Story and photos by Joseph Barkoff: Edmonson County drew first blood against visiting rival Grayson County but ultimately lost 77-64 Friday, December 8th in Brownsville. Edmonson started out smartly, and strong. Despite being up by double digits briefly in the first quarter, Edmonson took a 9-point lead into the second. The second quarter was more of a tug of war where Grayson tied it at one point with just under 2 minutes to play in the half. The half would end with Wildcats up by 2 points, 41-39. This was a rivalry game and it showed with the level of determination, sometimes over-zealously, according to the technical fouls called. “I will say on our part, we got to be smarter than that,” Edmonson County head coach Trey Tinsley said after the game. They talked about it before the game, he said. “Don’t get caught up in the rivalry,” Tinsley said to is team before. “Just play the game. And I thought we did that for a half, but you have to do that for four quarters.” With four technical fouls, including one for Tinsley when he argued a technical foul called on senior shooting guard Will Alexander after a three-pointer and an alleged taunting motion. It was Alexander's second tech of the game, which disqualified him from the remainder of the contest. According to KHSAA regulations, he may be looking a two-game suspension as a result. “We have to keep out poise,” he said. “We have to handle ourselves with class,” Tinsley said. With 1:56 left on the clock in the third quarter it was tied again 47-47. Then with 1:13 left, Grayson would take the lead for the first time in the game. They did not look back, nor surrender the lead again. Grayson made a 16-0 run against Edmonson, and the Wildcats had no answer until a free throw with 4:30 left in the game. The game concluded with Grayson ahead 77-64 of host Edmonson at the final buzzer. “It’s definitely a tough loss losing to our biggest opponent of the year so far,” senior power forward Lane Ashley said after the game. “The rivalry goes back for years, and year and years.” Edmonson is a young team and will get better, Tinsley said. Despite the loss, the Wildcats had 5 different players in double figures: Joshua Decker 13 (with 19 rebs), Tyler Wilson 12, Layne Ashley 10, Will Alexander 10, and Braden Wright 10. “The second half, some things didn’t go our way, it happens, we’ll come back” Ashley said.
They are going to take the weekend off and come back Monday at practice ready to battle, he said. The boys next take on the Bluegrass Blazers Tuesday, December 12th at 7:30PM at home.
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Story and photos by Joseph Barkoff: Edmonson County High School Lady Cats basketball extended their season opening win streak to five games Friday, December 8th with a 48-39 win against the visiting Grayson County Lady Cougars in Brownsville. While they led from the opening tip to the wire, it was not all unicorns and rainbows, especially in the second half. “We started good and that was our point in the locker room-- that we needed a good start and we had to let ‘em know we was here,” Lady Cats head coach Jody Booth said after the game. In their previous contest against Logan County, at Logan County, they played flat, Booth said, and he did not want that repeated against long-time rivals Grayson. “I’m just proud of the way we started,” he said. The Lady Cats gave up only one field goal in the first quarter. “I didn’t realize, and that’s impressive,” Booth said. “That’s the girls, that’s not me.” Grayson drew first blood, sinking only one of three free throws after just 15 seconds, but did not score again until another free throw over 7 minutes later. By then, the Lady Cats were up now 13-2 with only 1:24 left in the first quarter. The first half ended with ECHS ahead of GCHS 26-16. “We started out super strong, then we started getting fouls,” junior guard Kennadi Swihart said. While there were signs Grayson County was making adjustments towards the end of the first half, it wasn’t completely apparent until the second half when after two minutes Grayson had cut the lead to 1 point. “We let (Sydney) Perkins get hot, and we shouldn’t have done that,” she said. “We just let her shoot, and she just kept on shootin’ and shootin’ and that was our fault.” Edmonson pulled back away with a four, and then short lived, 5- point lead until Grayson scratched their way back to within 1 with 1:25 left in the third quarter. The tug of war continued between the two long rivals and the third quarter ended with ECHS ahead 36-33 with one quarter left. The Lady Cats extended their lead to 7 points, but it was again short lived when the Cougars battled back to within 1 point. The 1 point would be as close as the Lady Cougars could get though, thanks to junior Julie Norris, who had two key buckets, including a three-pointer down the stretch that snuffed out any real chance for a Grayson comeback. The Lady Cats would extend their lead to the final score of 48-39 with a final two free throws from junior guard Jenna Cook with less than 10 seconds left in the game. “I really believe we grew a lot tonight, just as a better team we pulled together and we were able to pull it out,” Booth said. We came out strong and played all four quarters really strong, I think, Swihart said. “I just love seeing our girls compete,” Booth said. We will respect our opponents, but we will not fear anybody, Booth has said in the past.
