Grayson County 49 - Edmonson County 47

Grayson County High School, Leitchfield, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

A week or so ago I got an e-mail from Brian Alexander at Edmonson County High School pointing out that the Wildcats would take on their district and Third Region rival, Grayson County in Leitchfield on the 16th. Hey! If anybody is going to take the time to e-mail Pick and Roll, I'm probably going to make some effort to get to a suggested game. Gas prices are down this winter, so I'm willing to roll to just about anywhere.

The Grayson-Edmonson rivalry is too good to pass up. I even passed on some rivalry games here in Bowling Green to make the run up to Grayson for a basketball game. I felt like the Cougars might run away with the game because they put some smack down on Edmonson County in Brownsville on December 12th by 18 points. I knew that Bowling Green and Warren Central would play a tight game (Central beat the Purps 63-60, by the way), and I knew that Greenwood and Warren East would be a battle. To tell the truth, I'm a little tired of the 14th District in the Fourth, so I stepped out of the district and region on Friday.

This is going to be real sketchy because I didn't have a notebook or a single scrap of paper to make any notes. I do know that Edmonson County brought their best game into Leitchfield and were not going to back down from a team that seems destined to win a Third Region championship this season. They were determined to avenge the earlier loss. Aaron Duncan, who the Grayson County student section called "Mr. Clean" because of his shaved head, and Mike "60 Minutes" Wallace played their guts out along with several others on the Edmonson County squad.

They had a 14-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. I hope that's right. I know the score is right, but I might have the teams reversed.

Edmonson County managed to keep somewhat of a cap on Grayson's Travis Johnston, who is Coach Todd Johnston's nephew. Johnston missed a lot of shots in the first half, and the Wildcats did a good job of forcing the ball from him. But, Grayson County is a solid basketball team, so others stepped up. Bennett Skaggs and Tyler Saltsman are solid basketball players, and they keep teams from keying on Johnston.

Both teams played solid defense in the second quarter, and the game was tied at 22 at the half. I knew I was in for a battle.

Last season, Chris Gregory, Pick and Roll's intrepid Fifth Region correspondent, ventured into Brownsville for the Wildcat's game with Grayson County. In case readers are wondering what's happened to Chris I should say that he has fallen victim to the slacking economy. You're truly might fall prey to it, too, and that spell the end of the Pick and Roll. Chris is still on the staff and will be for all time. Anyway, he pointed out, then, that this is a heated rivalry. It's almost an understatement. It's a white hot rivalry. I could sense it the moment I walked into the gym, which was packed to the rafters.

I loved the atmosphere. I love big, loud crowds at basketball games. It makes it great.

The two teams played dead even in the third quarter, too. The game was tied at 36 at the end of the quarter.

Grayson County likes to get up and down the court, and Johnston is a deadly pull up jumpshot artist. He can stop anywhere and from any speed and hang the ball in the net or touch it off the backboard. He can also drive the ball all the way to the basket. He's an all around basketball player. I wrote of him last year that he's the type of guy that drives you crazy if you're playing against him, but is the first guy you take if you're "choosin up" to play pickup ball.

With a 1:43 left in the game the scored was tied at 47, and Grayson County had the ball. Edmonson County dropped back in a tight 3-2 zone, and the Cougars decided to wait it out. Johnston stood at midcourt holding the ball looking over the Edmonson County zone. Time whizzed off the clock. The crowd rose to their feet and as more and more seconds ticked away both sets of fans erupted into a frenzied cheer. Grayson County broke into an offensive set and just as the drama reached a crescendo, Coach Johnston called a timeout with 6.6 seconds left on the clock.

I can't remember, but I think Edmonson County called another timeout, and the 6.6 seconds loomed in red numbers with all the intensity of 6.6 Trans Am, a powerful set of numbers in a powerful atmosphere.

Grayson County inbounded the ball to Travis Johnston. He seemed to be in slow motion. He drove to just beyond the free throw line, jumped, double clutched the shot and let it fly. The ball arched over the Wildcat defense as the last of the 6.6 seconds drained away. The shot hit nothing but the bottom of the net right as the buzzer sounded the end of the game. Grayson County students rushed onto the court and embraced their players. They beat their rival.

Johnston finished the game with 22 points. The last two were the most critical. Grayson County swelled their record to 15-2 and 10-1 within the region. They are 5-0 in the district.

OBSERVATIONS

Creole Lady Marmalade: Gitchy gitchy to the Grayson County band. They're great. They whipped out the ancient Patty Labelle standard "Lady Marmalade" late in the game and did a fantastic job with it. They also played "Won't You Be My Girl." I love their band, and I love that they don't blare horrible music between quarters and at halftime. They just have band music.

Blue Moon Highway: I love the name, and I've always loved "Big Mon" Bill Monroe, who I once met at a show in Louisville. If "Blue Moon of Kentucky" doesn't make your hair stand on end and your heart swell for the Dark and Bloody Ground, then you're not a real Kentuckian. Friday night, a Sara Lee truck decided to put the back axle of his trailer in the ditch on a turn. That made me late to the game. I felt sorry for the law enforcement guys out there in nine degree weather.

Caneyville: When I was about eight years old, my father and I were on our way to Mayfield, Kentucky, from Louisville. His old Oldsmobile had a flat tire, and we stopped at the Purple Flash Grill in Caneyville to fix the flat. When we went to get back on the West Kentucky Parkway, we discovered that there was a ten cent toll to re-enter the parkway. Dad looked at me and asked, "Boy, do you have a dime?" I told him know. He punched the gas pedal of that Oldsmobile and that big engine started thumping. We went flying through that toll booth doing about 50 miles per hour and hit the parkway doing about 80. This was probably in 1973 or 1974. Dad didn't slow down until we were near Beaver Dam.

I went through Caneyville at some point today. That's why the memory popped into my head.