's already seeing an increase in school spirit, due to various reasons.

"I think people are already excited for the upcoming basketball seasons as a result of different things. Our Lady Cat team has had a really good run over the last few years and for the boys, Coach Johnson and his staff and kids have a lot of positive energy flowing with their program," he said. "When you consider the fact that we've basically been in a COVID jail, people are ready to cheer the cats on. They want to come watch a game, smell popcorn, hear shoes screeching on the floor and feel the energy."

Williams served as the event's emcee and encouraged fans in the stands to get behind all the school's teams as another season of basketball begins.

Both the ECMS and ECHS cheer teams performed separate routines as each team member was introduced. The ECMS girls team were brought out to center court and introduced to the crowd and the ECMS boys team showed off some their practice routines.

Fans got a glimpse of both the Lady Cats and Wildcats of ECHS, as the teams played two quarters each of inter-squad scrimmage.

Through the help of community sponsors, ECHS has invested in their facilities to provide a much more energetic game experience with a brand new 10ft video board and spotlights for team introductions.

"What our community has done for our school and programs has been crucial," Williams said. "Look at what we did with the video board thanks to Kasey Alford and Alford's Pharmacy. They helped us modernize and improve our advertising product and that revenue goes straight back to the facilities and supplies for our student athletes.  When kids look good, feel good, and feel the energy of representing an excited community, it means something.  I can tell you from my own experience, and as so many others know, it’s special to put that jersey on with Edmonson County on it and see the gym full of people to cheer you on." 

Middle school basketball games are already underway with the ECHS Lady Cats starting their season on the road on Monday, November 29th at Warren East, and the Wildcats kicking things off at home on Tuesday, November 30th against Nelson County.

Darren Doyle, story:
Edmonson County High School has named two new head coaches: one for Wildcats Baseball and one for Lady Cat Volleyball.

Michael Meredith was recently named head baseball coach of the Wildcats. He replaces Bo West, who stepped down after last season. 

Coach Meredith retired from ECHS in 2020 as a junior/senior counselor, spending 8 years in that role. Prior to that, he taught at Grayson County High School for 6 years before serving as senior counselor there for 14 years. 

His coaching career consists of:

• Grayson County Assistant Softball Coach for 3 years
• Grayson County Head Softball Coach for 2 years
• Grayson County Assistant Golf Coach for 8 years
• President of local Babe Ruth for past 4 years
• Longtime tee ball to Babe Ruth coach at all levels
• Edmonson County Assistant Golf Coach 2021-present

Coach Meredith said his plans are to build the program from the 7th grade up, and to try to give every child in the program the attention they need to become better players and better people.

"I want to improve the existing facilities and hopefully build things for the future," he said. "I want to work hand-in-hand with our youth program to provide what I can to help develop our younger talent.  I want those younger kids to feel a part of our program.  I want to have a youth league night in baseball just like we have in football and basketball." 

"We lost 9 seniors from last years squad so we have a lot of holes to fill and a lot of work to do, but the players that are coming to open field are doing everything that we are asking of them to get better."
​

While Caitlin Caudill might be new to a head volleyball coaching position, she is more than experienced in winning. She was named interim volleyball head coach in September of 2021 after Bridget Simon stepped down. While she had already been serving as freshmen volleyball coach, she quickly earned the respect as a head coach from not only the JV and varsity players, but also parents and school administration.

At ECHS as Caitlin Simon, (now happily married to her husband, Daniel Caudill) she played not only volleyball, but also softball, and basketball. She holds the school record for the most points ever scored in Lady Cat basketball history, with 2,564 points. During her senior year of Lady Cat basketball, she was named 3rd Region Player of the Year, All-Region 1st Team, and Region 3 All-Tournament team. She also earned numerous All-District honors over multiple seasons and was a finalist for Miss Kentucky Basketball 2018.

Also in that senior season, the Lady Cats finished with a 29-5 record, the best in school history for a girls basketball team, as 12th District Champions for the first time since 1998, and they were All "A" Region 3 Champions.

While most folks remember her amazing basketball skills, she was a standout athlete in every sport; volleyball was no exception and she excelled as powerful hitter.

"First and foremost, I would just like to say I am thankful for the opportunity to coach this team," she said. "I am super excited and look forward to working with the girls. We are going to work hard on this off-season to try and prepare for 2022. I am also excited to be coaching a sport that I love so much and I am looking forward to continuing to work with these amazing girls."

In Caudill's senior season in ECHS volleyball, she was actually teammates of a few of next year's senior Lady Cats, when those players were 7th graders.

ECHS Principal Jonathan Williams discussed the decision to hire both Meredith and Caudill for the positions.

"Michael Meredith is a great hire for us here--he’s a leader in the community, has mentored a lot of young men in our community, including me, and it’s a very full circle moment for me to get to hire him," he said. "He has led a successful softball program before and has served our young people through our youth baseball programs for years.  Coach Brad Johnson and I are thrilled to have him here as head coach for our Wildcats."

Williams also had high remarks for Caudill.

"We are proud to have a person like Caitlin want to come back to where she played and coach our girls," he added. "Caitlin is a winner and has a strong track record of winning. She is energetic, knows the game, and has proven she knows how to teach fundamental volleyball.  Most of all, Caitlin is a great person and will be a good role model for our kids. To say Coach Johnson and I are thrilled to have her coaching here is an understatement."