10/22/2026
For the first time since 2019, Hamilton County is playoff-bound, capping a turnaround under coach Rhet Vaughn after several difficult seasons. The Foxes enter the Class 2A South bracket as the No. 12 seed after improving from a 1-8 record in 2025 to a 5-4 finish this season. Vaughn took over following the 2021 season and has steadily worked to rebuild the program after the Foxes narrowly missed the playoffs in 2022 and 2023 before enduring consecutive losing seasons.
“My first 2 seasons we were trying to get over the hump, but my inexperience was probably the main thing that kept us from winning 5 games,” said Foxes head coach Rhett Vaughn. “I was learning something new every single week. Last year was plagued with injuries and other factors that kept our roster thin all season long. We were actually in most of our games last season, but when you have the same 11-12 kids on the field for Off, def, KO, KOR… it takes its toll.”
Hamilton County opened this season 5-1, with its lone loss during that stretch coming by a narrow 16-14 margin against No. 11 Carmi-White County. However, the Foxes closed the regular season against a challenging stretch of opponents, falling to unbeaten top-seeded Johnston City, No. 3 Flora and Fairfield. Hamilton County managed just 26 points while allowing 116 during the three-game skid, leaving questions about its momentum entering the postseason.
“The past 3 games have tested us a bit. Clearly, we knew it would be a tough stretch to end the regular season. We expect to show up and compete no matter who we face,” said Vaughn. “These past three weeks was the worst we’ve played as a team. No disrespect to JC, Flora, or Fairfield, they are great teams, all well coached, and executed their game phenomenally. It’s hard to have fun when you’re losing. But it’s impossible to enjoy ourselves when we know that we have played very poorly. So improving that performance will be the key this week in practice.”
The Foxes last qualified for the playoffs in 2019, when they were eliminated by Decatur St. Teresa 52-7 in the opening round. St. Teresa advanced to the Class 2A semifinals before falling to eventual state runner-up Nashville. Now, Hamilton County will host No. 21 Sangamon Valley (3-6) in the opening round, seeking the first playoff victory in program history.
“A 5-1 start to the season gave the whole community a much needed boost in morale and confidence in our football program,” said Vaughn. “Historically our football program hasn’t had very many winning seasons. Looking back Coach Jeff Rush came to Hamilton County my Freshman year. All we knew was our football team was bad, but this new guy has been successful at other schools so maybe this will be different. We made the playoffs back-to-back seasons my sophomore and junior year, and missed by 1 win my senior year” Vaughn continued.
“Coach Rush started something special in our football program —a culture change. His influence has shaped a decade of generations of players in Hamilton county.”
With a young roster consisting largely of sophomores and juniors, the Foxes will look to turn their return to the postseason into the start of a promising new chapter.
