Call for Leadership

The young Redhounds came out smoking this week as they beat a larger team in Pulaski County. I was very pleased to see the Hounds play with such great heart and intensity.
Coach Steve Jewell called for leadership and several players responded to his call. Andy Millard played a truly outstanding game as did Eric Blackwood who served as the workhorse of the running game. Clint Cashen threw the ball well and made several good moves to avoid the hard rushing efforts of Pulaski County.
Josh McHargue and Zack Woody were also very effective with their play. The entire team played their hearts out against a very strong and phyiscal team in Pulaski County. Several Redhounds are out with injuries for a various amount of time. Josh Martin who was one of the quicker defenders early in the year is out, along with Josh Sanders, who has played extremely well on offense and defense. I am not sure how long Sanders is out, but thoese tow kids in particular would be a big lift to the team as they head into the last half of the season. Kevin French, who had knee surgery wojuld also help a great deal, but I understand Kevin is out of the year.
I attended little league games for all ages Saturday morning at hte practice field by the Ozzie Burch field house and there were about 200 future Redhound hopefuls playing football in front of several hundred fans. The people who organize this program should be commended, as it is well organized and well run. Two of the officials at the games wwere Josh McHargue, a current Redhound player and Ronnie Bowling, a former Redhound who now plays for the Cumberlands Patriots. The more that kids are exposed to activities such as the ones going on Saturday morning the less likely that the high school program will go through lean times.
The community interest is very strong and many people of all ages are putting time into seeing the program is being run properly.
As I think back to the early 50s and my childhood, I cannout help but relate it to Saturday’s activities. It was in that era that men like Terry Wyrick and John Bill Black, and Ted Meadors and S.T. Bitsy Holman and Ed White and Sonny Distad saw the importance of having a youth program in our community that would garner the interest of the youth and help develop that group of young boys into athletes, football players and future leaders.
Referrng once again to the letter I received from Gordy Miller a couple of weeks ago, Gordy pointed out another player from his era in former Redhound quarterback Terry Jackson. Gordy felt Jackson was perhaps the best option quarterback to ever play for the Redhounds, and I have had others confirm Gordy’s belief in Terry. I recall Terry was an excellent option quarterback.
I ran into Ray Mitchell at Saturday morning’s games, and although we never discussed it, Ray was another former Lynn Camp athlete who stands out in my mind. In the 50s Ray was known as “Drags Tail” Mitchell and was a very good quarterback at the school on the hill. I have many friends I see pretty often that were outstanding players at Lynn Camp.
Paul Jones, the owner of Hall Watson Furniture Store, was a very good all around athelete and a particularly good baseball player. Luke and Jack Wllis were very good all-around athletes playing both football and basketball.
A name associated with Lynn Camp football that we don’t hear nearly as often as we shouldm is that of coach Robert Igo. Coach Igo came to Lynn Camp when their football program was at a low ebb, and turned things around.
Now here it is years laer, and Coach David Mitchell had his Lynn Camp Wildcats playing in championship form. This team truly has the potential to be the best in Wildcat history.
Speaking of Wildcats, what about those University of Kentucky Wildcats? I know it is a pretty sad piece of business dealing with a program so totally imept. It is utterly amazing that the fan base stays so strong. The failure of the football program would not be quite so illumiunated if it were not for the success of the other major University up the road.