Casey County

LIBERTY - Taylor Leigh started finding his way towards the end of the season last year. Now the Casey County senior is hoping that good play will carry over this season. “I felt like I had a place on the team to contribute and I finally got settled into a position and figured what I needed to do and started to do it,” said Leigh, a 6-5 forward. “I just had to play with my team and find my open shots and let my game come to me.” Coach Darry Burkett said Leigh was a big reason Casey advanced to the 12th Region Tournament and expects him to continue that play.

Lincoln boys golf coach David Ledford was impressed when his team shot a 174 in a win over Casey last Thursday, but it was nothing compared to what he felt after the Patriots' 32-stroke win at Bright Leaf Golf Resort in Harrodsburg Monday. Zach Johnson shot a 1-under-par 35 to lead Lincoln in the win over host Mercer County, a win that produced the Patriots' low round to date - 155. “It was the best round of the year,” Ledford said. “Boys played great. Much better. (than Casey match)

Todd Carman found reasons to grin and reasons to grimace on opening night at Casey County. The Casey boys coach grimaced because his team came up just short against Anderson County, falling 60-57 after losing the lead in the last two minutes. But he could also manage a grin because he said he saw encouraging signs in the Rebels’ play that could point to better days ahead. Host Casey (0-1) led 55-48 lead with 1 minute, 41 seconds remaining before allowing Anderson (1-0) to rally for its sixth straight season-opening win over the Rebels.

STANFORD - Lincoln used a strong start and balanced scoring to beat visiting Casey County 73-51 Tuesday night.  It took the Patriots just a few minutes to take control of the game. Trailing 6-4 midway of the first quarter, Lincoln broke on a 20-2 run to build a 24-8 lead then took a 39-19 advantage into the half. And Casey never challenged.  “We had a real, real good day of practice yesterday, and I thought the kids came out tonight and played pretty well,” Lincoln coach Jeff Jackson said.

SOMERSET - Randy Salyers never was overly concerned with his team's record; the Casey County coach just wanted his squad to continue to get better as postseason approached. Well, the Rebels seemed to be hitting their stride as they opened the 12th Region Tournament with a 62-38 win over Burgin at Pulaski County, setting up a semifinal matchup with Boyle County. Led by 14 points apiece from Lakken Miller and Christin Terry, Casey (14-15) won its third straight game and fourth in five games.

STANFORD - Logan Martin rushed for 153 yards and four touchdowns Friday night to lead Lincoln County to its first season-opening win since 2005. For the past six seasons, Lincoln has had to settle for the runner-up trophy in its own bowl, but the Patriots finally recaptured the winners' trophy Friday by defeating Casey County 35-23 in the opening game of the PBK¿Bank Death Valley Bowl. “Our first goal (of the season) was to beat Casey and win the Death Valley Bowl, and we did that tonight,” Lincoln coach Mike Settles said.

LANCASTER - They fought and scratched, struggled and recovered and might have come close to sending their coach to the emergency room. But in the end, the Casey County boys got the job done. The Rebels didn't make it easy on themselves, but they made the most critical plays Tuesday night to defeat Garrard County 61-58. They squandered a 15-point lead before recovering in the closing minutes to snap a four-game losing streak and hand the host Golden Lions their seventh consecutive loss.

LIBERTY - The fog came from every direction at once, rising out of Green River and coming down from the surrounding hills. Sam Marple hoped the thick mist would become something of a 12th man for Casey County, but the Rebels needed more than that to keep pace with Bell County on Friday night. The Rebels were undermanned and they knew it, and that became apparent late in the first half when Bell broke open a close game with three touchdowns in rapid-fire succession en route to a 54-13 victory.