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AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


The Prep Report

by: Jamie DeMoney
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Flying Under the Radar

Bud Wright and Sons: a Family Business


For Larry “Bud” Wright of Sheridan (Ind.) and his sons, coaching is a family business. So is winning. Earlier this season Wright, 64, became the fifth Indiana coach to win 300 games. Among the great players Wright has coached: Chicago Bears punter Brad Maynard and former Indiana University running back Brett Law, whose 55 touchdowns in 1988 set a national record. The 300-win milestone is the culmination (though he has no stated plans for retirement) of 40 seasons a head coach that includes six state championships, the most recent in 1998.

Bud Wright’s lofty win-loss record won’t be his only legacy to the coaching profession. His three sons, Kevin, Kent and Travis will share in that. Kevin is already building his own coaching tradition at nationally ranked Warren Central in Indianapolis. The Warriors back-to-back Class 5A titles in 2003-04 made Kevin and Bud the first father-son set of coaches to lead a team to an Indiana state title. Kent has a winning record in five years at Lebanon High School and Travis is learning under his father as Sheridan's freshman coach and quarterbacks coach.

John McKissick of Summerville (SC) is the winningest coach in prep history with more than 525 wins in 54 seasons on the sideline. Only three other coaches have eclipsed the 400-win plateau, and of them, only J. T. Curtis of John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, LA) is still actively coaching. (Missouri's Pete Adkins and Texas' G.A. Moore are the others with 400 wins).


Monthly Roundup

A number of offensive and special teams records or near records have been set across the nation during the 2005 prep football season. Here are a few of them: Willy Westberry of Melcher-Dallas (Iowa) scored 10 touchdowns during a 116-0 drubbing of Seymour. According to the National High School Sports Record Book, it tied the 8-man record for most touchdowns by a player and is the second most points scored by one team in an 8-man game . . . De La Salle (Minneapolis) was part of two state records in two weeks during October. Senior running back Alexander Robinson rushed for a Minnesota-record 464 yards in a 42-31 win over Columbia Heights; the next week DLS defeated Breck, 76-54, in the highest-scoring game in state history.


THE LIST

Who will be the next to reach 400 wins? Here are some profiles of coaches who might have a chance to reach that magical mark:


1. George Curry (Berwick, Pa.): At his current rate of winning (.820), the two-time USA Today National Coach of the Year could become the fifth to reach 400 wins as early as next season. And at only 61 years old, Curry has a realistic shot at 500 wins and a chance to pursue McKissick in the record books. Curry is a lifer at Berwick, where he has led the Bulldogs to six PIAA state championships and a pair of USA Today national crowns since 1967.

2. Larry Campbell (Lincolnton, Ga., Lincoln County): With an .850 winning percentage and more than 380 wins in 34 years as the Red Devils’ head coach, Campbell should also topple the 400-win mark in the near future. Now 57, Campbell was the youngest coach to win 300 games in 1997 at age 49. Lincoln County has won nine state titles and produced multiple NFL players (including Garrison Hearst) under Campbell.

3. Bob Ladouceur (Concord, Calif., De La Salle): With over 300 wins and a .940 winning percentage at only age 51, Ladouceur will probably be able to name the number of wins he’d like for his career. If he coaches until he’s 70, Ladouceur could have well over 500 wins.

4. Tom Knotts (Charlotte, N.C., Independence): After a one-year stint coaching quarterbacks at his alma mater, Duke, Knotts is back in the prep ranks – probably to stay. If Knotts coaches another 20 seasons (until he’s 70) and keeps piling on victories at his current pace, he could certainly find himself in the neighborhood of 450-500 wins. Independence entered the season with the second-longest winning streak in high school history.

5. George Quarles (Maryville, Tenn.): Quarles already has more than 90 wins in seven years as head coach. It’s still early, but at his current rate he could approach 400 wins if doesn’t accept a college job (which had been rumored) and continues to coach into his 60s.






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