What does Rowan need to become competitive?  They seem to be an underachiever for a larger school. Anyone with thoughts on this topic?

@winston I honestly don't know anything about Rowan County.  But I looked up their records since the Covid Season (2020) and Rowan has gone:

2021 - 7-4

2022 - 4-7

2023 - 1-9

2024 - 2-8

But I also see that Head Coach Kelly Ford has been Head Coach since the 2017 season (8 Seasons).  That's impressive to me to see that kind of continuity.  There have been some good years like 2021 and 2018 (6-5) and 2019 (5-5).  So, I think getting back to .500 is a reasonable goal.

I noticed that during one of the better years in 2018 they had 64 players on the roster.  That's a good number.  In 2024 they had 50 players.  Is Rowan County's population declining overall?  That is a significant decrease to me.  Getting more excited and wanting to come out for football is one of the tonics needed, I think.  And maybe that starts in the Middle School.  Working with those younger kids can make a real difference if they choose to come out for the Varsity Team when they get to High School.  Just an outsiders 2 cents.  

 

2 hours ago, winston said:

  What does Rowan need to become competitive?  They seem to be an underachiever for a larger school. Anyone with thoughts on this topic?

It’s not the coaching.  Now, nor before.

Kelly Ford in his time there has won 39% of his games. 
 

The irony in that? All of the coaches before him going back to Doug Preston, Bill Baldridge, ShaDon Brown, Kyle Singleton & Gene Peterson combined win percentage?

…wait for it….39% (pretty notable and very successful coaches right there)

Probably not the answer you’re looking for, but it’s the honest one……they need better TALENT.

3 hours ago, winston said:

  What does Rowan need to become competitive?  They seem to be an underachiever for a larger school. Anyone with thoughts on this topic?

It’s not the coaching.  Now, nor before.

Kelly Ford in his time there has won 39% of his games. 
 

The irony in that? All of the coaches before him going back to Doug Preston, Bill Baldridge, ShaDon Brown, Kyle Singleton, Ray Graham & Gene Peterson combined win percentage?

…wait for it….39% (pretty notable and very successful coaches right there)

Probably not the answer you’re looking for, but it’s the honest one……they need better TALENT.

Does anyone have a schedule for the Vikings?

13 hours ago, theguru said:

Does anyone have a schedule for the Vikings?

I haven't seen a full schedule release yet, but here's what I've seen from the other schedules that have been released so far:

Aug 29 at East Carter
Oct 3 at Ashland (District)
Oct 11 vs. Johnson Central (District Game)
Oct 24 at Greenup County (District)
Oct 31 at West Carter

There's still a district game against Boyd County to get added in. Fleming County has shown up on Rowan's schedule a handful of times in recent years, and I would suspect that teams the likes of Bath County, Lawrence County, Fairview, and Holmes could possibly fill in the rest of the Vikings' schedule.

Kelly Ford is a highly underrated coach and an excellent motivator who is always looking for ways to take his team to the next level. In 2020 he led the team to the regional finals for the first time since the early 1980's, defeating a Boyd County team that they were underdogs against after Boyd hit their stride defeating Covington Holmes by a score of 55-14. Holmes defeated Boyd County by double digits earlier in the season. Rowan County would defeat Boyd 18-6 but would forfeit what would have been a difficult game with Boyle County due to COVID running rampant at the time.

The injury bug has hit Rowan at important times in recent years. They may have had a shot to make it back to the regional finals in 2021 - but Cole Wallace, a talented runningback who bulldozed his way for nearly 2,000 yards, was out in their first round playoff game against Harrison County, a team Rowan defeated pretty handily when he was healthy as he ran for 253 yards and 3 touchdowns. Harrison County had a nice team, but Cole Wallace would have made a big difference in that game as Rowan was the top seed in their district.

Population-wise, Rowan County experienced significant growth in the 1960's, and has been consistent growing by 1,000 - 2,000 people per year since the 1970's. 

