Storyline: Welcome to Mayfield, KY where the Cardinals have won 12 state titles, finished second 9 times, and have made 35 appearances in the state’s Final Four. With the nation’s fourth-best win total (856 victories), the school hasn’t had a losing season since 1963.
I don’t usually write columns about high school sports, but a road trip to Mayfield, Kentucky last weekend offered a story that was too good to pass.
Besides my work here at TSC I’m also a high school football reporter for the Journal-Enterprise, my local paper. That’s what took me to Mayfield last Friday.
Courtesy: IDcide
Webster County, our local team, played the top-ranked Cardinals. For reference, Mayfield is a town of 10,000 nestled in the Jackson Purchase region of Kentucky, which is located in the far southwestern part of the state.
I didn’t get to the stadium as early as I would have liked because navigating inside the city limits was confusing. But I still arrived at Mayfield’s venerable stadium–Graves County Memorial Stadium (built in 1949)–with about 30 minutes to spare.
As I drove up to the playing field I was met by flashing blue lights. It was the Mayfield Police Department. The police were there to escort home team buses to a stadium gate. Once there, the Cardinals ran through a tunnel of fans to warm up for the game–just like Clemson does.
And it’s not a new tradition, either. I was told that local police have been escorting buses to the stadium for at least 40 years.
Courtesy: Hudl
Once inside the stadium I made my way up to the press box, where I became acquainted with Eric Walker, sportswriter for the local paper, The Mayfield Messenger. I asked Eric about Mayfield’s secret for success.
He talked mostly about the school’s feeder system. “All practices are closed starting in third grade, “ Walker said. “The reason is that the kids are learning the high school system and coaches don’t want anybody leaking out their ‘secrets.’”
That’s the beginning. The structure tightens more at the middle school level. The execution is close to perfection by the time players get to high school.
Jack and Joe Morris have coached Mayfield to state championships (photo, KY HS Athletic Assoc.)
I can vouch for that observation. Watching Mayfield play was an incredible sight. Every handoff was clean. Every route was run perfectly. There weren’t any drops. No passes bobbled. (Local lore has it that Head Coach Joe Morris makes receivers run a mile for every pass dropped in practice.)
The defense excelled, too. It wasn’t because Mayfield had a lot of “biscuit shy of 400 lb.” players either. All players were about average size. It’s just that every assignment was carried out with coverage tighter than spandex on a sumo wrestler. I didn’t see one missed tackle.
Last Friday our team managed only 36 yards of offense. Final score: Mayfield 57, Webster County 0.
With this kind of dominance, you’d think that Cardinals’ players would have D-1 schools lining up at the door. But that doesn’t happen. At halftime (in-between complimentary slices of Papa John’s Pizza reserved specifically for the media) Walker and I talked about why.
“None of these guys will be playing Division I ball,” Walker said. “Most of them won’t even play college ball. They just learn the system and simply know how to play football.”
And, boy, do they ever! Over the years the Cardinals have won 12 state titles, finished second 9 times, and have made 35 appearances in the state’s Final Four. The Cards also have the nation’s fourth-best win total with 856 victories. The school hasn’t had a losing season in nearly 55 years (not since 1963).
All that success is in full display in the visitors’ locker room. The first thing opposing players see after getting off the bus is a wall chronicling the program’s success. It’s tempting to turn around, get back on the bus, and head back home.
For decades local fans have been jamming Mayfield’s War Memorial Stadium (photo, BluegrassPreps.com)
But what stands out most about Mayfield is the culture, specifically the hype associated with the football program and the impact the sport has on the city.
Consider this. On football nights you can travel the streets pretty much all by yourself. It’s like the whole city has been evacuated. That’s because just about everybody who can walk is at War Memorial Stadium dressed in Cardinal Red.
And the student body is there, too–and not just by preference. Per Mayfield School District policy no other Cardinal athletic team is allowed to practice or play on football game day. Friday’s are reserved for football.
It’s a way of life here.
Basketball may be king in the rest of Kentucky but, in Mayfield, high school football is the big enchilada … and then some.