“I’m just proud of the defense,” Booth said. “All in all I think we had a good defensive effort tonight. We had a few brain farts, but it happens. I am pretty sure we shot 20 for 25 at the free throw line, and that’s the ball game right there.” Swihart led the Lady Cats in scoring with 14 points and 2 rebounds, sophomore center Cariann Williams had 13 points and 6 rebounds, and junior guard Jenna Cook added 12 points and 6 rebounds in the Lady Cats' first district win of the season. The Lady Cats (5-0) and host Adair County (1-3) at home December 12th at 8 PM on Tuesday. Story and photos by Joseph Barkoff: Home is where you hang your clipboard, and Edmonson County High School’s newest head football coach is back home. Justin Vessels, 42, from Edmonson County had been hanging his clipboard at Barren County for the past three years, but as of Thursday, November 30th, it was officially announced that he will hang it back in Edmonson. “I’m excited to be back, to coach here,” Vessels said. “I’m thankful for the administration and Mr. Alexander having faith in me to bring me back and try to lead the program.” Vessels was born and raised in Edmonson County, graduated from ECHS, and then Western Kentucky. He coached at ECHS previously from 2004-2015 and was very successful according to ECHS athletic director Kyle Pierce. “Justin coached with me for 12 years,” Pierce said. “He was my offensive coordinator here. Arguably, our most successful, ever, offensive year, he called the offense.” Vessels thinks the most difficult thing will be establishing the standard where he wants the work ethic to be, how they practice and how they want to play, he said. He hopes to build on the momentum Zach Vincent had in growing the team in numbers, as well as continuing to promote the idea of being good citizens in the community, students and athletes, he said. “He’s a good guy,” Vessels said of Zach Vincent. Vessels reflected fondly of coaching Vincent as a running back from his time at ECHS in the past. “I’m looking forward to being back home here, coaching and trying to get this program back to a level we’d all like to see it at,” Vessels said. Vessels knows what it takes to build success. His record at Barren County shows it with improvement in number of wins each year. “The X’s and O’s,” Vessels said, “I’ve done this so long, I understand what I want to do on offense and defense and all that. Probably more important than X’s and O’s is getting the players to buy in and believe in what you’re doing. If you can get that, that’s the big battle.” Barren County was 3-8 on the season on 2021, 4-7 in 2022 and 5-6 this past year, according to Kentucky High School Athletic Association stats. If Vessels can show that kind of improvement each year, good things are in the future for Edmonson County High School. Hopefully we can continue to add more players and build depth, he said. “It all starts in the off season in the weight room down there,” Vessels said. “You know we have to get bigger, faster, stronger and the more kids we can get up to a high level of strength and conditioning, the more depth we can deal with like that.” Not only does strength and conditioning help performance, he added, it helps prevent injury, too, he said. “I’m really excited to have Justin back,” Pierce said. “He is probably one of the smartest offensive minds you’re going to get around here. He is a tremendous offensive line coach, defensive line coach, but he understands offense like none other.” He likes to run the ball on offense and follow up with play action, in similar formations to the run and plans to highlight talented players wherever needed, Vessels said. Inside, off-tackle, outside, mis-directions and adaptive audibles in zone-read situations, they will be well rounded and ready for any situation. “I want to hold the players to a high standard of football but also, in the classroom and also in the community,” he said. “I don’t want them to be just good football players, I want them to be good citizens in the community as well.” Vessel’s work is definitely cut out for him, but if the tenacity of graduating seniors from this year, like quarterback and linebacker Noah Meredith and running back and linebacker Michael Mills have rubbed off on players returning for next year, both players and coaches are in good hands.
