By: Daniel Barker
for Carter County Times
The first annual Battle for Carter County 7on7 and Linemen Challenge was held on Saturday, July 16 at Kentucky Christian University. The 7on7 was hosted by the East and West Carter Football programs and brought together fifteen schools from across eastern Kentucky for Varsity and Junior Varsity 7on7 play and for offensive and defensive linemen to compete in the Linemen Challenge. The title sponsorship for the event went to Eric Ross, a candidate for Carter County Sheriff. Trace Creek Construction provided programs, a sponsor banner, a coach’s hospitality tent and was the official sponsor of the awards ceremony.
The varsity division saw the Raceland Rams defeat the Boyd County Lions 8-6 in the championship. Both East and West Carter football finished with 3-2 records on the day, and both were seeded as number two seeds in the 16 team tournament for the end of the night.
The Junior Varsity division was won by Ashland over Shelby Valley. West Carter had an undefeated pool play record and East Carter picked up a couple of victories in JV play as well. Ten teams competed in the JV division.
The Linemen Challenge saw 14 schools compete in a number of events including a tire flip relay, 40-yard dash, team sled push and perhaps the marquee event on the night, the team tug-of-war competition. The overall winner of the Linemen Challenge was Johnson Central, with Russell winning the Team Tug-of-War Tournament and Bath County winning the Team Sled Push Competition. Individually, East Carter’s Izack Messer won the “Fastest Hawg” competition, which was a 40-yard dash for larger linemen. Ashland’s Isaiah Luckett won the “Fastest Piglet” award for the fastest 40-yard dash time for smaller linemen.
Sponsors for the Awards given at the Battle for Carter County were as follows: Varsity 7on7 Trophy provided by Grayson Sanitation; JV 7on7 Trophy provided by Carter Childcare; Linemen Challenge Champion Trophy provided by Patrick Flannery; Tug-of-War Champion trophy provided by The Kid Spot Center; Team Sled Push trophy provided by Boxdrop Grayson; Fastest Hawg trophy provided by Duvall & Moore Funeral Home; Fastest Piglet trophy provided by Mike Johnston, Carter County Clerk.
The organizers of the event wished to extend their thanks to all event sponsors and to participating schools for making the event a success.