Edmonson County 43 - Grayson County 41

Edmonson County High School, Brownsville, Kentucky 01-18-08

By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent reporting from Kentucky's "One Flashing Light Town."

I looked up the word "rival" in my Webster Dictionary, and it says, "someone who competes against you." But, if you asked Grayson County Edmonson County fans, they'd give you many other definitions, most of which I can't write about. In other words, these two teams hate each other. Friday was the second of two meeting between them. Edmonson won the first in Leitchfield, so Grayson was looking to take a victory from them at their place.

This rivalry goes back decades. Edmonson always played the Purple Flash of Caneyville, the Redhawks of Clarkson, and even the Bulldogs of Leitchfield, but when Grayson County schools consolidated in 1974-75, it heated up a bitter rivalry. They have played this match up -- boys and girls -- ever since, and every year it's a dog fight. Maybe I should say "cat fight" (Wildcats and Cougars).

I know every team has a rival on their schedule, but this one has a lot of strong ties to go along with it. For example, Bill Lee, who coached at Grayson has to son-in-laws from Edmonson, and Grayson County's first coach left after one year to go to Edmonson. The next year he led the Wildcats to the State Championship. He's kind of Grayson County's Rick Pitino, except Pitino hasn't won the championship at Louisville.

I could go on and on; there's a lot that ties these two together.

As I pulled up the hill towards Edmonson County High School, all I could see was vehicle after vehicle. For a minute I thought I was late for the game. It was, by far, the biggest crowd I've seen this year at a high school game. Of course, both student sections were filled to capacity. Wildcat Alley, the Edmonson County student section, was wild because they knew what was riding on this game.

What was riding on this game you ask? Only the number one seed in the 12th District Tournament.

The atmosphere was unreal. Heck, I even had goose bumps, and I was the only one in the building that didn't have a cat in the fight.

The atmosphere carried over to the players as the game got started, and both teams came out pumped up and a little wild. They were in each other's grill from the opening tap. I was there to see Travis Johnston, the super sophomore from Grayson County. Pick and Roll had a chance to see him earlier in the season and was quite impressed. Not to be outdone, Edmonson has a sophomore who they are proud of as well. Cody rich is about to make a name for himself, and folks around the Third Region better give this kid their respect. His dad, Phil, starred on the 1976 championship team, so the kid has genetics on his side.

As I stated above, both teams had a wild first quarter. Being that pumped up cause them to make some turnovers and silly fouls. After it was said and done, Edmonson had a one point lead, 10-9, after one.

To start the second, both teams amped up their intensity but played under control. They seemed ready to settle in for a battle. That changed in an instant. When Grayson's Bennett Skaggs dove after a loose ball he got tied up with a Wildcat player. Skaggs kicked the player fight in front of the referee, who promptly assessed a technical foul. The place went nuts, and the Wildcats made the technical shots to take a small lead.

Grayson was not going to let that stop them. After being held scoreless in the first quarter, Travis Johnston was ready to take over, or so I thought. He couldn't find his mark. He did run off a couple of baskets along with Cougar teammate Wes Smith. With the score tied at 21 with three minutes left in the half, the Cougars turned up their defense with a man-to-man, full court press. It was the first time they used it all night. Edmonson made several turnovers, and Grayson was quick to capitalize. They built a five point lead, which was the biggest either team had in the game.

It looked like Grayson had the momentum going in their favor until Wes Smith made the "Charlie Brown Blockhead" play-of-the-game. He fouled Drew Cassady on a three point shot, and he made two of the three to cut the lead to three at the half.

When the second half started, a fan pointed out the crowd had lost its intensity, and the players looked as if they were settled, as well. The teams traded buckets in the third. With the score 32-20 and 3.4 seconds left in the third, Edmonson County's Josh Webb ran the length of the floor and hit a shot in the lane right before the buzzer. Once again, the place went nuts. The intensity had returned.

In the fourth, both teams had to earn every bucket. With Johnston off his mark, who was going to step up for Grayson? Bennett Skaggs and Wes Smith helped with the load, but on the other end Cody Rich started knocking down some big shots. He got into foul trouble because he was helping out in the lane. With 3:00 minutes to go it was tied at 41. I thought we were headed for an overtime.

Edmonson had the ball, and they were going to hold it for a while. They had great ball movement, and Grayson was a step behind. The Cougars hoped for a turnover and were turning up the "D" once again. Still tied at 41 with 1:05 to go the Wildcats still had the ball. They ran it down to 18.2 seconds then called a timeout.

I thought Rich would get the ball, but you never know in these situations. After the timeout, they ran a set play. Rich had the ball and saw an opening and drove into the lane. He hit the "Bertie's Ice Cream Shot-of-the-Game.

Grayson called a quick timeout, and they met with the refs to determine how much time was on the clock when the Cougars called it. I have to credit the officials because they called a great game, considering the intensity of this match up. It was a veteran crew. With 6.2 seconds left, Grayson had a lot of time. That amount of time didn't go over good with the Edmonson faithful. They moved the ball down the court and got a great look. Jordan Mudd -- Grayson's only senior (I think) -- took the last shot from the corner. It didn't fall.

Edmonson County won and gets the number one seed in the district. Players and fans celebrated. The Cougars turned and went to the locker room without shaking hands with Edmonson, something the Wildcats will remember in the district tourney.

OBSERVATIONS

He's No Cartoon: Edmonson County's coach, Darryl Travis, is as animated as any coach I've seen in high school basketball. It is fun to watch him. He runs up and down the sideline, and I thought for a second he was going to get out on the floor himself. He really worked for this win, and I noticed that after the game, most fans congratulated their coach. Good luck Coach Travis because you will probably meet this Grayson County team again in the district finals.

Super Sophomores: I knew how good Travis Johnston was going into Friday's game, but he couldn't find his mark against the Wildcats. Josh Webb for Edmonson County did a fine defensive job against him. Johnston still managed 13 points, which is well off his season average. The battle of the sophomores goes to Cody Rich. He is about 6'3" and a great rebounder. He finished with a game high of 18 points and hit the game winner. Third Region coaches will be sick and tired of these two before they graduate.

Faces in the Crowd: Red McGee from Grayson County was there. He was a long time coach, teacher, and administrator. I learned a lot from him on Friday night. He told me some history about this rivalry. He is now in his seventies, and he said he still goes to every home game in Leitchfield but only makes a few away games. He said he would not miss this game for nothing. I enjoyed the fellowship with Mr. McGee. He is a true fan and gives credit where credit is due. "We just got outplayed tonight," he said as he was leaving.

Grayson County Big Wig: A fan told me that a few years ago, Mr. McGee got all dressed up in orange and white -- face paint and all -- with a big orange wig, the whole nine yards, just to show support for his beloved Cougars. All that and in his seventies.

Editor's Note: When I was a little boy, my father and I were on our way to Mayfield to visit his family when we had a flat tire out on the West Kentucky Parkway. Dad limped his big Oldsmobile down the shoulder of the parkway and took the exit at Caneyville. We pulled off in the parking lot of "The Purple Flash Grill." A crowd of folks in the grill watched us change the tire. No one helped. When we left we discovered an un-manned toll booth that required a dime to get back on the parkway. Dad gunned that Oldsmobile and flew right through the toll. Bells rang, and we were probably doing 90 by the time we hit the parkway. Dad said, "I ain't payin Caneyville a gotdanged cent!"