The Night That Made Me Crazy : September 12, 1986

Steph, Chris, me & Larry... "celebrating" the 1986 Mercer vs. Paris game

From Black Shoes & White Shoestrings (published November of 2014).

I tell people all the time, since I know I am crazy, I am fine. I worry about the people that are crazy and don’t know it. Well….not only do I know I am crazy, I can pinpoint the date that started me on the path that lead to where I am today. That date is September 12, 1986 and I was an assistant coach at Mercer. As you probably guessed, it was a Friday night. But, the surprise is that we WON on the night that started this madness. The final score was Mercer 13, Paris 9.

 

To understand how it came to be a life changing experience, you have to know some of the background information. Our Mercer team had just graduated the best class of football players in school history. 1986 was going to be a rebuilding year. On the night in question, we started four freshmen. We were fortunate to have won our first game versus Knott Central, but in week two, Anderson County had whipped us pretty good.  I wasn’t at the Anderson game because I was at Paris, scouting the Greyhounds.  Paris had been the preseason #1 team in Class A. They were still very good the night we played, but they were playing without their best player due to a broken arm. You probably know his name….Larry Harris. Yes, that Larry Harris that coaches here at Mason County on our staff and became one of my best friends.   His cousin, Lanie Fomas, was still playing for the Hounds. To this day, the fastest & quickest football players I ‘ve ever seen were Lanie and Joseph Jefferson, who would go on to play for the Colts.

 

The bottom line, when the Mercer Scotties rolled into Blanton Collier Stadium we were a huge underdog. Our AD predicted in school that day the final score would be 55-14. And, it got worse. We had two starters in a car wreck the day before. They were ok, but the doctor would not release them to play.  And, it got even worse. Ray Caton, our starting center and defensive lineman who played both ways, sprained his ankle in PE class on gameday. I used at least a roll and half of tape on his ankle when we arrived in Paris.  Our starting corner was already on one leg with a bad ankle. We were in big trouble.

 

The Paris Greyhounds were a dynasty, coached by a GREAT coach and man, Randy Reese.  The atmosphere in that stadium was indescribable. When it worked out that I got to be a small part of Greyhound football two years later, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life and one that means more to me than I can put into words.

 

The Greyhounds were a great wishbone option team. But, our kids did a super job of being disciplined and attacking their assignments. Chuck Smith and our head coach, Larry French, had done a great job getting our guys ready for this game and our kids were all over the Paris option game. Had they been able to pass the ball effectively, we would have been in trouble.

 

To start the 2^nd half, Coach French told our kicker to kick it anywhere but to Fomas. The kickoff hit Lanie in the chest. I don’t know how we tackled him, but we did.  We got to the 4^th quarter and still the score was 9-0. We somehow manage to score, and take the lead 13-9!  The Paris cheerleaders were asking themselves, “Mercer who?  Where is Mercer County?”  I know this for a fact because one of those cheerleaders (Stephanie) turned out to be my wife and the mother of our 3 children!

 

Finally on a 4^th down at the end of the 4^th  quarter, the Paris QB took off on a called pass play. We chased him out of bounds. The officials measured.  Paris had come up short. When Dennis Davis came to the sideline (our QB, one of my best friends, and currently the Mercer County superintendent) I put up my thumb and finger, about a quarter inch apart and said, “Was it this close?”  He said, “Coach, it was closer than that.”

 

That win lead to a district and region championship season, the first ever at Mercer County HS.  It was an incredible experience.

 

So….why did it make me crazy?   Because, since that game, my mindset on EVERY Friday night has been, IF THAT TEAM CAN WIN THAT GAME, THERE IS A WAY THAT WE CAN WIN TONIGHT.  When we don’t win, it is always tough to take and I immediately try to figure out what I should have done differently.

 

Jeff Reese (a sophomore Greyhound in 86), Randy’s son, has become a very good friend. I called him a couple years ago to tell him after teasing him about that game all these years, that I realized that game had ruined my life. His response was, “Good.”  I was exaggerating, but he knew what I meant.

 

Chris Haney was on that team as well and has become a very good friend in addition to Larry and Jeff. And, it is incredible to think Stephanie was cheering on the opposite sideline.  Although, I have to admit, I am not sure I like the idea that Emma may marry a COACH from the opposite sideline.  That thought alone is enough to make me even crazier!