Story and photos by Joseph Barkoff: Edmonson County men’s basketball opened the season with a 59-43 win at home against visiting Allen County-Scottsville Tuesday, November 28th in Brownsville. “A lot of it was our nerves,” EC head coach Trey Tinsley said after the game about the slow start for the Wildcats. Four of his five starters had not played much varsity ball, he said. The Patriots took the lead and kept it for a little more than half of the first quarter until a layup in transition from sophomore shooting guard Tyler Wilson put the Wildcats ahead by 1 point with 3:50 to go. It was just the beginning of the tug of war in lead changes early in the evening and after a couple of them, Edmonson came back on a 6-0 run and took the lead to end the first quarter 17-16. “I knew that was going to happen early,” Tinsley said. “I told them, you are going to have to handle adversity and I though they did a good job of that.” He said he was proud of the second half, as well as the first, but after they calmed their nerves down, he said. After two more lead changes, Edmonson had the lead by four at 27-23 at the end of the first half. Edmonson County had 17 rebounds to Allen County Scottsville’s 7 at the halfway point, too. By the end of the third quarter Allen County seemed to run out of buckets and Edmonson County kept pouring them on to hold the lead at 42-28. The Patriots were 0-7 for their first field goal attempts of the second half, all of which were 3s. At the end of the fourth despite some scoring from ACS, Edmonson held onto their 16-point lead for the 59-43 win. Edmonson County junior power forward Josh Decker earned a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Senior power forward Layne Ashley had 10 points and six rebounds, Will Alexander also earned a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds and freshman point guard Braden Wright had 9 points and 5 rebounds on the evening. “I thought we played good,” Alexander said after the game. “First game jitters, of course, and we are a pretty young team. Allen County, they’re a pretty good squad. They’re pretty young too, but I felt like we came out and played well.” Going forward on the season Tinsley feels his team needs to handle the ball better like making smart passes, he said. “Overall, I was proud of our performance,” Tinsley said. Edmonson County travels to Fort Knox Friday, December 1st to play at 8PM against host Fort Knox. Lady Cats Start the Season 2-0 Photos and story by Joseph Barkoff: Edmonson County Lady Cat basketball stuck their claws in and held on for the win against visiting Allen County Scottsville 57-55 Tuesday evening, November 28th in Brownsville. “I could be wrong, but I think we led the whole game,” EC head coach Jody Booth said after the game. “And that’s a really good Allen County team.” Acknowledging his team is young without a lot of starter experience, Booth was pleased with the performance of his team, he said. “They earned tonight’s win,” Booth said. The first quarter ended with Lady Cats up 19-8 and the Patriots cut their lead almost in half by the end of the second quarter, with the Lady Cats up 29-23. “The first three quarters we played well,” Booth said. “Fourth quarter, Allen County picked up the pressure a bit, and we have to experience that.” With a young team they had not yet experienced the level of pressure they faced, he said. “We are learning as we go and this is a good learning step right here,” Booth said. “We got to stay aggressive and we got to put that foot on their throats, ‘cause they made a great comeback.” Allen County is coached well and made good adjustments, he said. It was not quite enough for the visiting Patriots though. “We had a really good start and then we got over our heads a little bit,” EC junior guard Kennadi Swihart said after the game. Her favorite thing on the evening was how hard the team pushed and never gave up, she said. Edmonson County sophomore center Cariann Williams earned a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds and a block. Freshman guard Shelby Sowders had 11 points and 5 rebounds, junior forward Julie Norris had 11 points and 4 all offensive rebounds, and Swihart shot for 10 points with 6 boards on the night. Only shooting 44 percent from the free-throw line shows the team has more room to grow, but their ability to hold on and never-give-up attitude show they will fill out their room for improvement.
Next game, ECHS takes the court at Wildcat Hall at the EC 5/6 Center on Saturday, December 2nd at 3PM against visiting Cumberland County for the school's annual "Throwback Game." Game Set For December 2nd 1973-74 Edmonson County High School Wildcats Varsity Basketball Team: Front Row (left to right): 20 - Kevin Hayes, 12 - Chester Bethel, 14 - Jeff Doyle, 33 - Ricky Davis, 00 - Lennie Slaughter, 11 - Gary Meredith, 32 - Terry Rich, 44 - Mickey Jones, Back Row (left to right): Head Coach - Dave Denton, Manager - Larry Starnes, Manager - Steve Gipson, 40 - Gary Cline, 30 - Thomas Hennion, 52 - Gary Key, 35 - Phil Rich, 53 - Edd Williams, 51 - Aaron Goad, 50 - David Lynch, 55 - Larry "Bull" Cline, Manager - James Kirby Woosley, Manager - Robert "Hoppy" Decker, Assistant Coach - Gerald Meredith Edmonson Voice Sports: Edmonson County Schools has announced another "Throwback Night" in "Wildcat Hall," the gym located at the Edmonson County 5/6 Center. The games (a girl-boy varsity double-header) will take place on Saturday, December 2, 2023. The girls will tip-off at 3 P.M against the visitors from Cumberland County with boys action to follow. In addition to the games that afternoon, a reception and ceremony will be held honoring the 1974 Boys Basketball District Champions. The '74 team was the highest rated boys team thus far at Edmonson County (ranked #10 in the state) and was able to knock off #3-ranked Owensboro when that team traveled to Wildcat Hall on January 18, 1974 (92-90). All players, support staff, and their families are invited to attend the reception (Saturday, December 2 at 3 P.M. in the 5/6 Center Cafeteria) and ceremony (halftime of the boys game vs. Cumberland County in Wildcat Hall). Anyone planning to attend the reception should RSVP the number in their party to Jamie Carnes by Monday, November 27th, (jamie.carnes@edmonson.kyschools.us or 270-597-8915). Back Row, L-R: Coach Dave Denton, Principal Johnny Pete Vincent, #55 Larry "Bull" Cline, #50 David Lynch, #30 Thomas Hennion, #32 Terry Rich, #53 Edd Williams, #35 Phil Rich, #52 Gary Key, #11 Gary Meredith, Coach Gerald Meredith, Manager James Kirby Woosley. Front Row, L-R: Manager Larry Starnes, #20 Kevin Hayes, #44 Mickey Jones, #40 Gary Cline, #51 Aaron Goad, #00 Lennie Slaughter, Manager David "Dink" Houchin, and Manager Robert "Hoppy" Decker. Not pictured: #12 Chester Bethel, #33 Ricky Davis, and #14 Jeff Doyle.
