In a conversation with one of my friends this year, I mentioned “the sports Logan County is really good at.” He interrupted, “What! Are you saying Logan County is good at a sport?”
His response, which I told him was ‘ignorant’ or something to that effect, is understandable. Because the Cougars have recorded such little success in the most visible sports—football and basketball, the casual observer tends to ignore the many accomplishments of several other teams, highlighted by regional championships in three sports.
Despite the football Cougars going 0-10 this fall with all of the losses but one involving a running clock and the boys basketball team joining them with an 0-for-December, the year 2013 had a myriad of bright moments in Cougarville.
Couple this with Russellville’s having the second best team in the state in Class A football and winning the district boys basketball championship, the Bowling Green Hornets not only choosing RHS as their home base but finishing second in their league, and various accomplishments, and this turned out to be a good year for sports in the Land of Logan.
Coach John Myers’ RHS football team was, in his opinion as well as mine, his best in the decade he has been at the Panther helm. The Panthers won their first eight games and made it to the regional finals. They were ranked second in the state and most of the year led Class A in average margin of victory. They had a sensational honorable mention running back in senior Demarcus Hampton, a short distance touchdown machine in Desmon Quarles a la Eddie George, and a state-of-the-art option quarterback in Barrett Croslin, who ran the position (literally) much like Larry Johnson, who parlayed that skill into a state championship for RHS in 1990. All three of them were also super defenders, as were eight or more other guys.
The only thing that kept this team from joining six predecessors as state finalistsfrom RHS was a team from Graves County. Mayfield is to Class A football what Alabama has been to BCS college football, even more so. With brothers Luke and Jake Guhy at the controls, Mayfield returned to the Class A state finals for the fifth straight year, winning it all for the third season among those five.
Yet Russellville led the Cardinals at Mayfield 14-0 in their regular season meeting and was marching for a third score before an interception and an ensuing fumble turned the tide. Coach Joe Morris’ Cardinals won that game 42-21. In their other seven Class A games, Mayfield outscored opponents 312-21, and those three opponents’ touchdowns came in blowouts.
The Panthers lost the regional championship game 17-0, but they were without almost half of their offense following injuries to running backs Coco Darden and Hampton. Mayfield won the championship state game 42-0 in contrast.
Croslin was not only chosen to play in a state all-star game in Louisville, but he also played well on defense. Myers was a member of the state coaching staff.
Other bright spots for the Panthers:
*Coach Phil Todd’s boys basketball team won with ease over host Franklin-Simpson in the district championship game, beat Allen County-Scottsville in their regional opener, and lost by only three points to Coach Willie Feldhaus’ good Russell County team in the semifinals.
*The current edition of Todd’s team is showing improvement and beat a couple of good teams to finish third in the First Southern National Bank Christmas Classic last week.
*Coach Dedra Adler’s Lady Panthers basketball team had some excellent showings, including a pair of wins over an infinitely deeper Logan County team. They also won their opening round game in the Class A Classic, and star point guard Amber Sydnor signed to play for Campbellsville University. Current senior Khalia Hampton, who now plays for Coach Justin McClellan, is one of the most talented upperclassmen in the region.
*Soccer was revived and a pair of RHS devoted alumni, Alex Watkins and Jonathan White, were hired to coach during the rebuilding process.
*Although the won-lost record wasn’t overly impressive, the baseball Panthers made progress under new coach Greg Shelton, a Hall of Famer who is a retired state championship coach at Franklin-Simpson. The growth of parental support and the program’s first Florida spring break trip predict improvements.
*Former RHS volleyball and basketball standout Kesi Neblett, who gave up her final two years of high school sports to attend the Carol Gatton Academy at WKU, became a volleyball starter for Columbia University in New York City. She played in the Ivy League Tournament.
*A milestone: Matt Tipton retired after 40 seasons as the girls track coach, many of them producing state champion individuals and relay teams. He was the original girls basketball coach at RHS, serving in that capacity for well over a decade. He also was an assistant football coach and served as Game Manager as an assistant to athletic directors. His wife Connie also retired as a teacher in the city system.
LOGAN COUNTY RULES REGIONS
At LCHS, this was a record-setting year with three regional championship teams and one regional runner-up. A look at those follows:
*The archery team quietly won the region. Leading the way were the region’s top boys scorer, Austin Smotherman, runner-up Ryan Hudson, fourth place Kaleb Taylor and fifth place Cody Goodman. Among the girls, Christian Lynch was regional runner-up with Jenny Colbert finishing third, followed by fourth-place Marah Harris.
Coach Jeanie Moore, and Assistant Head Coach Chris Cassity both are employed by the school system. Three other coaches have been in the program for some years. They are Melissa Brumfield , Doug Bagby, and James Taylor.
*Coach Ethan Meguiar’s baseball Cougars had a sensational year. In a season that Meguiar was honored for winning his 300th game, he cemented his Hall of Fame credentials by leading the Cougars to a regional championship and a place in the state tournament. Sophomore Caleb Bruner came within a strike of pitching the Cougars to an upset of Louisville St. Xavier before a hit batsman, a hit and an error led to a 2-1 loss. The Cougars finished with a 26-7 record, giving Meguiar a 314-215 career record.
Catcher Dustin Cartas, a six-year starter, was named a Louisville Slugger All-American and now is a member of the Murray State Racers team. Bruner committed in the fall of his junior year to play for Morehead State University. Bruner and fellow sophomore Matt Harper, along with Russellville’s Jacob Procter, were chosen to play in the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association Sophomore Showcase in Louisville.
