Fletcher Long

Brody Calhoun from Trigg County maybe one of the best linebackers, at his level of play, of whom you haven’t heard @BrodyCalhoun22, @CoachEzell45, @TriggFootball, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans

June 9, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Brody Calhoun is an example of a star HS player who is very likely to play in college but at what competitive level we aren’t in a position to accurately forecast. You see, there is a possibility Calhoun isn’t done growing so to know at what college level he may play we would have to speculate how his frame finishes. We just aren’t in a position to know. Calhoun’s on field production is “off the charts” as the rising junior has made close to 160-career tackles and hasn’t taken his first 11th-grade class yet. We are approaching “Dead Period” so get ready. Not much lies on the other side of “Dead Period” apart from two preseason scrimmages and opening night. We’re ready. We hope you are. Enjoy the feature.

Friday Night Fletch

Lucas Fint, 2028 Nose from Scott County is the @bigassfans Kentucky Comfort Creator of the Week @FintLucas, @cards_football, @JermaineDHarmon, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky

June 5, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Lucas Flint may be the strongest rising sophomore in KHSAA history. Fling it 6’1,” and weighs 285-pounds. He has bench pressed 405, squatted 555, power cleaned 275, and runs the 40-yard dash in a cool 4.9-seconds. He’s 15-freaking-years-old. This cat had 29-tackles playing 5A football in the commonwealth of Kentucky a year ago for a team routinely in the hunt for the 5A title. He plays for one of the best coaches to have ever walked a sideline and he is perfectly positioned to turn into a very highly recruited prospect. We love his frame, right now, for where he is projected to play next level, which is nose. He could turn around and make a “Drake Jackson-type” center on the offensive side, next level too. Lucas Franklin Flint, better learn the name now because everyone will want to know it in just a couple short years. Let’s keep it comfortable out there, Kentucky, and allow us to help you out in that regard.

Friday Night Fletch

Storm Warning: Central plans on unveiling a new scoring weapon in ’25 @HopkinsCentral, @_CoachManning, @evans02_mike, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans

June 5, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Blaze Whitaker is an accomplished soccer player. He has made All-State teams and All-Region teams in that sport where he stars on the varsity team as an “Attacking Midfielder.” I would say if there is a soccer player in the world who could transition to American Football, it would be the “Attacking Midfielder.” When in doubt, attack! Whitaker got seven games of run in ’24 as a sophomore and converted 12 of his 23 PAT attempts. We would like to see that conversion rate increase significantly as would the Storm coaching staff. That said, there is no reason to not expect significant improvement with more practice and more experience coupled with anatomical development. Enjoy this feature about a kid who plays an important phase of football often overlooked.

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

Bryson ‘Cowboy’ Ford, from Christian County High is our Mingua Beef Jerky Protein-packed Performer of the Week @BrysonFord34, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @CountyMustangs, @KyHighFootball, @khsaafootball @CoachAtchley, @ColonelFootball

June 4, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Bryson Ford is one of ’29s finest at either MLB or TE. It isn’t likely he plays both ways at 6A Christian County, at least not as a freshman. It is highly likely he gets varsity early run on defense. They call him “Cowboy” and the nickname just fits. Unlike the song written by Ed and Patsy Bruce, letting your son grow up to be this particular “Cowboy” isn’t nearly as bad a prospect as the other type of cowboy. This kid has enviable length, a solid frame, and has his strength and power numbers close to where you would like to see them. If we can get a little height and more density we will be cooking with grease. 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 Christian County, KY.

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

Slow Motion Replay: The Pride of Haggerhill, Kentucky, Jim Matney @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @bigassfans, @minguabeefjerky, @jcfootball2025, @TTChilders, @ChrisStapleton, @JRVanHoose

June 2, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Jim Matney was simply among the best high school football and wrestling coaches the Appalachias has ever produced. I had the privilege of getting to interact with him on several occasions as a newspaper editor of a 135 or more year old newspaper in Jackson, KY. Matney always made me feel like I was a big shot. Of course, I was sort of a big shot because I was hanging around him. Enjoy this look at an all-timer in the estimation of just about everyone.

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: Paul Rains; Lord he was born a rambling man @coachpaulrains, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @GCwarhawksfball, @LCAKYEagles, @LCAEAGLESFB

June 1, 2025 Fletcher Long 2

Paul Rains won a title at LCA over Mayfield in 2009, two years after coming up just three points short to Beechwood. Rains had these guys yearly in discussion. Rains, over 29-years, won 209-games and a title while journeying all over Kentucky and competing at various classifications. No doubt in our mind Paul Rains is among the greatest of all-time football coaches across this great commonwealth. Rains was the consummate “Rambin’ Man.” Enjoy this feature and remember, in the end, we’re all just trying to make a living doing the best that we can.

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: Mark Dixon from Perry County Central is Integrity Personified @PCCHSFootball, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans

May 30, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

Mark Dixon is among the best coaches still coaching today in the KHSAA. He is only two wins from 200 and has a title with three other trips to the title game under his belt already. He is entering his 23rd season at the helm of a football team and has won 71% of the games he has coached. Of course, what would you expect from Bill Dixon’s nephew and a former SEC college baseball player for the Ole Miss Rebels. Enjoy him while you can because his kind doesn’t come around too often.

Friday Night Fletch