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

Storm Warning: Remembering Central great, ‘McNairy on the Carry!’ @HopkinsCentral, @CountyMustangs, @bigassfans, @minguabeefjerky, @_CoachManning

April 17, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

The offseason is a great time to look back on special times and special players. A wise man once said that people who failed to learn from their own histories were forever doomed to repeat them. I can’t speak for any of you but I would enjoy four more years of Calil McNary. Enjoy this look back at a player who showed he was special in middle school and never showed us anything different in HS.

Friday Night Fletch

Christopher Dezern, ’28 ATH from Pulaski County, is the @minguabeefjerk Protein-packed Performer of the Week @cdezern21, @coachtaburns, @CoachYoung41, @PCHSFB, @bigassfans, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball

April 16, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

You know we usually give this award to a player who counts among his team’s, district’s, region’s or even the Bluegrass’ very best at his position. Everyone has to start somewhere and sometimes a kid who gets five (5) games of varsity run on one of 5A’s more stacked rosters is deserving of some recognition and some world famous, all-beef jerky products. Christopher Dezern got quite a bit of play for a frosh a year ago and looks to get a ton of PT this coming season. Enjoy this feature on a kid very deserving of some of the world’s finest beef jerky products and don’t forget to #SavorTheFlavor out there in Pulaski County, KY.

Friday Night Fletch

’28 Tripp Setliff at Huntington High, could we see him in the KHSAA before all is said and done? @setlifftripp, @Mikesetliff3, @khsaafootball @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans

April 15, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Tripp Setliff is a guy we saw quite a bit from on the Future Stars circuit. He played on the KY Future Stars team in seventh and eighth grade. He is a hulking interior guy who has done quite a bit of work on his feet, speed, spacial quicks, and explosion. He is rounding into a top-flight interior OL in the KY/WV area and is at Huntington High presently. Could we see this kid migrate down south to play for a Kentucky High School? Well, you know anything is possible and very similar like moves have been before tried and successfully. Enjoy this feature.

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: Remembering Doug Thompson from Greenville High @CountyMustangs, @UKFootball, @KHSAA, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball

April 14, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Doug Thompson was one of Greenville High’s better all-time players. He died tragically of cancer, leaving this world and a bevy of good friends way sooner than anyone would have liked. Thompson was a very versatile athlete for Coach Ron Wigglesworth’s Blackhawks and was all-district in four (4) separate sports simultaneously. Thompson and his teammates were a testament to what good a group of benefactors can do when they recognize the benefits of a football program and what it provides both a community and its youth. Thank God for all of those guys.

Friday Night Fletch

Shannon Lofton is ready for the blow-up and is coming out! @shannondupree21, @ScottParkey, @WBH7272, @TCCardinalsFB, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball

April 12, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Shannon Lofton came out of MS and led his Region I, Battle of the Region, team to the tournament championship. Region I has been gaining in both stature and prestige in that tournament as Region I high schools have been benefitting from the boost in talent being added to the roster each Fall. Shannon Lofton is a guy who should break out onto the high school scene for the Cardinals this year and in a big, big way. You will hear of him plenty this coming season. Enjoy the feature.

Friday Night Fletch

Cody Gibson is the @bigassfans Kentucky Comfort Creator of the Week @CountyMustangs, @minguabeefjerky, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball,@CodyGibson7443, @GRCHS_Football, @GRC_Strength

April 11, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Cody Gibson is a good looking OL prospect from George Rogers Clark High in Winchester, KY. Gibson is 6’3,” weighs 255, with good length, good feet, and with a 295-pound bench and a 225-pound power clean, the kid has good strength and explosion which only figure to improve. This is a ’26 kid we expect to see some college programs get after. Gibson list DL among his positions, though he has mostly been a one-platoon guy along the offensive front. Enjoy this feature about a kid whose performance made the unbearable heat a tad more bearable and who hopes his performance brings comfort to the home fans around Winchester, KY this upcoming Fall. Let’s keep it comfortable out there, Kentucky, and allow us to help you out in that regard.

Friday Night Fletch

Storm Warning: Former Maroon and Murray State Racer matriculates to Morton’s Gap to join up with the Storm @HCCHS_Football, @jordanv89292975, @CountyMustangs, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans

April 10, 2025 Fletcher Long 1

Jordan Vaughn was a player we covered regularly when the ’20 OL was owning defenders around Madisonville North-Hopkins. Now the OL coach, who played for Murray State in college, is moving from the OL coach at South Hopkins (Coach Logan) up to the varsity program at Central. The lines of scrimmage are where championships are both won and lost. Central is bringing in a “big gun” in the hopes he provides the edge the program needs to take its next step. Enjoy the feature.

Friday Night Fletch

Zachary Philpot from North Laurel is the @minguabeefjerky Protein-packed Performer of the Week @bigassfans,@CountyMustangs, @CoachNelsonNL, @BrianOliverNL, @NLJAGSFOOTBALL

April 9, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Zachary Philpot from North Laurel has all the characteristics and measurements any college coach would want in an offensive lineman coming out of high school. Philpot is 6’4,” 300-pounds, can bench press 335, squat 485, and deadlift 525. Philpot pops off 40-yard dashes in 5.5-seconds and blows through a “flying 10″ in 1.68. Philpot has 11” hands, a 4.2 GPA, and a registered 26 on his ACT. Translation, Philpot is a very low risk offer if you are a college program looking to add some bulk, strength, power, and explosiveness which will wow your admissions office. Enjoy this feature and don’t forget to pick up some world famous jerky products from Mingua Beef Jerky and “SavorTheFlavor.”

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: Coach Smith went to Boyle County, skipping his trip to Washington @coachclsmit, @ChiefSmoke10, @BCRebelFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @CoachJeffHester

April 7, 2025 Fletcher Long 3

Chuck Smith co-hosts a popular podcast on Spotify with his long time friend, David Buchanan. The show is called, “The Coaches Office” and boasts a dais of of KHSAA coaching icons, one a second generation high school coach (Buchanan) and the other a six (6) time KHSAA state titleholder (Smith). Chuck Smith is one of the greatest to ever walk a sideline in the KHSAA and the first coach to ever win 5-consecutive titles. Far cry from an All-State linebacker from Jeffersontown, KY. Enjoy this feature as we drop another installment of our “Slow Motion Replay” series.

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: The Fabulous Morris Men. Jack and Joe Morris led ‘Mighty Mayfield’ for nearly 50-years @MHSCards1, @MayfieldSchools, @Coach_Croft12, @mhscoachjoe, @BlakeSandlin, @khsaafootball, @CountyMustang, @bigassfans, @minguabeefjerky

April 6, 2025 Fletcher Long 2

There was a Ron-com musical called “The Fabulous Baker Boys” which was released to much fanfare in the 80s. While these guys were playing and singing there way across Hollywood, and chasing Michelle Pfeiffer all over hither, tither, and yon, the Fabulous Morris Men were winning games and championships in tiny, little Mayfield, Kentucky. Whatever Mayfield is or isn’t, it is the product of the labors of its two long-time coaches, Jack and Joe Morris, father and son. Enjoy this look at a Kentucky legend built by them for us. Enjoy the feature.

Friday Night Fletch