ChiefSmoke

Richie is visiting Columbia this weekend. He will go to Harvard on Thursday. Monday, Harvard will be at our HS for the second time since the season ended.

Congratulations to Coach French and the Boyle County Rebels. I was blessed to play for Coach French at Mercer County HS back in the early 80's. As I get older, I realize more and more what a blessing it was to play for Coach French- there is no one I would rather my sons play for. He is a great man and a tremendous football coach. Looking back over the past 35 years, the guys my dad(John Buchanan) hired have turned out pretty good. First, he hired Ed Rall while at Boyle. Then, he hired Coach French at Mercer. I can still remember Coach French showing up at our house in Danville driving his white corvette! Coach French then hired Chuck Smith at Mercer, who then hired Chris Pardue at Boyle. Turns out, all those guys are pretty good coaches. Good luck to Coach French and the Boyle County Rebels! David Buchanan

Coach Norman was coaching DE's and special teams at Paris HS when we were there back in the late 80's and early 90's. He was a blessing to me. It was great for a young coach to work with a man who had so much experience and passion for both the game and for kids. He had a great rapport with all of the players- they loved playing for him and gave a great effort. More than once, kids were angry with me and wanted to quit. Coach Norman would not let them do it. It really helped our team. I could hold my ground while he helped the kids understand we were there for them and quitting would be a mistake. As a head coach, you can never have enough guys like that on your staff. Besides being a wonderful coach and teacher, he was a great dad and husband. You always knew Coach Norman would do what is right. No offense to the Indians, BlueJackets, or Cardinals, but Coach Norman will always be a Greyhound to me! We had some great times wearing orange and black on Friday night. I am a much better coach and person having known him and watched his example. We will miss Coach Norman, but we are thankful for him and the lives he changed as a coach and teacher. David Buchanan

Most of the time with our guys over the past 16 years, college coaches want video- their best performance, and against the best competition. If they have their best performance against the best competition, you are in business. IMO, the best coaches watch what players do when they are away from the point of attack/ball. Do they block backside assignments/carry out fakes? Defensively, do they give a great effort after securing their initial responsibility to get to the football? When we chose our all star team in 2005 that beat Tennessee, we spent alot of time watching kids when they did not have the ball or were not at the point of attack. Alot of kids don't realize how much they hurt themselves by taking plays off when they are not directly involved in the play. Grades and ACT are the next big item that the colleges coaches want to see. And, they ask about character, being coachable, etc. That has been the way most guys recruit our kids, from NAIA/D3 all the way through D1. Kids that are really good but not a slam dunk, need to attend camps in the summer to get scholarship offers. Most offers before the end of their junior year are only going to the guys they believe are can't miss. Stats- I can't remember any coach ever asking me for stats prior to signing a player. After the fact, they want that info for their press release. But, stats are not a great factor because of the variety of competition, coaching styles, offensive systems, etc. Grutza passed for over 8,000 yards. He could have passed for 9-10,000 if we had been willing to score 80-90 points on weaker opponents. That would not have been good for anyone, including Dustin. In 16 years we've had some very good players. Of those players, only 3 received D1 scholarships for football. Those are rare. And, there are alot of great players playing small college football. Hope this helps. Get the video in the coaches hands, and let them do their job.

http://www.kfca.info/winners.htm

Harvard was here today at Mason County. Richie Cox is being recruited by them. We have had others over the years, but this was the first visit from Harvard.

The best reason would be to address the inequity in numbers in the old 1A and 4A. There was a big difference in the numbers for the top and bottom of those classes. Football is a numbers game more than any other.

I don't remember which one it was. Seems like he was young. This was the first time for me with this crew. They were good to communicate with during the course of the game.

The official told me it was an inadvertent whistle. After a guy admits he made a mistake, although it is frustrating, I appreciate that he says he messed up instead of pretending otherwise. Everyone makes mistakes, those that own up to them get alot more respect. Both teams played very hard last night. It was a great night for football. Both teams were aggressive in trying to win the game. I would expect the Bobcats and Devils to both leave it all on the field as well this Friday. Best of luck to both teams.

Billy Goldsmith is an outstanding person and coach. One of my best weeks of football was working with Coach Goldsmith the week we beat Tennessee in the all star game. He was a big part of winning that week. He knows the game and has a tremendous rapport with kids. And, if you can get a hold of the video, he can dance a little. :laugh:Our kids at Mason County still talk about that video. I showed it to every class while I had it. No wonder kids love him!

All of the above! You DO have some inside info.

2001 Fleming beat Mason for the district title Mason beat Fleming for the region title

Correct.

I met Coach Hart in the spring of 99 when he was the offensive coordinator at Eastern. We wanted to improve our screen package, and wanted to see how an I team ran their screens as opposed to the way everyone was spreading the field when Coach Mumme was at UK. During those two days at EKU, Coach Hart went out of his way to make me feel welcome. He was a great X and O coach, had a tremendous rapport with his players, and a very good teacher of schemes and fundamentals. In 2003, when he came to Ashland, we ended up coaching against him at Mason County. He always had his guys ready to play. Their schemes, effort, execution, and fundamentals were very strong. He was great to his kids and coaches- they like and respect him. They work and play very hard for him. We faced them each year through the 2006 season and they were always extremely well prepared, solid fundamentally, etc. As a friend and coach, he has always been wonderful to help out. Would I want my son to play for Coach Hart? Yes! It would be a great experience for him and a blessing. He would be a better man and football player as a result of being a part of his team. My point would be that, I can't imagine what else you would want in a coach? If you look at the big picture of Ashland football, its tradition, and having a guy like Coach Hart in charge, there are a lot of positive things to be excited about. We have had more than our share of tough times at Mason County. We have weathered the storms and got through them here. I am sure over the past 100 years that has happened a time or two at Ashland. The last thing I would be real concerned about is Tomcat football- it couldn't be in better hands.

