Thirty-five years ago this season, Ashland and Covington Catholic slugged it out in one of the greatest games ever played in Putnam Stadium’s 86-year history.

It was the 1988 state semifinals and Covington Catholic came into the game roaring. The Colonels were 12-1 and entered as a 17-point favorite with a powerhouse running game and a slick passing attack that had devoured opponents.

Ashland had underachieved in the regular season but began hitting a stride in the playoffs. The Tomcats came into the semifinals with a pedestrian 7-6 record but much better than the record showed.

Still, nobody gave them much of a chance, including their own loyal followers, to defeat the northern Kentucky powerhouse.

What happened on that cold November Friday night in 1988 was, well, chilling, the stuff of goosebumps and legends. The Tomcats battled the Colonels to a scoreless tie in regulation before dropping a tear-your-heart-out 6-0 loss in overtime. While a haunting defeat for the Tomcats of coach Vic Marsh, it’s one of the classics in Putnam Stadium. It remains one fans talk about today.

Those Tomcats didn’t listen to the pre-game talk. Today’s Tomcats may want to stay away from the naysayers, too.

The game with Covington Catholic was supposed to be a mismatch. The Colonels were high-powered with quarterback Paul Hladon expected to make it look easy for the defending state champions.

If Ashland had any chance, it would be because of a battering-ram offense that had carried the Tomcats most of the season. It included running back Mike Johnson, who that season would become Ashland’s all-time leading rusher.

But on this night, it was a defense designed by assistant coaches Don McReynolds, Steve Salyers and David Arthur that befuddled the Colonels. It was a mix of zone looks and was predicated on a fierce pass rush. And it worked. An uncomfortable Hladon completed only 4 of 22 passes for 28 yards. It wasn’t all Hladon’s fault. Some of his throws were rushed but his receivers also dropped many passes after some jarring hits from Ashland’s secondary, namely Jason Hall and David Hicks, who had two interceptions and made an early statement with a thunderous hit on a receiver who dared to come over the middle on the first play.

By the end of the game, the receivers were hearing the footsteps of Hall and Hicks when a football was thrown their way. The pass rush was effective, too, keeping Hladon uncomfortable in the pocket.

Marsh’s coaching trademark was preparation, and it was the most prepared Tomcat team I can ever remember. They were ready and they were motivated to win, not just play a good game against a team that frankly had superior talent.

That kind of mental preparation was the only way the Tomcats were going to compete with Covington Catholic. They weren’t the more talented team, so they had to be the more physical team. Tonight’s game with Covington Catholic will be another test of toughness for these Tomcats.

Hladon left the game knowing the Colonels were fortunate to go home with a victory. “I’ll tell you, Ashland Paul Blazer deserved to win,” he said.

The game may be the most exciting scoreless football ever played in Putnam Stadium.

Zeroes dominated the scoreboard but on the field there were blocked punts, blocked field goal tries, a touchdown called back by penalty, long runs, big losses, passes dropped, passes intercepted, fumbles, a goal-line stand, critical penalties, great decisions, bad decisions and gutsy decisions.

The only score came on Dan Ruh’s 10-yard run on a draw play in overtime.

Ashland had taken possession first in overtime and got to the four on two runs by Mike Johnson before Hicks, the quarterback, was dropped for a two-yard loss. That left it up to Charlie Johnson’s foot and Roger Werner blocked the sophomore’s 22-yard field goal try.

When Covington Catholic took possession for its overtime opportunity, Charlie Johnson chased Hladon back to the 23 and looked to have him corralled for a sack when the quarterback flung a pass out of bounds in the vicinity of a receiver.

On the next play, Ruh went up the middle, did some stutter steps to avoid the first wave of tacklers, cut left and went into the end zone.

Ruh, excited with the win, spiked the ball. The officials threw a flag, but unless it was going to be marked off on the kickoff of the state title game, it was meaningless.

Ashland’s players stood frozen on the field and it wasn’t because of the November chill. Their emotions were chilled. This roller-coaster ride of a game was over and so was the season.

Ashland had its chances to win the game in regulation with only seconds remaining. Stopped at the Covington Catholic 12 with only nine seconds to play, the Tomcats called a timeout. Johnson tried a 27-yard field goal that was slightly wide left, but an illegal procedure penalty gave the Tomcats a five-yard setback but another try for the win, much to the protest of the Colonels’ sidelines. Again though, Johnson’s kick, this time from 34 yards out, was wide left and regulation ended 0-0.

Covington Catholic had a chance in the fourth quarter, but a goal-line stand by the Tomcats kept the shutout. The Colonels had a first-and-goal from the 3-yard line. The first two plays were one-yard gains and then fullback Chris Penn was stopped twice for no gain. Ashland’s fans in the end zone went wild. Everybody who was at this game was into the game. For the Tomcat fans who had invested so deeply, that’s what made losing so much tougher.

