TEAM TO WATCH IN THE CLASS 4A RANKS.
LOGAN COUNTY HAS COMPILED A 52-16 RECORD SINCE 2017
RUSSELLVILLE — Winning tends to be contagious. But it’s taken on a new dimension at Logan County High School.
Logan County has become one of the Commonwealth’s teams on the rise, and it’s been a pretty steady process since one of the town’s favorite sons, Todd Adler, came on board for the 2016 season.
After a difficult 1-9 season, the Cougars have been a consistent winner, compiling an impressive 52-16 record since 2017. And last year, Logan County made its first appearance in the KHSAA Class 4A semifinals in school history, falling to eventual state champion Boyle County.
Nothing has changed over the last 11 months.
This team is goin’ places.
52-16 OVERALL SINCE THE 2017 SEASON.
Logan County, the KHSAA Class 4A, 1st District champion, takes an 8-1 record into its regular-season finale on the road against South Warren on Friday night.
The Spartans (5-4 overall) are the defending KHSAA Class 5A state champion, and they’re looking to get back on track after last week’s 35-21 loss to crosstown rival Greenwood.
It’ll be a significant test for both teams at South Warren before the Cougars and Spartans go their separate ways for November’s state playoffs.
BY SOUTH QB BRYCE BUTTON AND THE SPARTANS.
“This is a game we look forward to, every year,” Adler said. “South Warren is a top-notch program and I can’t think of another local team that can help you prepare for the playoffs. Of course, we would like to be closer to 100 percent healthy, playing this game, but we are not. I’m sure no team in the state is …
“It’s just part of the game.”
IS WORKING TO REHAB AN INJURED ELBOW.
The Cougars played host to South Warren last year, on their way to an unprecedented KHSAA Class 4A semifinals appearance. Caden Veltkamp, now a WKU backup quarterback, guided the Spartans to a 41-3 victory over Logan County in Russellville, but the defeat may have helped the Cougars in the long run.
Adler’s squad opened the 4A playoffs with a 42-14 triumph over Madisonville-North Hopkins, and the Cougars posted two more victories — over Hopkinsville and Spencer County — before they ran into Boyle County.
The Rebels stopped Logan’s magical run in Danville, claiming a 54-16 victory on their way to the University of Kentucky’s Kroger Field for championship weekend.
THEIR INDOOR FACILITY EARLIER THIS YEAR.
The Cougars finished 10-5 overall, creating a monster of sorts on U.S. Route 68 in Logan County.
Expectations were going to be high for 2022.
The Cougars have certainly delivered, winning eight of their first nine games heading into Friday night’s test at South Warren.
Todd Adler understood that handling success would be a critical factor this season, and he’s leaned on a 10-man senior class to approach the task at hand.
“We’ve done OK there. The kids have busted their tails off,” Adler said. “We’ve prepared them for another run, and hopefully a better one (than the 2021 playoffs).
“We are dealing with teenage kids, so sometimes their focus and attention gets sidetracked, but when the lights come on, it reminds them really quick of the ultimate goal.”
IS THE SCHOOL’S CAREER RUSHING LEADER.
Logan County senior Ryan Rayno became the school’s all-time rushing leader earlier this season, and he’s also one of the team’s leaders off the field, too. In nine games, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound tailback has rushed for 1,491 yards and 20 touchdowns. He’s embraced the challenge at hand.
“Last year was the deepest (playoff) run in school history,” Rayno said. “We do feel like there’s some pressure on us, but really, that’s a good thing. People expect us to win.
“With Coach Adler, it’s always ‘team first.’ He watches out for us, and gets our names out there to (college) coaches. There’s a lot of respect, between the coaches and players and it makes the chemistry unparalleled.
“No one’s ever hesistant to tell him anything.”
WITH SOUTH WARREN ON FRIDAY NIGHT.
Adler is a former Logan County player himself, of course, and he’s become a faculty member at the school after spending a few years as a staking engineer with the Pennyrile Electric Co-Op. The 36-year-old Adler competed in football, basketball and track and field during his playing days at Logan County, and enrolled at WKU before finishing his undergraduate degree at the University of the Cumberlands.
