[zaga_fan]

I'll preface this by saying I'm a big Ovie Canady fan and he was in an unfortunate situation this year. This new district is stout and they were in a rebuilding year. Coach Canady is a guy you want on your side and if he wants to find his way onto the sidelines again I know he'll land on his feet.

As the resident (self-proclaimed) Perry Central historian, Mark Dixon was always the Great White Buffalo of Perry County Football. He was a Napier guy who got his shot as a head coach at Hazard and had so much success he was never in a situation where Perry could pick him up. He was a county boy who went down the road to contend for - and win - state championships.

The chips finally fell in place and he felt like he wanted to come back. This was not a job many coaches with a state championship and a good team would take. I'm sure you've heard the arguments that Hazard's feeder program includes Perry's middle schools. But the reality of the situation is kids could go five minutes down the road and contend for a state championship.

I went to a middle school game this year and they dressed more 7th and 8th graders than they do high schoolers. There are athletes walking the halls and kids who could be phenomenal on the gridiron but only play one sport.

If Dixon can get the kids in the classroom onto the football field and the middle schoolers to stay together, Perry Central will have a formidable football program.

Any coach at Perry needs one thing to be successful: time.