[Poseidon]

By Bobby Brockman, Sports Editor




"Starting right out of high school because a neck injury prevented a college career, Curtis Cotton has been coaching football nearly half (17) of his 35 years. On Friday afternoon, Taylor County High School hired Cotton as the Cardinals’ eighth head coach. TCHS principal Charles Higdon Jr. recommended Cotton to the site-based council and Taylor County superintendent Roger Cook. The council and Cook approved Higdon’s and a committee’s decision, and Cotton’s hiring will become official when the school board acts on the recommendation at its next meeting. “I’m very, very excited,” Cotton said by phone on Friday afternoon about getting his first head coaching assignment. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to get my heart rate down. “I’ll be coming down a couple of days a week and get involved with the weight-lifting program,” Cotton continued. “I’ll tweak a few things for spring ball once we get a staff together. “It’s a community we feel comfortable with,” Cotton said of his family, which includes wife Rachel, seventh-grade son Jacob and fourth-grade daughter Camille. “We’re excited about the administration and feel like the situation has a lot of potential.” Cotton comes to TCHS from Lexington Christian where he was the offensive coordinator on coach Paul Rains’ Class A state championship team. It was Cotton’s third trip to the state finals. He was on the LCA staff in 2007 that finished runner-up to Beechwood and was also on the staff of Sam Simpson at Lexington Henry Clay (as defensive coordinator) when the Blue Devils were runner-up to Louisville St. Xavier in the Class 4A title tilt in 1995. Teams which Cotton has been involved with have made six trips to the state semi-finals. “I’ve made a point to get to know as many coaches as possible in Central Kentucky,” said Cotton, who is friends with Campbellsville University head coach Perry Thomas and assistant Tim Rogers as well as Chuck Smith, current University of Kentucky assistant and former Campbellsville and Boyle County High School coach. “We feel like we have the right man for our school, our athletes and the faculty,” Higdon remarked. “He’s a proven coach and teacher and those are hard to find.” Cotton runs a form of the spread offense and uses a 3-3 stack as his defensive alignment. Cotton said his family would not be making the move to Campbellsville on a full-time basis until school is out at Lexington Christian, probably in early June.


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