*Coach Greg Howard’s boys track team finished second in the region, placing behind only defending state champion Paducah Tilghman. At state, the 4x400 meter relay team of Sye Head, Colton Spencer, Dylan Cole and Michael Sydnor turned in a blistering time of 3:30.97 to finish fourth. The 4x800 team of Spencer, Noah Thomas, Head and Levi Crossley placed fifth with a time of 8:24.33.
Sydnor also set a personal best in the triple jump with a 7th place finish and Hayley Mayher continued her winning ways with an 8th place finish in the discus. Thomas completed in four events at state and Justin Rone in three.
*For the second time, the Lady Cougar volleyball team won the region and won a match at state. They ran their district winning streak to 79 matches and 11 district championships and reached the regional finals for the ninth time in those 11 seasons.
Coach Steven Lyne was named regional coach of the year and senior Rachyl Miller was chosen regional player of the year for the season and for the regional tournament. Fellow seniors Maddie Abbott, Victoria Cates, Katelyn Jones, Savannah Shelton & Brianna Wooden helped the Lady Cougars finish 34-8. Sophomore Chanler Steenbergen was honored at every step along the way, and junior Kapreshia Powell played a variety of roles as a starter.
*Although they changed coaches, the Lady Cougar soccer team repeated as girls district champions. Coach Dan Duncan’s team finished 10-6 overall, 5-4 in the region and 5-0 in the district. Senior soccer players were Anna Holman, Laura Hunt, Courtney McReynolds, Samantha Rittenberry and Monica Rust. Coach Daniel McCarley, who founded the program, had resigned because of lack of time.
*Although most of the regulars were gone from Coach Howard’s 2012 regional championship cross country team, Levi Crossley and Kelly Eicher qualified for the state cross country meet. Track/cross country star Sye Head was a member of the WKU cross country team.
*Freshman Sarah Fite qualified for the state golf tournament through her play in the region. Meguiar also coaches both golf teams.
*Swim team members Devon Cross and Tyler Vaughn of Coach Chris Donahue’s Cougar swim team signed to compete collegiately for Campbellsville University.
*Coach Eric Evans’ boys soccer team compiled an 8-7 record. Senior Landon Stratton—also a starter in basketball and the kicker for the football team—was one of the finalists for regional player of the year. Other seniors were Kevin Costello, Zach Elamon, Will Hughes, Logan Johnson, Dustin Lee, Cody McClellan and Jacob Moberly.
*After a slow start, the Lady Cougar basketball team placed third in the First Southern National Bank Christmas Classic under new coach Finley Woodard, who was key member of the LCHS regional finalist team in the school’s first year.
*Torin Graham, the point guard who is missed so much by this year’s winless-to-date basketball team, became a member of the Campbellsville University team this year.
*Logan County and Magoffin County shared the National High School Spirit of Sport Award for the relationship they developed after LCHS students and fans went to the state girls basketball team to support the Lady Hornets in the days after a tornado devastated the home town of MCHS, Saylersville.
Former Lady Cougar basketball coach Scot MacAllister had the idea. Athletic Director Hugh McReynolds represented the school when the award was presented nationally.
*The Logan County Board of Education approved the formation of a Bash Fishing team to compete in KHSAA events. Community leaders John Ferris and Shane Hayes played a big role in making this happen. Sgt. Major Joe Brockman is the coach.
HORNETS HOME AT RHS
When a semi-pro basketball team was formed to play as the Bowling Green Hornets, owner Waseem Moorad of Virginia chose Russellville’s Jim Young Gymnasium for its home court. Former Russellville High standouts Otis Key and Nathan Thompson were the coaches, and former Panthers Tony Key and Squeaky Hampton played on the team, which finished as Central Basketball League runner-up. The Hornets will return to Russellville this season with Thompson, who is also the RHS athletic director, as head coach.
MORE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Former Logan County golfer Will McKenzie had an outstanding sophomore season at Brescia University and qualified for the state golf tournament.
David Britt, the most highly honored player on Russellville’s state runner-up football team, was promoted to captain in the U.S. Navy. He played football four years for the Naval Academy.
Former LCHS golfer Jordan Johnson was named valedictorian of Campbellsville University.
Former Olmstead High School star athletes Brenda Chapman Strickler and Lillie Mason were named to the All-Diddle Arena team during the celebration of WKU’s iconic arena.
Kenny Perry of Franklin, a two-time champion of the Russellville Country Club Invitational Tournament, was the top golfer on the PGA Champions Tour.
Steve Eans, who started football in the Logan County schools, retired after 30 years as the last remaining original member of the LCHS faculty.
Travis Anderson, a long-time coach in the Logan County system and a Lewisburg teacher, became an assistant principal in his native Calloway County.
Lee Dockins, who has excelled at traditional gymnastics in International Special Olympics competition, earned five gold medals at state in rhythmic gymnastics.
Don Firchow, who adopted Russellville sports when he and wife Marion moved here with Logan Aluminum, was presented the Heart of the Panther Award.
Granville Taylor and his coach, the late Harold Hunter, were inducted into the Russellville Alumni Athletics Hall of Fame.
Former Lady Cougars Jaylin Jones, Miranda Rone and Markita Pheal are members of the Mid-Continent basketball team, and former Lady Panthers Nakia Daniel is expected to join them this semester.
Former Russellville swimmers Jonathan Hindman and Corey Hall are in their fourth and final seasons as key members of the Lindsey Wilson College swim team.
Logan County Middle School Coach Todd Adler took time out in the season to fly to Washington to donate bone marrow to a woman he had never met. Now that’s a football hero.!