By STEVE CORNELIUS, CJ Sports Editor
Who would have ever thought it? Not many thought the Jumpers would have had a successful season after the departure of their longtime coach Jay Cobb just two weeks before the season began.
Not many thought the Jumpers would prevail over the powerful Pulaski County Maroons in the annual Ray Correll Bowl.
After two come-from-behind games to start out the season, not many thought the Jumpers would run through the entire season undefeated.
With a new quarterback leading the Jumper squad, not many thought the Jumpers would possess the most explosive passing game in the state.
And without the names of John Cain or Jay Cobb on the sidelines, not many thought an interim coach such as Robbie Lucas could guide a Jumper team to one of their greatest seasons in the history of the program.
But now with the program’s first gridiron state championship title just 48 minutes away, everyone believes in the Jumpers and coach Robbie Lucas.
The Jumpers improbable run to the Class 3A state championship game and a perfect 14-0 record has made believers in us all.
After all the ‘coaching change’ controversy prior to the season, many were unsure about the future of Somerset football.
After all, Cobb had led the Briar Jumper to three regional titles, four district titles, and Cobb was recognized as the District Coach of the Year by the Kentucky Coaches Association on four different occasions during his 11 seasons at the helm.
Two days after Cobb’s resignation, Somerset High School officials released a statement saying, “ We have made the decision to appoint Mr. Robbie Lucas as the Interim Head Coach for the 2009 football season... Upon completion of the 2009 football season, it is our intent to begin the search process for the next leader of the Somerset High School Football program, at which time the timeline for hiring will be released.”
At that time, the school’s stance on their football coaching situation seemed to be that Lucas was only a temporary solution until they could find a real coach. How many possible coaching candidates are out there who went 14-0 last season and played for a state title?
I even had a Somerset assistant coach tell me, in jest back in August, that the only way the school would keep the current new coaching staff was if they went undefeated and won the state championship.
Coaches aside, the season has really been about the kids and their determination to win against all odds. This was evident in their first two games of the season after downing Knox Central by two points, and then holding off Pulaski County by a touchdown in one of the most dramatic cross-town gridiron games in history.
But making history is something that the 2009 Somerset football team is good at.
To win a high school football game is an achievement, to complete a season with a wining record takes hard work and talent. But to play an entire season without a loss is just plain phenomenal.
