Wildcats Upset Undefeated Adair County In Huge District Win

Darren Doyle, story and photos
In spite of losing two starters to injury last night and having five more out already, the Wildcats overcame their disadvantages as they defeated a highly favored and undefeated Adair County team 27-19 at Wildcat Stadium.

Led again by senior running back Daniel Caudill, who rushed for 300 yards on 31 carries, the Wildcats ran the ball well all night. Coach Nathan Smith said he told his players that he'd have to have eleven grown men on the field for this game, and that's what he got. 

Caudill discussed the game plan going into the tough district match up.

"We said we we were going to play 'big boy football' and smack 'em right in the mouth, and that's what we did," said Caudill. "I have to give huge shouts to the offensive line. They came out and played hard. We had a couple of bad weeks, but they came back and they came back strong, and that's what it's all about. We've got a huge upset here, and that's what we need right now."

Senior Daniel Caudill rushes for another Wildcat first down against District 2 foe Adair County.

The Wildcats struck first with a one yard Caudill touchdown at 8:18 left in the first, thanks to an interception by Tucker Cole. The extra point by Brett Brannon made it 7-0. The lead didn't last long as only seconds later Adair answered with a 60 yard run of their own for a touchdown and extra point for the 7-7 tie.

Wildcats fans jumped to their feet halfway through the second quarter as sophomore running back Kenny Logsdon made a highlight film-play, mowing down an Adair County linebacker that attempted to take Logsdon out. After flattening the linebacker, Logsdon actually stepped on top of him on his way to a first down. 

Caudill scored again with 4:45 left in the half as the extra point gave the Wildcats a 14-7 lead at halftime.

QB Tucker Cole hands the ball off to Daniel Caudill against Adair County.

It was Caudill again in the third with about 4:20 left on a 45 yard touchdown run. The extra point attempt was wide right, but Edmonson County's lead was extended to 20-7.

Adair wasn't going away any time soon and they scored on 10 yard pass to make things 20-13 with just 6 minutes left in the game, but the Wildcats were able to stop the two point conversion.

The Caudill Show continued as Daniel scored again on a 14 yard rushing touchdown. Brannon's extra point extended the lead to 27-13 with just over 2 minutes to go, however, Adair was still not ready to go home.

The Indians scored again on a 34 yard pass to cut the Wildcat lead to 27-19. Brett Brannon made a huge defensive play by picking off the Adair County pass in the two-point conversion attempt, making a comeback nearly impossible for the Indians.

Caudill leaps over the Adair County line with a first down that sealed the victory for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats sealed the deal with 55 seconds left in the game on 4th down and one as Caudill leaped over the entire Adair County offensive line for the first down. The Wildcats were able to snap the ball, take the knee, and run out the remaining clock and upset the Indians 27-19.

Head Coach Nathan Smith celebrates the win with the Wildcats on the field.

"Our offensive line played huge tonight, by far their best," said Coach Smith. "I was a little worried when we lost Brayden Carey and Sawyer Spainhoward early. You're talking about losing two, 2-way starters early in the first quarter, so for the guys that came in, stepped up, and played both ways and played 'big man' football, that was big."

Carey appeared to have separated his shoulder early on. He is scheduled to undergo x-rays today and his condition will be determined afterwards. Family members are hopeful that the injury isn't too serious.

Spainhoward suffered a broken thumb at the base of the thumb and was taken to the emergency room. According to Spainhoward's family, he is in a soft cast and is scheduled to see an orthopedic doctor on Monday. Edmonson County staff members feel confident about the orthopedic staff being able to make it safe for him to play. They said they expect encouraging news on Monday.

Caudill said that the team had a choice to either let the early injuries affect the team in a positive or a negative way.

"When people get hurt, you gotta try to win that game for them. That's what it's all about, we're a team and if one man goes down, then it's next man up and that's exactly what we did."

Smith was all smiles after the game.  "I told the guys earlier that it would've been easy for some of them to jump ship, but I've been preaching everyday that we'll keep fighting and get this thing figured out. Tonight we stepped up and we showed something really good."

The Wildcats are now 3-4 on the season and are 1-1 in District 2 play. They have three remaining regular season games, two of them district contests that are expected to be good match ups.

The Wildcats will take on Hart County in Munfordville next Friday at 7pm. Listen to the game live on EdmonsonVoice.com with the pregame show starting at 6:45pm with Scott and Bryan on WildcatsLive.