ASHLAND, Ky. – Welcome back to the Kentucky high school football final four, Ashland Tomcats, it’s been a while.

Ashland locked down its sixth trip to the state semifinals since the Kentucky High School Athletic Association instituted the playoff format in 1959 with a 42-0 victory over Fleming County in Putnam Stadium on Friday night.

The 2020 season joins 1990, 1988, 1975, 1972 and 1967 in the rare final four club.

It gets much tougher from here.

Defending Class 3A champion Belfry is next on the docket and Putnam Stadium will be the site for this showdown Friday night. Both the Tomcats’ final four runs that ended in state titles included wins over Belfry, including a 42-0 decision over the Pirates in the 1967 semifinals at Putnam Stadium. Here’s another good omen: Ashland’s path in 2020 could resemble 1967 with a win over Belfry in the semifinals and potential matchup with undefeated Elizabethtown in the championship game.

Al Vipperman, the coach of Belfry in 1967, said those oversized Tomcats were “a bunch of brutes” and they dominated the Pirates with 560 yards of offense. The following week Ashland spoiled E-Town’s undefeated season with a 19-14 victory at the old Fairgrounds in Louisville. It was the first state championship in the playoff era for Ashland.

The Tomcats returned to the final four in 1972 and defeated Bryan Station 21-6 in Putnam Stadium as Steve Layman ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns in a hard-hitting game that left both teams battered and bruised. Ashland carried some of the injuries into the championship game and Tates Creek won 16-7 in the last game ever played at UK’s Stoll Field. It was also one of the coldest games anybody could ever remember.

Ashland’s 1975 JAWS team had an historic semifinal game. The Tomcats became the first team in Kentucky to board an airplane and fly to an in-state venue for a game. The Tomcats flew a chartered flight to Paducah and defeated Paducah Tilghman 13-7 when Gary Thomas broke loose on an 85-yard touchdown run late in the game to erase a 7-6 deficit.

That year, the Tomcats were playing in Class AAAA – then the largest class in the state – and this game was called the State At-Large Championship. Back then, the state decided a champion and Jefferson County had its own tournament to decide a champion. Those winners met in a sort of Kentucky high school Super Bowl game.

St. Xavier, dressed in green and gold with 99 players on the roster, looked very much like the Green Bay Packers. St. Xavier survived an early blow when the Tomcats took the opening kickoff and marched inside the 5-yard line before missing a field goal. It was only 6-0 at the half before St. X pulled away for a 20-0 victory to hand the JAWS team their only defeat after 14 consecutive victories.

It would be 13 more years before Ashland made it back to the semifinals in 1988. That game resulted in one of the most heartbreaking losses in Tomcat history, a 6-0 overtime decision against heavily favored Covington Catholic in Putnam Stadium. The Colonels went on to win the Class AAA title that season, making it an even harder-to-swallow defeat.

Two years later, Ashland made another trip to the final four and the championship game. That would be the 1990 Tomcats, who defeated Bell County 19-14 in a memorable semifinal showdown that saw a big stop on a fourth-and-one late in the game lock down the win. That game materialized after Ashland defeated Belfry 35-20 on the road in the second round of the playoffs.

The Tomcats’ win over Bell County turned out to be the toughest of them all. Ashland ran over Lincoln County 35-13 in the championship game the next week in Louisville as Chris Hutt raced for 175 yards and three touchdowns and Charlie Johnson 126 yards and two TDs.

And until Friday night, that’s been it.

Ashland is 9-0 heading into the semifinals in this COVID-marred season where several games were cancelled. The last unbeaten Tomcat team was 1958 (10-0-1) and the last unbeaten and untied team was 1942 (10-0).

History awaits the Tomcats next week.

ASHLAND, Ky. – One of Ashland’s greatest athletes from the early 1960s has died.

Wilson Barrow, a hard-throwing pitcher and sharpshooting basketball player who bridged Booker T. Washington and Ashland High School, died at his home Thursday.

