Bath County’s Cole Hart makes a run down the field against the Lewis County Lions on September 28, 2024.
Lewis County quarterback Aaden Bloomfield makes a pass against the Bath County Wildcats on September 28, 2024.
As hurricane Helene made its’ way north to Kentucky, and brought high wind speeds and flooding rains along with it, for the safety of fans and athletes alike, several contests throughout the commonwealth were rescheduled, including but not limited to the Lewis County Lions game under the Friday night lights against the Bath County Wildcats.
Prior to this contest, both teams had gotten their seasons off to a slow start, both the Lions and Wildcats sitting at 0-4 on the year. Both teams were eager to hit the field, hoping to get their first win of 2024, neither willing to give up. Lewis County, after dropping 44-34 to the Nicholas County Blue Jackets, went scoreless their next two games, dropping 40-0 to a strong Magoffin County team, and 21-0 to Breathitt County. The Lions then picked up two touchdowns in a 55-12 loss to Prestonsburg, before hitting in hard in practice during their bye-week.
Upon returning to the field on Saturday afternoon, the Lions were eager to take on Bath County, hoping to pull out a win.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t frustrated with the way things have gone this year. I mentioned that at the beginning of the season, we’re young but that’s not an excuse anymore. It is what it is, and we gotta find a way to fight. Keeping our kids in the right spot, I think we’ve given it our all at trying to get our kids to be successful and putting them in the right spots to be successful, but I don’t know man, we’re gonna get it figured out eventually.” said Lions head coach, Dalton Stamm.
Unfortunately for Lewis County, the Bath County offense was quickly able to run up the score, fighting their way around the Lions’ defensive line, building up a huge lead quickly in the first half. Lewis County was able to bring the ball into the end-zone once in the first half, running it past Bath County’s defenders for a touchdown.
“It’s a boost, it’s a morale booster for sure, but you know, when you spot a team four or five touchdowns it’s tough to climb back out of that hole. It gave us some things we could look at going into the half, hit some high notes with, but other than that.” said coach Stamm.
Heading into halftime, the Wildcats led 42-6 over Lewis County, having picked up a running clock and a comfortable lead. The Lions however, refused to back down, and continuously tried to work their way down the field to close the point deficit, and pull the game back into their favor.
Throughout the second half, the Lions’ defense would allow Bath County no points, having found a way to hold off the Wildcats’ offense. As this continued, the Lions would work hard towards getting back into the end-zone, hoping to pick up steam quickly.
“Second half, defense kept them back, held them out. but I mean, we were pleased with the effort, it improved from the first half, but when you spot a team five, six touchdowns it doesn’t matter. We’ve done that all year, we’re trying to see what the issue is, we’re trying to fix the problems but so far we haven’t found an answer.” said coach Stamm.
Despite a continuous effort from the Lewis County Lions to close the point deficit, the Wildcats defense, combined with the running clock would allow the Lions just one more touchdown before the contest came to a close. Lewis County would make a drive close to the end-zone, slipping bast the Bath County defenders to score, with a failed two-point conversion attempt bringing the score 42-12.
“It’s just something, one of those old school barnyard, playground plays. Just hook and ladder, just happened to work for us, we weren’t able to get much going on the ground.” said coach Stamm.
At this point in the season, having gone 0-5 on the year, the Lewis County Lions are feeling the effects of a tough season. Despite this fact, neither coach Stamm or his team are willing to quit, and are looking for a quick turnaround coming into the latter half of the season.
“We’ve taken our licks. I’d be lying if I said everybody was happy-go-lucky. We’ve got the kids we’ve got, and they want to be here and they want to fight, so we’ll see what happens.” said coach Stamm.
Lewis County’s next contest will be on the road to Flemingsburg, taking on the 0-5 Fleming County Panthers, with the Lions looking to come out on top and pick up their first win of 2024.
