The second week in August usually ushers in the first regular season game of the soccer season…but 2020 is anything but usual. Marshall County’s boys are scheduled to play their first game on Sept. 7 at Paducah Tilghman.
A typical season consists of 21 games but Kentucky soccer teams will only get in 12 this fall with post-season play beginning Oct. 12.
Like all fall sports, the Marshals have been limited to six hours of conditioning each week and according to the KHSAA guidelines set forth in their July 28 Board of Control meeting, can increase that to 7.5 hours per week beginning Aug. 24 with full practices scheduled to begin Aug. 31.
New Marshals Head Coach Bryan Blevins said his players are just happy to be out on the field practicing together after going so long without doing anything.
“Not competing hurts but you’ve got to get kind of creative”. Blevins said.
Governor Andy Beshear made a recommendation on Monday that Kentucky schools wait until Sept. 28 for in-person classes.
So what does that mean for the start of sports?
“I want to be optimistic about it”, Blevins said. “The problem may be…some schools are starting, some schools aren’t starting. We will just have to wait and see.”
The KHSAA Board of Control is scheduled to meet again on Aug. 20, fours days before full practices can begin.
Aside from playing half of their normal schedule, another change to the season comes in district play. District opponents play each other twice in a regular season to determine post-season seeding, but under new KHSAA guidelines, if there are two games played with a district opponent, the first game will determine seed.
“It will be interesting”, Blevins said. “Luckily we have a pretty good senior class that has experience. I like it in the sense that you are going to get everybody’s best shot the first time.”
Blevins said they are loaded with 10 seniors and as many juniors and said, “It would be heartbreaking not to have them play.”
Last season, the Marshals finished 20-3-3 and won the program’s 22nd district title and 15th regional title. They beat Murray 1-0 in overtime/penalty kicks to win the district tournament and 1-0 over McCracken County to take the win the regional tournament. The season ended in a 3-1 semi-state loss to Warren Central.
They out-scored their opponents 77-9 in those 20 wins.
A milestone was reached at the start of last season when they picked up the 500th win for the program, the first Kentucky public school to reach the mark. Only four teams in the state have achieved 500 wins and the Marshals currently have the third best all-time record behind St. Xavier and Covington Catholic with 517 wins.
Blevins, a former player and assistant at Marshall County, was named head coach this season when Donnie Heath stepped down after three season at the helm. Coaches Levi Darnall and Tyler McKenty remain on the staff along with the addition of Coach Cory Westerfield.