But the 1988 state semifinal game, even though a loss, will be forever remembered by those same fans and those who played in the game. Those gentlemen are between the ages of 50 and 53 today but the memory of a time when you put so much of your heart and soul into a battle – win or lose – stays with you.

I’m sure the same is true for the Covington Catholic players of that era. They remember the Tomcats.

Will these Colonels remember the Tomcats after tonight?

Covington Catholic went on to repeat as state champions in 1988, defeating Paducah Tilghman 30-24 in overtime the following week. Ashland was left to wonder what if?

Two years later, the sophomores on this Ashland team, including Charlie Johnson, would win a 19-14 semifinal game against Bell County in Putnam Stadium on the way to the 1990 state championship.

Ask them today and they’ll proudly tell you about both games, each considered epic in Ashland’s proud history.

Gary Thomas, who had one of the biggest runs in Ashland Tomcat football history in 1975 against Paducah Tilghman and gained more than 3,000 yards rushing in two memorable seasons, was one of the most best athletes in school history. He died on Sept. 29, 2023 at the age of 64.

Thomas’ 85-yard run against Paducah Tilghman in the Class AAAA State At-Large Championship game broke a 7-7 tie with less than four minutes to play led to a 13-7 victory. It was a third road playoff win for a team that was ranked No. 1 in the Class AAAA At-Large classification most of the season.

Paducah had bottled up Ashland’s vaunted running attack and had the Tomcats deep in their own territory when Thomas got loose. The JAWS defense, where Thomas was a hard-hitting cornerback, kept the game at 7 apiece in a defensive struggle. Thomas darted off-tackle, found a seam and followed some good downfield blocking to outrace Tilghman defenders to the end zone.

The Paducah crowd was stunned, and the small Tomcat faithful were cheering wildly with hundreds more listening intently on the radio broadcast in Ashland, hanging onto every word from Dick Martin Sr. and Pete Wonn. The Tomcats were the first high school team in state history to take an airplane flight to a game. The Tomcat Boosters raised enough money in three days to charter a flight across the state for the beloved team.

The 1975 JAWS team is one of the most memorable in Tomcat history and Thomas was a good reason why. He rushed for 1,754 yards and 20 touchdowns by using his quickness and speed and a tremendous offensive line to help deliver one of the best seasons in Ashland history. He was a second-team All-State running back.

Ashland fell to Louisville St. Xavier 20-0 in the overall Class AAAA championship game played in Louisville. Thomas carried for 107 yards in the team’s only loss in a 14-1 season. He ran for more than 100 yards in 10 of 15 games, including a career-high 222 yards against Belfry in a 47-6 rout.

That was his junior year and he came back the next season and led Ashland to a 9-3 record and the Class AAAA State At-Large semifinals where a heartbreaking 14-13 loss to Tates Creek ended the season in Putnam Stadium. Thomas gained 1,393 yards with 16 touchdowns with six 100-yard rushing games. He was a first-team All-State defensive back as a senior.

Thomas put his stamp on a great career, finishing with 3,147 yards and 36 touchdowns. His career rushing record stood for more than 10 years.

Anyone who watched Thomas run with the football would not forget it. It was like watching a great artist paint a picture. He was quick, fast and powerful all at the same time. Just give him the football and watch him go. Coach Herb Conley did that a lot in 1975 and 1976 in his vaunted wishbone offense that took opponents apart, not knowing who to take away. There was no better option than Thomas, whose quickness and running IQ made him one of the state’s most dangerous weapons.

As good as Thomas was on defense, he was a hard-hitting player with natural instincts on defense and that’s what Eastern Kentucky University liked him most. He went to EKU on scholarship after his senior season.

Thomas was the father to some athletic sons in Marcus and Matt and a third son, Hayden, who came along later in life. Thomas coached in Ashland’s youth leagues for many years. He was a good man with a deep love of football who wanted to give back. He lived his life in the Ashland community.

Gary Thomas will be remembered as one of the greatest players on one of Ashland’s greatest teams in 1975 along with being one of the best players to wear maroon and white. And that touchdown run in Paducah will be regarded as one of the biggest in Tomcat history because of what was at stake.

Herb Conley’s legacy didn’t end with the coaching job he did in Ashland.

Twenty years after hanging up the whistle for the Tomcats after the 1976 season, not because he was tired of coaching but to make a career change to the administrative side of education for the betterment of his family, he took a job across the Ohio River.

