Monticello — The Wayne County Cardinals met Casey County last Friday night at Rebel

Field, in an important district game for both squads. The Cards entered with

a 0-5 mark overall and lost their district opener the previous week 21-14,

at Garrard County. The Rebels owned a 2-4 record and were coming off a 60-9

home loss to Somerset. The match-up marked the 28th meeting between the

schools, as the Cards owned a 21-6 all-time series advantage, including a

49-21 decision at Jewell Field in 2008.

Wayne County battled through sloppy field conditions and a slow

offensive start to build a 22-0 halftime lead, en route to a 42-22 road win.

The Cards totaled 361 yards of offense on 64 plays and totaled 11 first

downs with 0 turnovers, while claiming their first win of the season.

"It's great to finally get a win. I'm just happy for the kids that we

kept working and a win makes everything better. I thought for three quarters

we played really, really well on both sides of the ball in maybe the worst

field conditions we've played in. When we take care of the football, good

things can happen, so hopefully we'll build on that," said Cards head coach

Shawn Thompson.

The senior duo of D.J. Hall and Eric Rhule paced the offense in the win,

as Hall totaled 4 touchdowns with 223 yards of offense, while Rhule grabbed

a career best 6 receptions and finished with 103 total yards.

Hall scored on runs of 63, 18 and 8 yards, plus added a 26 yard scoring

reception, as the stalwart rushed a season high 28 times for 194 yards.

Rhule rushed 5 times for 70 yards and scored on a 53 yard run, while leading

all receivers with 33 yards.

"Both of those guys had big nights and I think a lot of our success on

offense starts with improved blocking up-front. We have to build on that and

continue to get off the ball on a consistent basis," said Thompson.

The Cardinal defense also had a big night and held Casey County to just

1 first down in the opening half and a meager 28 yards on 25 plays, in the

half.

"We continue to improve on defense and I think the biggest things we're

doing is playing more aggressive and forcing some turnovers. We want to

swarm the ball as a unit and I thought our guys tackled better," said

Thompson.

Casey County totaled 175 yards of offense, with 131 of those coming in

the final quarter against the reserves. The Rebels were led by 5-9 155 lbs.

freshman halfback Alex Bolin. Bolin rushed 13 times for 91 yards, with a 44

yard scoring run and added an 18 yard reception.

"Casey County never quit and they have some very good young players. We

were up 42-6 and lost some of our intensity, but it's good to get to play

some of our younger guys," said Thompson.

The Cards opened the game with the football on the Casey County 48 yard

line, due to a short kickoff, but couldn't move the chains and were forced

to punt. Wayne County's offense had two more drives end deep in Rebels'

territory, but failed to put any points on the board.

The Rebels couldn't fair any better, as the hosts failed to gain a first

down in the opening period.

Wayne County scored on their final offensive play of the quarter, as

D.J. Hall opened their fourth offensive series with a 63 yard touchdown run.

The conversion pass failed, leaving the Cards with a 6-0 lead, with :01 left

in the frame.

"That was a big play by D.J. to finally put some points on the board,

after having the ball deep on their side of the field most of the quarter.

That score really picked up our intensity and gave us some momentum," said

Thompson.

Casey County responded with their only first down of the half, but

turned the ball over on downs, on the Rebs' 47 yard line.

Wayne County used 6 plays to march 47 yards and score on a D.J. Hall 18

yard touchdown run. Hall totaled 42 yards on the drive and added the

conversion run, to push the score to 14-0, with 6:39 left in the second

period.

Special teams set up the next score as Jon Coffey blocked a Casey County

punt attempt and the Cards recovered it on the hosts' 26 yard line.

Wayne County scored four plays later, as Zack Stephenson connected with

Hall on a screen pass for 26 yards and a touchdown. Stephenson completed the

conversion pass to Ryan Hopper, to move the score to 22-0, with 1:17 left in

the half.

The teams attempted to pass the football the rest of the half, which

resulted in 8 straight incompletions and the Cards owning a 22-0 halftime

advantage.

Wayne County scored on their opening series of the second half, as D.J.

Hall capped-off a 6-play, 40 yard march with an 8 yard touchdown run. The

conversion pass failed, leaving the score 28-0 with 5:49 left in the

quarter.

After another Cardinal defensive stop, the offensive unit used just 2

plays to add to the lead. Eric Rhule raced in from 53 yards out and Zack

Stephenson added the conversion run, to push the score to 36-0, with 3:28

left in the third period.

The Rebels responded with a big play of their own, as Casey Cochron

returned the kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown.

The conversion run failed, leaving the score 36-6, with 3:15 left in the

period.

The Cards added their final score of the night on the next possession,

on a Zack Stephenson 14 yard keeper. The score ended an 8 play, 50 yard

drive.

The conversion run failed, leaving the Cards with a 42-6 lead with 11:49

left in the ball game.

Casey County battled back just 10 seconds later and scored on an Alex

Bolin 44 yard touchdown run.

Will Hatter completed the conversion pass to Cody Roy, to close the gap

to 42-14 with 11:39 left in the fourth period.

Wayne County reserves dominated the playing time the final half of the

quarter, as many members of the junior varsity got valuable snaps, on both

sides of the ball.

The Rebels added another touchdown with only :13 left as Corey Roy

scored on a 1 yard touchdown run. Roy added the conversion run, to leave the

final score 42-22.

"We lost our focus early in the fourth quarter, but we also got some

guys in to get some valuable experience. Anytime we can play a lot of people

in a big win, it's a good situation. We have some very talented young guys,

plus some first year varsity players, that just need experience," said

Thompson.

The win was the Cards' seventh straight against Casey County and snapped

a 7 game losing streak, that dates back to the final regular season game of

2008.

"It certainly has been a while and hopefully that's something that we

don't have to experience again anytime soon. The kids needed that and a win

just makes everybody feel a whole lot better. I expect our practices this

week will have some more energy in them, I know as a coach it energizes the

staff. Hopefully we can build on the positives and have a good effort at

Jackson County," said Thompson.

The Generals are in their fourth season of varsity football and working

with a new head coach for the third straight year as Arthur Carter is the

new man at the helm.

Jackson County is 0-6 overall and 0-2 in district play, coming off a

56-24 loss to Garrard County.

The squad is playing home games for the first time this season, after

living on the road the previous three seasons.



"Jackson County on film appears to be very big and strong. I know the

last two years we've played they are very, very physical, so we'll have to

be ready to go," said Thompson.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night at General Field.