Barrow played basketball for BTW prior to the black school closing after 1961. He made the 1962 Ashland Tomcat varsity basketball team as a sophomore, which was rare in those days, and had several big games. The first black player in school history played half a season before being dismissed for unsatisfactory grades.

He played in Ashland’s inaugural Little League season in 1955 and could make the mitt pop with the best of them. As he grew older, Barrow’s fastball was compared to how left-handed fireballers Bill Lynch and Don Gullett threw later in the decade.

Most believed Barrow, who also played American Legion baseball in Ashland, had a fastball that could have taken him into pro baseball. But it never happened. He made a home in Ashland where he worked and raised a family.

Barrow, who was also an outstanding hitter, was part of a 10-man class that was to be inducted into the Ashland CP-1 Baseball Hall of Fame last summer but the event was postponed until August 2021 because of COVID-19. The ceremony will include a posthumous honor for Barrow who will be included with his class on the plaque behind the press box in Central Park.

“I’m glad I got to talk to him and congratulate him on the CP-1 Hall of Fame,” said Tobey Tolbert, a 2019 inductee into the Ashland HOF. “He was equally good in baseball and basketball. He could step across halfcourt and make it. He’d have torn up the 3-point line.”

Tolbert posted Barrow’s death on Facebook and several commented on his passing, speaking kindly of him and speaking of his athletic prowess.

Barrow was described as “always upbeat and happy” while working for Ashland Oil, said David Cox in a Facebook post. “Love to sit behind the backstop and watch him pitch. Played a little basketball with him too. He could really move well, especially for a big man. Probably the best athlete I’ve seen here in Ashland.”

Brothers Bill and Bob Lynch, who were instrumental in guiding the Ashland Tomcats to three consecutive state high school baseball championships in the 1960s, remember watching Barrow on the mound. They said it was an ear-opening experience to hear the mitt pop when he was warming up.

“I don’t remember him on the mound as much as I remember him throwing on the sidelines,” Bob Lynch said. “John Oliverio, who was the Pittsburgh (Pirates) scout, had him throwing and encouraged him to go to the tryout camps. Wilson looked like a great athlete.”

Bill Lynch said, “He was the kind of player that you stopped what you were doing to go watch him. Wilson had perfect technique in all the sports. It was natural. No one taught him how to do it.”

Barrow played for BTW from 1959 to 1961 before the school closed for good in 1962 when he was a sophomore. The Tomcats were coming off a state championship season in 1961 under coach Bob Wright. Barrow made the 61-62 team that included All-Stater Larry Conley, who had led the Tomcats to the state title as a junior. Barrow averaged 9.8 points per game in 14 games, but poor grades forced him to quit the team in January, Tolbert said.

He scored 28 against Olive Hill and had 23 against Dixie Heights in the championship game of the Ashland Invitational Tournament. He also scored 19 against Newport. The Tomcats finished 32-6 and lost in the state championship game to St. Xavier, 62-58.

When he was at Booker T. Washington, Barrow played as a seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grader. His freshman season he averaged 18.7 points per game and made the all-district and all-Eastern Kentucky Conference tournament teams. He scored a high of 34 against Carter City and had 27-point games against Greenup and Blaine.

“When we played at Booker T. or in the park, everybody wanted to be on Wilson’s team,” Tolbert said.

I remember meeting Frank Rolen for the first time. He was coaching an Ashland American Little League All-Star team with either one or both of his sons on the roster. Steve and Mike were both good players so it’s no surprise the Twins won the league title that year, giving Frank the opportunity to be the coach of the All-Stars. I don’t remember the year because it was too long ago.

But Frank Rolen made an impression on me that day for his gentlemanly ways. He wasn’t a coach who screamed at his players. He taught them, encouraged them and kindly corrected them. He exuded kindness. Always. I can’t recall if his team won or lost that day, but it didn’t matter. Frank was Frank either way. He was a godly man and I knew that before I knew him. That’s the way you want it to be. His witness was there for all to see. He was the recreation director at the federal prison here and I’m sure he was a godly example for that mission field, too. I cannot imagine the many lives he touched.