Darren Doyle, story and photo:
Zach Vincent, Head Coach of ECHS Wildcat Football, informed the Edmonson Voice today that he has stepped down from his role. In a statement to the Voice, Coach Vincent said, "I want to begin by thanking everyone for the support that they’ve given me during my short tenure as a head coach. I want to give a special thanks to Jonathan Williams and Brad Johnson for allowing me to help lead great, young men." Vincent said he has coached football for 16 years. "My journey started in the youth program and led to me coaching at the varsity level under Kyle Pierce, coach/mentor. It's hard walking away from the sport that has shaped me into the person I am today, but as time has passed, my priorities have changed. I will always support my Cats, just not from the sidelines as a coach. Again, thank you for the support and encouragement through the years, and as always - GO CATS!" Edmonson County High School Principal Jonathan Williams said he appreciated how Coach Vincent led the program over the last two seasons. "He took the program when not many wanted to play and quickly improved numbers and morale," he said. "Zach is a very good person and a family man. He and his wife, Callie have a beautiful family and I’m excited to see what’s next for them." Mr. Williams said that ECHS has begun the process of hiring the next candidate and that Athletic Director Kyle Pierce was already involved in the process. "Zach took over in a tough situation," Pierce said. "We had 24 kids on the roster with only 19 returning. This year, he had 36 kids with 28 returning for next year. With any new hire, we want the right person, we need to provide a tremendous coaching staff, and be able to develop the players to maximize their potential." Vincent spent two years as the head of ECHS football during rebuilding seasons. Edmonson County had a record of 5-17 under his tenure. He took over in 2022 from the departing Ed Smart, who coached one season at ECHS in 2021, the first winless season for the Wildcats since 1972. Edmonson Voice Sports:
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2023-24 class of the Edmonson County Athletics Hall of Fame. To submit a nomination, you must click the Google Form here and follow the instructions. The following are some of the requirements for submitting a nomination:
Story and photos by Joseph Barkoff: There were no surprises Thursday night November 2 in Mayfield. There were no surprises at the short trip into the post season for Edmonson County High School football. It was a case of a bottom seed (2-8) versus a top one in a first round of playoffs in Division 2A Kentucky High School Athletic Association football game. Mayfield (9-1) had only lost once, to a Division 4A team who happens to also be undefeated. No team in the 2A division has scored more total points than Mayfield, with 513, and only one team has held their opponent to less scoring, allowing only 121 points on the year. It takes a lot of pride and effort to face a team like that, and had nothing to complain about, Edmonson County head coach Zach Vincent said to his team after host Mayfield defeated Edmonson County 68-0. “Guys, I’m proud of ya’,” Vincent said. “I can’t say nothing else.” Despite Mayfield having less students in attendance than Edmonson County by only a few, they have a huge football team and appears even larger with their junior varsity suited up on the sideline. The varsity roster of Mayfield is easily more than twice the number from Edmonson. They aren’t small either. “It’s hard to come down here,” Vincent said. “Mayfield is a good team. They’re gonna put it to ya. There not gonna pull the breaks off. It’s just tradition here, football. To come here, you gotta be good, and you gotta be tough. You know our kids are tough.” There were the usual suspects from Edmonson County making the best efforts where senior running back Michael Mills was just unable to break free as he has done in the past. For the regular season, Mills ran for 1,510 yards on 212 carries for 14 touchdowns with an average gain of 7.12 yards per touch on the season. It came out to an average of 151yards per game, according to KHSAA stats. "We fell short against a really good team tonight," Mills said. His favorite thing from the season was “making a family,” he said. “Havin’ that brotherly bond with other people on the field,” Mills said. “Even the kids on the sideline cheering us on. My favorite moments is making a family out there.” While senior quarterback Noah Meredith was able to avoid a handful of sacks with his ability to get rid of the ball and saving loss of yards, but in return for his efforts he was punished on multiple throws. Over the regular season, Meredith threw for 505 yards with four touchdowns and an average completion rate around 50 percent. He also had 322 yards on 100 attempts with 4 touchdowns, according to KHSAA. Meredith said there wasn’t just one thing he remembered to stand out during the season, he said. “I wish I could specify it but honestly, probably it wouldn’t even be a game,” Noah Meredith said. “Just the memories you make, like going to the games or going out and eat before the home games. You remember the games, but you really remember the time you spent with the people.” He admitted his favorite pregame meal was Taco Bell. “I love Taco Bell,” Meredith said about his favorite pregame meal. “It’s really good.” Vincent thinks, in thanks to his senior class this year and their leadership, the following years look even more promising, he said.