The 87 win for Mercer was the first win in the series since 1968. Boyle did not win a ballgame in 67 and 68- to the best of my knowledge. The first 2 winning seasons at Mercer were 74(6-4) and 75(6-5) when John Buchanan was the head coach and Larry French was an assistant. Coach French took over in 1978 and his final season at Mercer was 1988. Mercer's best shot in the 70's at Boyle was in 77, the week after Harrodsburg beat Boyle 60-0. That game was a little closer, like 21-0. I am 42 years old and the angriest I've ever seen my dad any where was on that bus after the game. He would not have been happy about missing the opportunity to beat Boyle to begin with. Then, after the game, one of his players did something that really was a mistake. I've heard stories about the following Monday's practice- bearcrawls across the width of the field, etc. I am sure it will be a great atmosphere with all the old Rebels, Hogs, Dogs, and now even some former Titans at the game. I am sure alot of old stories will be told, and a few of them will be true. ChiefSmoke David Buchanan

1969 Boyle County 8, Danville 6. Blocked a punt in the end zone for the win.

The coaches will know what to do. Leon Hart knows his stuff and he loves kids. If my son were an Ashland Tomcat playing for Coach Hart right now, I would keep my mouth shut and stay out of the way and let him motivate and coach the kids. I would also be thankful that my son could play for Coach Hart- what a blessing that would be!

In 1996, my first trip to Lewis County, they were in the middle of a losing streak, but our halftime score was 6-0. Corky Prater's teams always played us tough. Brandon Combs is doing a great job installing a system the kids at Lewis can hang their hat on as their system for winning. We did something similar here at Mason- we made our kids think we had a brand of football unlike anyone else that would allow us to win games we shouldn't. When we beat a quality opponent one night and we had only rushed for 26 yards, the kids thought we had found something. In 97, on a Thursday, I thought the wheels had come off our program at Mason. I thought it was over. The next night we beat Russell for the first time. Lewis may be alot better and alot closer to being a good team than people think. We respect them and what they are trying to do. The best part is that the kids(Mason & Lewis) get to play a football game on Friday. Some of us will be closer to the white lines than others, but those of us that are adults will have to watch while the kids have all the fun. Good for the kids!:thumb:

Boyle County has a very tough schedule. That will impact the won-loss record. They are still very good. Alot of times in athletics, people become disgruntled with coaches and want a change. Much of the time, that change doesn't turn out the way people want. And, they look back and think, I wish we had those other guys back. Boyle has a very good staff. If my child were at Boyle County, I would do everything I could to make sure those guys know we want them there and we realize the quality of our staff. When I was fortunate to coach the all star game, and could pick any coach in the state to run our offense, I picked Coach Pardue. I guess it was a good call- 3 other coaches did the same that I did(Perry Thomas, Chuck Smith, Joey Downs). Coach Smith is a great coach and a great friend. But, I doubt anyone will win 5 state titles in a row again. I have two sons and I would love for them to be coached by Chris Pardue, Chris Mason, Chris LeMonds, and Jeff Hester. That would be a blessing. They are very good men and outstanding coaches. Good luck to the Rebels! David Buchanan

Tim Couch. Couch, and Mike Holcomb at Breathitt got football moving in this state by using the passing game. The quality of football in the state has improved dramatically since the spread offense got rolling and these two guys were the ones that got it going.

All the programs and coaches you mentioned, in both the old and new 3A are very strong. Thanks for the "young" label- haven't heard that in a while. We know we will have to play very good football to earn the opportunity to play the programs you mentioned in November. For us, it is first things first. Monday we have alot of work to do to improve. As the season approaches, we will focus on our first game and getting better each day. I am not directly answering your question, and often I choose not to answer questions in this way. But, hopefully my response will give you some idea of where we are right now. I appreciate the kind words in this thread. One thing I am good at is surrounding myself with good people- like our players and staff. Those guys always make me look good. That's also the same reason we chose to do the two passing scrimmages with Highlands and Coach Mueller- we are working with good people who will make us better.

Coach French helped Coach Elkins at Berea HS back in the early 70's before my dad(John Buchanan) hired Coach French at Mercer County in 1974. These two have known each other a long time. Coach Elkin is an outstanding coach and offensive mind. Those Lincoln kids are fortunate to play for these two.

1. Pick the winner of the game (1pt) 2. Yes or No, will KY score on any special team or on defense (2pts) 3. Pick the player that will score KY's first points (3pts) 4. Pick the player that will score KY's last points (no kickers) (4pts) 5. What KY player will score the most points (5pts) 1- KY 2- Yes 3- Beaumont 4- Beaumont 5- Beaumont 60 points

http://www.amnews.com/public_html/?module=displaystory&story_id=32346&format=html Here is an article by Larry Vaught from the Danville paper. Apparently the game may very well end. I hate to see that happen.

I thought your point was that Tennessee's best players not playing was the reason Ky has won lately. I apologize if I misunderstood. I agree that Tennesse "saving face" is not a compelling argument. From what I know from our game director(Jimmie Reed) and his relationship with the Tennessee game director, that would not be the case. I would bet any changes being discussed would revolve around the logistics of playing the game at the best venue, at the best time, and with the best players possible. And, Tennessee won last year. I hope both states continue to get their best 40, whoever they may be, level, etc, and continue to play. It is a great event. I am confident both states can find 40 quality players who will give a great effort. The times I've been involved in the game, it seemed to mean alot to both sets of kids and coaches. I can also tell you that in all 3 years, the KY all star staff and coaches had great respect for the Tennessee staff and team. Tennessee has no reason to "save face." We are glad that now we can compete with Tennessee and have success in the series.