Order Restored

Conner Willhite| September 2025

The Scott County Football team is looking for a fresh start after they ended the 2024 season with a record of six wins and six losses. That is one of only two six-win, six-loss seasons since 2015. Many believe that last year’s “down year” could be attributed to the lack of discipline and accountability from head coach Jim McKee and the rest of the coaching staff. So far this season, the Cardinals have started off the season with two wins and zero losses. The first win of the season came in the Battle Of The Elkhorn Creek against George Rogers Clark, presented by Bluegrass Orthopedics. Junior Timmy Emongo led the offense with three rushing touchdowns, 104 rushing yards, and 31 receiving yards on one caught pass, which he took to the endzone for his fourth and final touchdown of the game. Emongo was also the Bluegrass Orthopedics player of the game. This award is given at the end of the game to a standout player from the winning team who had a significant impact on their team’s win. Another contributor on the offensive side of the ball was fullback Skyler Way, who had 163 rushing yards on 17 carries. On the defensive side of the ball, Scott County was led by Riley Colvin, who had 6 total tackles and two tackles for a loss, and Asher Brewer, who had 5 ½ tackles and one interception. This is the game that Scott County needed to have, which gave them momentum going into week two, where they took on Great Crossing.Scott County had plenty of motivation going into the 8th annual Battle of the Birds game because 1 year ago, when Great Crossing made the three-mile trip across town to Cardinal Stadium, they dominated the Cardinals 46-15. Then-junior Luke Ballard led the Warhawk offence with 158 rushing yards with two touchdowns on 25 carries. The Scott County offence also contributed to the loss with 3 fumbles in the first half. However, 2025 was different.This year, Scott County dominated the cross-town Great Crossing Warhawks with a final score of 42-21. The first half of the game was intense. Scott County won the toss and elected to receive the kick-off to start the game. They then took the ball all the way down the field, and Nick Ranson punched in the touchdown to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead. Great Crossing then took the ball and went the whole length of the field, led by Mr. Football candidate Luke Ballard, who had 182 total rushing yards on the night. Great Crossing would then tie it up 7-7. The rest of the first half was no different. Scott County took a 21-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Great Crossing offence would have the ball to start the second half, but they would not spend much time on the field because of the Scott County defence, which was led by Ju Ju Harmon who had eight tackles on the night. When Scott County got the ball back, they would score again, going up 28-14, and that touchdown would put the game out of reach for the Warhawks. The Scott County offense was led by sophomore quarterback Charlie Ellison, who had two passing and two rushing touchdowns. Ellison was the Georgetown Community Hospital player of the game. Also, junior running back Nick Ranson had 133 of the 376 total rushing yards. Red Owens had 2 receptions for a total of 65 yards and two touchdown receptions. On the defensive side of the ball, Keller Furnish had 5.5 tackles. For the Great Crossing Defense, Wyatt Highley had 14 total tackles with two tackles for loss. This is what Coach McKee had to say after his rivalry win, “Our motto all week was restore the order in the county…and order is restored.”Scott County Football is back in action Friday, September 5th, against Bowling Green and Friday, September 12th at Pleasure Ridge Park. Bowling Green is believed to be one of the top 5 teams in the 5A football class, along with Scott County and Cooper. Be sure to show up and support your Scott County football team this year as they chase their third state championship title.