2026 Countdown to Kickoff: Logan County Cougars

RUSSELLVILLE, Ky. (WBKO) - The Logan County Cougars enter 2026 coming off a 10-3 season with plenty of experience returning and a clear goal of pushing further into the postseason.

The Cougars scored 461 points last season and found the end zone 58 times. They threw for 2,433 yards while rushing for 1,878 and finished with 17 interceptions on defense.

Junior quarterback Luke Rogers gives the offense a proven playmaker at the most important position. Rogers threw for 2,272 yards and 24 touchdowns as a sophomore while helping Logan County average 35.5 points per game.

The experience around him gives Todd Adler an opportunity to build on an offense that already produced 27 passing touchdowns and 31 rushing touchdowns.

“Those guys can play at a high level,” Adler said. “Now I’m trying to figure out what else we can add to that playbook and what other tools that we can use to make us a little better and hopefully be more efficient.”

Junior Lucas Cross will be part of the group responsible for creating that offense up front. The offensive lineman wants Logan County to establish itself at the line of scrimmage and make its physicality a problem for opposing defenses.

“We just want to dominate. I mean, if you have a dominant offensive line, people can’t really stop you.”

That production wasn’t one-dimensional last season. Logan County averaged 187.2 passing yards per game and 144.5 rushing yards per game while scoring more than 35 points per contest.

The defense has its own returning star in senior linebacker Carson Carlock. He led the team with 127 tackles last season and added 21.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks.

Carlock sees better recognition as one of the biggest areas for improvement after last season.

“Definitely reading the keys,” Carlock said. “Last year we kind of struggled with that a little bit.”

Logan County also recorded 36 sacks and 17 interceptions as a defense. The goal now is to maintain that playmaking ability while becoming more disciplined from snap to snap.

That starts with the standard Adler has set for every defender on the field.

“Film don’t lie, so we want maximum effort. Like you said, 11 hats to the ball.”

The Cougars will also lean on a senior class that has already experienced the pressure of a 10-win season and playoff football. Adler has watched that group grow into a larger leadership role throughout the offseason.

“You can see their growth in leadership, kind of learning how to take the reign,” Adler said.

The schedule will provide plenty of tests, but one matchup already carries extra meaning.

Logan County lost to Paducah Tilghman during the regular season last year before meeting the Blue Tornado again in the playoffs. Paducah ended the Cougars’ season with a 48-27 victory.

Now the rematch comes to Logan County on Oct. 2.

The playoff loss also helped shape the program’s “4th and one” mentality. A fourth-down opportunity Logan County failed to convert has become part of the message heading into 2026.

“We had a big fourth and one play in that game that we didn’t convert. And that’s kind of how we’re building our success and building our culture going forward this year.”

Senior offensive lineman Grayson Crocker sees that rematch as part of something bigger. Logan County wants to turn last year’s experience into a deeper run this time around.

“Beat Paducah, win the regional championship,” Crocker said. “We just want to take it to that next level.”

2026 Logan County Football Schedule:

Week 1 - Aug. 21 vs. Daviess County

Week 2 - Aug. 28 at McCracken County

Week 3 - Sept. 4 at Russellville

Week 4 - Sept. 11 vs. Greenwood

Week 5 - Sept. 18 at Allen County-Scottsville*

Week 6 - Sept. 25 vs. Calloway County*

Week 7 - Oct. 2 vs. Paducah Tilghman*

Week 8 - BYE

Week 9 - Oct. 16 at Franklin-Simpson*

Week 10 - Oct. 23 vs. Warren East*

Week 11 - Oct. 30 vs. South Warren*

*District game