“They don’t see it but they’ve helped this program so much this year from where it’s been,” Vincent said. “This group of guys are great. I couldn’t ask no more, no less of them.” One of Meredith’s favorite targets during the season was junior tight end Garret Lyons. Lyons finished with 10 receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown, according to the KHSAA. Some of the top tacklers over the season for the Wildcats included Meredith with 61, junior Gavin Alexander with 53, Lyons with 41, Mills with 40 and Ace Daugherty with 36 total tackles, according to the KHSAA. “It takes a man with some faith to absolutely do what you need to do,” Vincent said. “I am proud of these boys. I have nothing negative to say. Nothing bad to say about tonight. We got outplayed, it’s as simple as that.” Edmonson County High School football had two wins and eight losses in the regular season, with an overall record of 2-9 to include the post season. “Wins, losses aside, I got a good group of kids,” Vincent said. “They work hard all day.” Edmonson Voice Sports:
Brayden Johnson, a sophomore tennis member of ECHS was awarded the Central Kentucky Tennis Series (CKTS) Points Standing Race Award on Sunday at Buchanan Park in Bowling Green in two different levels, which included the 18 & under and the men's open. Brayden competed in 7 of 8 tournaments in the 2023 summer series while earning the most wins of any player in both divisions. This is Brayden’s second year earning the top honor in two age divisions. Last year he won the 16u & 18u divisions. ECHS Tennis Coach Jodi Johnson, who is also his mother said she was fortunate to be married to one of the most successful coaches in Kentucky. "Brad never took his teams to play the weaker opponents," she said. He signed up for the most difficult schedule. I preach that to Brayden—to beat the best, you have to play the best. We don’t shy away from more experienced, older players. Brayden hits with the most talented players we can find weekly. We travel outside our state to compete at the highest level. The fact that Brayden won the Men’s Open Overall Champion as a 16 year old, is a testament to Brad’s philosophy." She also wished to thank the school system and community for the support of tennis at Edmonson County High School. The Central Kentucky Tennis Series is a nonprofit organization with the purpose of promoting amateur tennis play in the Central Kentucky area. Story and photos by Joseph Barkoff: It was the final regular season football game in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Division 2a District 2 for the class of 2023 Edmonson County Wildcats, Friday, October 27th at Breckinridge County High School. It was Breckinridge County’s senior night. It was Edmonson County’s second win of the season. Not just a win, though. It was a statement. “I think this game right here proves what the year could have been,” Edmonson County head coach Zach Vincent said after the game. Indeed. In the battle of the big cats, the Wildcats tore the fur off of host Fighting Tigers for a decisive 41-0 win. “Give them some credit,” Vincent said about Breckinridge. “They didn’t have their starting quarter back.” They still had dangerous players with the ability to break open the game at any point. Breckinridge was scouted for double pass plays, and other actions off their flanker, Vincent said. He was proud of his boys for identifying those potential plays during the game and calling them out to each other on the field, which meant the coaches didn’t have to scream from the sidelines. The kids were in tune to the game. “The kids took charge tonight,” Vincent said. Having noticed the defense, or offense was keying in a certain way, the players shared their experience from the field and adjustments were made accordingly, Vincent said. “That’s a fun group to coach when they can do that,” Vincent said. It’s a fun game to watch for the spectators too, of at least the winning team. Home team Breckinridge County received the ball first and ended up punting but pinning Edmonson County inside the 5-yard line for their first offensive possession. Folks from Edmonson County double down on what they know, and the Edmonson Voice is not on the radar for scouting from other teams, or the 3-4 defense Breckinridge set up which would have been stouter to receive senior running back Michael Mills up the middle from a shotgun handoff in the endzone from senior quarterback Noah Meredith. “It was awesome,” Meredith said. “It was like one of them things that you play high school (football) for four years for. It just felt so good. I don’t know how to explain it.” It was like a chain reaction, he said. First one play was successful. Then another, and another, and then they were able to have some big plays where there really was no answer from Breckinridge. “Everything clicked,” Meredith said. Indeed, it did. Clicked into an over six-minute drive and a 55-yard touchdown run by Mills to take the end of the first quarter 7-0 Edmonson County. No more spoilers but quarter scores, except senior lineman, both