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BY JON PAUL MARTIN , Sports correspondent 

There were plenty of things to be excited about moving into the second home game of the season for the Cards football team. 

Coming off of a big road win last week against Madison Central, the boys of fall only needed one more win to ensure a No. 2 seed in district play and score the privilege of hosting the first-round playoffs.  

Pregame, the band honored their seniors and took to the field for the national anthem, something that has yet to happen in a COVID-19 world. The band also performed at half time and led the pep of the crowd from the bleachers. 

For the first time in a long time, this felt like Friday night football.

The game started off amazingly fast paced, as district rival games usually do. Both teams showed up to play, and it was clear in the beginning that this would be an entertaining contest. 

The first half brought four touchdowns by GRC — three by Azariah Israel and one by Dawson Gay. The touchdowns remained unanswered for most of the first half. 

The Cards brought a new secret weapon to the fight — senior soccer standout Shelby Vaughn.

Vaughn was messing around at practice one day when Cardinal Head Coach Oliver Lucas saw her attempt a 30-yard field goal with a soccer ball. Lucas asked Shelby to give it a shot with a football and she nailed it. 

Shelby was immediately asked if she would consider kicking for the football team, and it seems she made the right choice. Shelby went 4 for 4 (extra points) in the first half of her first game ever. That’s awesome no matter who you are, but especially as a first-time player, fresh off the girl’s soccer team. 

Vaughn also gained an instantaneous fan following with the crowd, and chants of “Shelby, Shelby” echoed through the stadium. If you come for nothing else, come for the excitement that is Clark County fans, you cannot be there without feeling it.

At the end of the first half, Oldham County went on a scoring run, bringing a tied score of 28 all. 

There was an exceptionally long rain (lightning) delay early on into the second half. The delay sent the Cards to the locker room and gained them plenty of opportunity to discuss and fine tune the defense. 

The extra time paid off.Oldham County remained scoreless in the second half as GRC added another 20 points. 

The final score was GRC 48, Oldham 28. 

The Cards got their first home win of the season and guaranteed their spot in district play.