In the community, he was involved in youth baseball on several levels. Trust me, you’d want your son (or daughter) playing for him.

Later in life, our lives crossed again at Unity Baptist Church where I served with him as a deacon for several years. Frank was the same. He was level-headed, smart and a good servant of the church. I learned a lot from watching him and always engaged him in conversations, mostly about the Ashland Tomcats, one of his favorite subjects. He was also so proud of his family, daughter Marla and sons Mike and Steve. We talked often about Steve, who is one of the greatest baseball players ever from this area. He played several years of professional baseball. That was part of my sports bond with Frank over the years.

We had great fun talking about sports in general. He enjoyed it as much as I did. But Frank was more than a good conversationalist. He was a friend who would do anything to help anyone in need. His sweet wife, Ella Mae, his bride of 66 years, is much the same. She’s precious. Please pray for her, too.

Frank left this world on Friday night, but his impact will be here far longer. He was a friend and brother to so many including my father-in-law Fred Boggs, who was one of his golfing buddies over the years. It’s tough watching your friends pass away and my father-in-law has experienced a lot of that lately. It leaves an irreplaceable void. Fred spoke to him for 45 minutes on Thanksgiving, so I’m thankful for that. I know Fred is hurting badly over this one, along with our church family, who loves the Rolen family.

I do know heaven is much sweeter place now with Frank on the scene. He will be looking around for somebody to help. I can guarantee that.

He had a servant’s heart that beat strong for his God, his family, his friends and his community and was an example to many.

Rest in peace, Frank Rolen. Well done.

ASHLAND, Ky. – Rick Sang came down with an interception in the end zone on a jump ball last play to give Coles a 38-35 victory over Putnam in the simulated Kiwanis Bowl played at Putnam Stadium.

The game featured all-star Tomcats from the years 1952 to 1978 when the Kiwanis Bowl was played between Ashland junior highs. They merged to become Verity Middle School in 1979.

Sang was in a cluster of Broncos and Buccaneers trying to come down with Tommy Ferguson’s last-gasp pass from 30 yards out. Sang, Steve Curnutte and Mike Kimbrell battled for Coles while Monte Campbell, George Branham and Randy Elkins were doing their best to get their hands on the football for the Bucs.

Sang was the first to get touch it with his right hand and then clutched it tight with the left while tumbling to the ground. He was soon mobbed by teammates who had come running over from the sideline as the Coles band, sitting nearby, played the school fight song.

“The Kiwanis Bowl should come down to the last play and Rick Sang made us a winner with that grab,” said Coles coach Claude Blanton. “That Putnam bunch could play. What a great drive at the end of the game. We had a couple of hold-your-breath moments on that drive. I didn’t know what was going to happen when Tommy let that pass go.”

It was a tough loss for Putnam coach Jerry Clark, who had to console his players after the heartbreaker.

“We had our chances there at the end,” he said. “It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Tommy put it up there where anybody could have gotten it. Sang just had a little better angle and got his hands on it. He pinned us deep on a punt, but my guys came fighting back and nearly pulled this dang game out. I’m proud of ‘em all, I’ll tell you that.”

Coles had taken a 38-28 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter when Mike Gothard scored on a 7-yard run.

Putnam rallied to within 38-35 when John Radjunas connected with Elkins for a 24-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Sang nearly broke the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown but was pushed out of bounds on the 47. The Broncos faced a fourth-and-two on the 32 but decided to let Sang try to pin the Bucs on a pooch punt, which he did, with the ball rolling dead at the 7.

With only two minutes remaining, it looked hopeless for Putnam.

However, Dick Fillmore got loose down the sideline for a 40-yard run to the 47 on the first play and Ferguson found Roger Webb for a 23-yard gain to the Coles’ 30 with only seconds remaining. He threw a pass to the end zone that Curnutte knocked away and then Sang came up with the pick on the last play of the game.

The teams were tied 21-21 at the half.

