EASTERN, Ky. (WMDJ) – Martin County forced three turnovers, including a 90-yard interception returned for a touchdown on their way to a 35-6 win over Floyd Central on Friday night.

The Cardinals spoiled the Jaguars chances at gaining their first win on the season in their home finale, which coincided with Senior Night honoring 13 players.

Senior tailback Parker Watts led the way scoring a pair of touchdowns while junior linebacker Devan Maynard returned an interception for a score.

Floyd Central was bitten with bad luck early and often in the first half. On a fourth-and-one attempt from their own 48-yard line with 5:30 to play in the first quarter,  junior wide receiver Damion Cotton jumped offsides, backing the Jaguars to their own 43, prompting the punting unit onto the field.

Martin County would block the Jaguars punt attempt with senior Damon Cheeks scooping up the football, returning the block to the Jags 3-yard line, setting up the Cardinals first score on a 1-yard quarterback keeper from Maynard. Cardinals led 7-0 after the first of five extra-point kicks by Caleb Horn.

On the next possession, Floyd Central would put together what seemed to be a sure scoring drive only to come up short inside the Martin County 5-yard line. Jaguar senior quarterback Colt Shelton attempted to run into the endzone on 3rd down only to lose his helmet, forcing him to sit out the next play; 4th-and-goal at the 3-yard line. Backup freshman quarterback Ketrin Mays was forced into action. His pass was tipped incomplete inside the endzone, stopping the drive and turning the ball back over to the Cardinals.

Martin County would then march 97-yards on nine plays resulting in a Parker Watts 29-yard touchdown run. Cardinals pushed their lead to 14-0 with 4:22 left before the half.

More bad luck for the Jaguars would manifest itself on their next drive as Shelton’s pass from the Cardinals 35-yard line was under-thrown and picked off by Maynard at the 10 and returned 90-yards for a touchdown with 2:39 remaining, giving the Cardinals a three-score lead at 21-0 going into halftime.

Floyd Central started the third quarter receiving the kickoff, then engineering a 12-play, 50-yard scoring drive capped off by a 3-yard run by sophomore Ethan Curry. The two-point conversion failed. Jaguars trailed the Cardinals 21-6.

Martin County immediately answered with Watts’ second touchdown run of the night from 36-yards out, pushing the Cardinals back out by three scores at 28-6 with 1:02 left in the third quarter.

The Cardinals mastered one more scoring drive in the fourth quarter, a 15-yard sweep by senior Julian Stafford, making the final score 35-6 in favor of Martin County.

Floyd Central’s Colt Shelton, who left with an injury midway through the second half, finished his night with a 7-for-9 passing effort for 72-yards and 1 interception, while attempting 14 rushes for 82-yards. Shelton became the Jaguars all-time leader in career rushing yards during the game, eclipsing the previous mark of 1,691 yards set by Josh Whitaker between 2017-18.

Martin County finished with 313 yards rushing on 31 carries and 328 total yards of offense, while Floyd Central doubled the Cardinals time of possession, but only mustered 221 total yards on 59 snaps. The Jaguars had 124 yards rushing on 46 carries and 97 yards passing.

Floyd Central (0-9) will wrap up the regular season on the road at Shelby Valley this Friday, November 1st. The Jaguars will also make a return trip to Robinson Creek the following week to face the Wildcats again in the first round of the playoffs on November 8th.

Martin County (6-3) will host East Carter this Friday in their regular season finale. The Cardinals will host Pike County Central in the opening round of postseason play on November 8th. The Cardinals defeated the Hawks 40-18 in week two of the season at Belfry in the Pike County Bowl.

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Reds on behalf of the family of Pete Rose has released a statement to announce a public visitation for the fallen baseball legend and future plans to celebrate his life in 2025.

The body of Pete Rose will lie in state at Great American Ballpark for a public visitation lasting 14 hours on Sunday, November 10th from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. This free, open-to-all event will be a time for those who admired and love the “Hit King” to come together, honor his incredible legacy and say their goodbyes before the Rose family lays him to rest privately.

Guests will enter Great American Ballpark through the main gates on Crosley Terrace and will be directed to queue lines leading to the Visitation area that will overlook the field from the main concourse.

