9-22-10 —   The Wayne County Cardinals, 1-3 on the season and coming off a 56-27  home loss to Russell County, open district play this Friday night, at  

Jewell Field against Garrard County. The Golden Lions also own a 1-3  mark and had an open week after claiming a 27-21 home win over Estill  County.

    The contest marks the 20th meeting in the rivalry that dates back to  1975, as Garrard County own a 10-9 series edge, after last year's  

21-14 home win. Since the Lions re-entered the district in 2003, the  teams have split the last 8 games, with fire of those contest being  

decided by 10 points, or less    "Garrard County and Wayne County is always a very hard-fought  

physical football game, so I'm sure this year will be no different.  

Both teams have played good schedules, so the records to this point  

won't matter. As a team I really like their speed and they have a  

very good group of athletic skill kids," said Cards head coach Shawn  

Thompson.

    The Golden Lions opened the season with losses to Anderson County  

(18-46), East Jessamine (29-54) and West Jessamine (22-46), before a  

27-21 home win over Estill County two weeks ago. The squad averages  

24 points per game, while the defense has allowed just under 42  

points per outing.

    The offense bases out of the Double-Wing led by junior running back  

Cory Wilson leads the team with 345 rushing yards, on 46 attempts,  

while athletic junior Markell Hayes has totaled 208 yards, on a team  

high 47 attempts.

    "They have several weapons and will use a lot of misdirection to  

keep the defense out of sync," said Thompson.

    The offense will mix the pass with the run, as sophomore quarterback  

Billy Abney has passed for 531 yards with 7 touchdowns, against just  

2 interruptions.

    "Abney goes through his progressions well and does a good job of not  

forcing things, plus he's athletic enough to tuck the ball and make  

plays running the football. He doesn't make very many mental mistakes  

and has a very nice target in the McCoy kid," said Thompson.

    Tyler McCoy, a junior wideout, leads the team with 13 receptions for  

370 yards and an impressive 6 touchdowns. "McCoy is one of the better  

wideouts we'll face. He runs good routes, has great speed and makes  

plays, Garrard County does a nice job of spreading the defense out  

and allowing their skill kids to make plays, so defensively we'll  

have to be ready. We must swarm the ball, stay on our assignments and  

be very focused as a unit," said Thompson.

    The Garrard County defense is lead by a trio of juniors and a  

talented sophomore at linebacker in Garrett Caudill. Caudill leads  

the squad with 33 total tackles, while fellow linebacker Brett Dowell  

helps the cause with 32 stops. Tyler McCoy and Markell Hayes lead the  

defensive backs with 31 and 24 stops, as the unit will make plays.

    "Caudill is a good-looking kid at middle linebacker and I like the  

way he plays with a hard-nosed attitude. A big key for our offense  

will be taking care of the football, we can't have five turnovers  

again," said Thompson.

    The Cards totaled 72 plays for 381 yards last week against Russell  

County, with 298 of that on the ground, but the unit had 5 turnovers,  

which turned into 28 Russell County points.

    "The battle on the line of scrimmage is also a huge key, but we have  

to take care of the football. Also we have to find a way to finish  

off our drives and not leave any points on the field," said Thompson.

    The contest marks the third of five straight games at Jewell Field  

and serves as the district opener.

    "We've played our first four games to prepare for our district play,  

so now every game matters. All the games are important, but to be  

successful in our district we have to make the most of our home  

games. Our crowds have been great and very loud supporting the team,  

so hopefully we can have another great atmosphere for high school  

football," said Thompson.

    Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Jewell Field.