Scott County blows out Woodford County for first district football title in six years
Scott County captured its first district championship since 2017 with a dominating 36-0 win over neighboring Woodford County to spoil the Yellow Jackets’ homecoming Friday at Community Stadium.
Four Cardinals scored touchdowns, the first coming on a 40-yard sprint by freshman Timmy Emongo barely two minutes into the contest.
“I got the ball and I thought I could get to the edge,” Emongo said. “I got it and just used my speed.”
Emongo is the youngest part of a multifaceted wing-T attack that includes Jacob Fryman, Thomas Feickert, Ellis Huguely and Buddy Collins among others. Fryman and Huguely also scored rushing TDs in the rout and helped the Cardinals rack up 316 yards on the ground.
Emongo doesn’t mind sharing the load.
“We can get a big run, come out, get a breather and the next guy up is ready to go,” Emongo said. “He goes on a long run and we just keep swapping and keep getting better.”
If the Emongo touchdown didn’t prove the Cardinals (8-1, 4-0) were ready to play, then the 97-yard touchdown drive on their third possession surely did.
Trailing 7-0, Woodford punted from near midfield and the Yellow Jackets were able to down the ball at Scott County’s own 3-yard line midway through the first quarter.
It took Scott County seven plays to reach the other end. The drive included a 39-yard run by Fryman to Woodford’s 3-yard line. He scored on the next play to put Scott County up 14-0 with 57 seconds left in the first quarter.
“We practice to be able to run plays like that. We practice hard so the games are easy,” Scott County quarterback Andrew Hickey said. “Those 97-yard drives are what we love — moving the ball and getting one first down at a time.”
Feickert scored Scott County’s last two TDs, including a 52-yard touchdown pass from Hickey that set up the mercy rule margin of 36 points after Hickey hit Isaac York alone in the end zone for the ensuing two-point conversion.
“We have so many guys that are reliable,” Hickey said. “We can run up the middle with Fryman. We can run outside with Buddy and Ellis and Tom and Timmy. And then to be able to throw with Elijah (Lilly) and York, we’re really able to spread open the field and go wherever we want to go.”
Scott County coach Jim McKee also credited the win to his defense, which shut out a Woodford team that had been averaging more than 30 points per game and held the Yellow Jackets to 175 yards of offense and nine first downs. A fumble recovery late in the second quarter set up a short TD drive for a 28-0 halftime lead.
Ranked No. 4 in Class 5A in the latest media poll, Scott County’s blowout of No. 5 Woodford County (5-2, 2-1) will surely draw the attention of high school football observers across the state. But McKee said his team’s loss to Class 4A No. 1 Boyle County might have been the most impactful game of its season.
“We probably couldn’t have done this if we hadn’t gone over to Boyle and got our tails kicked,” McKee said. “We probably thought we were a little better than we are and we’ve gotten so much better since. And practice has been so much better.”
This story was originally published October 14, 2023 at 8:02 AM.