offense and defense, Kasey Webb had another touch on the ball. Replays of the game can be found on EdmonsonVoice.com as well as Facebook @TheEdmonsonVoice. “It’s just fun because playing line your whole life you never get to run the ball,” Webb said. “Only people on the field who don’t get to touch the ball at all. It’s not a very glorious position. You don’t have your name in the newspaper.” He thinks it’s the first time they have shut out a team since his freshmen year, he said. “I felt really good about it,” Webb said. I felt like we played a really good defensive game.” At the end of the first half, Edmonson County defense had allowed no points from the home team and lead 27-0. “It feels good to get a win on our last regular season (game) as a senior,” Mills said. “We put the team together tonight and come out and smacked ‘em in the mouth and never let off the gas pedal.” The end of the third quarter was the final score of the game 41-0 in favor of Edmonson County. After the game sophomore lineman Hunter Kinser was grateful for his coaches and the win, he said. “It’s pretty good,” Kinser said. “I enjoyed it a lot. We run the ball good, executed good, not much more you can ask for.” Edmonson County ended the game with 302 rushing yards and 105 passing yards from Meredith and a “record breaking,” according to Mills, two touchdowns in the air. “X’s and O’s, we’re fine,” Vincent told his team before they took the field. “It’s just Jim’s and Joe’s,” They had 10 Jim and Joe first downs and even an interception by Meredith in the fourth quarter where after realizing he had room to run, with a smile he slid down after a couple steps. Score withstanding, each team helped those around them up when appropriate. Like brothers and brotherhood described last week by Vincent is still present today in the sportsmanship executed from both teams. “I love this sport,” Kinser said. Win or lose, it is fun to watch when it is done well. “This group of men, they played backyard ball,” Vincent said. “They were having fun, sharing the ball and giving me advice.” There are more games yet to come and perhaps the hardest test yet.
“They were pushing each other, coaching each other, it’s wonderful,” Vincent said. “It made my job easy to do.” The seniors get better every game, Vincent said. They will need to be their best, which is loose and confident in execution, next week at Mayfield High School in Mayfield, Thursday ,November 2 at 7PM. The smile on Vincent’s face said it all. His cheeks were flush with color from smiling and glowing with pride in his boys’ win. His win. The win. The second of the season. Now Edmonson County (2-8) is set to face an 8-1 Mayfield, the second-ranked team in the division in the post season. Some folks have expressed the thought it may be a rough night. If the Wildcats from Oct. 27 show up, who knows what could happen. Edmonson Voice Sports:
The Edmonson County Wildcat Cross Country team brought home second place honors at the regional cross country meet on Saturday, October 21st, which qualifies them to compete in state meet. The trio of Tyler Brooks (5th), Ashton Johnson (6th) and Landon Franich (7th) finished in the top 8 to earn All Region Honors. Other finishers were Zander Garrett (30th) , Owen Ruth (33rd), Jack Browning (38th), Jack Lich (60th). “Our boys executed our race plans perfectly," said Head Coach Brad Meredith. "We talked about it this week about what we could accomplish if we race the way we know we can. Based on personal best times we were picked 5th as a team going into the meet but we know the work we have put in all season and some of the courses we ran on are hard courses so our times were not as fast as some of the other teams." Meredith said the team does that for a specific purpose. "All other races are like extra workouts for us and we plan to race our best at region. Like our girls team that won region in 2021, no one but us knew what we were capable of. We kind of were overlooked , until the gun went off," he said. “I told our big 3 that they could be all Region (top 8), they trusted me and went after it." He said runner Landon Franich was ranked 19th based on times but finished 7th. "For a team score they take the top five runners to make up the score. Then your 6th and 7th runners also score points which helps if they are in front of other teams top 5 runners so it takes everyone to accomplish a good team score. A lot of times your 4-6 runners are more important than your top three. So we talked about that as well with those kids, where they needed to be for us to bring home a trophy. Owen (Ruth), for example, was ranked in the 50s I told him he could get top 30 and he finished 33rd. We just had a great day on the boys' side-- all the hard work that they have put in since July paid off today and I am very proud of them. When you have teams like Bethlehem, Owensboro Catholic , Hancock, Green County, Glasgow, the list goes on of really good teams in our region and we competed to finish Runners up as a team. That's a huge accomplishment ” For the Lady Cats, Mollie Johnson