There will also be a special, “Pete Rose Day” at the Reds game on Wednesday, May 14th, 2025 when the Reds host the Chicago White Sox. More details on the event will be released in the future.

The Reds have named Chris Valaika as their Director of Hitting/Major League Hitting Coach.

For the last 3 seasons, Valaika was the Major League Hitting Coach for the Cleveland Guardians. In 2021, he was the Assistant Major League Hitting Coach with the Chicago Cubs.

The former infielder played in the majors with Cincinnati (2010-11), Miami (2013), and the Cubs (2014), appearing in 99 Major League games across the 4 seasons.

Valaika was selected by the Reds in the third round (84th overall) of the 2006 draft out of the University of California, Santa Barbara. He was honored as the 2008 Cincinnati Reds Minor League Player of the Year after leading all Reds full-season minor leaguers with a .317 batting average. Valaika played for Team USA in the 2008 XM All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium.

The native of Santa Clarita, CA, joined the coaching ranks in 2017 following his retirement from playing following the 2015 season. Prior to joining the Cubs’ Major League staff, he was the organization’s Minor League Hitting Coordinator for 2 seasons (2019-20) following stints as the Hitting Coach for A-Eugene (2017) and AAA-Iowa (2018). Overall, Valaika spent 5 seasons coaching in Chicago’s organization.

EASTERN, Ky. (WMDJ) – Floyd Central High School will honor 13 senior football players as the Jaguars host Martin County this Friday in the final home game of the regular season.

This senior class features several key standouts to the Jaguars football program, who are looking to play the role of spoiler over the final two weeks of the regular season, as Floyd Central (0-8) is still searching for their first win over the season.

Senior quarterback Jace Martin has struggling through injuries during his junior and senior seasons, yet Jace still managed to accumulate nearly 19-hundred yards of offense during his career as a quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, and holds single-game records for passing yards (270 yards) and passing touchdowns (5). 

K.J. Dye has been a staple on the defensive line for the Jaguars over the last two seasons, recording more than 50 tackles and ranking second this season with four tackles for loss, including two against in-county rival Prestonsburg. 

Cameron Howard has served as a veteran presence on a linebacking corps that has helped tally 26 tackles for loss this season and five fumble recoveries. 

Isaac Gussler joined the program as a wide receiver in 2023 and has helped the Floyd Central offense enjoy its second-most productive season in program history, scoring more than 300 points and totaling more than 35-hundred yards, including its first 15-hundred yard passing season. 

When Colt Shelton graduates, he will go down as one of the more productive Jaguars in program history. Having already set career records for total yards of offense and rushing touchdowns, he also holds or is tied for single-games records in total touchdowns, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and pass completions. 

Austin Clark has become one of the more versatile seniors on Floyd Central’s rosters in 2024. Austin has been a steady presence at wide receiver and defensive back for several seasons. His season was highlighted on September 27th against Pike County Central when he became just the third player in program history to return a kickoff for a touchdown. 

Tommy Rogers has been a defensive leader throughout his career, recording 30 tackles and three tackles for loss, bringing his career total tackles for loss to 11, which ranks second on Floyd Central’s career list.

Logan Fraley joined the program in 2023 as an offensive and defensive lineman and helped lead a Jaguar offense that ranked 13th in Class 2A in rushing offense and 12th in scoring offense and ranked second with 13 forced fumbles. 

Will Wells has been a four-year staple on both the offensive and defensive lines. Coming back this season from a season-ending injury in Week 1 of 2023, he currently leads the team with six tackles for loss and one quarterback sack. 

Jesse Spears has played on both lines throughout his career and is probably most known for his efforts on the offensive side of the ball, where he has served as a cornerstone for almost the entirety of his career.

Wesley Prater has been a pillar on both the offensive and defensive lines for the duration of his career. Despite focusing more on the offensive side of the ball during his senior season, Wesley has still recorded 14 tackles defensively for his career and two tackles for loss. 

Brayden Osborne has been a starter for multiple seasons along the Jaguar offensive line, helping to lead a rushing attack that has ranked among the top 10 in Class 2A multiple seasons during his career. 

Emery Bartrum joined the Floyd Central football program prior to the 2024 season and has played both wide receiver and defensive back, helping lead and guide a young position group for the Jaguars. 

