Just now, theguru said:

Wow, an official @BluegrassFootballFan sighting! ?

7 year itch ... ?

11 hours ago, BluegrassFootballFan said:

Boyle went through 3 coaches and won 11 total games my four years in high school. Chuck got hired in the spring of my senior year. I vividly remember him walking the halls trying to recruit underclassmen to come out for the football team. At that time Boyle had about 600 kids and this is not hyperbole, the band had 180 members... all the cool kids played in the band.

The 1st game of his 1st season the Rebels shocked the central KY football world and beat mighty Harrodsburg with Julius Yeast (Ohio St), Craig Yeast (UK/Bengals), & Dennis (UK/Cardinals) & Derrick Johnson(UK.) They went on to have a winning season, make the playoffs and the foundation was laid.

They played in the same class and district as crosstown rival Danville, and it took about ½ a decade to clear that Admiral hurdle (19 straight losses to the hated Ads.)

By 1999 all the pieces were in place, the nightmare years and stigma of losing football was gone. The band no longer had 180 members and it was not only cool to play football, but kids came through elementary school and middle school dreaming of playing football for the Rebels. They went 15-0 in '99 and brought home the 1st ever state title and the machine that is Boyle football was in place ... you know the rest of the story.

From 1985 to 1992 were the darkest days of Boyle football.  One winning season, '86, and the teams weren't competitive.  Talent pool dried up and like you said, many athletes opted out of playing.  But what Chuck did was special and pretty immediate.  Only one losing season (his second) in his tenure and by '96 had defeated Danville and made it to the AA Semifinals only to lose to Breathitt County during their run by a TD. 

Justin Haddix's Boyle County Rebels (2020-present) - UPDATED

Record: 78-5 (94%)

State Championships: ?×5 ('20-'23, '25)

?️ | Following a brief intermission, the Rebels are kings of the hill once again. A region final loss last year and a hiccup against Lexington Catholic in September temporarily humanized the superhuman. But in a loaded class shared with Highlands, Covington Catholic, Paducah Tilghman, Johnson Central, and Franklin County, the cream still rose to the top. Boyle is now 25-1 in the playoffs since Haddix took the helm. 

I would add Russellville to the honorable mention list for their run in the 80’s and early 90’s under coach Ken Barrett. The Panthers won it all in 1A in 1980, 1983, & 1990. Runner up in 1987. 

Mark Spader's BGHS Purples have had quite the run from 2020 to 2024.

2020 - 5A State Champions
2021 - 2nd Round
2022 - 5A State Runner Up
2023 - 5A State Champions
2024 - 5A State Champions 

14 hours ago, DevilMayCare said:

Justin Haddix's Boyle County Rebels (2020-present) - UPDATED

Record: 78-5 (94%)

State Championships: 5 ('20-'23, '25)

?️ | Following a brief intermission, the Rebels are kings of the hill once again. A region final loss last year and a hiccup against Lexington Catholic in September temporarily humanized the superhuman. But in a loaded class shared with Highlands, Covington Catholic, Paducah Tilghman, Johnson Central, and Franklin County, the cream still rose to the top. Boyle is now 25-1 in the playoffs since Haddix took the helm. 

94% and does not dodge good teams. St. Edwards Ohio,  Frederick Douglas (5X), LCA (5X),  St. X,  CAL,  Franklin County (3X), Highlands (2X), Bowling Green (2X), Covington Catholic (3X), and Corbin (3X).

What has Haddix done differently than the previous coaching staff(s) since the expansion to 6 classes? It’s impressive.

Ten Years A Soldier: The Christian Academy of Louisville Centurions (2016-present)

Record: 121-18 (87%)

State Championships: ?×6 (‘16, ‘18, ‘22-'25)

?️ | Stefan LeFors planted the seeds and Hunter Cantwell is pouring on the fertilizer. The Centurions battled DeSales for years in one of the state's best rivalries before the former seized the upper hand and won 2A titles under LeFors in 2016 and 2018. Cantwell has only built upon that success, turning CAL into one of the state's premier programs. The last four years have produced a record of 56-4, possibly the winningest four year stretch in the history of Louisville high school football. They'll be heavily favored again next season, with a fifth consecutive championship feeling more and more like a formality.

On 1/12/2021 at 11:49 AM, DevilMayCare said:

Philip Haywood's Belfry Pirates (2003-2021)

Record: 223-47 (82%)

State Championships: ?×8 ('03, '04, '13-'16, '19, '21)

?️ | During Belfry's four-peat from '13-'16, the Pirates earned mountain football a measure of statewide respect not seen in a generation. The last 17 years of football on Pond Creek have been the most dominant run in EKY history, with Haywood becoming Kentucky's all-time winningest coach along the way. He had already been at Belfry for two decades before breaking through with the program's first championship in 2003, and the Pirates have been breathing rare air ever since, making seven consecutive championship game appearances from 2010-2016 and reaching at least the semifinals fifteen out of eighteen years from 2003 through last season.

Revisiting this thread left me feeling a little melancholy. I had to close the chapter on Philip Haywood's Belfry dynasty. It was previously left open-ended. 

Pure class, an all-timer of a football coach, and by all accounts, an even better human being.

^^^ I'm borrowing @Watusi avatar without asking.

I guess that means I'm stealing it? ?

On 12/6/2025 at 4:36 PM, Breds82 said:

What has Haddix done differently than the previous coaching staff(s) since the expansion to 6 classes? It’s impressive.

I am not taking anything away from Haddix or the Rebels at all but the self inflicted implosion of the Danville football program has definitely worked to Boyle's benefit since 2020.  Again, not THE reason for their success but they have been able to amass talent more widely than before.

On 12/6/2025 at 4:36 PM, Breds82 said:

What has Haddix done differently than the previous coaching staff(s) since the expansion to 6 classes? It’s impressive.

The rise of social media and being able to brand your style/program to attract players.  

11 hours ago, okie1 said:

The rise of social media and being able to brand your style/program to attract players.  

Add winning to that formula. Winning breeds winning and having 5 titles in 6 years may be his greatest weapon.