Edmonson Voice Sports:
Some crazy good scores and a heap of money were turned in Saturday, August 28, 2021 at the annual Santa's Helping Hands Golf Scramble, which raised $6,000 for the local charity.

SHH, Inc., an Edmonson County non-profit organization that's operated by a completely local board, works year-round to raise money for underprivileged children and senior citizens in Edmonson County.  While the majority of their funding goes toward annual Christmas projects, the charity gives back to local families throughout the year in a number of different ways.

Two teams turned in numbers lower than what you'd see on a PGA scorecard, (23 under par) vying for the grand prize of $100 Rafferty's gift cards for each winning team member, which resulted in a sudden-death playoff. The winning team consisted of Greg Meredith, Brent Milby, James Rhoades, and Dawson McDaniels.

"It was a great turnout with 32 teams," said coordinator and SHH co-founder Mark Wardlow. "Other than the crazy heat and humidity, it was a great day and a good time was had by all."

Darren Doyle, story: Madison Doyle, photos:
Senior night was bittersweet last night at ECHS for Lady Cat Volleyball as Edmonson County struggled against Ohio County in a Region 3 match. 

​The Lady Cats honored their lone senior for this season, which was Karrington Peger. Karrington, who has seen success as a member of the ECHS track team, has also been a volleyball member for four years. She is the daughter of Michael and LeNora Peger of Brownsville.

The Lady Cats got off to a rocky start as the Lady Cats compiled a 14-4 lead early in the first set. The early deficit would prove to be too much for Edmonson County to overcome. Despite a couple of short runs for the Lady Cats later in the set, Ohio County claimed it, 25-14.

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Edmonson County looked much better in the second set, taking an early lead; however, a rotation mixup for the Lady Cats caused some momentary confusion which led to a delay in the game. Ohio County capitalized on the momentum shift and went on a 14-3 run, prompting two Lady Cat timeouts. Ohio County won the set 25-12 and swept the Lady Cats 2-0.

The loss comes after back-to-back wins on Tuesday of this week against district foe Butler County in a three-match sweep (27-25, 25-23, 25-11), and a Monday sweep over Metcalfe County (25-14, 25-23). 

Edmonson County's victory over Butler County on Tuesday was the first district win since 2017.

Alyssa Doyle led the Lady Cats with kills (5), Kaylee Lindsey and Rylee Laster each had 2, and Whitney Davis added 1.

Davis led Edmonson with digs (11), as Doyle added 8; Karrington Peger, MaKaylee Thompson, and Alivia Mabery each had 7, and Lindsey added 6. 

Kaylee Lindsey also led Edmonson County in blocks with 4, and both Laster and Davis had one service ace each.

Edmonson County is now 3-7 on the season and is scheduled to play Trinity at home on Monday with JV action beginning at 5:30PM.

Edmonson County High School has announced that this Friday's football game at Butler County has been cancelled.

ECHS Athletic Director Brad Johnson said this was due to "a high number of quarantines."

ECHS Volleyball plays tonight at home against Ohio County in a JV/V game beginning at 5:30PM and Wildcat Football is scheduled to be back at home next Friday, September 3rd against Warren East at 7PM.

Darren Doyle, story: Joseph Barkoff, photos:
It was a rough night for the Wildcats as they took a 43-0 loss in the 2021 season opener at home against the Grayson County Cougars.

Edmonson County has a different look than its teams of the last few years with a new quarterback and other personnel, and more than 50% of the lineup are underclassmen; however, despite a running clock just before halftime, fans still saw the same effort from the Cats in the final minutes of the game as they did the first.

Edmonson County struggled to get any offense going throughout the night, and according to new head coach Ed Smart, they were simply "big-played" by the Cougars.

​The Cougars got on the board early as they moved into the red zone and Chandler McCrady scored on a one-yard touchdown run. Their two-point conversion was no good and Grayson led 6-0 7:14 to go in the first quarter.

It would be the Cougars again on a big play, as McCrady scored again, this time on a 77-yard run. Grayson converted the two points and the Cats trailed 14-0 with just over four minutes left in the first.

Grayson County continued their offense as they scored again in just a minute into the second on another touchdown. They failed on their two-point conversion but led 20-0. They continued stopping Edmonson's offense and was able to score yet again with 6:53 left in the half on McCrady's 31-yard run with a successful two-point attempt to extend their lead to 28-0.

With just over a minute to go the half, Grayson made another big play, this time on a 41-yard touchdown pass with a successful two-point conversion to grab a 36-0 lead and a running clock that would remain in place throughout the contest.

