Articles by Fletcher Long

About Fletcher Long
Two-time winner of Kentucky Press Association awards for excellence in writing and reporting news stories while Managing Editor of the Jackson (KY) Times-Voice

KPGFootball’s Preseason Top-Five (5A) @bigassfans, @minguabeefjerky, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball

June 17, 2025 Fletcher Long 2

It is that time of year. It is time to start figuring which teams, entering the ’25 season, figure to factor in the title chase. We have detailed what we think here and it is based on our study of the incoming, ’25 rosters, what players return, what players graduated, and other various factors we have perfected through the years to render such predictions. We plan to do this for all of Kentucky’s six (6) classifications and there is no guarantee we will go in order from the top down, or the bottom to the top. There are good football teams in the KHSAA and there are bad ones and those teams span all of the six classes. Enjoy today’s look at 5A. Keep checking back as we may drop another class any time we feel like it.

Friday Night Fletch

Gary Daugherty, Jr from Central High is a ’27 looking for opportunity to prove himself @45pro6lems, @CoachDantzler, @khsaafootball, @bigassfans, @minguabeefjerky, @KyHighFootball

June 17, 2025 Fletcher Long 1

There are tons of players of whom you know absolutely nothing who will hit the field this fall and bedazzle you with their brilliance. We see it season after season. However, at KPGFootball we feel the term “expertise” requires something of us. We like to get out and look at the up and coming kids and predict which of these kids will be future stars before anyone else. We believe Gary Daugherty, Jr. from Central High has the frame and the brains to emerge from the summer camp/combine circuit with an opportunity to show everyone what he can really do. We think the show may prove breathtaking. Enjoy this feature and let’s sit on this a second and see if we don’t prove ourselves correct, yet another time!

Slow Motion Replay: Sam Simpson, over his 27-year career at Henry Clay provided Blue Devil fans lots of shining moments @HCHSDevilsFB, @HCHS_Athletics, @MarionCoKnights, @KyHighFootball, @khsaafootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans

June 16, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Sam Simpson went 32-years coaching at two places not easy to win ball games. Marion County was five years and the other 27 were spent in Lexington at Henry Clay High. Simpson won 193-games at Henry Clay, taking the Blue Devils to one of its two visits to the title game. Henry Clay beat St. Francis DeSales back in 1981 for the 4A title under Jack Bell. Simpson would take the team on an improbably four (4) game run through the playoffs which ultimately ended in the title game against Mike Glasur’s Tigers. Well, that ended up like matchups with St. Xavier often do, with the Tigers leaving the field with victory. Enjoy this installment of our “Slow Motion Replay” series.

Friday Night Fletch

KPGFootball’s Preseason Top-Five (6A) @bigassfans, @minguabeefjerky, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball

June 15, 2025 Fletcher Long 1

It is that time of year. It is time to start figuring which teams, entering the ’25 season, figure to factor in the title chase. We have detailed what we think here and it is based on our study of the incoming, ’25 rosters, what players return, what players graduated, and other various factors we have perfected through the years to render such predictions. We plan to do this for all of Kentucky’s six (6) classifications and there is no guarantee we will go in order from the top down, or the bottom to the top. There are good football teams in the KHSAA and there are bad ones and those teams span all of the six classes. Enjoy today’s look at 6A. Keep checking back as we may drop another class any time we feel like it.

Friday Night Fletch

KPGFootball’s Preseason Top-Five (1A) @bigassfans, @minguabeefjerky, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball

June 14, 2025 Fletcher Long 1

It is that time of year. It is time to start figuring which teams, entering the ’25 season, figure to factor in the title chase. We have detailed what we think here and it is based on our study of the incoming, ’25 rosters, what players return, what players graduated, and other various factors we have perfected through the years to render such predictions. We plan to do this for all of Kentucky’s six (6) classifications and there is no guarantee we will go in order from the top down, or the bottom to the top. There are good football teams in the KHSAA and there are bad ones and those teams span all of the six classes. Enjoy today’s look at 1A. Keep checking back as we may drop another class any time we feel like it.

