Slow motion replay

Slow Motion Replay: Vic Marsh from Blazer High was a Franklin fan it would seem @murrayhighFB, @MurrayTigers, @MurrayQBClub, @HopHighTigers, @HopkAthletics, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball

June 25, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Today we are going to learn a thing or two about history by learning about two important historical figures. One of them is Benjamin Franklin, known for his wisdom and wit and coming up with great quotations still used today. The other guy is Vic Marsh, who famously believed in preparation and was very probably a reader of Benjamin Franklin and a fan. Whether he was a fan of Franklin or not, we at KPGFootball were certainly fans of his. Enjoy this 72nd installment of our series, “Slow Motion Replay.”

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: Well, that’s a Peach…Mark Peach proved his worth over his many years of service @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @LC_Patriots, @TravAtwell

June 23, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Mark Peach is a high school coach who has met with considerable success along his career path. We have Peach with around 166-wins against 97-losses. We have him winning his region four (4) times and appearing in the state championship game twice, once at Hancock County in 1A (1999) and a second time at Anderson County in 5A (2011). Peach’s teams enjoyed a pair of undefeated regular seasons over his tenure. In addition, Peach developed and promoted a player, in Travis Atwell, into the coveted “Mr. Football” award and an appearance in the 1A title game after turning in a 12-3 mark and losing to Beechwood for the title. Enjoy this feature about Mark Peach, a fine football coach.

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: Alvis Johnson and an anecdote on acorns @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @driver_brock, @CoachHaddix11, @khsaafootball, @WoodfordFBall, @Woodfordsuper1, @mctitansfball

June 22, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

We keep running across coaches deserving of recognition. This guy here lent a tremendous amount of credence to the proverb about acorns not falling too far from its tree. Alvis Johnson played football at Christian County High School in the 60s and went on to become a football player for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Upon graduation, Johnson came home to Hopkinsville and began as an assistant football coach at his alma mater. Thereafter, Johnson got the head coaching job at Harrodsburg where he built them into a 1A powerhouse. Johnson won over 71% of the games in which he coached, totaling 194-wins against only 77-losses with three (3) trips to the finals, losing in 1996 to Beechwood in overtime. This guy here was among the greatest track coaches in the history of the KHSAA like yesterday’s feature Ben Pumphrey. Sons Derrick and Dennis Johnson were part of Harrodsburg’s huge run of success in the ’90s and both went on to play at the University of Kentucky. Enjoy this feature.

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: ‘Holy Toledo, Batman! It’s Coach Ben Pumphrey!’ @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @khsaafootball

June 21, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

We thought we had concluded our “Slow Motion Replay” series and then a colleague reached out to me and said “What about Ben Pumphrey?” We researched it and couldn’t have agreed more. Pumphrey was among the more fun and charismatic coaches the KHSAA has ever known. He was also a guy who traveled the commonwealth taking hard jobs, jobs many of his colleagues didn’t want. Pumphrey did it to make a difference and what a difference he made. Pumphrey was enshrined in the KHSAA Hall of Fame in 2004 and richly, deservedly. Today he is being featured by us. Again, his being featured by Friday Night Fletch and KPGFootball is richly and deservedly past due. Enjoy this edition of the Slow Motion Replay series. Be aware, there is no telling where this series will actually end and when. We will keep writing them as long as you care to read them.

Friday Night Fletch.

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

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

Slow Motion Replay: South Laurel’s John Hines knows 57-ways to win a ball game @JohnHines66, @slcardinalsfb, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans

June 9, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

John Hines is among the greatest the high school game has ever known around the commonwealth of Kentucky. Besides that, the cowboy hat, which has become his trademark, makes him easy to spot from a mile away. If there is one thing this series has taught us at KPGFootball; it is that all-timers, lifers, the best to have ever done it, share similar traits, similar characteristics. Hines has all the earmarks which denote him as belonging amongst the other greats we have featured in this series. He won the county’s first state football championship amongst its three schools when he turned the trick in 2014. His Pulaski County Maroons went 52-8 between 2013 and 2016 in addition to the championship before referenced. We are proud to get to feature this guy in our series. Hines belongs here.

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: Allan Cox, from war hero to football coaching icon @pths_football, @westkystar, @Doug_Preston1, @LCAEAGLESFB, @MSUEaglesFB, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @KyHighFootball, @khsaafootball, @UTM_FOOTBALL

June 4, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Often times you can tell a lot about one legend with how well or poorly he fairs against another legend or legends. For Allan Cox, he owned a 7-3 record against Jack Morris and “Mighty Mayfield” in 10-appearances against him as the head football coach of “The Blue Tornado.” That is really remarkable. Cox posted 106-wins over an 11-season run with five trips to the title game, winning the whole enchilada in 1985. On top of all of that, Coach Cox was a war hero in Vietnam, returning home with his entire platoon alive and being awarded “The Bronze Star” with a “V” device for valor in combat. This guy was a football coach’s, football coach. Enjoy the feature.

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: Jack Haskins rode off into history, like one tin soldier @McCrackenStangs, @pths_football, @TCEonSGPN, @KyHighFootball, @khsaafootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans

June 3, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

This may prove to be the longest article of the series. This is already the longest series in magazine history. It is something else too. It is the most important undertaking we have ever before attempted. It is critically important we remember this guys before they fade into the dustbin of our collective memories. Jack Haskins did something in WKY we thought we would see. In a sea of “ground and pound” offenses and steady, “crowd the run box” defenses, Haskins filled the Friday Night air with leather. Of course, when you have 1989’s “Mr. Football” at QB, Pookie Jones, you have to incorporate an offensive system which complements your personnel. That is what Haskins did at Calloway County and the landscape, out west, has never looked the same. Enjoy this installment of this series featuring a guy who was a revolutionary, offensively, to the KHSAA game.

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: Noel Rash built a tremendous legacy at Beechwood @BeechwoodFB, @beechwood_tiger, @PikevilleHSFB, @bigassfans, @minguabeefjerky, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @CentreFootball

June 3, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Noah from the Bible’s Ark isn’t the only famous “Noah.” He wouldn’t be the first famous “Noel” either, which is slightly more germane. The biblical “Noah” is just the most renown, “Noah.” Our “Noel,” not to be confused with “Noah,”the one with the surname “Rash,” who was pretty obviously NOT named for the original “Noah” is pretty famous too. Noel Rash helped construct the Ark of powerhouse football being captained around the Northern Kentucky area and the KHSAA. Rash won 200-games and eight (8) titles run 17-years before riding off into the sunset. Rash is missed, but they were winning championships at Beechwood before him and they will win titles after him, as they have in fact done. Still, we should take a moment to recognize and remember a coach who did it as well as anyone has before or since. Enjoy this installment of our “Slow Motion Replay” series as we look back at Noel Rash.

Friday Night Fletch