Symmes Valley High School offered him a head coaching position and he jumped at it. His five seasons with the Vikings built a foundation and gave him that taste of coaching again that never really left him.

They remember Herb Conley, too, and they revere him like we do. His teams ran the wishbone – Conley’s favorite offense since he installed it in the last game of the 1970 season to stun Ironton and save his job. The Tomcats were among the finest in Kentucky, regardless of class, over the next six years. Nobody wanted any part of them. They were hard-nosed, like their coach. Catch a pass over the middle at your own expense.

Herb Conley, left, early in his career with the Ashland Tomcats. Assistant Bill Tom Ross is with him.

That same kind of toughness was part of that Symmes Valley foundation. Big hits were a calling card of Herb Conley teams. He wasn’t happy until somebody on the other team was looking out of the ear hole on their helmet.

Oh, Symmes Valley remembers him. They plan to recognize Herb on Friday and dedicate the refurbished “Victory Bell” in honor of the man who many say saved their football program. They are asking any of his players during his coaching tenure from 1996 to 2000 to stand with him as he is re-introduced to a thankful community.

He was more than the coach of the football team at Symmes Valley. Herb Conley saved the program from extinction. Coach Conley was their last gasp of hope. He went door-to-door through the community asking any freshmen through senior student to play football for him. Coach Conley had a way of convincing you.

“Our community realizes that he helped save our program but he did so much more,” said Adam Corn, the current school board chairman. “He created a different culture in our community that showed us how to take pride in our district.”

Coach Herb Conley giving some advice to a Symmes Valley player during his five years there.

It was also Coach Conley who found the bell in a storage room in the first place, said Corn, who suggested the school recognize Conley and name the bell in his honor. “When Coach Conley saw the bell, he had the idea to have an A-frame built to hold it and for the players to ring it after practices and games.”

Conley will then be given the honor of the inaugural ring, followed by current Symmes Valley players and coaches and former players.

Symmes Valley gave Conley a chance to coach one more time in Putnam Stadium although it wasn’t against the Tomcats. The Vikings played Fairview and won easily, allowing him to walk out of the stadium with another victory.

The itch to coach never left him and likely never will. Truth be told, he was born with it. The Tomcat community is proud to share Coach Conley with Symmes Valley for a night.

He’s a legend worth sharing.

Two members of the CP-1 Baseball Hall of Fame were among 13 Morehead State University selections to the Ohio Valley Conference’s 75^th anniversary.

Ashland natives Jody Hamilton and Drew Hall were selected and joined by two other northeastern Kentucky players in Lawrence County’s Jackson Feltner and Boyd County’s Lance Seasor.

Hamilton and Hall were members of the inaugural class of the CP-1 Baseball Hall of Fame in Ashland. The next class of the CP-1 Hall of Fame will be inducted Saturday at 1 p.m. in Central Park.

Hamilton was a slugging star for the Eagles from 1977-80, winning the OVC Triple Crown as a junior in 1979 when he blasted 19 home runs and was named OVC Player of the Year. He finished his career with 48 home runs. Hamilton went on to become one of Kentucky high school’s all-time great coaches with 986 victories and two state championships and is currently the head coach at Owensboro Catholic, where he will likely surpass 1,000 victories next season. He led Boyd County and West Jessamine to state crowns.

Hamilton also played one season of professional baseball for the Paintsville Yankees of the Appalachian League before deciding to begin a highly successful high school coaching career.

Hall, a fireballing left-hander from 1982-84, was a first-round draft choice of the Chicago Cubs. He played five seasons for three different teams (Cubs, Rangers and Expos) in the major leagues from 1986-90. He was a Sporting News All-American in 1984.

Jody Hamilton, left, and Drew Hall were named to the OVC 75th Anniversary Baseball Team.

Feltner played two seasons for the Eagles and was drafted this summer by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Seasor was a second baseman for the Eagles from 2002-2005.

The late Steve Hamilton was selected as both a player and coach on the anniversary team.

Morehead State’s 13 selections was the most of any 75th anniversary team for MSU and included two coaches – Steve Hamilton and John “Sonny” Allen. Other players honored were: Jim Brockman, Denny Doyle, Niko Hulsizer, Drew Lee, Reid Leonard, Connor Pauly, Brett Roberts and Chris Robinson.

The 2022-23 academic year marked the 75th anniversary of the Ohio Valley Conference, which began in 1948 and currently ranks as the eighth-oldest Division I Conference.
 
As part of the celebration of the storied accomplishments of the League, a committee working in conjunction with current and former schools, captured the “best-of-the-best” in each sport and celebrate the top athletes in league history with 75th Anniversary Teams across all OVC sports. A similar listing was compiled during the 40th and 50th anniversaries of the league.