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: Walter Brugh was ‘The Big Blue Legend’ at Paintsville High @PaintsvilleFB, @PaintsvilleHS, @MichaelBrughArt, @CitadelFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @KyHighFootball, @khsaafootball

June 13, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

I, for one, miss the old time football coaches like Walter Brugh from Paintsville. Often the “greats” from these days end up among the all-timers. This guy here fits that bill. Brugh went to the title game twice, in 1978 and in 1985. Each trip netted him a tight ball game which pitted him against two other Hall of Famers, Marshall Patterson in 1978 and Pat Gates in 1985. We have before mused around the magazine how often two hall of fame guys find themselves pitted against the other at that level. It is uncanny. Enjoy this look at a coach who retired in 1994 the KHSAA’s all time leader in wins. He has since been eclipsed but remains pretty high on the all-time wins list. The “Big Blue Legend” himself, Walter Brugh. Try to learn a thing or two.

Friday Night Fletch

Jason Hence from Collins High is the @bigassfans Kentucky Comfort Creator of the Week @jasonhenc3, @Aspirationsgym, @MLCTitanCoach, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky

June 13, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Hence is a guy who is hard to pigeon-hole. Yes, he can play some QB. Yes, he can play WR. Yes, he can play DB. Where should he play? I don’t know, where do you need him? This guy is what all high school rosters would love to have. Hence is a 6’2,” 180-pounder who can be plugged in anywhere. He was called upon to throw a few passes in ’24 and he completed 90% of his passing attempts (9/10). He caught 38-passes for nearly 500-yards and six (6) scores and was third on the team in scoring. We hear he is a “lock-down,” backend defender too. Enjoy this feature and let’s keep it comfortable out there, Kentucky!

Friday Night Fletch

KPGFootball’s Preseason Top-Five (2A)

June 12, 2025 Fletcher Long 2

It is that time of year. It is time to start figuring which teams, entering the ’25 season, figure to factor in the title chase. We have detailed what we think here and it is based on our study of the incoming, ’25 rosters, what players return, what players graduated, and other various factors we have perfected through the years to render such predictions. We plan to do this for all of Kentucky’s six classifications and there is no guarantee we will go in order from the top down, or the bottom to the top. There are good football teams in the KHSAA and there are bad ones and those teams span all of the six classes. Enjoy today’s look at 2A. Keep checking back as we may drop another class any time we feel like it.

Friday Night Fletch

Storm Warning: Is there a leader emerging for Sylas Gunn? @HopkinsCentral, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @SylasGunn, @CoachSimmons_CC, @Coach_CotterLWC, @CoachManers, @washufootball

June 12, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Recruiting is heating up for one of ’26’s more versatile and recruitable athletes. Gunn just got back from Centre College’s spring game and ring ceremony regarding its ’24 SAA title. Have the Colonels emerged from that event the clear leader? Is WashU, Georgetown, and Lindsey Wilson still firmly in the mix? We may not have all the answers in this article, but it is a fun game to get to contemplate. Enjoy this feature about a kid you might not have know about prior.
Friday Night Fletch

Nash Bird from West Jessamine is our @minguabeefjerky Protein-packed Performer of the Week @NashBird24, @WJCOLTSFootball, @kwc_football, @CoachWalker_M, @DLCoach_Danford, @bigassfans, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball

June 11, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Nash Bird is a “Dude.” This guy had a really fruitful day at the KWC Junior Combine and left Owensboro on quite a few “recruiting boards.” This guy will field some offers this summer. If he has the kind of season in ’25 he had in ’24, look out 5A, District 7, because the Colts will be looking to improve drastically over the 3-8 Scott Marsh’s Colts posted a year ago. This is a kid with good length (76-inch wingspan), decent strength (225-pound bench press), an upper level speed for a kid in the spring of his sophomore year (4.69-second 40; 4.44 second short shuttle). Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to pick up some world famous jerky products from Mingua Beef Jerky and “SavorTheFlavor.”

Friday Night Fletch