Colonels have their eyes on another region title
The Henderson County Colonels boys’ soccer team claimed yet another 6th District Championship on Tuesday evening with an 8-0 win over Webster County in a game that ended early due to the mercy rule.
Miles Pryor netted a hat trick, while Zehn Hazelwood, Reid Campbell, Tyler Payne, Jack Monroe and Warren Grove rounded out the scoring with one goal each.
Grove, Hazelwood, Monroe and Pryor were honored by being named to the All-District team.
The win moved Henderson’s record to 14-4-2.
The 2nd Region tournament will be hosted in Madisonville where HCHS will open up play against Caldwell County at 10 a.m. on Oct. 17. The Cols defeated the Tigers 9-1 in late August.
“Looking at Caldwell, that’s a team that we played earlier and we had good success with them in that game, but I know they were down,” head coach Benson Pryor said. “They were missing a couple starters, and I believe those are guys that are playing now. So they’re going to be a little bit of a different team than the last time we saw them, but at the same time, I think we’re a different team than they saw when we played them last.”
Awaiting them will be the winner of the match between Christian County and Trigg County, both of whom the Cols have beaten this season. In fact, no team participating in the 2nd Region tournament has beaten Henderson this year.
The Cols are led in scoring by Miles Pryor who leads the region with 20 assists and is fourth in goals with 15. Warren Grove is the team leader in goals with 18, placing him third in the region, according to KHSAA.
“The goal is another region championship. You know, we came up short last year, and I think with the returning guys, that’s where their eyes are,” Benson Pryor said. “We’ve got to work hard and play together. If we are all on the same page, we have a really good chance of winning it.”
The championship match will be played Wednesday, Oct. 21, in Madisonville.
Lady Colonels return to full-strength before regionals
Perhaps the girls inspired the boys district victory, as earlier on Tuesday evening, the Lady Colonels also beat Webster County 8-0 in a shortened match to win the 6th District Championship.
McKinley Black, Layla Gugel, Latta Johnston and Olivia Joyce were named to the All-District team for HCHS.
The Lady Cols improved to 10-4-5 on the year with the win and sit in 4th place in the region, according to KHSAA’s RPI standings.
“Everybody seems really excited. The postseason’s always just a great time… It’s kind of a new chapter of the season and a fresh start in a way,” head coach Ben Dempsey said. “One of the most important things for us is that we are finally healthy.”
One of the biggest boosts for Henderson is the return of senior defender Annabelle Wilson who missed a large portion of the season with a broken arm.
Other injury concerns included the health of Isabel Pryor and Black, who have both battled through injuries this season. Having a lineup at full strength has been a rare occurrence for Dempsey, but is a welcomed luxury which comes at exactly the right time.
Leading the way for the Lady Cols is Gugel, who is seventh in the region with 26 goals. Johnston is fourth in the region with 15 assists.
HCHS will play its opening round match at home against Christian County, whom it beat 3-1 earlier this season. That game will be played at 1 p.m. Oct. 17.
Should the Lady Cols advance, awaiting will be the victor of the match between Trigg County and Caldwell County. Caldwell is third in the region standings, just above HCHS, while University Heights and Madisonville sit in first and second respectively, and on the opposite side of the bracket from the Lady Cols.
Henderson does own victories over both Caldwell and UHA, but took a loss to Madisonville this season.
Dempsey is hopeful that both his healthy roster and home field advantage will lead to positive results.
“There’s nothing better than Henderson County fans… The girls have earned a lot of respect this year and I think getting more fans out just to be able to show support would be awesome,” Dempsey said. “It’s a great thing for our community to be able to host tournaments like this.”
The girls’ championship will take place on Thursday, October 22, at Colonel Field.
