THE COUGARS STAYED ON THE ATTACK.
ADLER’S COUGARS TAKE 7-1 RECORD INTO NEXT WEEK’S OPEN DATE
RUSSELLVILLE — Logan County High School’s football team has lofty ambitions. One year removed from a run to the KHSAA Class 4A semifinals, the Cougars are again poised to make some noise in November.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” workhorse running back Ryan Rayno said, “but we’re just trying to make school history.”
Rayno, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound senior tailback, carried the ball 25 times for 196 yards and a touchdown on Friday night, leading the Cougars to a methodical 35-18 victory over visiting Madisonville-North Hopkins.
FOR 1,321 YARDS AND 17 TOUCHDOWNS THIS SEASON.
Logan County improved to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in KHSAA, Class 4A, 1st District play. The Cougars have clinched their district’s top seed for the Class 4A playoffs, and they’ll have an open date next week before closing regular-season play against winless Callaway County and South Warren, the defending KHSAA Class 5A state champion.
“This senior class, these 12, 13 kids, have been grinding for this, for four years,” Logan County coach Todd Adler said. “I was really proud of our guys tonight. We’ve had some injuries, before the game and during the game, too, but a lot of young guys stepped up and made contributions. Rayno’s having a big year. Our quarterback (junior Davin Yates) continues to get better.
“Now, we’ll take some time off, try to get healthy and come back strong.”
ADDRESSES HIS TEAM AFTER THE GAME.
Rayno set the tone with his tough running style between the tackles, while Yates bailed the Cougars out of several third-and-long situations, completing 10 of 18 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Up front, senior offensive lineman/defensive tackle Isaac Poe and his teammates controlled the line of scrimmage.
On both sides of the football.
“We’re a little thin on the line, so most of us are playing offense and defense,” Poe said. “This is our last year. Make it or break it.”
KEPT THE MAROONS AT ARM’S LENGTH.
Madisonville-North Hopkins running back Lajuan McAdoo scored on a 1-yard run with 4:44 left in the first quarter, but the PAT try failed and the Maroons still trailed 14-6. Logan County went back to a steady diet of Ryan Rayno running the football, with the Cougars sometimes operating out of an unbalanced offensive line.
Madisonville-North Hopkins foiled a fake punt by the Cougars’ Zane Batten midway through the second quarter, giving the Maroons possession near midfield. But Madisonville-North Hopkins couldn’t do anything with that field position, with Logan County’s Hunter Holloway coming up with the first of two interceptions in the middle of the field.
169 YARDS AND TWO TOUCHDOWNS.
From there, Rayno stormed through the teeth of the M-NH defense for a 28-yard run, and sophomore running back/receiver JunVontre Dillard found the end zone from 4 yards out with 5:38 left in the first half. Sophomore placekicker Kyla Bilyeu added one of her five PATs and the Maroons were in trouble.
SCORES ON A 20-YARD TD PASS.
Sure enough, Davin Yates found junior receiver Harper Butler at the goal line for a 20-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the first half, and the Cougars took a 28-6 lead into halftime.
Madisonville-North Hopkins quarterback Wyatt Coleman found teammate Javion Martin on a sideline pass midway through the third quarter, and Martin broke a tackle on the left sideline on his way to a 39-yard touchdown reception.
TRIES A HALFBACK PASS.
Dillard scored another touchdown on a 4-yard yard in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, and the Cougars’ defense held up its end of the bargain, with the Maroons scoring their final touchdown on Lajuan McAdoo’s 1-yard TD with four minutes left in the game.
Ryan Rayno, the Cougars’ emotional leader, said last year’s postseason experience has fueled Logan County’s run to its 7-1 record. Logan County eliminated Madisonville-North Hopkins, Hopkinsville and Spencer County on its way to the KHSAA Class 4A semifinals in 2021, at which point traditional power Boyle County was waiting.
Boyle County trounced the Cougars 54-16, over last year’s Thanksgiving weekend in Danville, but Ryan Rayno and the Cougars would like nothing more than another shot at the Rebels.
FINDS SOME RUNNING ROOM.
“We’ve still got to take care of some business,” Rayno said. “Winning a regional championship was very special, and we saw how good Boyle was, ourselves. I’ve been playing football with some of these guys since we were in the fourth or fifth grade.
“We’ve been talking about our senior year here ever since.”
ON OCTOBER 22 IN MURRAY, KENTUCKY.