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.

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
Edmonson County traveled to the blue turf of Warren East tonight as they fell to the Raiders in a hard fought game, 28-18.

The Wildcats were able to get on the board first with a 25-yard field goal from Clay Walden with 6:49 left in the first quarter. They were able to hold the Raiders through the end of the quarter for a 3-0 lead after the first. 

They struck again before the half as Logan Davis scored on a 16-yard touchdown run. Walden's extra point was good for a 10-0 Wildcat lead with 3:33 left in the second quarter.

Warren East answered with a 47-yard touchdown from Isaiah Ghee with 1:51 left in the half. Their extra point was good and they cut the Wildcat lead to 10-7, which would be the score at halftime. 

The Raiders answered again in the third quarter with another big play as Ghee connected with DeSean Gilbert for a 71-yard touchdown with 7:32 left in the third. 

The Wildcats failed to score on their next possession but Clay Walden intercepted the Raider pass and got into the red zone with about 6 minutes left in the third. The next series was nothing but confusion when Edmonson's Isaiah Johnson was taken down on a short run when the ball came out of his hands. It appeared that Johnson was down but an official called it a fumble, which was recovered by East. One official called it Edmonson's ball, another called it East's ball, and the PA announcer said it was Edmonson's ball. It appeared that the Wildcat offense was still on the field when East took possession and the snap. The Raiders would score on a huge 92-yard touchdown on the next play. The extra point was good for a 21-10 Warren East lead with 1:45 left in the third.

The Raiders weren't finished and with 5:31 left in the game, it was East's Gilbert again with another big reception on a 55-yard touchdown. East's extra point was good for a 28-10 lead. 

Edmonson County got into the red zone with about 3:30 left in the game thanks to a couple of good runs and a Warren East penalty. Quarterback Jon Smith tried the keeper and pushed through the Raider line for another Wildcat touchdown with 1:03 left in the ballgame. Smith connected with Isaiah Johnson for a two-point conversion and the Cats cut the East lead to 28-18.

Edmonson's Preston Mills jumped on an onside kick from the Cats and Edmonson County took possession with one minute to go. Smith ran the ball to about the Raider 20 yard line, and then Isaiah Johnson ran the ball to the 4-yard line on the next play. Immediately following that play, it appeared that Johnson scored but they called him down just before the goal line with 32.8 seconds to go. The Wildcats were unable to score on the possession and the Raiders took over on downs with 5 seconds to go, sealing the deal for East.

Wildcat running back Matt Shaw was injured in the game and left play with an unknown knee injury.

Edmonson County fell to 1-2 on the season and is scheduled to take on Monroe County on the road next Friday. 

*We misidentified Logan Davis earlier in the captions but have corrected it. We apologize for the error.

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
After winning the last two of three contests, the Edmonson County Lady Cats faced a solid Butler County volleyball team at home on Tuesday night where they went the distance but lost to the Lady Bears in five sets.

Butler County started with a 4-0 lead to begin set one but Edmonson bounced back and scored six straight points, which forced a Lady Bear timeout at 6-4. Edmonson County never trailed again, gaining as much as a 9-point lead as they took set one, 25-15.

Butler County responded with better play in set two as they cut down on errors and displayed better communication, taking set two 25-20 to tie the game at 1-1.

Set three was all Lady Cats as they took a 3-0 lead and never looked back again. Butler County made a couple of runs, cutting the lead to only one point two separate times, but Edmonson County held them off for a 25-19 set win and took the game lead 2-1. 

Once again, the Lady Bears responded and during set four it would be all Butler County as they jumped out to an 8-1 lead, prompting an Edmonson timeout. The Lady Bears continued their offense and force the Lady Cats to burn their last timeout at 14-4. While Edmonson County refused to go away quietly with a couple of runs, it wasn't enough as Butler won the set 25-15 and tied the game at 2-2, forcing a final set to 15.

