Marshall County and McCracken County played to a 0-0 tie on Oct. 3 so the anticipated battle that would be a rematch of last year’s First Region Championship, in which the Marshals won 2-0, was set with a 6:00 p.m. kick-off at Colburn Stadium.
Kian Court scored in the 25th minute of the first half for a 1-0 halftime lead for the Marshals. Eight minutes into the second half, McCracken’s Baker Allard scored off of a corner kick and it was a 1-1- game.
A save by Marshall goalkeeper Ben Burkeen saved the go-ahead for Murray with 15 to go and continuing the attack, the Marshals wanted a handball foul on McCracken County in the box but didn’t get it.
A yellow card was shown to Nick Mighell at 5:51 which set up Miller for the kick and he found the back of the net to put the Mustangs up 2-1. William Lynch on the attack in the closing seconds, looked to be fouled in the box but no call was made as time ran out and McCracken County took the title for the first time in five years.
“I’m proud of them”, Head Coach Bryan Blevins said. “They’ve overcome a lot. It’s tough…you’ve got such high hopes and we knew it would be a good game that could go either way and I felt like it could have any point in that game. I felt like we had some chances that we missed that were close but the things that we’ve done all year long…I’m super pumped for them.”
Ten seniors played their final game in the orange and blue that have been through a lot Blevins said.
“Any situation and they’ve been in it”, Blevins said of their region tournament appearances. “They’ve been up, they’ve been down and they’ve not even been in it. The resilience of those guys is pretty amazing, they’ve got high character…they’re always wanting to get better.”
Blevins said it’s no surprise the seniors have had the great results they’ve had, “They’ve been playing together since they were small under David Alvey in Dynamo.”
“That’s a family…it really is in all sense of the word. They’re in each others face all the time, on to each other about doing the little things right. It’s a brotherhood.”
Coach Blevins was named the Coach of the Year and William Lynch received Player of the Year. This is the third straight year both of those honors have been awarded to Marshall County coaches and players.
Five Marshals received All-Region First Team honors – Ben Burkeen, William Lynch, Eric Hicks, Drake May and Kiefer Court. Second Team honors – Collin Riley and Tyler Treas
The Marshals out-scored their opponents 66-9 in the shortened 2020 season and recorded 10 shutouts. They finish with a record of 13-2-1.
