Sparkling new stadium gives traditional power its first true home field in 30 years
By John Herndon, 110forChrist.com
GEORGETOWN, Ky. – I love those Friday Night Lights.
I’m not talking about H.G. Bissinger’s classic book about the Odessa (Tex.) Permian Panthers. Nor am I referring to the movie adaptation – although it was mighty good – or the TV show the book inspired.
I am talking real Friday Night Lights, that small town fall ritual that is as American as it gets. It’s as much a part of American heritage as John Deere or Johnny Cash.
And the Friday Night Lights at Scott County last week was another of those memorable experiences.
I had attended numerous Scott County home games before, but as far as I can remember this was the first one at Scott County High School. It was undoubtedly the first one at the brand new Cardinal Stadium that opened this fall. It is located next to a new high school just north of Georgetown.
But I had never been to a game on the Scott County High School campus. Chances are that most fans would have to say the same since the Cardinals last hosted a true home game in 1994. Since then they played at the old Georgetown College field and shared what is now Toyota Stadium with the college as well as the Cincinnati Bengals’ training camp from 1997-2011.
Then for the last five seasons, Scott traveled a few miles across town to play at the Birds’ Nest at Great Crossing High School, which was formed out of Scott County in 2019.
The Cardinals now have their own place to fly, situated next to some farmland for a beautiful view beyond the grandstand. Sitting between one end zone and the new school is a new state-of-the-art field house, of which Cardinal coach Jim McKee says, “There is no equal.”
Many businesses and individuals around Georgetown joined the Scott County Board of Education in making such a facility possible. It was a community coming together to show its pride. That’s the essence of Friday Night Lights. Nothing can bring a community together like high school football. NOTHING.
However, all of those 2024 trappings could go for naught if the Cardinals didn’t produce on the field. After all, in 2013, Scott County became the first school outside of Louisville to win the Class 6A championship. The Cardinals advanced to the largest school championship games in both 2017 and 2018 and have made extending their seasons into late November the norm.
The 2024 season carried those same expectations. Now competing in Class 5A, the Cardinals were picked to repeat as District 5 champions with a shot at playing for the state championship the first weekend in December. A 1-3 start that included a first-ever loss to Great Crossing might have diminished some of Scott’s shine, but that record was very deceptive.
Scott RB/DB Buddy Collins was considered by some to be the best player in District 5 but went down with an injury in the first quarter of the season opener against Franklin County. The Cardinals fell to Franklin and Boyle County, both of which remain unbeaten. “They will both be 13-0 when they play each other (in the Class 4A semifinals),” McKee noted.
McKee, who is in his 28th season at Scott County, obviously isn’t fond of losing but didn’t panic. “I just keep my head down and keep working,” he said.
The Cardinals got untracked with an impressive win over Class 6A foe Madison Central. Romps past Collins and Anderson County started district play.
Then last Friday, Scott rolled to a 28-7 win over a South Oldham team that currently stands at No. 2 in the Class 5A RPI. Scott rolled up 388 yards – 322 on the ground – to South Oldham’s 199. The Cardinals held the ball nearly 10 minutes longer than South.
When you watch McKee’s team, it can seem like you are going back in time. The Cardinals do nothing fancy and threw only six passes, completing two big ones on a drive just before halftime. Quarterback Andrew Hickey found Eli Lilly for a 24-yard score on fourth down to go up 14-0.
After South Oldham struck quickly to score in the opening minute of the second half, Scott County responded with an 11-play drive that ate up over five minutes. Ali Hamdiyah, who ran for 174 yards, capped the drive with his second touchdown of the night.
Scott County just lines up, then blocks and tackles its opponent into submission. It’s a formula that has worked for McKee for 28 years and has put the Cardinals in position to win another district crown. If the Cardinals close out district play with a win over Woodford County Friday, they are district champs and will be able to play the first two rounds of the state playoffs in their brand new facility.
Woodford stands at 6-1 and 1-1 in district play. If the explosive Yellow Jackets knock off the Cardinals, it sets up several different scenarios that won’t be decided until the final week of the season.
Regardless of what happens Friday, the 2024 season can be remembered as a testament to a great coach staying the course for a great football program which now has a great – make that incredible – new facility to call home.
It’s the kind of story that makes Friday Night Lights so special.
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