Congratulations and good luck to the Floyd Central seniors as they host Martin County in their final home game this Friday. WMDJ will broadcast the game live on radio and livestream on Facebook and YouTube.

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (WMDJ) – It was one of those times when you’ll want to be able to say, “I was there when it happened.”

The Prestonsburg Blackcats recorded their 600th win in program history Friday night, becoming only the 20th program in KHSAA history to achieve the distinction as the Blackcats put away county rival Floyd Central 42-6 at Blackcat Stadium/Josh Francis Field.

The victory keeps the 6th-ranked Blackcats undefeated (8-0), one of only two teams in Class 2A football with an unblemished record, the other being Owensboro Catholic.

Blackcats sophomore quarterback Bryce Holbrook led Prestonsburg on two first quarter scoring drives, while tossing three touchdowns passes before halftime.

Holbrook hooked up with Alex Harris on a pair of touchdown passes from 29 and 18-yards each giving the Blackcats an early 12-0 advantage.

Floyd Central used their patented style of ball control to keep the Blackcat offense of the field for much of the second quarter. The Jaguars marched to the Blackcats’ 15-yard line before coming up empty handed turning the ball over on downs.

Floyd Central would stop Prestonsburg’s next drive, thank to an interesting penalty on 4th-and-16 at the Jaguars’ 22-yard line. The Jaguars sacked Holbrook at the 24-yard line, yet a flag came in late as sophomore Ethan Curry pushed Holbrook to the ground as the play was being ruled dead. A dead ball foul was assessed to Floyd Central, but the official interrupted the foul happened after the whistle, giving the ball back to the Jaguars.

Next drive, on 2nd-and-15 from their own 27, Floyd Central senior quarterback Colt Shelton threw an interception to Prestonsburg sophomore Noah Price, returning the ball to the Jaguars 6-yard line.

Holbrook would deliver his third touchdown pass of the half on the very next play, a 6-yard completion to senior running back Dalton Elliott with 2:18 to go, followed by Elliott’s 2-point conversion making the score 20-0 at the half.

Elliott would run in a pair of touchdown passes in the third quarter out of the wildcat formation – a 1-yard keeper at the 9:37 mark, followed by a 3-yard keeper with 3:31 to play in the period, followed by a 2-point conversion by freshman Karston Johnson.

Floyd Central would convert their first and only touchdown drive of the game with 9:19 remaining in the fourth quarter as senior Colt Shelton took a 1-yard keeper run into the endzone for six points.

On the very next possession, Prestonsburg wasted no time as Elliott scored for the fourth time in the contest on a 59-yard sweep with Johnson converting his second 2-point conversion to run the clock for the remainder of the game, giving the Blackcats to decisive 42-6 win.

Floyd Central (0-8) run 56 plays for 236 yards of total offense in 28 minutes of possession time. The Jaguars hung tough early, but ultimately three turnovers would be their undoing.

Shelton ran 13 times for 39-yards and one touchdown. He was also 7-of-13 passing for 83-yards and a pair of interceptions.

Shelton did set a Floyd Central school record in the loss. He scored his 21st rushing touchdown for his career, surpassing Josh Whitaker’s mark of 20. Shelton needs 32 more rushing yards to eclipse Whitaker's career rushing yardage mark of 1,691 as Shelton stands at 1,659 rushing yards.

Curry led the Jaguars in rushing with 78-yards on 20 attempts.

Prestonsburg ran 42 plays for 319 total yards in just over 19-minutes of possession time.

Elliott rushed nine times for 133-yards and three touchdowns. Senior Alex Harris carried the ball six times for 41-yards while sophomore’s Colin and Drake Hatfield each carried the ball four and five times respectfully for 30 and 14-yards each.

Holbrook was 5-of-11 for 99-yards passing and three touchdowns. Harris caught two of those touchdowns for a total of 47-yards with Elliott also catching a pair of Holbrook passes for 28-yards and another score. Kain Patton had one catch for 24-yards.

STANVILLE, Ky. (WMDJ) – When you attend a Betsy Layne Bobcats football game, you expect to see an offensive explosion, yet this past Friday, fans were treated to a heaping helping of defense as Betsy Layne shutdown visiting East Ridge 39-8.

