Hopkinsville 17 Mercer Co. 14

[PurpleHaze]

Since this is a thread in part about what to say, you could say, "Rome wasn't built in a day."

 

The same thing was said about BGHS after yet another blowout loss to Paducah Tilghman by Tilghman's Head Coach Dan Haley. The Purples were 6-0 before that humbling loss, and it made the all-time series record 0-19-2 in Tilghman's favor. Since it was a district game, it also cost us a place in the postseason (only one team in each district made it into the postseason back in the 1970s). In 1976, not only did we beat Coach Haley's Blue Tornado for the first time ever, but we made the postseason for the first time ever as well!

 

Chin up, Mercer Co fans...better days will come if you keep working at it!

 

By the way, since that game, we are 11-11 against the Tornado!!:thumb:

[Buffalo Gap]

I didn't mean by stating we're trying to get things "back on track" that the train has totally derailed. It's just hard to adjust to the lack of success this year compared to the awesome season we had last year. True, last year was a fairy tale of a year... perfect record and state championship. I in no way thought we would duplicate that this year, but did believe we would possibly be 6-1 or perhaps 5-2 right now. Not 3-4. And while we have 4 losses by a total of 12 points, what does that really count for? A loss is a loss. I haven't jumped ship on this team at all! Just disappointed. I want to see Mercer build a program and not just win games. I hope we continue to improve and build on creating a tradition of success.

 

Well, I want to tell you right now, that you have no better person to build a program than Marty Jaggers. Mercer County, realistically, hadn't done much of anything for 17 years until Marty Jaggers took over. Was Mercer over .500 some of those years? Yes. Had they made the playoffs some? Yes. Was the talen level of Mercer, before the merger better than it was before Jaggers took over!? Yes.

 

When Jaggers took over the program in 2005, even before the merger, Mercer County hadn't won a 1st round playoff game in 17 years. He took a team, than many thought, at best, would finish 5-5, 6-4 in the regular season....instead, he helped lead that team to a 10-2 finish, and the schools 1st playoff win in 17 YEARS!!! Guess who the previous coach was that led them to a playoff win.....that's right, LARRY FRENCH.

 

Lincoln County started a great program from pretty much the time the schools in LC consolidated into one, under the leadership of Bill Ed Leed...that traditon was carried on by Snooky Woolridge, then by Larry Phillps, who led Lincoln to a semi final appearance in '88, and a state-runner up finish in '90.

 

Phillips chose to resign to move on to administrational duties after that season. Jaggers took over in '91, he won a district championship in his first year as a head coach at the ripe age of 32. Two years later, he took a Lincoln County team to a Class AAA State-Runner Up finish in '93. He had success every year he was there...even in 1996, when Lincoln went 2-8, but started 3 freshmen on defense.

 

He, along with his coaching staff has HELPED BUILD a program in Mercer County that will hopefully live on forever, even when Jaggers isgone. It's one thing to build a program, and it is another thing to keep a program amongst it's elite within their respective class. Jaggers has done both of those. He kept something going as a rookie head coach at Lincoln in his early years, and he has helped Mercer return to it's once glory days, pre and post merger.

 

I for one, love it, that Jaggers and French have, in some sense, traded jobs...and both of them have either rebuilt or revitalized a tradition that was once in place at their respective schools. I think it is great!:thumb:

 

Fans and Parents, alike, that are apart of the Mercer County program need to just relax. Success will happen again, it might not seem like that in four of the weeks this season, but I promise you that it will. Jaggers has too talented of a staff, and a very talented, hardworking bunch of young kids that are working their tails off everyday, every week to make this season as special as last years. I promise you, nothing but good things are to come of this 2007 season. The coaches believe in the players, the players believe in the coaches...and anytime you have that, then that is a great recipe for success.

 

Thank you for your support!:thumb:

[Buffalo Gap]

The same thing was said about BGHS after yet another blowout loss to Paducah Tilghman by Tilghman's Head Coach Dan Haley. The Purples were 6-0 before that humbling loss, and it made the all-time series record 0-19-2 in Tilghman's favor. Since it was a district game, it also cost us a place in the postseason (only one team in each district made it into the postseason back in the 1970s). In 1976, not only did we beat Coach Haley's Blue Tornado for the first time ever, but we made the postseason for the first time ever as well!

 

Chin up, Mercer Co fans...better days will come if you keep working at it!

 

By the way, since that game, we are 11-11 against the Tornado!!:thumb:

 

I want to thank you! I wish like the dickens PurpleHaze, that this site had more POSITIVE people like you....for every team. Coaches and Players alike do not deserve the criticism and second guessing from people that seem to infiltrate this board on a daily basis!

 

I, for one, want to thank you! Best of luck to you and your PURPLES the rest of this year and for years to come!

[Eastside]

I realize that.....wasn't testing or questioning that fact. At the sametime, I think one would be foolished to think this Mercer County Football program won't eventually be considered a very good and respected one for years to come. All of those schools mentioned had to start somewhere, at a some point. Mercer County is trying to get to where some of those schools are, and I for one don't see any reason why they shouldn't try to immulate those mentioned before.:thumb:

 

And I hope Mercer does as well.

[Chenoweth]

Bottom line ... Mercer County is playing a schedule much tougher than the one they played last year with a team that is less talented than the one they had a year ago. It isn't like Jaggers and his staff suddenly got stupid, although it seems a few losses have stirred some unrest in Titanville.

 

I still see no reason why Mercer can't win the district title in November.

 

Success will make even the most rationale fan arrogant and unreasonable.