ChiefSmoke

How have teams handled practice in the heat? For example.... Mercer County: - practice inside on hot days. - practice in shells. - practice before school on Wednesdays. Just curious what other people are doing, looking for new/better ideas. Thank you!

Collins is that good.

I have no idea where Mercer should be ranked, but I do believe it is turning out that 3A has some really good teams... more than 10.

Thank you for saying this. Donald & D Smith are wonderful men. Very blessed they are such big parts of our program!

Thank you for sharing this. Your wife and the kids with her were very kind. One of the kids went back to get me another drink because the one they handed me was not as cold.... they made an impression on me as well. I had fun interacting with the chain crew. Told them they may be the Christian’s but we run behind JESUS.... Jesus Garcia. For the record, we also run behind Noah and can bring in Isaiah. Malachi is a running back. We have a Biblical offense. Thanks for highlighting our kids manners. We do have really good young men. Good luck to the Centurions the rest of the way!

We appreciate the kind words about our team. What makes last night such a big win is that CAL is a very good football team. I am a big fan of CAL Coach Hunter Cantwell. We were one win away from playing his Tilghman team in 2003. The Rebels got them and the Birds got us in the snow by a TD, state semifinals. Coach Cantwell is doing a great job with the football part at CAL and is a high character guy as well. I was glad our teams prayed together after the game. Our kids and assistant coaches have worked like crazy these past five years. One example, Mike Floro put in our (then brand new to Mercer) offense when our current seniors were 8th graders on his middle school team. We don't win last night without Coach Floro doing that for our kids and program. There are many more examples like that. This was a team win and a community win. There is still a bunch of football to be played and we still have much to do. But, it is ok to take a step back on a Saturday and be thankful/celebrate the accomplishment our kids and assistants pulled off last night on the road. I agree with the earlier comment, we are in the toughest district in the state. We have much respect for the opponents in our district. I really appreciate theguru and BGPreps. HS football in KY is special. It has been so for me for a long time. It is great to have a place to celebrate kids, coaches, and Friday nights. If any BGPreps people come to a Titan game, give me a holler. I do believe we have special young men on our team and I believe you would enjoy watching them play, their effort, their physicality, and how they celebrate and support each other. It is an honor to coach them and I am proud of them. Hard to believe we already have six weeks of the season completed. Thank you for the kind words and please come check out the Titans one Friday night!

West Carter is much better than the credit they are given. Daniel Barker is doing a great job. Their talent level is good and they play very hard. Good luck to the Comets the rest of the way!

Coach Atchley is one of the top young coaches in the state. The administration wants a program and is committed to football. The Chargers have a very bright future.

We gave all our guys a wristband today for their favorite NFL team. The wristband is hopefully a reminder of when they were little and their love of the game began. Just trying to get our guys to enjoy football more... to remember it as a game and to be fun. It is not a job and it is not work. They will all be adults soon enough. This time in their life goes by really fast. Hopefully they will enjoy it as much as possible. There are times as a coach you have to fight to remember why you love football. The negatives can crowd out the fun and joy you had as a kid. I won't lie... I did this today as much for me as I did the kids. Nice to take a step back and remember what got all of us there in the first place and that football is great. I watched some old Viking highlights today of Alan Page, Chuck Foreman, Bud Grant, and Fran Tarkenton. It was a great day for football.

My Dad was a HS football coach... an assistant at Lafayette HS, then the head coach at Boyle County, then Mercer County. I can remember picture day at Lafayette in 1968 (3 years old) & passing out equipment the first night at Boyle in 1969 (4 years old). My best times growing up were with my Dad, his players and coaches. I love kids and football. I'll coach as hard as I can til I run out of gas. Then, I'll spend Friday nights with family or watching the Titans, Royals, Greyhounds or Rebels play football.... with an occasional trip to Flatwoods!

I was proud of our effort and in spots we played some good football. When we did not, credit goes to the Rebels. They are a very good team. I really appreciate Coach Chuck Smith being complimentary of our team & kids in the media before and after the game. Legendary coach but even better man & friend. Good luck to the Rebels going forward. Our guys will build on the positives and the areas we need to improve. Best wishes for both programs moving forward.

Coaching at Paris HS, I got to know Coach Bill Arnspager, who I regard as the top defensive coach in the history of football.... DC for the only undefeated Super Bowl Champion... ever..... the Miami Dolphins and was Head Coach at LSU. Coach Arnsparger coached against and knew all the big time guys in the 60s and 70s.... Lombardi, Starr, Shula, Sayers, Jim Brown, Night Train Lane, Nitschke, Butkus, Bear Bryant, etc. Great football coach and even better person.

Close...8 quarters.

Not crazy about it, but it might be necessary to field a JV team so that some other kids can get to play a game and to develop as a player. As numbers decrease, navigating frosh/JV football gets tougher. Even though at Mercer we have been fortunate to field frosh teams for 5 straight years, we have restructured to a freshman-sophomore team because so few of our opponents were able to field freshmen teams. It's tough. You want kids to play and have fun. You also have to be smart so the depth you do have doesn't get hurt and then you are short-handed on a Friday night. Bottom line.... if I had to play a couple seniors so that my JV kids could play, I would do it. I would tell the opposing coach who those seniors are on my team before we start.

4A #1 Boyle County at 3A #10 Mercer County 7:30 pm, Friday the 13th Alvis Johnson Stadium 3-0 vs. 3-0 Farmers National Bank Game Be there!

