The new look Taylor County Cardinals boys basketball team opened up season play at home with a lop-sided victory against the visiting Commanders of Washington County. The Richard Gatewood regime began with a 79-21 win. Freshman David Sloan starred in his debut as the guard scored 19 points, collected 4 rebounds and dished out 4 assists. Sophomore guard Quentin Goodin chipped in 17 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals to go along with 3 thunderous dunks, one of which was an alley-oop from Sloan. Junior forward Austin Webster and sophomore forward Devin Rafferty gave excellent effort for the Cards. Webster shot 6 for 7 from the field and added 2 free throws for a total of 14 in addition to 7 rebounds while Rafferty scored 7 points, going a team-best 5 for 6 from the charity stripe, while also leading the team in rebounds with 10. Another freshman, Ezra Oliver scored 9 with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals in his first game for the Cards. Senior guard Brady Turpin shot perfect for the night, going 1 for 1 from 3, 1 for 1 from the field, and 2 for 2 from the free throw line. Fan favorite, John "Chow" Chewning gave the fans their monies worth as he banged in the post and answered the call from the student section. The contest was hardly in doubt from the start, as Taylor County jumped on Washington County from the start, posting a 25-4 margin after the first quarter and 52-10 at the half. With under a minute left in the 1st half, Sloan scored 11 straight points in a span of 20 seconds to push the Cardinal halftime break to 42. This is the first step for a Cards team that has high aspirations for the season, especially once the squad returns senior Caleb Wigginton and sophomore Justice Gregory from injury. The Cards will close the week of play with a home game against region power Elizabethtown on Friday night at 7:30.

Elijah Myers