The momentum gained by Butler County in set four remained with them in the final set as they had little problems keeping the lead as they went on to win the set 15-8, and the game 3-2.

Edmonson County sophomore Kaylee Lindsey had 10 kills, 5 blocks, 3 aces, and 3 digs, while seniors Emma Woodcock and Abbie Slaughter had 24 and 44 digs, respectively.

The Lady Cats fell to 5-4 on the season and 0-3 against District 12 teams. Edmonson County hasn't won a district volleyball game since 2017.

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
Edmonson County football faced their first district opponent tonight at Wildcat Stadium as they took on Metcalfe County for their first win of the season. Clay Walden's late-game 39-yard field goal helped seal the deal in a come-from-behind win.

The Wildcats put the first points on the board as Matt Shaw pushed through for a 6-yard touchdown carry. Clay Walden's extra point was good and the Cats led 7-0 with 2:21 left in the first quarter. The Hornets answered with a solid run that ran into the second quarter and Metcalfe's Gabe Zurmehly made it into the end zone on a 7-yard run. The extra point attempt was no good but the Hornets cut the Wildcats' lead 7-6 with 9:44 in the second.

Momentum would stay on Metcalfe's side as they held the Cats and then answered again on offense on an 18-yard touchdown reception. The Hornets also connected on their two-point conversion attempt and they took a 14-7 lead with 6:53 left in the first half. 

Edmonson County's Matt Shaw answered with a 24-yard carry into the end zone and once again, Clay Walden delivered on the kick and extra point, which tied the score 14-14 at halftime. 

It was a back-and-forth third quarter, but Metcalfe County found their way back into the end zone with 23 seconds left in the third as Zurmehly scored on a 1-yard push. Their extra point was good and the Hornets were back on top 21-14.

It would be Matt Shaw again for the Wildcats as he scored on a 5-yard touchdown run with 6:27 left in the game. The Cats attempted a two-point conversion but it was stopped by the Hornets and Metcalfe clung to a 21-20 lead.

The Hornets turned the ball over on their next possession during a punt attempt when the kicker actually kicked the ball into one of his own players. The ball was recovered by the Wildcat freshman Noah Meredith on the Hornet's 22-yard line with about 4 minutes to go. Edmonson had little luck making any headway with short runs and an incomplete pass when Walden nailed a 39-yard field goal to put the Cats back on top, 23-21 with 2:46 to go.

The Wildcats held the Hornets on their next possession and were able to hold on in the final minute, going to victory formation for the big district win.

Head Coach Nathan Smith said he was proud of his guys on the night's big win.

"We've had teams before that when they're down in the second half, they just kind of give up, it just kind of goes away," he said. "I was just proud of the way we fought the whole game. Not everything went our way the whole game, but we fought, and I was proud of them."

Smith said in games against Metcalfe in the recent past, it seemed the winner was the team that played most aggressively and he said tonight it was the Wildcats who filled that role.

"It was a great win," he added. "What about Clay Walden?"

Smith joked that Walden's late game heroics should count for the WildcatsLive player of the game, but no one could forget about Michael Shaw's 150-yard rushing night.

"Can we give them co-players of the game?" he asked, as he laughed with broadcasters Scott Lindsey and Granville Meredith.

Not only did Coach Smith discuss Walden's kicking ability, but also the all-around positive results on the field because of his play.

"He's a super-aggressive player and sometimes it burns him a little bit," he said. "But you talk about someone that does a great job of stopping the short game, outside, stopping bubbles, things like that, he did an amazing job there."

The current school record for longest field goal in Edmonson County is currently held by Granville Meredith--46 yards--which has stood for about 35 years. Coach Smith said that Clay Walden has the record in his sights and Meredith said tonight that he'd be happy for Walden to set a new record.

The Wildcats are now 1-1 on the season and is scheduled to take on Warren East on the road next Friday at 7pm. The Edmonson Voice will carry the game live on WildcatsLive, presented by Alford's Pharmacy.