EASTERN, Ky. (WMDJ) – Nothing brings a community together better than a night filled with nostalgia, which is what faculty and staff are planning this Friday night as Floyd Central High School will host its first-ever Alumni Night game when the Jaguars meet the Betsy Layne Bobcats.
Former players from Wheelwright, Allen Central and South Floyd High School are being asked to attend this event along with former players from Floyd Central for what should be a grand reunion starting at 7 p.m.
Alumni players from each school will be asked to line the sidelines during pregame warm-ups while a brief history will be told about each program. Once all four schools are recognized, current Jaguars will greet alumni from Beaver Creek to make a special sports moment sure to be remembered.
There will be tailgating at 5:30 p.m. hosted by alumni. Any alumni wishing to bring items for display are asked to do so and create their own tables. There will also be a memorial table setup which community members can display pictures of players now passed on.
Football on the southern end of Floyd County began with Wheelwright High School, when they began fielding a varsity team in 1940. The Wheelwright Maroons finished their first season (3-2-1), losing their first game to Fleming High School (later known as Fleming-Neon) 12-0 on September 21st, 1940 – nearly 84 years from tomorrow night’s game.
That same season, Wheelwright won its first game on the road against the Belfry Pirates, 14-7 on October 19th, 1940. The following week, the Maroons defeated Vicco High School 100-0!
Wheelwright played 40 seasons of football under eight different head coaches. Walter Price was Wheelwright’s first coach from 1940 to 1942. The program took a hiatus and was later resurrected by former University of Kentucky football star Wilbur “Shorty” Jamerson beginning in 1956. Jamerson had played for legendary head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and scored a pair of touchdowns in Kentucky’s 1951 Sugar Bowl win over Oklahoma. After graduating from UK, Jamerson served as head coach of Morehead State’s football program before becoming an administrator at Wheelwright High School.
Except for the 1958 and 1966 seasons, Wheelwright football was guided by either Jamerson, Ray Brackett or Don Daniels over a 26-year span.
The decade of the 1970s was the golden age of Trojan football. In 1970, Wheelwright won the East Kentucky Mountain Conference Championship. The Trojans won 9 of their 10 regular season games, highlighted by wins over Pikeville, Whitesburg, Fleming-Neon and Jenkins before losing to Lynch High School in the playoffs. At that time, reaching the playoffs was the equivalent of reaching a Regional Playoff Final in today’s format.
Wheelwright made statewide news when the team was denied a championship with an undefeated district record. The Trojans had won 14-consecutive district games over the 1976 and 1977 seasons and both times missed out on postseason play. In 1977, the Trojans were undefeated in district play at (7-0), but Paintsville was proclaimed the champion with a (4-0) district record. The KHSAA ruled that Paintsville was allowed to designate an out-of-district win over Pikeville as a district victory, which gave the Tigers the championship in terms of opponent victories. The results of the 1977 season and a lawsuit by Wheelwright coach Don Daniels, created the rule that every school must play each team in their district to win a title – rules that are currently used today.
Wheelwright won 141 games and reached the playoffs twice: 1970 as East Kentucky Mountain Conference Champions and in 1993 under coach Donnie Daniels in the last season as a school.
While football was briefly played at Wayland High School in the 1940s, the sport didn’t take hold permanently until 1986, when Allen Central began varsity play.
The Rebels were led by Donnie Daniels as he took what he had learned under those legendary Wheelwright coaches, including his father, and applied it into creating a program from scratch at Allen Central.
The Rebels first win came against the Jenkins Cavaliers on the road in the first game of the 1987 season. The Rebels also recorded their first home win against Wheelwright that same season; 13-12 in game that was played at Prestonsburg, which served as the home field for Allen Central during the 1986 and 87 seasons.
Don Daniels Athletic Complex / Rebel Field at Eastern became the permanent home for Allen Central at the start of the 1988 season. Allen Central won the first game played there over Magoffin County 15-13.
Seven men served as head coach of the Allen Central football program:
Donnie Daniels from 1986-1989.
Dewey Jamerson took over in 1990 leading the program to its first winning season in 1990 at (6-5). He stayed on through the 1992 season.
Glenn Reeves led the program from 1993-1996. Reeves took the program to new heights, winning five games in 1995 and guiding Allen Central to its first playoff appearance against Lloyd Memorial High School.
Wes Halbert was coach for the 1997 season. Kevin Spurlock coached the Rebels from 1998-2000. Robert Mayton served as coach for two seasons, 2001-2002.
Jeremy Hall became first former Rebel player to coach the program starting in 2003. Over the next 14-seasons, Allen Central High School enjoyed its greatest success. Coach Hall led the Rebels to a pair of District Runner-Up finishes in 2009 and 2011, the school’s first 10-win season in 2009, which included the Rebels first playoff victory, a 60-34 win over Pineville at home.
Nearly 60% of Allen Central’s all-time wins came from Coach Hall’s teams, as his Rebels recorded 62 of the 105 all-time wins at Allen Central.
Donnie Daniels was once again given the task of berthing a program when he was named the first coach of South Floyd High School in 1993.
The Raiders first game was on the road against Betsy Layne, a 16-6 loss to the Bobcats on August 27th, 1993. Coach Daniels led the Raiders to their first official win during the school’s second season; a 20-6 victory over McCreary Central on October 21st, 1994.
The following season, South Floyd would play in its first playoff game at Williamsburg in 1995. In two more seasons, the Raiders defeated the Pikeville Panthers 46-43 at Bracket Field, and would go on to finish as District Runner-up with a record of (7-4), hosting the Cumberland Redskins in the playoffs. It was the first and only time old Brackett Field had hosted a playoff game.
In 2002, South Floyd hosted their first game at the new Raider Stadium against the Raceland Rams. The Raiders would score a school-record 84 points in their first win at the new field in Hi Hat over Betsy Layne 84-48.
The 2004 season saw South Floyd win a school-record 8 games, including victories over Hazard, Paintsville, Powell County, East Ridge, Fleming-Neon, Jenkins, Allen Central and a double-overtime thriller over Phelps at home. The Raiders were once again District Runner-Up and hosted Lynn Camp in the opening round of the playoffs.
In 2008, Jody Hall took over the program, becoming the first former player to lead Raiders. Jody served as head coach for three seasons before Coach Daniels returned for a third time. Chad Hall was the final Raiders coach in 2015 and 2016.
South Floyd won 91 games over 23 seasons while making 12 playoff appearances. The Raiders also owned winning records over county rivals Allen Central and Betsy Layne, winning 24 of their 45 games against both schools – 13 wins over the Rebels and 11 wins over the Bobcats.
Donnie Daniels coached 17 of the Raiders 23 seasons, winning 79 games and capturing two District Runner-up crowns in 1997 and 2004.
Floyd Central has been able to reach the postseason four times in its first seven seasons, including wins over Henry County in 2017 and East Ridge last season. Both times, the Jaguars finished as runners-up in district play.
This year’s Floyd Central team is still searching for its first victory. The Jaguars will look to upset the undefeated Betsy Layne Bobcats (4-0). Floyd Central leads the all-time “Route 680 Series” against Betsy Layne (3-2), yet the Bobcats have won two of the last three matchups, including last season.
Listen and watch the game, along with the pregame Alumni Night festivities on WMDJ starting at 7 p.m. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday.