Each team had an early touchdown in the third quarter. Paul Hill’s 16-yard barreling run put Coles ahead 28-21 with Phil Walters kicking the extra point and then Steve Layman powered into the end zone on a 1-yard run to tie it up again for Putnam after Elkins extra point.

Coles capped off a 71-yard scoring drive with Terry Fish’s 27-yard field goal to lead 31-28 before Gothard’s touchdown put the Broncos ahead by 10 points.

Fillmore finished with 136 yards on eight carries and Herb Conley had 84 yards on 13 carries to lead Putnam runners. Gary Thomas rushed for 91 yards on seven carries and Joey Layman had 45 yards on only three carries for Coles.

Putnam’s Ferguson completed 7 of 12 passes for 76 yards while Radjunas and Greg Conley threw for 39 and 38 years, respectively. Scott Crank was 2 of for 27 yards for Coles.

Webb had three catches for 45 yards and Rob Queen had two catches for 27 yards.

Donna Childers was named the Kiwanis Bowl Queen at halftime.

PUTNAM JR. HIGH         14         7            7            7              –            35

COLES JR. HIGH               14         7            10         7              –            38

FIRST QUARTER

COLES-Steve Curnutte 30 interception return (Terry Fish kick)

COLES-Gary Thomas 13 run (Fish kick)

PUTNAM-Herb Conley 2 run (Randy Elkins kick)

PUTNAM-Dick Fillmore 14 run (Elkins kick)

SECOND QUARTER

PUTNAM-Monte Campbell 16 pass from Tom Ferguson (Elkins kick)

COLES-Pierre Harshaw 22 run (Fish kick)

THIRD QUARTER

COLES-Paul Hill 16 run (Phil Walters kick)

PUTNAM-Steve Layman 1 run (Elkins kick)

COLES-Fish 27 field goal

FOURTH QUARTER

COLES-Mike Gothard 7 run (Phil Walters kick)

PUTNAM-Elkins 24 pass from John Radjunas (Elkins kick)

                            PJH                     CJH

First downs        30                       26

Rushes-yards     51-370               51-384

Passes                 10-19-1              5-9-0

Yards passing     125                     57

Fumbles lost      1                         1

Penalties            1-11                    0-0

Punts                  3-45.3                 3-45.3

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Putnam rushing: Dick Fillmore 8-136, Herb Conley 13-84, Robert Wright 4-27, Robby Mahan 2-21, Steve Layman 5-18, Randy Rice 3-16, Tom Ferguson 5-14, John Radjunas 3-13, Greg Conley 2-10, Rick Smoot 1-10, Jay Shippey 2-9, Dick Vaughan 1-8, Dick McGuire 1-7, Jerry Bentley 1-2.

Coles rushing: Gary Thomas 7-91, Paul Hill 6-43, Joey Layman 3-45, Mike Gothard 7-38, Pierre Harshaw 4-37, Roger Gardner 3-28, Steve Curnutte 4-19, Richard Gardner 4-18, Tobey Tolbert 1-18, Jack Williams 7-13, Kendall Bocard 3-12, Richard Gardner 9-84, Scott Crank 7-61, Toby Tolbert 8-51, Pierre Harshaw 7-57, Robert Wright 5-20, Dave Hall 2-23, Steve Curnutte 1-10, Joey Layman 2-9, Joe Mantle 2-11.

Putnam passing: Tom Ferguson 5 of 12 for 76 yards yards (2 int.), John Radjunas 3 of 10 for 39 yards, Greg Conley 3 of 3 for 38 yards.

Coles passing: Scott Crank 2 of 4 for 27 yards, Chuck Anderson 2 of 3 for 19 yards, Steve Curnutte 1 of 2 for 11 yards.

Putnam receiving: Roger Webb 3-45, Monte Campbell 3-26, George Branham 1-10, Randy Elkins 2-34, JB Conley 1-10.

Coles receiving: Rob Queen 2-27, Rick Sang 1-12, Gary Thomas 1-11, Willie Thomas 1-7.