Wildcats Fall to Metcalfe, Vessels Reflects on the Season and 14 Seniors

Hornets Win Over EC, 35-22

ECHS Head Coach Justin Vessels talks to his team during a timeout against Metcalfe County on Oct. 30, 2025,

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
The Wildcats' season came to an end tonight as they fell to the Metcalfe County Hornets, 35-22. Edmonson County held a 16-14 lead at halftime but couldn't hang on as the Hornets dominated in the second half.

It was senior night for the Wildcats and Head Coach Justin Vessels gave his thoughts on not only the season as a whole, but also each of the 14 seniors that played their final game as a Wildcat. 

"The record's not like what we wanted, but the effort, the attitude, has been outstanding," said Vessels. "You know, we've had a lot of really close games this year, it seemed like we didn't quite get over the hump. But the players, they worked hard all year, good attitude, I mean, even their last practice, this week of practice up on the hill in the mud, it was not, you know, moping around or nothing. There was some high energy working hard, still having, you know, a good experience, I hope. And that's what I hope that all the players, even though we couldn't get the wins that we wanted, the whole thing, look back and say if they had a positive experience here playing for us."

"There were several games, you know, you could take three, four plays out of the game and you could possibly have had a different outcome. I mean, the first half here, I thought we'd played well, it was up 16-14 at the half. Out in the second half, I think we scored one more time. We just couldn't move it consistently in the second half, and then they started moving the ball, running it on us. It's like it's almost a microcosm of the season. We play well enough to keep it close, we can't quite get over the hump, and I mean, the work ethic is still there. It ain't like the boys wasn't working hard. It ain't like the coaches, wasn't working hard. Everybody still trying the best we could. We just couldn't quite pull out the wins." 

Vessels then went through the list of seniors and spoke on each one.

"Tristan Muse, Really good player, really good leader, has worked to make himself into a better quarterback. You know, last year, he could throw it, okay, but he really just managed the offense and was more of a runner than a thrower. Works extremely hard in the off season to get better. I thought his growth as a thrower this year was tremendous, and the good thing about Tristan is he'll stay after practice and work with anybody for as long as they want. From a varsity starter all the way down to the smallest freshman. He'll help anybody. That's the thing he love about him."

Blayne Deweese: "Very fast. explosive player, great hands, has a large catch rate as you throw the ball, anybody around him, he'll catch it. Has really grown from last year to this as far as his understanding the defense and the coverages, a tough player, about 155 pounds but plays much bigger."

Gabe DeArmond: "Good looking frame, 6'4", 205, played tight end and defensive end. He moved in from Warren East in the off season. He was a little sick early in the year, and then he worked his way back. Good positive player."

Colton White: "Like a jack of all trades, he can do a lot of things. He can play offense, he can play running back. Wing, slot. He can play the receiver some tonight. On defense, he's a safety. He kicks, he punts, kicks the extra point, field goal, kick off. He's a very, valuable player for his versatility."

Noah Justis: "This is first year playing football, extremely fast. He's one of the fastest guys in the school and on our team. Got to where he could have a backup role on defense and a really, really good on special teams because he could sprint down and cover so well on kickoffs, we really like him."

Will Saling: "Very similar to Blayne. One of our more explosive players, large catch radius. A guy that really worked in the weight room for a skinny guy. He's about 150, 155 pounds, but he can squat over 400. He's just really made himself into a good player. We're going to miss him. And he makes big plays-- offensive, defense, and special teams."

Jake Coates: "Another versatile player, because he's smart. He can play. He can play defensive end on defense, but he played a multiple positions on offense from slot, wing, tight end, power back. We can move him around and do different things with him. He played mainly tight ends tonight."

Adrian Soria: "This was his first year playing. He'd never played football before. He wanted to come out. Good attitude. You know, I hope he enjoyed it. He didn't get a lot of varsity playing time, but he got to play a lot of scout team in practice and we need people to want to come out and be a part of the team and because we need numbers for practice."

Kaylen Smith: "Another guy primarily a defensive player, played middle linebacker. He also plays a little tight end. He got better and better as the year went on, as far asmaking his reads, hitting his gaps. You seen that tonight on one of the last plays of the drive there. They ran a counter play. He shot the A gap, and tackled the guy in the backfield for like a two yard loss. He's one of them that I wish he had another year because he's really starting to make strides and understand it a little better."

Blake Webb: "Strong kid. Not overly big, but very strong for his size. He had a knee injury, sophomore year, the year before I got here, and he's had to fight to come back from that, get his legs stronger. And he really is another one of those guys that's really valuable on special teams. You always need those mid sized guys that are strong enough to hit, but fast enough to run, and so he play all the special teams, kick off. He's a lot like Noah Justis. He could run down and cover and tackle."

Caleb Lindsay: "His first year playing was last year, and if you could have seen the growth from last year to this year, I mean, when he first started in spring ball last year, having never played football, he couldn't even get in a stance. He's a lman body, like 6'3", 215, good looking frame, strong, He's one of those guys that's just another good, strong kid that we need. He's got where he can play a backup role on D line this year, and he'll play scout team on offensive and defensive practice. Very, you know, he liked to joke around and have a good time. He always kept the mood good. 'm glad he came out and played. I hope he had a good time."

Cameron Eldridge: "First year player this year. Very similar to to Soria. He came out, wanted to be a part of it, liked being around the program, liked being around the players, liked lifting. These are kids that me or Coach Muse have had in the high school that would be in our PE classes or our weight lifting classes. They got around us, they got around the football players. They liked what they seen, they wanted to be a part of it. He came out, another good scouting player."

Chance Seabolt: "Two year starter at left guard, big frame, big body. And got better from last year to this year. You know, you got to have some big linemen and you know, Chance has been a good one, and he's another one of them. He's always in a good mood, and you like having him around." 

Hunter Kinser: "Very, very good lineman. Offense, defense, extremely strong. Probably the leader of the offensive- defensive line. And a great work ethic, You never have to worry about Hunter, you know, whatever pace you set him at, sometimes you got to, you know, say "that's not a full speed drill, Hunter, don't hurt nobody," because he's that strong and explosive. But if he thinks it's full speed, you don't have to worry about his effort, whether it's running sprints, lifting weights, hitting people, he's a very, very good lineman.

Coach Vessels then gave his final thoughts on the season as a whole.

"I know the record's not what we wanted this year, but I think we're not that far away from being where we want to be. We've had several close games. We just couldn't quite get the win. But we're gonna take a couple of weeks off here, kind of heal, you know, let their bodies heal. We're banged up. We have a lot of injuries. And we'll have about a month there for the players that's going to play next year. We're going to lift pretty good that month before Christmas, we'll get us a loose max. When we come back after Christmas, we're going to get right back to work. We're not going to hang our heads and be satisfied. We're going to try to get better and get back to where we want to be. So we're going to let them heal up a little bit, ease up, and then about a month there, we'll get a good solid month of lifting for Christmas, get our max, and we come back in January. It's full throttle. January through May with the lifting and all season program, and all that."

The Wildcats finish the season with a record of 2-8.