Does Kenwood High have a big fish on the line?

Well this is where membership has its privileges. KPGFootball is well connected throughout the commonwealth of Kentucky being the only media which covers the game of football, year-around, but people forget how deeply our roots have been sunk in areas surrounding Kentucky, like Clarksville-Tennessee for instance. Because of that, and our long and extensive ties to different areas, we tend to discover the answers to certain questions before anyone else.

As the French would say, par exemple, we knew for at least a month ahead of it being announced that interim head coach, Brandon Clark, would be named Northeast’s new head coach upon Chad Watson’s taking the job at Big-G (Gallatin). We knew that the interviews conducted were basically window dressing. The point is we hear things…we know things.

So, Robert Gillard has stepped down citing health related issues as the reason for his departure. Kenwood has a spring scrimmage set with Rossview High School on April 18. Wanting to keep that date makes hiring someone who can come right in, conduct spring practice, and get his team ready for that scrimmage of some importance to AD, Gary Chadwell. We would like to go over some of the realities of the situation with the Kenwood job.

Malcolm Perry, Photo: David Roach

First off, what kind of a job is Kenwood as far as ability to win there….It is a very good job. Kenwood High School routinely benefits from outstanding athletes enrolled within its student-body. You are talking about a school which has produced football playing talent the likes of Malcolm Perry (Navy), Antwan Branch (North Carolina), Maleek Hall (UT-Chattanooga), Coreon Jackson (Austin Peay), and JJ Walker (Missouri Valley College). You are also talking about a roster which presently boasts Kavarius Moody and Treyvon Jefferson with Tyrelle Smith having transferred in this Spring from Hopkinsville. You are also talking about a program which had made 5 straight playoff appearances under Brain Beaubien prior to Gillard getting there.

What do we know about the hire? KPGFootball has been told Chadwell has his man. There is a lot here we can’t say and to the extent you believe your $9.99 a month entitles you to require us to burn our sources, we will have to agree to disagree. First of all, this is Gary Chadwell and not Johnny Miller’s hire. That is an important distinction. For those of you who don’t know, Johnny Miller, the former AD at Rossview High School is the Montgomery County School District’s Athletics Director. There are plenty of schools in Montgomery County who just defer to him to fill football coaching vacancies.

Our information tells us Gary Chadwell will sink or swim alone on making this decision. We believe he will elevate an area assistant not presently on the Knight’s staff. We believe this will be a guy who is defensively minded, principally, and a guy who has extensive experience running high school football programs behind the scenes. We believe this is a coach whose forte is being both wildly and widely popular with area athletes in addition to his having coordinated defenses at both the 4 and 5A levels in several states, including Tennessee. We believe his being hired at Kenwood would attract area players to play at Kenwood who otherwise might not have considered it.

Our information also tells us this guy has assembled a staff with decades of high-level, high-school, coaching experience. The most important thing we can disclose is Kenwood has indicated to this candidate that competing at championship levels is of prime importance to the administration. Kenwood indicates they are willing to give this guy what he needs to be successful.

Okay, guys, there we go. When this gets announced we will be back to disclose how the guy selected was the guy we foresaw or we will admit we are wrong, if they settle on a guy other than the guy we believe to be the front-runner. These situations are fluid and change from day to day and from minute to minute. It is an exciting time for sure, for anyone who would consider themselves fans of the Knight’s football program.

Reporting for KPGFootball, this is F.W. Long, reminding all of you ballers out there to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE.

If you enjoyed this article and wish to gain full-access to the site, then subscribe monthly to Kentucky Prep Gridiron by following the prompts!

© The information contained on this site is the copyrighted intellectual property of KPGFootball. Any unauthorized dissemination of this material without the author’s express written consent is strictly prohibited!

Important Future Stars tryout information!



About Fletcher Long 1447 Articles
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

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply