Over the last five years, Marshall County and McCracken County have been the two most dominant teams in Region 1 and have met in the title game five straight years. Marshall County won in 2019 but the last four have gone to McCracken County including Wednesday’s 1-0 win that came down to penalty kicks.
Five minutes in, Marshall County’s Lincoln Colburn got a shot off that was high over the goal. Another look came following a well-placed corner kick by Isaac Reynolds that found the head of Tommy Robertson but was scooped up by McCracken County goalkeeper Grayson Parrish.
After a scoreless first half, it was evident that this title game would play out like the previous four between the Marshals and Mustangs including the 2021 championship that was decided in PK’s.
The second half included a penalty kick taken by Reynolds near the goal line, a shot by Zander Maxlow that went wide left and a shot on goal by Robertson. Steven Claborn and the Marshall County defenders kept the Mustangs out of the goal after a penalty kick and corner near the end of regulation.
Following a scoreless first overtime period that saw a heart-pounding moment in the box for the Mustangs that was cleared out by the Marshals, the second overtime also came close to ending the night after a Logan Parker cross in front of the goal went just wide and a penalty kick by the Mustangs went high over the goal.
Penalty kicks would decide who wins the title and McCracken County took an early 2-1 lead. They extended their lead to 3-1 and a must-make PK by Lincoln Colburn kept the Marshals in it at 3-2 after four rounds.
Needing a save on McCracken County’s final PK taken by Hayden Stewart, Claborn got a hand on it as it hit off the right goal post and bounced just over the line to give the Mustangs their fourth straight Region 1 title.
The Marshals finish the season with a record of 14-10. McCracken County is 18-3-2 and will play the winner of Region 2 in the first round of the state tournament.
Region 1 Player of the Year: Max Rosa (Murray)
Region 1 Coach of the Year: Jared Rosa (Murray)
Sportsmanship Award: Marshall County
First Team All-Region
Murray: Max Rosa, Kellen Crouch, Xavier Robinson, Nate Wyatt
Calloway County: Bo Stom, Jude Bazzell, Ethan Carson
McCracken County: Landon Grace, Hayden Stewart, Grayson Parish
Second Team All-Region
Marshall County: Logan Parker, Jeremy Jaco, Tommy Robertson, Steven Claborn
McCracken County: Johnny Stevens, Julian Warfield, Andrew Record
Murray: Jimmy Kjelberg
Calloway County: Ivan Damian
Mayfield: Pablo Sanchez
Honorable Mention All-Region
Marshall County: Zander Maxlow, Isaac Reynolds
Mayfield: Lincoln Suiter, Hank Fronza
Murray: Leo D’Ambrosio
Calloway County: Canaan Bazzell, Landon Houk
Paducah Tilghman: Russell Hancock
St. Mary: William O’Neill