finished 17th and advanced as an individual participant at the state meet. Other finishers for girls were Kylee Williams (40th) , Layla Ellis (48th), Lilly Lindsey (57th), and Kaylee Roeder (62nd). “I am very proud of our girls, especially our Middle School girls (Lilly and Kaylee) that ran today, we had not planned on them running, they have never even run a 5k this season. Looking at the entries to the region, I thought we may have a chance to make it out, so I talked to them on Friday and they stepped up to the challenge. They ran great, it just didn’t work out on the team standing like we wanted it to, but it wasn’t for the lack of effort on their part," Meredith said. The state meet will be held at the Horse Park in Lexington on Saturday, October 28th. Edmonson Voice Sports: Edmonson County High School Lady Cat Head Basketball Coach Jody Booth said the recent one-day fall camp with open practice was successful. "ECHS Lady Cat Basketball had a great day with our annual Fall Camp and open practice," he said. "We had 60 girls sign up looking to improve on their fundamentals and basketball knowledge. Overall, it was a huge success and a big day for our future Lady Cats." "Thank you to all-time leading scorer, Caitlin Caudill, for being our guest speaker," he continued. "Thank you to our coaches, players, and parents that helped with organizing. A big thank you to our sponsors including Lake Forest Recruiting, Julie Skaggs-Reed/Mike Reed, Harpstead Contracting, DC Homes, Premier Asphalt, White’s Towing & Recovery, A Plus Family Healthcare, McReynolds Physical Therapy, and Adam’s Landscaping. And thank you Pelican’s for taking the time to come and serve our campers with a good treat." Cats Fall to Rebels 27-14 Story and photos by Joseph Barkoff: Edmonson County High School football fell short against visiting opponent Todd County Central on Senior Night, Friday, October 20th in Brownsville. With momentum of Senior Night, senior Wildcat wide receiver Alex Elkins bruised forward with the opening kickoff for a modest 7-yard gain to start ECHS on their own 30-yard line. Six plays two minutes and 48 seconds later, senior quarterback Noah Meredith would punch in the ball from one yard after being set up by a 51-yard scramble from senior running back Michael Mills. “Guys, if you’ll execute what I tell you to do, we’ll just go down and score,” ECHS head coach Zach Vincent said to his team before the game. After the extra point from new recruit senior placekicker Josh Gates, the score was 7-0 in favor of Edmonson County against Todd County Central with 9:11 left in the first quarter. Edmonson County was able to hold Todd County Central from scoring and force a punt after over five minutes being eaten off the clock in the first. When Edmonson got the ball back, at first it looked like they were still riding their momentum of scoring first, despite Todd County Central’s adjustments of stacking the box. Somewhere along the way, something changed. It was small, but not much is needed. “I thought we’d come out firing on all cylinders, driving the ball, doin’ our thing,” ECHS head coach Zach Vincent said. “Little mistakes. Little things, it gets us every time.” The Wildcats and Rebels traded punts and the first quarter ended with Wildcats still ahead 7-0 at home. Despite taking advantage of some throws, "the penalties killed us," he said. It wasn’t until 2:35 left in the half there would be another score, this time from Todd County Central on a play action with broken coverage on the streaking Rebels receiver. With just over 18 seconds left in the first half, Mills, who was playing both ways as a defensive back, made an interception on Todd County Central’s 10-yard line and ran it back to the Edmonson County 47 with 0:7.8 seconds left on clock. With two strikes toward the end zone, both ended in dropped passes and time ran out on the first half with the score tied 7-7 on Senior Night. Todd County Central opened the second with the ball and after a missed tackle, 56 yards later, they were on Edmonson County’s 8-yard line with only 12 seconds off the clock. A couple minutes later the score was 7-13 after a failed extra point kick attempt by Todd County Central. After trading a series of punts, Todd County Central marched down into Edmonson County’s redzone but would turn the ball over on downs and leave Edmonson County with 0:43.8 seconds left in the third quarter. Edmonson County was unable to advance out of their side of the field and punted giving Todd County Central excellent field position. Todd County Central took advantage of the short field and drove down to score with 7:06 left in the game, the score was now 20-7 in favor of Todd County Central. They would score again leaving only 3:30 left in the final quarter. The score, 27-7, was not what Edmonson County had hoped for. Edmonson County never gave up. On fourth-down, 10 yards to go, with 2:26 remaining in some players' last home game as seniors, in brilliant stubborn Wildcat fashion, they went for it. Meredith took the snap, pitched to Mills, handed back to junior tight