Grayson county would add one more big play to the game, a 42-yard touchdown run from Michael Wood in the third quarter with the extra point to give the Cougars a 43-0 lead and what would be the final score.

Coach Smart said defense was the key to success night.

"If you'd have asked me what the keys for our success would be, I'd have said we have to play good defense because I knew on offense we were going to struggle. So, if we didn't play good defense, we were going to be in for a long night. We didn't play good defense, and it was a long night."

Unofficial stats after the game showed the Cats with only 105 rushing yards with 17 passing yards.

Coach Smart discussed a new quarterback and the growing pains that come along.

"I told the guys at halftime, the one thing about a quarterback, that is not something that comes easy," he said. "It takes a lot--a lot of experience. Daren (Alexander) will come along. I thought he did some good things and we'll get on film and he'll watch some things."

Coach went back to his point about defense.

"We're going to hang our hat on playing good defense," he said. "That's because sometimes we're not going to have better athletes than people, but if we can play good defense, that gives us a chance. And like I said, we've got a lot of work to do. We know where we're at. My big thing with the kids honestly, we'll watch this film and by the time we play Breck in week 11, we all want to see improvement. That's the key. Because then, to me, that's coaching and our kids buying in, and that's the important thing."

Edmonson County is 0-1 on the season and will travel to Butler County next Friday against the Bears. Kickoff is scheduled for 7PM in Morgantown.

Edmonson Voice Sports:​
Edmonson County Golf Team had their first match of the year at Shady Hollow Golf Course with visiting Hart Tuesday, August 10th.   The Lady Cats put Paige Wolfe and Hallie Cassady up against the Hart Co #1 in the first match and Beth Elmore against Hart Co #2. 

With the temperature being warm and it being a little muggy, Elmore struggled on a couple of holes as a result of not feeling well. After the coaching staff was able to get her some "high quality H20" and walked along, carting her a couple of holes, she was able to finish the match and both coaches were very proud of her. 

"Sometimes when you are not feeling your best your golf game game can get you down as well," said coach Granville Meredith. "This was not the case with Beth.  She fought through feeling down and was able to finish the match. I am super proud of these young ladies. No, we didn't turn in our best scores but we never gave up."  
Paige Wolfe 41
Hallie Cassady 47   vs Hart #1 49
Beth Elmore 68  vs Hart #2 69  

The Wildcat team was looking forward to playing their first match at Shady against the Hart County boys, who had seven on their team.  The Cats matched up in a 5-on-5 team match.  The top 5 for the boys were Andrew Talley, Evan Stice, Jacob Williams, Jarrett Prunty, and Levi Meredith.  Hart County had been coming to Shady Hollow for practice and it showed as the matches began. 

Leading the way for EC was Junior Andrew Talley.  Coach Granville stated "I am leaning on Andrew right now, his ball striking and play will be needed when we get to the All-A tournament and the Region.  Andrew has the game to qualify for All A State and the KHSAA state.  He just needs to keep working. The top 5 for EC turned in some good scores-- again-- not their best scores, but they're working to improve their game.   
Andrew Talley 45  vs Hart #1 44
Evan Stice 50 va Hart #2 42
Jacob Williams 46 vs Hart #3 44
Jarrett Prunty 46 vs Hart #4 45
Levi Meredith 48 vs Hart #5 44
Team EC 185  vs Team Hart 174 

The Wildcats were back in action on Saturday at Shady Hollow in the Warren East Raider Invitational.   Eight Wildcat members played in the tournament; five as a team and three as individuals for experience.  The team started out rocky on the back with some tough holes, but slowness of play and multiple weather delays ended up being factors for the day.  Edmonson County finished 11th out of 16 teams.
 
Andrew Talley 84 Tied for 27th
Jacob Williams 92 Tied for 42nd
Levi Meredith 99 in 60th
Jarrett Prunty 100 in 61st
Evan Stice 105 in 66th
Cooper Clark 120 in 70th
Ian Madison DNF
Eli Prunty DNF

Ian and Eli did not finish the match due to weather and this being their first 18-hole match as EC members.  

Coach Granville said "I want to say I am proud of my 7th graders Ian Madison and Eli Prunty.  These two are always at practice and are willing to play against the older guys.  They are learning the game and will be the team of the future."  

Edmonson Voice Sports: Madison Doyle, photos:
Edmonson County's volleyball season got off to a positive start tonight as they defeated Glasgow in the 2021 season opener in two sets (25-20) (27-25) at ECHS. 

