Pictured, Tucker Foster passing behind his protective line. Photo courtesy of SERG Photography.
By Jonathan L. Smith
Stadium to stadium, as the crow flies, Danville High School is Lincoln County’s second-closest neighbor at 10.5 miles (only Garrard County is closer at 7.9 miles).
The relationship, not quite a rivalry, has been on-again/off-again for the fifty-two seasons that LCHS has been in existence. The two schools played each other four times during Lincoln’s first five seasons (1975, 1976, 1977, and 1978), then again after realignment put them in the same AAA district (1983, 1984, 1985, and 1986) and they kept playing for the next twelve years after that from 1987-1998.
Lincoln County won only one game in that sixteen-year stretch (20-0 in 1988) giving fans, players, and coaches the feeling of being snake-bitten, losing some close games and sometimes being drummed. It was not a good relationship from Lincoln’s perspective and the two have met only seven more times in the twenty-seven seasons since 1998.
One of those was last year at Centre College.
Danville was in the depths of what would become a 23-game losing streak. Lincoln County had a lot of weapons and pounded Danville 42-0 in the rain. It was good to win, and it was great to beat Danville, but it was not as good as beating Danville when they were, well, Danville.
Lincoln County had six players score touchdowns in that game and five of the six returns for this game: Bob Floyd, Tucker Foster, Kash Smith, Reed Curlis, and Damon Spigle. Bradley Cole, the sixth, was lost to graduation. Lincoln County brings back all its firepower from a 42-0 win, plus its big, experienced offensive line.
The Lincoln defense has been formidable in the early season, holding its opponents to only thirty-five points and only a combined 178 yards rushing. The defense has also been opportunistic with takeaways, recovering three fumbles and intercepting five passes.
On paper, Lincoln County looks like the favorite but is there a snake waiting to strike?
For instance, in 2021, Lincoln County seemed to have the better team, outplaying the Admirals for most of the game, yet lost 13-7. Games like that leave a stinging impression.
After a two-plus-year winning drought, the Admirals appear to be well on their way to regaining their prominence on the statewide stage. They are 3-0 this season and have won in both blowouts (49-12 vs Fort Knox, 41-13 vs Anderson County) and close games (12-10 vs Fairdale). Their defense is also solid, giving up only thirty-five points in three games.
Part of their turnaround can be attributed to first year head coach Steve Stonebreaker. He has been a head coach since 1999, when he was twenty-three years old, and has coached at Casey County, Garrard County, Woodford County, Jeffersontown, and Adair County. He won Casey County’s first and only district championship in 2022 in his second stint at turning around their program. He gets the most from his talent and, as we know, Danville usually has plenty of talent.
The young Admirals are led by freshmen at quarterback and running back.
On the season, freshman QB Dillon Cruver has completed 23 of 38 passes for 344 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. In the game at Anderson County last week, he was 16/20 for 235 yards and 2 TDs. His main target in that outing was junior Trinden Sellers who caught 8 passes for 148 yards and 2 TDs.
Freshman RB Jayvian Meaux has been their workhorse in the rushing attack. He has carried the ball 52 times for 453 yards and ten touchdowns in the first three games. More than half those yards, 233, came on 27 carries last week at Anderson County, proving that young Meaux is durable, as well as explosive.
Coach Levi Rogers knows how to use his talent, too.
Junior QB Tucker Foster is a dual threat as a passer and runner. Well, in reality, he is a triple threat as one of the few players in school history to pass, rush, and receive for touchdowns.
This season, Foster has completed 40 of 70 passes for 408 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions. He has also rushed the ball 35 times for 162 yards and six touchdowns.
The Patriots have quality receivers in Bob Floyd (14 catches for 169 yards), Johnny Adkins (10/130), and Clay Pendygraft (6/41) plus all of the running backs. Speaking of which, Damon Spigle leads the Patriots in rushing, despite seeing brief action last week. He has 45 carries for 246 yards and 4 touchdowns. Reed Curlis, Kash Smith, Drake Willoughby, and Brycen Mullins have all carried the ball effectively.
All of that passing and rushing is done behind the offensive line of J.D. Westerfield (5’10, 265), A.J. Morgan (5’10, 295), Grady Foster (5’10, 260), Matthew Sneed (6’1, 285), Michael Wilshire (6’1, 240) and tight end Clay Pendygraft (6’4, 210).
Kash Smith did not play at all last week, and we have not seen as much of him as expected this season. Hopefully, he will be back this week and be in full form, maybe repeating last year’s performance against Danville when he had 91 yards rushing and 43 yards receiving.
This should be a good game between two well-coached and talented teams. Kickoff is Friday night at 7:30 in Death Valley, with the weather expected to be perfect and cooperative.
Pictured, Tucker Foster passing behind his protective line. Photo courtesy of SERG Photography.
