Garrard County

LANCASTER - Garrard County coach Mark Scenters was the first to admit it wasn't the prettiest win he has ever had, but he wasn't about to give it back. Tied at 0-0 late in the first half, the Golden Lions gave up an 88-yard touchdown run to trail at the intermission before they rallied with a strong second half to hold off Clay County 15-14 Friday night in the season-opening Farmers National Bank Hall of Fame Bowl at Dyehouse Stadium. Both teams struggled offensively throughout the first half.

LANCASTER - Mercer County might be starting to get its swagger back. Two straight trips to the state tournaments would be enough to give any team some confidence, and one Mercer player said that confidence has helped the Titans' offense get untracked as they approach a critical part of their schedule. Eight of the nine Mercer starters contributed to a 13-hit attack Friday in an 11-3 victory over Garrard County that gave the Titans their seventh win in eight games. The Titans are averaging 6.13 runs per game during their two-week run, which followed a 5-4 stretch that knocked them out of the top 25, and this was its highest run total in those eight games.

LANCASTER - Lincoln County guard Jacob Conway, center Luke Hill and guard Timmy Taylor quite simply put on a clinic Thursday night at Garrard County High School. Conway, Hill and Taylor combined for 60 points, 20 rebounds and 17 assists to lead the Patriots past the host Golden Lions 63-52 in a 45th District contest. Conway and Hill personally outscored Garrard 53-52, with Conway burning the nets for a game-high 30 points on 12-for-18 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 from the foul line.

Editor's Note: This is one in a series of previews of area high school girls basketball teams. LANCASTER - Scott Bolin said he may have his best team ever this season with the Garrard County girls. Bolin also knows his team may not even make it out of the district. “I told people that this is probably one of the best teams I've ever had, boys or girls,”¿Bolin said. “Unfortunately, people in our district, they can probably say the same thing. So we're going to be loaded as far as our district goes.” The Golden Lions (18-12 last year)

Garrett Caudill ran for two touchdowns and Billy Abney threw for two scores and ran for another Friday night as Garrard¿County rolled over Western Hills 48-0 in Frankfort. The win moves Garrard to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in¿Class AAA, District 5. Abney was 7 of 11 passing for 139 yards and had a 20-yard touchdown run. Caudill ran for 52 yards and two scores and caught one pass. Caudill scored on a 15-yard run and ran the conversion in for an 8-0 lead after a quarter. In the second quarter Abney had a 42-yard touchdown pass to Lane Cumby and a 24-yarder to Jacob Smith as the Golden Lions led 24-0 at the half.

LANCASTER - About 8 percent of Garrard County residents currently are unemployed, a dramatic drop from the nearly 13 percent unemployment rate reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in February 2010. Such statistics represent people using Garrard addresses to receive unemployment benefits and are not an exact science, said Garrard Judge-Executive John Wilson. The county collects a 1 percent occupational tax from each person working in Garrard. Despite the economic downturn that started nationally in 2008, occupational tax revenues have continued to rise every year.

NICHOLASVILLE - For five innings, Logan Teague kept the East Jessamine hitters in check Friday. But the Jaguars finally got the Garrard County pitcher in the sixth, smacking three doubles and scoring four times to break open a  tight game and beating the visiting Golden Lions 7-1. Teague went the distance, scattering seven hits and striking out four. But his defense also committed three errors. “I thought he threw the ball great, hit his spots. We've just got to make a routines plays when we've got to make them.

LANCASTER - Four people have been arrested, thousands of dollars worth of property has been recovered and an unknown number of local burglaries have been solved largely due to an officer connecting two seemingly unconnected events. Before dawn Monday, a man police describe as a “Good Samaritan” stopped just inside the Garrard County line on Ky. 52 east of Danville to assist a couple of men who were trying to tie a tow strap from a Dodge to a stalled Ford truck with a four-wheeler in the bed. The two men began acting suspiciously.

LANCASTER - For most of the night, Lincoln County could just not find a way to shake Garrard County. The Patriots built leads in all four sets Thursday, only to see the Golden Lions fight back in three before Lincoln eventually pulled out a 24-26, 25-6, 27-25, 25-21 win in 45th District play. “We would definitely like to be a little more consistent, get the job done with a little more consistency and a little more control. But I'm proud of the hard work, of the effort, of the determination,” Lincoln coach Amanda Massey-Wiles said.