The Bobcat defense held East Ridge to 0-for-6 on fourth down and made seven consecutive stops before the junior varsity defense took over with the game in hand and a running clock in the second half.

Senior running back Andrew McCutcheon continued his torrid play against opponents as he rushed for 129 yards on 13 attempts and three touchdowns, while junior Carter Parsons rushed for a pair of touchdowns and completed 9-of-19 passing for a touchdown as Betsy Layne racked up their first district win.

Betsy Layne wasted no time scoring three times in the first quarter. McCutheon got the scoring started early on a three-yard touchdown run on the Bobcats first possession, followed by Parsons’ two touchdown runs to give Betsy Layne a 20-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Bobcats broke two more scores in the second quarter with McCutcheon running for 14-yards at the 11:29 mark. Parsons would make a forward toss to junior Isaiah Allen for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 9:10 left, capped with an extra point kick by McCutcheon giving Betsy Layne a 33-0 lead at the half.

Betsy Layne would roll the clock eclipsing the 35-point lead threshold with 8:18 left in the third quarter on McCutcheon’s third touchdown run of the game from five yards out, giving the Bobcats a commanding 39-0 lead.

East Ridge finally placed eight points on the board with 4:15 remaining in the fourth quarter thanks to a 10-yard run by Talon Hopkins and a two-point conversion by Morgan Slone making the final score 39-8.

McCutcheon is enjoying a fantastic senior campaign as he is statistically among the top leaders in the state in scoring and rushing. McCutcheon is now tied with Johnson Central’s Zack McCoart for second-place in the state in touchdowns scored with 21 on the season. He is third in the state in rushing yards with 1,406 yards in seven games while leading the state in scoring with 169 points – an average of 24.1 points per game.

The Bobcats are now (6-1) on the season and (1-0) in district play. They’ll entertain district foe Shelby Valley (1-6/1-0) this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Wildcats edged out Pike County Central 14-12 to earn their first victory of the season.

LEXINGTON, Ky. –  The Mark Pope tenure will begin with the Kentucky men’s basketball program in familiar territory. The Wildcats will enter the 2024-25 season ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, coming in at No. 23.

This is the 57th time in program history that the Wildcats are among the top-rated teams to open the season in 64 preseason AP polls. Kentucky leads all programs with 970 appearances in the weekly poll, which is in its 76th season.

Kansas begins the season as the preseason No. 1 ranked team. Rounding out the top five include Alabama, UConn, Houston and Iowa State. The full preseason rankings are available via collegebasketball.ap.org.

Ten Kentucky opponents enter the 2024-25 season ranked in the AP Top 25, including two nonconference opponents in Gonzaga (No. 6) and Duke (No. 7). Ohio State, Clemson and Louisville are all receiving votes entering the season.

In addition to the Wildcats, a nation-leading nine Southeastern Conference programs rank among the AP Top 25 to begin the season including Alabama (No. 2), Auburn (No. 11), Tennessee (No. 12), Texas A&M (No. 13), Arkansas (No. 16), Texas (No. 19), Florida (No. 21) and Ole Miss (No. 24). Mississippi State is receiving votes.

UK will have 12 total matchups in 2024-25 against preseason top 25 opponents.

Kentucky will field one of the most experienced teams in the country, but not a single scholarship player has appeared in a game for the Blue and White. UK’s veteran lineup has played in 845 career games, made 586 starts, scored 7,900 points and sunk 1,033 3-pointers at a 37.0% rate.

Ansley Almonor, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams are all 1,000-point scorers. Butler and Williams were named their league’s defensive player of the year, while Koby Brea and Jaxson Robinson have been tabbed a conference’s sixth man of the year in their career and Almonor was a most improved selection. Brandon Garrison is a former McDonald’s All-American. Kerr Kriisa has played in 99 career games and has made 238 3-pointers, while Otega Oweh has seen action in 60 games and was Oklahoma’s second-leading scorer a season ago.

Kentucky’s freshmen group includes Travis Perry and Trent Noah from the state of Kentucky and Collin Chandler, a former top-35 signee in the class of 2022. Perry is the state’s all-time leading scorer, while Noah broke the Sweet 16 state record for most 3-pointers drained in a single run with 19 this season.

