Going into their second season in a tremendously tough Class 5A District, the Logan County Cougars—or at least their realistic supporters—knew that two games were of special importance if they were to qualify for the postseason.
Defending state champion Bowling Green and powerful Warren Central are among the state’s elite football programs. The Cougars are going to have to reach new heights to challenge them on the gridiron.
That leaves three teams vying for the other two playoff berths from this district—Greenwood, Barren County and LCHS. The Cougars need to beat either the Gators or the Trojans to continue their season beyond October.
Until last week, that was looking like a rather far-fetched dream. Logan had struggled on offense in their first three games and had scored only one touchdown in the second half of those three games in losses to Butler County, South Warren and Todd Central—games that had been considered winnable before the season began.
The outlook and spirits both improved dramatically when the Cougars not only got their first win of the season last Friday, but also scored 28 second-half points on the way to a 35-12 win at Metcalfe County.
The new- look offensive prowess and self-esteem will be tested Friday when Coach Dain Gregory’s Cougars host one of those two teams, Greenwood, which is off to an impressive 4-0 start entering district play. Coach Greg Cavanah’s team has beaten Trousdale County (Tenn.), North Hardin, Hopkinsville and Franklin-Simpson by a combined score of 156-77.
Still the Cougars come in with momentum after the win over Metcalfe. They led only 7-0 at halftime on a 42-yard run by Gage Hales on the Cougars’ opening possession. Junior soccer standout Landon Stratton added the seventh point on a kick. In fact, he was five for five on point-after attempts on the evening, and he just missed a 45-yard field goal attempt right before halftime.
It was the defense that carried the Cougars in that first 24 minutes. Aaron Baldwin, who was credited with 16 tackles in the game, led the way. Hales and Ian Woodall each recovered a fumble in the half. Mason Robertson intercepted two passes, although one of them was nullified on a penalty.
The Hornets put themselves into contention early in the third quarter when sophomore quarterback Ty McMurtrey hit receiver John Smith with a 5-yard pass less than four minutes into the second half. A high snap kept Metcalfe from tying it on the PAT, but Cougar supporters had to wonder if another second-half collapse was beginning.
Quarterback Justin Rone and receiver Michael Sydnor put those fears to rest in a hurry. Anthony Oberhausen recovered a Metcalfe fumble on a punt return, and Woodall bulled his way 37 yards for a first down. Rone fumbled the next snap briefly, recovered and then threw the ball to Sydnor for a 23-yard touchdown.
The Hornets’ Kyle Bryant returned the ensuing kickoff to the Cougar 41, but the defense held. On first down, Rone and Sydnor connected on a 74-yard scoring strike, fewer than four minutes after the first one.
On Logan’s first possession of the fourth quarter, Rone picked up a big first down on a fourth and five. Then he hit Sydnor on a 23-yard TD pass to make it 28-6. Sydnor, who was reluctant to go meet a thrown ball in that season-opening loss to Butler County, caught five passes on the night, including three for touchdowns totaling 120 yards in 8 minutes and 13 seconds of playing time.
McMurtrey scored a touchdown for the home team, but Jon-Clarc Todd knocked down the conversion pass. Soon afterwards, he also made an impressive catch on offense for 19 yards.
Rone threw an interception, but he immediately intercepted the ball back for his team. After Todd’s catch, Hales scored his second rushing touchdown. He totaled 38 yards on just four carries, one more yard than Woodall had on the same number of tries. And Woodall was a single yard ahead of Rone, who rushed five times.
Rone completed 14 of 29 passes for an even 200 yard and three scores with one interception. Hales caught seven of them.
In addition to Baldwin, defenders with double-figure tackle totals were Joe McGinnis with 13, Chris Neal and Woodall with 11 each, and Jared Hall with 10. Baldwin had 9 solo tackles, McGinnis 7, Neal 6, and Woodall, Tyler Wood and Jared Hall 5 each.
Season cumulative statistics follow:
Season Leaders through 4 Games:
Rushing Yards: Gage Hales 200, Brennan Rostampour 92, Anthony Oberhausen 81, Ian Woodall 59, Justin Rone 47
Rushing Attempts: Hales 33, Woodall 24, Rostampour 22, Rone 18, Oberhausen 11
Rushing Average: Oberhausen 7.4, Jordan Campbell 7.0, Hales 6.1, Rostampour 4.2, Joe McGinnis 4.0, Rone 3.2, Woodall 2.5
Rushing Touchdowns: Hales 2, Rone 1
Passing: Rone—19 completions in 46 attempts for 265 yards and 3 touchdowns with 3 interceptions; Woodall—15 completions in 32 attempts for 221 yards and 1 touchdown with 5 interceptions
Catches: Hales 11, Michael Sydnor 9, Taylor Blakemore 8, Rone 4, Oberhausen 2, Jon-Clark Todd and Woodall 1 each
Receiving Yards: Sydnor 180, Blakemore 126, Hales 98, Rone 40, Todd 19, Woodall 18, Oberhausen 10
Receiving Touchdowns: Sydnor 3, Blakemore 1
Scoring: Hales and Sydnor 18 points each, Landon Stratton 10, Rone, Oberhausen and Blakemore 6 each
Solo Tackles: Rone 28, Aaron Baldwin 27, Tyler Wood 22, McGinnis 20, Mason Robertson and Ian Woodall 17 each, Chris Neal 16, Dylan Givens 13, Jared Hall and Luke Woodall 11 each, Sydnor 10
Assisted Tackles: Baldwin 26, Hall 24, McGinnis and ian Woodall 22 each, Givens 21, Wood 19, Robertson 17, Neal 16, Rone 14, Luke Woodall 11
Total Tackles: Baldwin 53, McGinnis and Rone 42 each, Wood 41, Ian Woodall 39, Hall 35, Givens and Robertson 34 each, Neal 32, Luke Woodall 22
Interceptions: Rone 2, Blakemore, Robertson, Givens and Hales 1 each
Fumble Recoveries: Hales, Oberhausen, Ian Woodall, Hall, and Sydnor 1 each