How this 7-44 football team went 11-1 in 2007
Home Sweet Home:
How this 7-44 football program went 11-1 in 2007 They say you can’t go home again; but when Mark Peach was offered the opportunity, it seemed the axiom should have been “Maybe you shouldn’t go home again.” Since graduating from Anderson County High School in 1989, Peach had coached many winning programs at both the high school and college level. But back at his high school alma mater, located in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, the Bearcats had won only seven games in the previous five years. At best, coming home would be, as the positive thinkers would say, a challenge. Coach Peach had great memories from when he played for the Bearcats.
In his junior year his team finished 100 in the regular season, the first 10-win season in the history of the school. The next year they again had 10 victories and won their first-ever playoff game. But in recent years the Bearcats had struggled. Yet when the opportunity arose in 2005 for Peach to return to Anderson County High and become head football coach, it was one chance he could not pass up. “I had two children: a daughter, age 11, and a son, age 7; and at the time I was coaching at Campbellsville University. When you’re a college coach, you have to keep one bag packed at all times.
Did we really want to move all over the country, every JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 focused his athletes became after the I realized until I got into it just how year or every other year?” As a family Be an 11. “Our players put down bad it was at that time,” says Peach. their answer was no, but Peach did some very specific goals, such as ‘Run “We had only one kid who could want to continue coaching. He says, three extra sprints, take 25 extra snaps bench press 200 pounds; that’s how “It just worked out that the current or catch 25 extra balls after practice’ weak we were.
And no one could do principal at Anderson County High had hired me when he worked at Paul the Dot Drill in less than 60 seconds; – those were some of the goals they put down. What was so great was that that’s how slow we were.” Lawrence Dunbar High. Also, my they did all these things by themFor the 2006 season, the team mom and dad still live here; this is a great school and a nice place to raise a worked hard and their efforts paid off selves; I didn’t have to say anything. When you’re willing to do family.” all those little extra things, Peach’s return proto go above and beyond, vided a classic example good things will come your of the “You can’t come way.” And they certainly home again”
truism: did. His first season could be aptly classified as a disaster − they finished Miracle Season 1-9. “If you’re a comIn 2007 the Bearcats petitor, you want to go clawed their way to an out and do your very undefeated regular season, best you can; and so to only the second team in be honest with you, that their 57-year history to do season wasn’t a whole so. They won their first lot of fun,” says Peach. district title since 1972 and “My staff and I knew won their first playoff game that if we were going to in the history of the school, be competitive, the only defeating South Oldham Coach Peach gives instructions to quarterback Jake Russell. way we were going to be 49-7.
Against Oldham able to do it was with County, they missed a with a 6-4 record, their first winning a lot of hard work.” But first, they heartbreaker, 21-22. These accomseason since 1999. “Our community needed a weightroom – badly. plishments are even more impressive was really excited about our success,” Just how bad was the weightwhen you consider that they moved says Peach. “We wanted to build on room? “Put it this way,” says Peach, up from the 3A division they had that success, so we brought out BFS “the weightroom that was here when played in during the previous season clinician Tom Sullivan to give a Be I came back to Anderson County was to the 5A division. an 11.”
the same weightroom we had when I What advice would Peach give to During that presentation, what played here. It was dirty, really dirty, a coach who was inheriting a strugtook Peach completely by surprise and cramped.” But thanks to a supgling program as he did? Says Peach, was the part where the athletes had to “If you can improve your weightportive administration, when Peach come up with their own goals. “Their training facility, that’s number one. If took over, the wheels were set in goal was to become regional chammotion to build a 4,000-square-foot you don’t have a lot of talent running pions, or better. Coming off the 6-4 weightroom.
“We decided to go with through your school, you have to season after going 7-44, as a coach BFS equipment, which I think is one take the kids you’ve got and develop you’re thinking, ‘That’s a great goal, of the best decisions we ever made.” them. Make them stronger. Make but can we actually reach it? We’ve The reason Peach was so conthem faster. Make them more agile. That’s what we did here at Anderson cerned about the weightroom was that only been in one regional championship game in school history!’” County.” Then, continues Peach, their team wasn’t fast and they cerWhat also amazed Peach was how there’s leadership. tainly were not strong.
“I don’t think “Our four captains were two-way starters as sophomores, and now they are two-way starters as seniors,” says Peach. “All four of them have been with us in the off-season in the weightroom, leading by example. And when other kids on our team saw the leaders on our football team continually in the weightroom and working hard, it encouraged them also to work hard to become better athletes.”
Coach Mark Peach has succeeded in turning around a team that in recent years had been expected to lose. From 7-44 to 11-1 – now that’s a feat worth going for. Sometimes you can come home again 1 - Kendrick Harvey 08 - Ricky Baker 10 - Ben Walker 19 - Alex Barnett 23 - BJ Robinson 38 - Nick Satterly 53 - Austin Hammons 57 - Shawn Murphy 70 - Austin Corn 71 - Steve Heilman 77 - Zach Ruggles When Coach Peach took over the Bearcat program in 2005, there was only one athlete who could bench press over 200 pounds; now over half the athletes on the team can do it, including two over 300. Pictured bottom right is Steve Heilman, who tied the school record at 365.
Go Bearcats!
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From BFS Magazine — January/February 2008. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
