Royals crowned back-to-back district champs

FALMOUTH Ky. — The Mason County Royals took home their second consecutive 38th District championship Thursday night after a 1-0 win over the Pendleton County Wildcats.

In the three years since Royals head coach Shane Taylor took over the program, Mason County has reached the district championship each season. During his first year with the program, the Royals lost 1-0 to the Harrison County Thoroughbreds, before winning their first district championship since the 2020 season last year in a 2-1 victory over the Thoroughbreds.

This year, the Royals and ‘Breds met in the semifinals, with a 3-0 shutout for the Royals cementing their third straight district championship appearance.

In the regular season, Pendleton County defeated the Royals 3-1, an 8-0 shutout against St. Patrick in the district semifinals advancing them to the championship game.

“I pushed them constantly. The thing is, they never quit, they wanted more. It didn’t matter what team we went up against, they worked their butts off,” Coach Taylor said. “These boys aren’t ready to quit. They’re ready for the region. We’re hoping we can do some winning in the region as well. Great group of kids, they just make me proud.”

The first half of the game was an offensive stalemate and a showcase of both teams’ defensive strength. Neither the Royals nor the Wildcats were able to score, with goalkeepers Landon Frederick and Adam Beebe preventing the opposition from pulling ahead early.

A 0-0 tie heading into halftime had both teams still fighting for control when they returned to the pitch for the second half.

“We knew one’s gonna be great. He’s a great player, but what we wanted to do mostly was just focus on our guys,” Coach Taylor said in regard to Pendleton County’s Dawson Nichols. “We had some open looks in the first that just didn’t bounce our way.”

The score remained tied throughout the early minutes of the second half, but a strong offensive push from the Royals and a goal by Talence Jarrell after five minutes secured Mason County a 1-0 lead.

“Second half, we got one. Talence came through, had a very good ball. Shoot, he kind of just gave it a good push,” Coach Taylor said. “Then, we just played really good defense. Greyson Swan, Noah Ard, these kids stepped up tonight, played big minutes. Landon Frederick, that boy is amazing. He saves every one of them.”

Frederick ended the game with eight goalkeeper saves.

Following Tuesday night’s semifinal game against the ‘Breds, Coach Taylor said, “One-nothing is nothing to write home about. You can’t sit there and sit back on 1-0, so I told the boys we gotta keep fighting, fight on every ball.”

This was a sentiment the Royals carried into their championship match with the Wildcats, and they kept the pressure on throughout the remaining 35 minutes of play.

The second half came and went, with the Royals consistently holding off Pendleton County’s strikers. The Wildcats remained scoreless when the final whistle blew, and Mason County’s second consecutive 38th District championship was secured.

“Honestly, it’s hard to believe. I don’t think it’s hit me really,” Coach Taylor said. “I’m just proud of the boys. Probably the hardest schedule Mason County’s ever faced, and not one time did they get on the field and act like ‘Oh my gosh we’re beat.’ They worked hard, they fought everybody and I’m just so happy to see them get to cap this off.”

The Royals and Wildcats will return to the field next week at Montgomery County to compete in the first round of the 10th Region tournament. Pendleton County will face the Campbell County Camels tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 12 at 3 p.m. The Royals have received a first-round bye and will face the winners of the Bishop Brossart/George Rogers Clark quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

“We’re going to have practice tomorrow and talk about things we can do better, and get ready for next week,” Coach Taylor said.