Published: November 18, 2008 12:04 am            

MARK MAYNARD: '88 game history lesson for 'Cats 11/18/08

Ashland will go to Fort Thomas Highlands with an “I Believe” attitude on Friday night.

Coach Leon Hart won’t have it any other way. I’m sure he’s been preaching it to his players already.

But the Tomcats are certainly decided underdogs against the Bluebirds, the top-ranked Class 5A team and one that many say has no equal in Kentucky, at least in their classification. State ratings systems indicate it will be a one-sided romp of five touchdowns or more.

Ashland can take a history lesson from its own books for inspiration.

It was 20 years ago this month that the Tomcats and Covington Catholic staged one of the greatest games in Putnam Stadium history in the Class 3A semifinals.

Catholic was a prohibitive 17-point favorite, a northern Kentucky powerhouse who was ranked No. 1 and seemingly unbeatable. Sound familiar?

What happened on that cold November Friday night in 1988 was, well, chilling, the stuff of goose-bumps and legends. The Tomcats battled the Colonels to a scoreless tie in regulation before dropping a tear-your-heart-out 6-0 decision in overtime. While a haunting loss for the 1988 Tomcats of coach Vic Marsh, it’s one of the classics of Putnam Stadium. It remains one the fans still talk about today.

Those Tomcats didn’t listen to the “lunch-counter” pre-game talk. These Tomcats may want to stay off the Internet chat boards this week.

The game with Covington Catholic in ’88 was supposed to be a mismatch. The Colonels were high-powered with quarterback Paul Hladon expected to make it look easy for the defending state champions.

If Ashland had any chance, it would be because of a battering-ram offense that had carried the Tomcats most of the season. It included running back Mike Johnson, who that season would become Ashland’s all-time leading rusher.

But on this night, it was a defense designed by assistant coaches Don McReynolds, Steve Salyers and David Arthur that befuddled the Colonels. It was a mix of zone looks and was predicated on a fierce pass rush. And it worked. Hladon completed only 4 of 22 passes for 28 yards. It wasn’t all Hladon’s fault. Some of his throws were rushed but his receivers also dropped many passes after some jarring hits from Ashland’s secondary, namely Jason Hall and David Hicks, who had two interceptions.

By the end of the game, the receivers were hearing the footsteps of Hall and Hicks when a football was thrown their way.

That was the only way the Tomcats were going to compete with Covington Catholic. They weren’t the more talented team so they had to be the more physical team (sound familiar?).

Hladon left the game with a healthy respect for Ashland football. “I’ll tell you, Ashland Paul Blazer deserved to win,” he said.

The game may be the most exciting scoreless football ever played in 71-year-old Putnam Stadium.

Ashland put the past behind it that season. The Tomcats were 3-5 at one point and came into the state semifinals with six losses. The defense had allowed 209 points to cross the goal line going into the game against a 12-1 team that represented one of the best the Cincinnati area had to offer.

Zeros dominated the scoreboard but on the field there were blocked punts, blocked field goal tries, blocked linemen, a touchdown called back by penalty, long runs, big losses, passes dropped, passes intercepted, fumbles, a goal-line stand, critical penalties, great decisions, lousy decisions and gutsy decisions.

The only score came on Dan Ruh’s 10-yard run on a draw play in overtime.

Ashland had taken possession first in overtime and got to the four on two runs by Johnson before Hicks, the quarterback, was dropped for a two-yard loss. That left it up to Charlie Johnson’s foot and Roger Werner blocked the sophomore’s 22-yard field goal try.

When Covington Catholic took possession for its overtime opportunity, Charlie Johnson chased Hladon back to the 23 and looked to have him corralled for a sack when the quarterback flung a pass out of bounds in the vicinity of a receiver.

On the next play, Ruh went up the middle, did some stutter steps to avoid the first wave of tacklers, cut left and went into the end zone.

Ruh, excited with the win, spiked the ball. The officials threw a flag, but unless it was going to be marked off on the kickoff of the state title game, it was meaningless.

Ashland’s players stood frozen on the field and it wasn’t because of the November chill. Their emotions were chilled. This roller-coaster ride of a game was over.

Ashland had its chances to win the game in regulation with only seconds remaining. Stopped at the Covington Catholic 12 with only nine seconds to play, the Tomcats called a timeout. Johnson tried a 27-yard field goal that was slightly to the left, but an illegal procedure penalty gave the Tomcats a five-yard setback but another try for the win, much to the protest of the Colonels’ sidelines. Again Johnson’s kick, this time from 34 yards out, was wide left and regulation ended 0-0.

Covington Catholic had a chance in the fourth quarter but a goal-line stand by the Tomcats kept the shutout. The Colonels had a first-and-goal from the 3-yard line. The first two plays were one-yard gains and then fullback Chris Penn was stopped twice for no gain. Ashland’s fans in the end zone went wild. Everybody who was at this game was into the game. For the Tomcat fans who had invested so deeply, that’s what made losing so much tougher.

But the 1988 state semifinal game, even though a loss, will be forever remembered by those same fans.

Covington Catholic went on to repeat as state champions, defeating Paducah Tilghman 30-24 in overtime.

Two years later, the sophomores on this Ashland team, including Charlie Johnson, would win a 19-14 semifinal game with Bell County in Putnam Stadium on the way to the 1990 state championship.

Ask them today and they’ll proudly tell you about both games, each considered an epic in Ashland’s proud history.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.