While it was a tale of two seasons for the Trigg County boys’ soccer team, the celebration consisted of the single 2024 campaign that saw the Wildcats celebrate a second straight district championship.
The Wildcats were honored at Monday’s postseason banquet at the Cadiz Baptist Church.
Trigg County, fielding a team that started six freshmen at times, began with a record of 0-6-2. A 7-1 district win over Lyon County on Sept. 10 seemed to jumpstart the season.
The Wildcats finished the regular season 5-2-3 and scored a 5-0 win over the Lyons in the district championship. Trigg’s season ended with a 5-2 loss to Webster County in the region tournament.
“I’m proud of each and every one of these boys from the JV to varsity. All of them have extremely grown up before my eyes,” coach Kyle Bleidt told the banquet gathering on Monday. “The program no doubt still has a long way to go. For many of them, I’ve been preaching patience and trust in the process with this freshman group.”
Bleidt referred to his varsity roster which consisted of 13 freshmen.
“I took a big group of sixth graders and we got our butt handed to us consistently — 10-0 loss after 10-0 loss after 10-0 loss and these kids never altered their faith. I think the kids are now starting to see their hard work pay off and I now see kids that I thought might be done playing because of how much we were losing are now the same ones that are coming up to me and saying coach ‘When are we gonna start practice again?’
The end result was a 6-9-5 record – the most wins for the program since 2020 and comes on the heels of consecutive two-win seasons.
“I hope you all understand that people are now taking notice of the positive things you are doing. People do not view this program the same they did a year ago,” Bleidt said, referring to the phone calls and texts he received from other coaches wanting to schedule the Wildcats for their senior night – a night when you try to send your seniors off with a win.
“I did not have one single coach reach out to me in September and October this year. That shows an improved team. That shows that people notice what you do. You’ve completely changed the way it’s viewed from our seventh graders to our seniors.”
Bleidt also took the time to issue a warning to his returning players.
“With that comes more responsibility – more responsibility to uphold the standards to be better, to play better, and to continue to get better on and off the field. Each year is a stepping stone to the next.”
Bleidt also had words of farewell to Trigg’s three seniors – Slaton Carter, Lance Breckel, and Alex Hurt.
“They’ve no doubt left this program better than they found it and I hope they know they’re always welcome back as part of this program. As they go out in the world, I hope they know that they continue to represent the program,” Bleidt said.
VARSITY AWARDS
James Garnett – Offensive MVP
Axel Rayburn – Defensive MVP
Landen Gray and Matt Choate – Most Improved
Cam McCormick – Field General
Seniors Awards – Alex Hurt, Lance Breckel, and Slaton Carter
LETTER AWARDS
Trystan Webb
Matthew Choate
Dalton Brown
Carsen Gresham
Dominic Skinner
Braxton Creekmur
Corben Woodall
Landen Gray
Joe Ethridge
Evan Gravel
Nate Kelly
Connor Harrison
Cam McCormick
James Garnett
Axel Rayburn
Alex Hurt
Slaton Carter
Lance Breckel
JUNIOR VARSITY AWARDS
Izaiah Ruzicka – Offensive MVP
Braxton Creekmur – Defensive MVP
Dominic Skinner – Field General
Dalton Brown – Most Improved
