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.

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:

• 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. ​

Darren Doyle, story:
The Edmonson County Lady Cats finished their regular season on a huge come-from-behind win against Glasgow in a game that was on track to be a pretty good whipping for ECHS.

The Lady Scotties wasted no time in taking control in set one as they forced an early timeout for Edmonson with a 10-4 lead. Glasgow committed very few errors and were very efficient with their passing, sets, and ball placement. The Lady Cats were rushed, out of sorts, and weren't able to muster up much to celebrate as Glasgow took set one 25-16.

The second set looked about the same as Glasgow forced Edmonson into their first timeout with an 11-5 lead. Out of the timeout, the Lady Scotties rattled off 5 more points to cap off a 10-0 run as they extended their lead to 16-5. The Lady Cats began working on damage control and held their own for the next several points scored, but Glasgow's lead was still plenty comfortable at 20-9. 

The Lady Cats then mounted a comeback with a little different look in their rotation. They bounced back with 4 straight, which prompted Glasgow into a timeout at 20-13. Edmonson continued with another run of 5 more and cut the lead to 20-18.  The Lady Cats looked like a new team and forced Glasgow into their final timeout as they cut the Lady Scotties' lead to 22-21. 

Edmonson County then took their first lead of the game as a stunned Glasgow team got out of rotation, giving Edmonson a point and a 23-22 lead. Glasgow would squeeze out another point but that was it as the Lady Cats took set 2 and tied the game 1-1. 

The final set gave fans from both teams plenty to cheer about as the game would be neck-and-neck to the end. Glasgow was able to take an early lead at 7-3 but Edmonson County clawed back and the game would see 5 different ties (8 total for the set) before Edmonson County took their first lead and then forced Glasgow into a timeout at 14-12.

Digs, saves, good passes, communication, kills, and some errors on the part of the Lady Scotties all worked in favor of Edmonson County as they held on to win set three 25-21, and the game 2-1. 

The win guaranteed Edmonson County at least an even season on the year as their record improved to 9-8. They will play at least one more game in the first round of the district tournament against Grayson County, which will be hosted at Butler County on Monday evening. This will be the first season the Lady Cats have not had a losing record since 2017.

Darren Doyle, story:
The Edmonson County Wildcats were close to a comeback but couldn't overcome Russellville after trailing most of the game on the 2020 homecoming night.

The Cats were able to strike first as Clay Walden connected with a 28 yard field goal with 2:24 in the 1st quarter for a 3-0 lead. Edmonson County held the Panthers scoreless through the remainder of the first quarter.

Sophomore Daren Alexander intercepted a Russellville pass for a huge run, which set up quarterback Jon Smith for a 1 yard touchdown. The extra point was blocked, but the Wildcats led 9-0 with 11:20 left to go in the 2nd quarter.

The Panthers showed some explosiveness on their next possession as Jovari Gamble broke free with an 80 yard touchdown run for Russellville. Their extra point was good, which cut the Wildcat lead to 9-7 with 11:05 left to go in the 2nd quarter.

​With 3:23 left in the half, the Panthers scored on a 13 yard touchdown pass. The extra point was good and Russellville took a 14-9 lead over the Cats.

Russellville's speed was again a problem for the Wildcats, and a couple big runs put them in position to score again. They put 6 more on the board with a 7 yard touchdown and an extra point which extended the Panthers' lead to 21-9 with :35 left in the 2nd quarter. The score would remain the same at the half.

Darren Doyle, story and photo:
The struggles against District 12 teams continued for the Lady Cats last night as they were swept by the Grayson County Lady Cougars (14-1) in three sets at Edmonson County High School (25-10, 25-13, 25-12).

The first set saw an even start, but only for the first few points until Grayson County put 6 straight points on the board for a 9-4 lead. The Lady Cats called a timeout for a quick reset but after another run from the Lady Cougars (7-2) and a 19-9 lead, Edmonson's second timeout of the set had to be used. The Lady Cougars went on to win set one 25-10.

Set two saw an abysmal start for Edmonson County as they fell behind 10-1, which prompted a timeout. The Lady Cats were able to gather themselves for a 9-6 run of their own, which caused the Lady Cougars into a timeout as Edmonson had cut their deficit to 16-10. That would be about all the dent the Lady Cats would make for the rest of the set as Grayson outscored Edmonson 9-3 from there on for a 25-13 win for set 2.

Grayson was able to do much of the same in the final set as they took the set and the sweep (25-12, 3-0) to win. Sophomores Kaylee Lindsey and Alyssa Doyle led the Lady Cats in kills with 4 each. Seniors Abbie Slaughter and Emma Woodcock led in digs with 33 and 23, respectively, and sophomore Hallie Tedder notched 16 digs.

The Lady Cougars had already secured the top seed for the upcoming district tournament that is scheduled to take place on October 19th. Edmonson County will face the Lady Cougars again in the first round as a four-seed. Edmonson County hasn't won against a District 12 team since the 2017 District Championship, where they swept Trinity 3-0.

Edmonson County is now 8-7 on the year and has the opportunity to have a winning record for the first time in three seasons. They have only two more games before the district tournament; both home games next week against Ohio County on Monday and Glasgow on Thursday.

Darren Doyle, story:
Kyrock Elementary Principal and local resident Shaun Stice scored a hole-in-one at Shady Hollow Golf Course on Friday, September 25th.

The once-in-a-lifetime feat for most golfers happened for Stice on hole number 6, which is a par 3 on the course. Stice says he hit a 182-yard shot from the blue tees using a 5-iron. He said the ball hit just three feet past the pin, rolled back and went in. Stice was playing with friend Kenny Tunks, also a local resident.

"We were practicing for the two-man scramble that we were playing in the next day," he said. "My shot came one day too soon," he joked.

​Stice said he and Tunks parred the hole the next day at the tournament.

When asked if he was going to save the ball, frame the scorecard, or commemorate the event another way, he said no.

"Nah, I'm hoping it's the first of many more," he said with a laugh.

The shot is considered more difficult than hitting a game-winning half-court basketball shot at the buzzer, or hitting a 9th inning grand slam to win a baseball game. According to the PGA, the odds of the average amateur golfer hitting the shot is 12,000 to 1. 

"Hopefully it's an omen for a good school year, right?" he said.

Stice is in his 4th year as Kyrock principal. In-person classes are scheduled to begin in Edmonson County schools tomorrow, September 28th.