The Wildcats will hold their annual Blue-White event on Oct. 18, at 6 p.m. before a pair of exhibition games against Kentucky Wesleyan (Oct. 23) and Minnesota State Mankato (Oct. 29).

UK then opens the regular season inside Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 against Wright State.

Single-game tickets for Kentucky men’s basketball games will be offered this season through multiple public on-sale dates, the first of which will begin at 5 p.m. ET tonight.

Birmingham, Ala. (October 10, 2024) – The Southeastern Conference unveiled its 144-game men’s basketball broadcast schedule for the 2025 season on Thursday.

All games on ESPN platforms (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network and ESPN+/SECN+) are available through the ESPN App, which is accessible via connected devices.

Conference play tips off Saturday, January 4, and runs through Saturday, March 8. Each SEC team plays the other 15 teams at least once during league play. Three teams will be played a second time during the schedule – two which are permanent opponents and one that will change each year.

A record-tying 10 SEC teams received postseason bids. The SEC’s eight NCAA Tournament selections tied its previous best set in 2018. Additionally, two SEC teams competed in the National Invitation Tournament. The SEC has had 35 NCAA Tournament selections over the last five tournaments.

The SEC Tournament returns to Nashville, Tenn., as Bridgestone Arena will host the event from March 12-16, 2025.

CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall will introduce Terry Francona as the club's new field manager in a press conference on Monday at 10 a.m. at Great American Ball Park.

            Francona, 65, has agreed to a 3-year contract through the 2027 season, with a club option for 2028, to become the 65th field manager in club history and the 55th since 1900.

            “I am so excited and honored to join an organization with the tradition and history of the Cincinnati Reds," Francona said. "I only played one season for the Reds in 1987 but in that season, I learned that Cincinnati is a great baseball city. I want to thank Bob Castellini, Nick Krall, and Brad Meador for giving me this opportunity to manage the Reds. I can’t wait to start meeting and interacting with these good young players of ours.”

            Francona has 23 years of Major League managerial experience, compiling an overall record of 1950-1672 (.538) for Philadelphia (1997-2000), Boston (2004-11), and Cleveland (2013-23). He has guided his teams to the Postseason 11 times, including 3 World Series appearances (2004, 2007, 2016). Overall, Francona owns a .564 winning percentage (44-34) in the playoffs.

            "Terry is a future Hall of Fame manager that has experience winning with young talent," Krall said. "I’m extremely excited that he wanted to be a Red, and he is the right person to take us towards our goal of winning a championship."

            A 3-time American League Manager of the Year (2013, 2016, 2022), Francona's teams won at least 90 games in a season 12 times in his career. His 921 wins for Cleveland are the most in franchise history.

            “Terry’s proven track record speaks for itself. He is an outstanding manager who will lead our Club forward.” said Bob Castellini, Reds Principal Owner and Managing Partner. “The Reds and all of Reds Country are proud to welcome Terry to Cincinnati.”

            In 2022, Francona's Guardians became the first team in American League history to qualify for Postseason play while having the youngest roster in the majors. It marked the first time since the 1986 New York Mets that the youngest team in baseball made the playoffs.

            Francona owns an 11-4 record in the World Series. He won the first 9 World Series games he managed, the most without a loss in the history of the Fall Classic at the time.

            From 2004 to 2020, Francona's clubs posted a winning record in 16 consecutive seasons. That streak ended when Cleveland finished 80-82 in 2021.

            Francona led the Red Sox to 5 playoff appearances and 2 World Series titles (2004 and 2007) during his 8-year tenure in Boston. The 2004 world championship ended the Red Sox' 86-year drought.

            In his 11 seasons as Cleveland's manager, Francona led his teams to 6 playoff appearances (including 4 American League Central Division titles) and the 2016 American League pennant, the franchise's first pennant since 1997.

            Francona played in parts of 10 Major League seasons, including with the Reds in 1987. He was drafted in the first round by Montreal in 1980 and appeared in 365 games with the Expos from 1981-85. He also played for the Cubs (1986), Indians (1988), and Brewers (1989-90).

            Terry's father, Tito, played 15 years in the majors and was an American League All-Star with Cleveland in 1961.

           Monday's press conference will take place in The Handlebar at the Riverfront Club, located at the end of the first-base line on the Club Level. Media with Reds season credentials can enter Great American Ball Park at Dock 3.