Jon Collins

The Glue Guys; The Unsung Heroes Around KHSAA Football @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @WYMT, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @LasatersCoffee, @BreathittFb, @HopHighTigers

July 17, 2025 Fletcher Long 0

We have been familiar with the work of Craig A. Walters, a.k.a. “Blade,” and everything he has done to serve Hopkinsville High School and its sports programs over the bast half a century. We believe Walters has served the programs at Hopkinsville High, in whatever capacity is deemed needed, since his graduating from Christian County High School in 1976. What we have learned, traveling around the commonwealth covering football, is that every legitimate, successful program has a Walters-type guy. This article is in honor of Craig Walters and every other volunteer like him across our beloved Kentucky. The game we love and cherish wouldn’t be the same without your efforts. We are in your debt. Thank you.

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: Bob Redman, Renaissance Man @ItsChris_Redman, @OwensboroSports, @bigassfans, @minguabeefjerky, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @MaleBulldogs

May 19, 2025 Fletcher Long 5

Bob Redman was a true Renaissance Man in that he was able to do a variety of things while doing them all very well. Redman was among the greatest high school football coaches the Louisville area has ever known and managed to beat both St. Xavier and Trinity more than any other Louisville area coach in spite of coaching a team in one of those powerhouses’s districts in 30 of his 35-years. Redman averaged over 9-wins a season for 35-seasons. Playing against the best and most talented rosters the commonwealth of Kentucky had to offer, that is really something quite remarkable. Enjoy this feature.

Friday Night Fletch

Slow motion replay: Old Coach Holc, revolutionized mountain football @bigassfans, @minguabeefjerky, @BreathittFB, @khsaafootball, @KyHighFootball, @MCentral_FB, @ChiefSmoke10, @HalMumme, @coachtf

March 29, 2025 Fletcher Long 3

Sometimes the featured photo with our articles is a bit fuzzy. We will never sacrifice the image which best captures our story for “a clear picture.” We are a magazine which focuses on “the written word.” We’re story-tellers, not photographers. We just use any old photograph. There isn’t a darn thing fuzzy about Mike Holcomb and his ability to coach a high school football team. This guy is a coaching genius who was running Mumme-like offense in the Appalachias, where power run schemes go to die, before Hal Mumme ever got to UK. This guy’s inside zone play, out of the spread, hits the line as fast as a fullback belly dive. Enjoy this feature.

Friday Night Fletch

Slow Motion Replay: Jon Collins, the “Johnny Appleseed” of the KHSAA @KyHighFootball, @khsaafootball, @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @FDouglassFB, @TC_CommodoresFB

March 9, 2025 Fletcher Long 3

We call Coach Jon Collins “Jonny Football” around our offices. Partly it is because we can’t come up with a more perfect description than that and we are aware Johnny Manziel was similarly christened. Jon Collins has come to symbolize all which is fantastic about the KHSAA and its member institutions and coaches, be they head coaches or assistants. Once might say that he is an institution. We would say that. Enjoy a rare Sunday article we published just because…

Friday Night Fletch