Coming Home Again Vol. 1 Issue 1 Joe Morris

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THE 2002 MAYFIELD CARDINALS 2001 was an extremely tough year in regards to Mayfield football standards. We finished the season 8-6 and lost a nail-biter in the semi-finals to eventual champion and longtime nemesis Danville. The silver lining to that rough 2001 season was that the vast majority of that team were sophomores and juniors, so the 2002 season looked very promising. Coach Joe, the staff, and we as players knew this was going to be our best chance at bringing home championship #7, and we all knew that road would eventually run through the defending champion Danville Admirals. As always, our schedule was extremely tough and designed to get us ready for a post-season run. The season started in Evansville, Indiana against local power Mater Dei, and they, along with the rest of our 2002 regular season opponents (Hopkinsville, Graves County, Paducah Tilghman, Jackson Northside, TN) would suffer a similar fate…..a loss. As we rode a perfect regular season into the playoffs, our eyes were focused squarely on getting revenge on the Danville Admirals. What most people may not know is that the coaching staff had every single game film Danville played that year. That was tough to do back then. This was before websites such as Hudl existed and made game film so accessible. The amount of time prepping for this game didn’t start that week. The coaches had been slowly preparing for them all season long. We had been implementing an overloaded offensive line set along with a “WILDCAT” package weekly just to use against Danville. Not surprisingly, the Admirals were completely caught off guard and had no answer for that overloaded set and the Derrick Parrott “WILDCAT” package. As usual, our defense (and I would say Joe’s best…7.8 PPG), smothered the Danville offense, and we won 17-7 and earned a trip to the championship game against the Beechwood Tigers. In Louisville at Old Cardinal Stadium, like we planned all year, we brought home state title #7 (Joe’s first championship) by defeating the Beechwood tigers 14-7 and becoming the school’s first 15-0 team. That 2002 season symbolized for me the true definition of a complete team. When one area of our team was struggling, another area would step up to fill that void. It was an extremely special season filled with great teammates and a terrific coaching staff, and it was all a reflection of the main man in charge, Coach Joe Morris. On behalf of the 2002 team, thanks for keeping the Big Red Machine rolling. It’s truly remarkable what this program continues to accomplish. Now, let’s go get #13!! Gregory Cook 20
Joey (Joe) Henderson--Assistant Coach Joe Henderson went to high school at Todd County where he played football, basketball and baseball. He graduated from Western KY University in 1996 where he also played football. In 1994 he was assistant coach at Ohio County. 1996-1997 Defensive coordinator at Union County. 2000 he became Assistant coach at MHS. Coach Henderson says it was the football tradition that brought him to MHS. His goal for the year was to win the state championship and to continue the success and tradition in the future. His most memorable play of the season was Adam Ivey’s field goal vs. Danville to put us up by 10 points. His most memorable play of the state game was Saxton’s touchdown reception in the 2nd quarter to put Mayfield up 7-0. When asked what the season has meant to him he answered “I am thankful for having the opportunity to work with such a special group of young men. I am also grateful to be able to work with a great coaching staff. (Copied from the 2002 Cardinal Spirit magazine) Joe Henderson--Superintendent I am a firm believer that God has placed everyone on earth for a purpose and my story of ending up at Mayfield would definitely support that belief. In the Spring of 2000, I met Coach Joe Morris at a coaches clinic in Bowling Green. As most coaches do, we talked football. Having played Mayfield during the previous Fall, I feel we developed respect for each other based on how each of our teams had played and, of course, the drawing of offensive and defensive schemes on napkins added to that respect. Coach Morris told me that if I was ever interested in an assistants position to give him a call. Later in the early Summer of 2000, as most young head coaches, I had high expectations for the program that I was leading, however, it didn’t seem the administration shared those same goals. At that point, I contacted Coach Morris to see if there was an opportunity to join his staff at Mayfield. He explained that he had an opening, but was waiting on a resignation of a teaching position for my certification. My wife, being a guidance counselor at Union County, began applying at other Region 1 schools with guidance counselor position openings. Not too long after applying, she received a call from Lone Oak High School to schedule an interview. I told her that I wasn’t sure the Mayfield position was going to work out, so she declined the interview. Approximately a week passed before my wife and I come down to talk to Coach Morris and visit the school. Joe informed me that the coaching and teaching position at Mayfield was officially available, however, he was not sure there was anything for Lynn. After talking for a while, he ask us to go to the school and meet Principal Steve Traynham. We entered Mr. Traynam’s office that day and Coach Morris introduced us. After brief conversation, he looked at Lynn and commented “do you want a job”. She asked, “what job,” and Mr. Traynham informed us that his counselor was just hired at Lone Oak High School as their counselor. I learned alot about the history of Mayfield Football through Joe Prince, a 1981 graduate of Mayfield High School, while working under him as an assistant coach at both Ohio County and Union County. That made the decision to resign as a head football coach and become an assistant coach at one of the most storied football programs in the country an easy decision. My attitude toward coaching fit perfect with Mayfield’s philosophy. It is never about one player or coach; it is about winning and the MAYFIELD name on the jersey. There have been some great coaches that I have met and coached with at Mayfield, but the community and the athletes are the backbone of the program. In 2004, I was hired in my first administrative position as principal at Mayfield Middle School and could no longer coach in that position. There was some turnover in staff that year, so Joe ask if I would still work in the press box on Friday nights until some of the younger guys he hired gained some experience. Not knowing the complete game plan each week would be difficult, but I agreed to do anything I could to help. Now, 15 years have gone by and I am still in the press box each Friday night contributing in any manner I can. I am honored to be the Superintendent at Mayfield Independent Schools. I appreciate that I have been able to be a small part of the football program over the last 18 years. Winning never gets old. Mater Dei Graves County Economic Development 21
Page 1 and 2: VOL. 1 NO. 1 April 2019 FREE--Consi
Page 3 and 4: Joe Morris Mayfield High School Hea
Page 5 and 6: Carolyn Morris shown with David, Ja
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Page 9 and 10: MHS 14 Corbin 13 1977 1977- MHS 14
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Page 13 and 14: opportunities to our members. We’
Page 15 and 16: Barry McDonald President In 1958, w
Page 17 and 18: SEAY MOTORS SUPPORTS THE CARDINALS
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Coming Home Again Vol. 1 Issue 1 Joe Morris

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