Don't Mess with the Purple Haze Defense & Perry Thomas: Paris vs. Campbellsville, 1993

Coach Perry Thomas & I.  2005 All Stars, KY - 41, TN - 27
Papa Johns Stadium-Louisville, KY
Photo by theguru, BluegrassPreps

September, 1993, the Campbellsville HS Eagles coached by Perry Thomas, were ranked #1 in KY Class A. Good grief those guys were good. 

We (the Paris Greyhounds) were also undefeated and ranked in the top ten of Class A.  We were playing at Campbellsville and were excited about the challenge. Their head coach, Perry Thomas, was a good friend and still is today. We had become friends through Chuck Smith because he had been on Chuck's Allen County- Scottsville staff in 1987. They both went to Campbellsville HS in 1988.

1993 Defensive Prep Notes: Campbellsville HS

We did not get off to a good start. We had not charged our headsets. Strike 1. During pregame, I hollered at a coach, "throw me a ball."  He throws me an old kicking ball. I throw it back, "throw me a game ball!"  He throws it back at me and says, "We forgot the game balls. This is all we got."  Strike 2.

The game gets started. This was a good football team. We were battling, but they could move the ball and were tough to stop. Perry is especially a GREAT defensive coach.  We struggled to move the ball all night. And, we had some cats that could play. Good grief, the Purple Haze defense was tough!

Then, we have a fan get ejected. To get the full effect, he is escorted across the game field. This is a great night only getting better. My best guess.... he is mad at me. Not the refs. Usually when my teams have struggled over the past 30 years, I'm the one everybody is mad at. Goes with the job. 

Finally in the 4th quarter, down three TD's, we are moving the ball and about to score.  But, Marcus Anderson (#32) intercepts the ball in the endzone and takes it to the house for a pick six. One of my best players, incredibly frustrated, stands at midfield and flies the double bird at the Campbellsville crowd.... they have a packed house and are going crazy on the play. My defensive coordinator, Phil Burbage, grabs him and pulls him off the field. He tells the player, "You will pay for that on Monday!" The player says, "Yeah, I know. But, it was worth it."

1993 Paris Greyhound Football Staff

Over the years when my teams would struggle and I would talk to my Dad, he would say to me, more than once, "You don't want to hear this, but you need to get your a$$ kicked." He was usually right. Our 93 Greyhounds did not lose another game until Beechwood beat us in a war, round 2 of the playoffs, on their way to a state championship. The Purple Haze had given us a wake up call that we really didn't want, but we sure did need. They showed us what a great Class A football team looked like in 1993 and that we had a bunch of work to do. 

And, looking at those notes... we did not stop #40 (Timmy Mays) or #32. 

Perry Thomas is still a good friend and excellent football coach. We got to coach together in the KY-TN All Star game in 2005 when we beat Tennessee by two TD's. 

Trosper loves Jimi Hendrix. How can you not. But, dang.... every time I hear Purple Haze, I think about that night in Campbellsville and that great defense.  Still, if this Friday night, I could visit with Perry Thomas before the game, and get ready to have the Hounds and Eagles put the ball on the tee and play some football, I sure would take it. And, I bet you it would be a great football game. 

Purple Haze(live) - Jimi Hendrix

Blanton Collier: Quarterback Reminders

 Here are Coach Blanton Collier's "Quarterback Reminders." 

Once again, coaching of the eyes and attention to detail are the overriding theme to his insights.

Film Breakdown: Blanton Collier... the Pioneer

Blanton Collier was famous for his ground breaking work in video analysis. Here is a window into the thoughts and work of a genius. Head Coach, Paul Brown assigned developing a film analysis to Coach Collier when they both coached the Cleveland Browns. 

Now with Hudl and the extensive video work at all levels of football, we take for granted that someone blazed the trail. In the modern era of football, when coaches evaluate video, the roots of that process and what they are seeking to understand and evaluate, go back to Blanton Collier.  

Kay Collier McLaughlin (Blanton Collier's daughter) was kind enough to share this with me a few weeks ago. Considering his NFL winning percentage (76 - 34 - 2; .691), World Championship with the Browns in 1964, innovative contributions to the game of football, and his legacy of how he treated everyone, Coach Collier is most certainly deserving of induction into The Pro Football Hall of Fame.