Adler inherited a team that had lost 33 consecutive games when he succeeded Steve Duncan as the Cougars’ coach in 2016. The Cougars were competitive in a handful of games that year but didn’t win until the final week of the season, when they whipped nearby rival Todd County Central 56-27.
SINCE A 28-21 LOSS TO GREENWOOD ON SEPTEMBER 16.
The stage had been set for a memorable 2017 season, and what a season it was.
The Cougars won their first 11 games, three of them by a touchdown or less, before running into Hopkinsville High School. The Tigers rolled into Russellville and stopped Adler’s squad 43-8, but people had taken notice. The Courier-Journal in Louisville named Adler the Commonwealth’s “Coach of the Year” that December and the monster was starting to take definite shape.
Logan County went 10-2 in 2018, getting drubbed by another nearby rival, Franklin-Simpson, which stopped the Cougars 55-19 in the second round of the KHSAA Class 4A playoffs. In 2019, when Logan County started playing South Warren late in the season, the Cougars finished 8-3.
IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE KHSAA 4A PLAYOFFS.
After a 5-4 finish during the COVID interrupted 2020 season, Logan County regrouped last year and reached the 4A semifinals for the first time in school history.
School history.
You’ll hear those words from time to time around the Logan County campus these days.
IN LOGAN COUNTY ON TUESDAY.
“We’ve got a long way to go, but we’re just trying to make school history,” Rayno said after the Cougars trampled visiting Madisonville-North Hopkins 35-18 on October 7.
That’s where the South Warren test comes in, because the Spartans are looking to establish some momentum themselves while putting last week’s upset at the hands of Greenwood in the rear-view mirror.
Everyone’s keeping an eye on the big picture with the playoffs on the horizon.
Including Logan County junior Davin Yates, who is in his second season as the Cougars’ starting quarterback.
“South Warren’s a big school, and we know that, but we might have got them at the right time,” Yates said. “They lost a lot (from the 2021 state championship season), but they’ll be back in a year or two. They might even turn it up in the playoffs. (South quarterback) Bryce Button’s very good.
“If we can compete with South, that’ll give us some confidence for the postseason.”
Yates has given the Cougars some confidence himself, having completed 107 of 182 passes (59 percent) for 1,439 yards and 18 touchdowns. He’s been intercepted just six times.
AGAINST MADISONVILLE-NORTH HOPKINS.
South Warren’s defense poses a big challenge for Yates, Rayno and the Cougars’ offense.
“Our seniors have done a good job of working hard, and leading the way,” LCHS coach Todd Adler said. “We do have some underclassmen that have stepped into leadership roles, as well. Ryan’s had a great season, with hopefully a lot of games left to play.
“I love the way Ryan plays the game. He plays hard and has a good time doing it. He plays free and seems to enjoy every minute of playing the game.
“He’s high energy and has a big smile … it’s contagious, among the team, for sure.”
Senior offensive tackle/defensive lineman Isaac Poe believes Adler’s approach creates the right environment for the Cougars to succeed.
“This is our final test, before the playoffs, and yeah, we want to win,” Poe said. “(South) is a really good team. We’ll know where we are, going into the playoffs, playing them.
“I think what makes Coach Adler so effective is that pushes us, to be better than the competition. Instead of being ‘just his players,’ we are all a part of a family that works together to win. Have some fun winning.
“Now, sometimes he does make us mad but that’s part of the game.”
Adler’s wife, Dedra, is also on the LCHS faculty while coaching the girls basketball team. The couple’s eldest daughter, Brea, is playing college softball at Campbellsville University. Daughter Brenley is a seventh-grade student who competes in basketball and softball. Brett Adler is the youngest child, a fifth grader, plays youth football and basketball.
“Our family loves sports,” Todd Adler said, “and it takes up the majority of our time. Which we love.”
The Cougars have followed suit.
AS THE LOGAN COUNTY HEAD COACH.
(FROM LEFT) BRENLEY, BRETT AND BREA.