Mountain Musical Chairs…mountain football prospects move from school to school. @kizer_slone @minguabeefjerky @PrepSpin @1776Bank @MaxPreps @EliteZoneShow @BGSportsNation @HLpreps

Same old faces wearing different uniforms

Mountain folks refer to it as their form of the old game, ‘Musical Chairs.’ Football players move all over the mountains until the music stops. Then the mountain prospect has to have found a place to sit. Three (3) former players from Knott County Central have found chairs available within the confines of Perry County. The defections should further enliven what would have been a mighty fine game tomorrow night anyway.

Fletcher W. Long, KPGFootball’s Senior Scout

Around the Appalachia mountain region of Kentucky, it is referred to as “Mountain Musical Chairs.” It is the practice of prospect leaving one school and showing up on the roster of another school the following year.

It happens at every school in the Appalachias, particularly the more traditionally rich mountain football schools. There are myriad examples.

Last year Knott County Central had three darn good prospects dotting the roster. Knott County Central fields excellent sports teams which compete for Regional championships in every sport except football.

We don’t know why the football team doesn’t seem to share in the athletic harvest of athlete divided among the remainder of the sports. We just know it to be so.

Three of Knott County’s former finer players, Kizer Slone (’24, QB, 6’3,” 195), Ethan Combs (’23, DB), and Landon Smith (’23, TE/WR/SS, 6’4,” 205) are all on “other” rosters this Fall. Landon Smith plays for Hazard (1A). Both Slone and Combs play for Perry County Central (4A).

Mark Dixon, himself having moved over from Hazard to Perry County Central a couple years ago, has his Commodores standing at 2-0. They will entertain a visit from Breathitt County, also undefeated (3-0) and coming off a Honey Bowl victory over Hazard.

Friday night, at Perry County Central, the Commodores may represent the last opportunity for a regular season opponent to beat the Breathitt High Bobcats here in ’22. The Bobcats appear to be physically imposing this year and back to where the team was circa 2019.

When the Bobcats come calling, they will find that Knott County’s former signal caller, Kizer Slone, has settled in nicely at the helm of the Commodore flagship. Stone is 22 for 40, for 299-yards passing with 3-TDs passing through the first two.

Ethan Combs is patrolling the defensive back field with his reported 4.4-second, 40-yard dash speed. Marcus Robinson, ’24 DE/DT, is playing incredibly well. The Hazard Hellcat, Hunter Griffie, who came over from Hazard Middle when Dixon defected, is also coming up big defensively upfront.

Robinson is leading the Commodore defenders in several key statistical categories. Through his first two outings, Robinson has 16-tackles, five (5)-TFLs (team lead), and three (3)-QB sacks (team lead).

The leading ball carrier is Elijah Gayhart. If that name sounds familiar to long time readers of this site, it certainly should. Gayhart made our magazine’s 2018 Middle School All-State Football team.

Gayhart was a DB then. He is all RB now.

Through his opening salvo to the ’22 season, Gayhart has carried it 28-times for 156-yards and 3-TDs on the ground. Gayhart defected over from Hazard himself, having played a freshman season as a Bulldog.

When Breathitt rolls into town tomorrow night, the faces will be familiar. The uniforms in which the faces will be packaged may not. Then again, that ain’t no hill for a stepper as mountain folks say. That will hardly be newsworthy to Breathitt or any other mountain high school football team.

This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!

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 affective consent of this magazine is strictly prohibited.