The Lady Cats jumped out to an 8-2 lead in set one, which prompted an early timeout from the Lady Scotties. Glasgow cut EC's lead to 14-11 which caused Head Coach Bridget Simon to call a timeout for Edmonson County. The Lady Cats extended their lead to 24-17 when Glasgow scored three in row; however, they'd score no more as the Lady Cats took set one 25-20.

Glasgow started set two with a 4-1 lead. The Lady Cats tied it at 9 each and took their first lead at 10-9. Glasgow took a timeout at a 13-13 tie and then scored the next three points. Edmonson County tied it again at 18 then forced the Lady Scotties to take their second timeout with a 20-18 EC lead. 

Glasgow tied it at 20, then again at 23, where Edmonson County called a timeout. Both teams pushed each other the score was tied at both 24, and 25 until Edmonson County was able to score the final two points for a 27-25 set win and a 2-0 sweep to start the season.

Coach Simon said she expected a close game with Glasgow.

"We normally match up well with them so I figured this would be close," she said. "I was glad to see us get off to a good start with an early lead."

She said starting the season with a win is important because early season momentum is key with the tough schedule they face this year.

"We're going to be playing some difficult teams this year," she said. "We may not win them all, but playing the tougher teams are going to be important because we're looking for a district championship this year. We want to be playing tough when it comes time for district. We want to go further than that with a trip to the region, too."

Simon said she feels like the district is pretty even this year.

"Grayson County lost some players, Trinity is always good, Butler County has seen some changes, so I like our chances in the mix," she said. "I saw some really good chemistry out there tonight. Our girls were having fun playing volleyball. No one was blaming each other on the mistakes and everyone was communicating well. We just have to keep it up as the season goes on."

​The Lady Cats will return to ECHS tomorrow night as they take on Allen County in a F/V/JV match that starts at 5:30PM.

Edmonson Voice Sports:
On Tuesday the Wildcats were back at Rolling Hills trying to best their scores from last week.  Andrew Talley a Junior, led the Wildcats with an 80 and finished in a tie for the 21st spot overall out of 96 competitors. Junior Jacob Williams scored 97, finishing in 64th overall.  Jacob carded 6 pars on the day. 
  
Sophomore Levi Meredith, bettered his score from last week with a 101 and finished in the 74th spot overall. 

Junior Cam Lich showed a big improvement over last week, cutting 7 strokes off his score with a 107 and finishing in 77th overall.  Cam is new to golf but the coaching staff says he has the potential to be a solid player for the Wildcats.  He likes the challenge and works hard, according to coach Meredith.

Junior Cooper Clark just picked up the game in May.  He has been working hard all summer hitting balls in a net and now hitting the course for the Wildcats.  Cooper finished in 79th place overall with a score of 114.  Coach Meredith said for Cooper to have just started playing and for this to be his first tournament play, he was proud of the way he handled himself. 
 
Rounding out the Top 5 this week was senior Zack Jacobs.  Zack finished with a 135, improving by 10 strokes from last week.  Zack is new to golf as well but he works at it. 

Tuesday Lady Cat Recap:
On Tuesday, Coach Kayla Meredith took the Lady Cats to Crosswinds to play in the Lady Spartan Invitational.

Paige Wolfe, a senior, shot her personal tournament best with 82 and finished in 15th place.  Coach Kayla said that Paige has been working on her game and it is showing. 
 
Senior Hallie Cassady, shot 107 and finished in 38th place overall.  Hallie is working to get back in her groove. and the senior duo will be called upon to lead this team in the upcoming season. 
 
Hannah Cassady, a 7th grader, shot 126 and finished in 48th place.  Hannah is new to the golf team but is looking to make an impact and help her team.  

Abby Hogg, an 8th grader, shot 131 and finished in 49th place.  Abby is working to get better and she will be looking to also help her team. 
 
Sophomore Beth Elmore shot 135 and finished in 52nd place.  Beth is working on her game and will be one of the leaders of the team soon. 

Lady Cat Regional Preview From Wednesday


On Wednesday Coach Granville had the opportunity to take the Lady Cat team to Indian Hills for the Region 3 Preview.  This was an opportunity for the Ladies to see where the region would be and to familiarize themselves with the golf course.

There were a few bumps and delays along the way due to some confusion regarding what hole at which the team was supposed to start.

"I will take full responsibility for a slow start yesterday," Coach Granville said. "Paige ended the day with a 94, and she expected better, but the positive thing taken away today was correcting the swing on the fly.  There were some coachable moments and Paige learned how to adjust when things aren't going perfectly.  Hallie ended the day with 115 and also learned some things today as well.  Hallie is her worst critic but she was able to pull out of a rut.  No, the ladies didn't play their best, but they never quit and kept playing through problems.  So on the positive side, I am extremely proud of these ladies."  

Abby Hogg finished with a 131.

"Whether Abby was on the Tee, in the fairway, or in the sand, I could count on that smile, said Coach Granville. "Abby is truly amazing to work with and with Coach Kayla helping her, she will be a future leader of the Lady Cat team."  

Coach Granville said that Hannah Cassady was the player of the day. Coach said that she seemed nervous in her second tournament for the Lady Cats in two days but stepped up to hole number one and put a drive in play down the fairway and never looked back. 

"She played very loose and seemed to find a friend in the Franklin Simpson playing partner and they were just out playing golf," he said. "Each time I came by her and asked how she doing she said 'great.'  One particular hole with Hannah's mom and little sister riding in the cart with me, Hannah stood on the tee with water between her and the hole. Hannah hit her tee shot, it skipped off the water twice up onto the left edge of the green, then she chipped it on and 2-putted 4 while mom, sister, and I cheered her on. Hannah finished with a 117."

Coach Granville said he wanted to express to the Lady Cat team, Wildcat team, parents, and readers, "Golf is a game.  There are a lot of factors that go into golf.  We are not professionals and if you watch the professionals they make bad shots, have bad days, and are human.  I am a true believer that it only takes one good shot to keep you coming back and wanting to play golf again. I'm very proud of the Lady Cat team playing back-to-back 18 hole tournaments, because it's tough, but these ladies are exceptional."

The coaching staff will also be working with the boys to have them ready for their opening match next week with Hart County on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the Wildcats will Travel to Owensboro to play in the All A Classic Regional Golf Tournament at Windridge Country Club. 

​Leading Group B was Hogg with a 64, followed by Cassady who carded a 72. Coach Kayla said she was impressed by the performance of the two youngsters.
  
"The future looks bright for Lady Cat golf with these two getting some experience now," she said. We'll need them to perform to help the team score in future matches.”

Parsley and Holland carded scores of 80 and 81, respectively.

"Lilly and Mia have had just a few practices and then went to this tournament to get experience and they learned so much during the event," said Coach Kayla. “I can't tell you how proud I am them for not having much experience with golf and tournament play to have the best attitude and performing their best, they did an amazing job.”

Coach Granville commented on the tournament, “I am so proud of these young ladies, they have practiced hard and they are learning. We will get better," he said. "I just want them to learn and have fun and when it is their time to compete, they will play their best. So far they have done everything we have asked them and as a coach, that's all you can ask of your players.”

Edmonson Voice Sports: 
The ECHS Golf Team got back in full swing on Friday, July 30th at Rolling Hills Golf Course, the site of the KHSAA regional golf tournament.
  
The Cats were a bit sluggish to start, which could be expected, having first-tournament jitters as well as some first- time golfers.
  
Leading the way was Junior Andrew Talley who fired an 82.  Coach Granville Meredith said that Andrew's off season hard work is already showing.  

Seniors Jarrett Prunty and Evan Stice's games began with a rocky start but they settled down to shoot 97 and 99, respectively.

"Jarrett and Evan both know what they need to work on and will be ready next week," Coach Granville said.  

Sophomore Levi Meredith shot 104 and Coach Granville said  Levi is looking to better his game from last year and has been working hard.

Junior Cam Lich and Senior Zack Jacobs are both new to the golf team and have made major strides for only practicing for two weeks.  With not having any experience at playing in a golf tournament Cam shot 114 and Zack shot 145.  

The Wildcats have another tournament on Tuesday where they will be traveling back to Rolling Hills to improve their personal and team scores.  

Coach Granville said he was excited to be coaching this group of boys.

 “These guys are working hard, they listen and then execute," he said. A coach can’t ask for more than that. We have some veteran guys and we have some newcomers, but if they continue to put the work in, not only will we be looking to be competitive this year, but also next year as well. I am not only proud of the players but also the parents of these players.  It takes buy-in from players, parents, and coaches to have a successful program.  Everyone has been overwhelmingly supportive of what Coach Kayla, myself, and our assistant coach Michael Meredith are trying to do with the program.”