We are excited about the challenge. The Rebels have an outstanding program lead by one of the finest coaches in the history of KY HS Football. Both teams are 3-0. Alvis Johnson Stadium is a great place for HS football. We have new bleachers, lighting and an immaculate bermuda surface. There are no visitors bleachers so we also have a great setup for tailgating up and down the entire sideline. Hope to see a bunch of KY HS football fans in Harrodsburg on Friday night!

Thank you for the kind words. I am very thankful / grateful / fortunate to be a Titan and be back in Harrodsburg/Mercer County. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and it is fun to remember the old days. See you Saturday!

Thank you for giving us a place to celebrate HS football and how much it means to so many of us.

Normally, I am not a big fan of August games on turf at 5 pm on a Saturday. I am one of those traditionalists that love Friday nights and the short week makes it tougher for the following game. We partner with Boyle and do the bowl games on consecutive Saturday nights to raise significant funding for the athletic departments at both schools. Over the past five years though, I have begun to appreciate the Rebel Bowl. It gives me a chance to go back to a place where I had a great time growing up when my Dad was the Boyle coach, but I don't have to deal with the emotions of playing a team that use to be MY team. We moved to Boyle County in 1969 and were there for five seasons. I was four years old in 1969. I loved my Dad's players and those guys were super to me. I am a much better person today because of them and whenever I can see them or talk to them, I really enjoy it. I didn't realize it at the time, but those guys were a huge blessing and had a big impact on how I think and how I try to treat others. Their example changed my life. Many days I walked across the parking lot after school for practice with my Dad. I was with my Dad alot in those days and really wish I could have one more day with him like I did in the early 70's. When our Titans walk down to do our pregame for the Rebel Bowl, I walk past the sidewalk and door where I would enter the HS to go into the football locker room. I can still see all those gold helmets freshly painted in the summer of 1969 scattered all over that sidewalk. Being in that HS, making that walk, being on that field, I most definitely feel like I am with my Dad again. I also like the Rebel Bowl because I can be at Boyle but we are not playing Boyle. It will always be weird playing teams that use to be my team. I hated being at Paris or Mason and playing Mercer. I thought I could handle playing Paris after I had been at Mason over 10 years, but I was wrong. We went out for the coin toss and I had this awful feeling. I will never play Paris or Mason County unless I have to do so. Also, Chuck Smith, the Boyle coach is one of my best friends and has been a great mentor for me. I hate him being on the other sideline. I hated facing Coach Gruneisen when he went to Bourbon. It's no fun facing my old HS coach, Larry French, either. I just don't like it. It doesn't bother me to coach against people that are my friends. I am so old, most coaches are my friends and I am glad for it. But, the ones that you have coached with, it just doesn't feel right. It's only happened twice, but the best part of the Rebel Bowl for me is that the Titans win, I am getting to visit with some old Rebels, and then I hear the Boyle fight song as the Rebels take the field. It's like an explosion of memories and people you love that overwhelm you in the moment. I'll spend the rest of the week listening to old songs from the early 70's, remembering my Dad, those old Rebels, and those wonderful memories. I will think about old #11, which I have done everyday since September 25, 1970.* I am also thankful I am coaching a bunch of really good guys, my Titans, that I also believe can be a pretty good football team in 2019. Past, present and future, around every corner, are reminders that God is good and has blessed me more than I deserve. Hope you can be at the Rebel Bowl Saturday night. I know I am looking forward to it.

The win over West Carter was hard fought. They played their guts out against us. 6-0 going into 4th. Very impressed with the job Daniel Barker is doing with the Comets.

We faced Coach Lucas’s Newport Teams at Mason County. Those were tough, hard-nosed, good football teams and players. The Lucas’s are a wonderful football family. God Bless them and thank you for sharing a great man and coach with all of us.

In the winter/spring of 2018, Boyle County had just won the state title with a sophomore dominated team. When I advertised on the listserve to get teams for our Bowl, ONE team responded wanting to play Boyle in the bowl. That team was Iroquois. At that time, no one had any idea the struggles they would face leading into the 2019 season. The staffs and administrations of all 3 schools have been in conversations and talks the last few months to navigate the situation the best that we could for everyone involved. No one could have handled that game classier than Chuck Smith did last night. We all know he is a great coach, but he is also a better friend and person. We wish both the Rebels and the Raiders best of luck the rest of the season and appreciate them being in our bowl!

We WANTED Russell to be our rival because we had so much respect for them and they were so good. But, we had to win a few to make it a rivalry. Year round.... Russell drove much of what we did and we were always talking about ....FLATWOODS! Love that place. Love Ivan and those coaches there. Not sure it will ever happen, but would love to play in Flatwoods, October, cold, wind, rain, ONE MORE TIME. I am a big fan of Coach Maynard and Coach Thomas. Love both programs.... but definitely pulling for the Royals at home on Friday night!

Daniel Barker came to my Quarterback Camp when he was the QB for the Comets in HS. I was really impressed with him that day and tried to hire him at Mason County to teach and coach a few years later. He is doing a great job at West Carter. Very proud of Daniel!

We advertised the bowl on the coaches' listserve and Iroquois responded, wanting to play. We are excited to host them. My understanding is they are thin in numbers but high in quality. We are fired up to kick off the season Saturday night!