end Garrett Lyons streaking back from the right to the left, lateralled back to Meredith with Mills now on a fly pattern, 25 yards further down field for a reception and finally run out of bounds at the 43-yard line. The Edmonson Voice play-by-play succinctly described it as a “pitch, catch, pitch, catch and a toss to Mills.” The next play senior right tackle, and now part-time running back, Kasey Webb took a handoff and left a wake of defenders for a 9-yard gain. It was Meredith’s favorite moment of the game, he said. “Kasey Webb, our right tackle, I don’t think he’s ever had any rushing yards in probably his whole entire football career, he’s always been on the line,” Meredith said. “He got to run the ball and he got about 8 yards. Pretty cool.” A couple more hand-offs to Mills set up a play action similar to what happened to the Wildcats earlier with the defender giving up long coverage on the fake handoff to Mills. Sophomore receiver William Saling made the grab in the 11-yard line with 1:03 still left in the game. Meredith hurled his body into the defense and brought the Wildcats down to the 2-yard line. Now third and goal on the two and no timeouts remaining. It took what seemed like an eternity where they made two attempts in the same amount of time in the first half, now wasted before spiking the ball with only 0:21.2 left in the game. From the shotgun, Meredith threw to a wide-open Mills in the flats and just into the front left corner of the end zone. After the extra point, the score was 14-27 in favor of Todd County Central and with 0:15.7 left in the game, they elected to take a knee to run out the clock after the kickoff. “The penalties that killed us pretty good,” Meredith said. “I thought the effort was there. I thought we played really hard. I think all the seniors gave it all they could. I really do. It’s just a tough game. It was just one of those games.” After it was all said and done there were 179 yards gained on the ground, 83 through the air, but it was the 6 penalties for around 55 yards and missed assignments for Edmonson County to seal their fates on the evening. “It’s a tough loss.” Vincent said. “Any time you lose on senior night when it’s your night it’s tough."
Vincent wishes people could see the young men in practice because they work so hard, he said and it breaks your heart knowing the end result is not what they want. “Overall, I mean I am proud of my guys,” Vincent said. “I don’t care what the score is. Never care what the score is. I mean that’s a lie, I want us to win, but, end of the night, I want these boys to be healthy. I want them to be competitive and happy with themselves and their performance.” “Some things are bigger than football,” he said. “As young men, I think they’ll grow up to be great men in life, and that kinda makes me proud,” Vincent said. On Breckinridge next week, Vincent feels it looks good numbers-wise on paper and tradition says it will be a good game despite what the standings ever say, he said. Next week at Breckinridge, it’s going to be a game, going to be brawl, Meredith said. “Just like they all are,” Meredith said. “Football.” As a senior, Meredith noticed how it all went by so fast, he said. He is glad he was able to play and gets to play one more time. He does not plan to play football in college but is looking forward to learning the trade of welding like his dad after attending a local trade school, he said. Next week, Friday, October 27th at 7 p.m. Edmonson County travels to Breckinridge County High School for the final regular season game. Photos by Joseph Barkoff: Edmonson County High School celebrated fall senior night at Wildcat Stadium on Friday, October 20, 2023 with football, cheer, band, and golf seniors. Madison Doyle, story and photos: Six Edmonson County Lady Cat Volleyball Seniors were honored tonight at their final home game of the season against Hart County, where they fell 0-2 to the Lady Raiders. Madison Doyle, story and photos: The Edmonson County Lady Cats faced the Hart County Lady Raiders at home for ECHS Volleyball Senior Night, where they fell 0-2. The Lady Cats started out with the lead, but the Lady Raiders quickly tied it up and from that moment forward both teams were neck and neck on the scoreboard. Hart County eventually took the set, 23-25. The second set did not fare well for the Lady Cats as they trailed throughout, and Hart County won set two 16-25 for a sweep against Edmonson County. This was the final home game for six seniors, Riley Monroe, Avary Vertrees, Madison Bullock, Abigail Oakley, Ryann Davis, and Sydney Hennion. Avary Vertrees led the Lady Cats with four kills. Junior Julie Norris added three, Riley Monroe added two, and Madison Bullock and Abigail Oakley added one each. Vertrees also added three blocks. Ryann Davis led in digs with 20, and Monroe also had four service aces. The Lady Cats finish the regular season with a record of 5-23 and are scheduled to play Grayson County at the District Tournament at Whitesville Trinity on Monday at 7 pm.
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