Part of the problem last season was their tough schedule. They were 2-2, putting up a fight against a solid East Carter team, an East Carter team that reached the state semifinals in 2021 and was an overtime away from returning the prior year. Throw in a much stronger district than in recent years and four opponents in their last six games (Mason County, Ashland, Johnson Central, and West Carter) that all have at least a state semifinal appearance in this decade so far. Then Boyd County who in 2022 had their best season in two decades under Evan Ferguson and has consistently been a threat under him and Greenup County, who in 2022, reached the regional final for the first time in fifteen years. Ashland, Boyd County, and Greenup County all had generational quarterbacks in LaBryant Strader, Rhett Holbrook, and Tyson Sammons and Johnson Central had an amazing talent in Zack McCoart who averaged nearly twelve yards per carry.

Then you factor a key injury - I'm not saying it would have made a major difference in some of those tough games - but losing starter Matthew Hamilton who was poised for a good season, completing 70% of his passes and throwing for six touchdowns with only one interception in his first three and a half games. He started the season nicely and losing him to injury was tough. The injury bug has hit them pretty hard the past two years, I believe when they played at Ashland in 2023 they started four freshman on one side of the ball that game, a couple on the offensive line due to the amount of injuries they had. 

There are some key returning players. Matthew Hamilton was only a sophomore and being healthy, would make a much bigger impact. Taner Woodman stepped in at QB after the injury to Hamilton with his first three games against Mason County, Ashland, and Johnson Central. He is a tough, gritty runner and plays aggressive. As the season went along he made some big strides, throwing 59% in his last two games and I think there will be a key role for him in Rowan's offense. JT Judd is a solid runner as is Cameron Cross who likely will catch a few passes as well. If I remember right they had a young offensive line too. As a whole, Rowan has been fairly young these past couple of seasons.

Defensively, losing Will Richardson will really hurt. You're talking about 19 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles in 10 games. They do have some solid guys returning though. I think if they can find ways to force more turnovers, they can give themselves more opportunities in games. Rowan County was last in the district in turnovers forced and toward the bottom of 4A in that category. That, along with improvement in their rushing defense, will help take them to the next level. 

All in all, I would never count out a team coached by Kelly Ford. I mentioned that Ashland game in 2023. It is not often that a 48-0 game will stand out to somebody, especially remembering the losing team but that one does to me. Rowan County came to Ashland with several key injuries and even healthy would have been underdogs with such a young team. They would come out in a different alignment, slowly churning their way to two first downs - taking six minutes off the clock in doing so. They came in with some trick plays, tried to catch Ashland off guard and did everything in their power to try to win that ball game. Ashland would go ahead by multiple scores in the second quarter and put it out of reach later on, but I will certainly remember the effort and grit that Rowan County team showed. That game meant something to them - and that determination is the typical mentality there. It will be difficult for them (And the other four teams) in what is one of the most balanced districts top to bottom, but I think as long as they stay healthy and this young group continues to develop then they will be a problem for their opponents. The district has grown significantly harder to win with the recent additions of Ashland, Greenup County, and Johnson Central.

4 hours ago, TCR said:

 The district has grown significantly harder to win with the recent additions of Ashland, Greenup County, and Johnson Central.

Great post @TCR!

Having Ashland and Johnson Central in your district is really tough.  Good luck to the Vikings!

3 hours ago, Purple88 said:

Great post @TCR!

Having Ashland and Johnson Central in your district is really tough.  Good luck to the Vikings!

Thank you for the kind words @Purple88! It really is! This is an opportunity for Rowan County to challenge themselves and take the program to another level. To illustrate how deep this district is, although Covington Catholic won handily in their first round game last season they beat a Boyd County team that as a 4 seed was in the top 15 in 4A. Boyd was less than half a field away from winning against 3A power Bell County, beat the East Carter team that was an OT from the state semifinals in 2023 by three touchdowns, beat Mason County who had a good showing as they would later defeat Greenup County (who beat Boyd) in the first round of the playoffs, Lawrence who was in and out of the 3A top 10 and then gave 1A powerhouse Pikeville a tough game late in the season. 

Rowan's inability to build and sustain a consistent winner in football is a little puzzling. It's a decent sized school, with an enrollment hovering around a thousand. There are enough athletic male bodies walking the halls to produce perennial region contenders in basketball, baseball, and soccer, as well as a successful track and field program. Any time that's the case, the raw materials are there to be a force in football, as well. They're the only show in town, with no competition for talent inside the county. And really no competition outside of it either, as none of Rowan's border neighbors are powerhouses in football.

And yet....

As stated by @Calico Jack, they've had coaches come through over the years that won elsewhere, so this can't be laid at the feet of Kelly Ford. If he could find a way to tap into the pipeline of talent in Rowan's other athletics programs, the Vikings could become a factor, year in and year out. I've always believed that, regardless of who the coach is in Morehead.

On 4/9/2025 at 10:58 AM, theguru said:

Does anyone have a schedule for the Vikings?

Aug 15 vs. Russell (Scrimmage)
Aug 22 vs. Magoffin County
Aug 29 at East Carter
Sep 5 at Bath County
Sep 12 vs. Fleming County
Sep 19 vs. Clay County
Oct 3 at Ashland (District)
Oct 10 vs. Johnson Central (District)
Oct 17 vs. Boyd County (District)
Oct 24 at Greenup County (District)
Oct 31 at West Carter

On 4/11/2025 at 2:23 PM, DevilMayCare said:

Rowan's inability to build and sustain a consistent winner in football is a little puzzling. It's a decent sized school, with an enrollment hovering around a thousand. There are enough athletic male bodies walking the halls to produce perennial region contenders in basketball, baseball, and soccer, as well as a successful track and field program. Any time that's the case, the raw materials are there to be a force in football, as well. They're the only show in town, with no competition for talent inside the county. And really no competition outside of it either, as none of Rowan's border neighbors are powerhouses in football.

And yet....

As stated by @Calico Jack, they've had coaches come through over the years that won elsewhere, so this can't be laid at the feet of Kelly Ford. If he could find a way to tap into the pipeline of talent in Rowan's other athletics programs, the Vikings could become a factor, year in and year out. I've always believed that, regardless of who the coach is in Morehead.

How is the youth program?

On 4/9/2025 at 10:13 AM, Calico Jack said:

It’s not the coaching.  Now, nor before.

Kelly Ford in his time there has won 39% of his games. 
 

The irony in that? All of the coaches before him going back to Doug Preston, Bill Baldridge, ShaDon Brown, Kyle Singleton & Gene Peterson combined win percentage?

…wait for it….39% (pretty notable and very successful coaches right there)

Probably not the answer you’re looking for, but it’s the honest one……they need better TALENT.

 

This shows no one has had much success there. You are right just comes down to talent.  There are athletes walking that halls, but Rowan struggles with what a lot of Kentucky schools struggle with, getting kids off the basketball court. Rowan also has a very successful soccer program and a lot of athletes choose to play that instead of football. 

On 4/11/2025 at 2:23 PM, DevilMayCare said:

Rowan's inability to build and sustain a consistent winner in football is a little puzzling. It's a decent sized school, with an enrollment hovering around a thousand. There are enough athletic male bodies walking the halls to produce perennial region contenders in basketball, baseball, and soccer, as well as a successful track and field program. Any time that's the case, the raw materials are there to be a force in football, as well. They're the only show in town, with no competition for talent inside the county. And really no competition outside of it either, as none of Rowan's border neighbors are powerhouses in football.

And yet....

As stated by @Calico Jack, they've had coaches come through over the years that won elsewhere, so this can't be laid at the feet of Kelly Ford. If he could find a way to tap into the pipeline of talent in Rowan's other athletics programs, the Vikings could become a factor, year in and year out. I've always believed that, regardless of who the coach is in Morehead.

 

4 hours ago, Bandit29 said:

This shows no one has had much success there. You are right just comes down to talent.  There are athletes walking that halls, but Rowan struggles with what a lot of Kentucky schools struggle with, getting kids off the basketball court. Rowan also has a very successful soccer program and a lot of athletes choose to play that instead of football. 

Agree with you both, and I think a "lack of consistent success" applies to many football programs across the state. Kids will gravitate towards proven winners with head coaching stability, and this applies in Morehead.

I can't count how many times I've read on this board folks wondering why schools like Dunbar-Lafayette-Henry Clay, with their size, can't generate long term success. They're in the mix for state soccer titles though, and this is maybe a more realistic path than facing a Douglass-Trinity-St. X-Male football roadblock every year. The Vikings face the same hurdles in the playoffs vs. an Ashland-Johnson Central-Cov Cath scenario. 

Rowan could make a once in a lifetime football coaching hire. Would it result in a long term culture change?

Rowan County will be joining mytowntv this season.