He was a star QB in the NFL. Now, he’s coaching a Kentucky prep team in the state finals.
When Chad Pennington took up the reins of Sayre’s revival of varsity high school football in 2018, the small Lexington private school was more known for its high academic standards than its athletics prowess.
Sayre boasts that 100 percent of its seniors get accepted to four-year colleges and 85 percent earn some type of merit scholarship. The school enrolled 239 students in the 2023-24 school year, according to KHSAA records.
But Sayre has had success in athletics, too, and encourages all of its students to participate in some kind of extracurricular activity. With football restored after a 40-year hiatus, 70 percent choose sports, according to the school.
The Spartans’ baseball team won the statewide All “A” Classic and 11th Region titles in 2023. Its golf team had an individual region champion in 2022. Its girls lacrosse team won league titles in 2022 and 2024.
And at noon on Friday at Kroger Field, Sayre Spartans football, a program that’s only played five complete varsity seasons under Pennington, will battle Raceland for the Class A state championship.
Yes, that Chad Pennington
Any casual observer of college and pro football has heard the name “Chad Pennington.” He starred at Marshall in the late 1990s, threw to NFL Hall of Famer Randy Moss there, and became a first-round pick of the New York Jets in 2000.
Though hampered by injuries, his 11-year pro career included four playoff appearances and two NFL Comeback Player of the Year awards as a Jet and later a Miami Dolphin.
With his playing career done, and he and his wife, Robin, looking for a place to live, they settled on Central Kentucky just outside Lexington.
“I’m from Knoxville. My wife is from West Virginia. We both went to Marshall,” Pennington said. “It was a middle ground for us to be closer to family.”
Family is what led Pennington into coaching as well. His father, Elwood, was a longtime coach in the Knoxville area, finishing his career at Pennington’s Webb School. When Chad’s three sons, Cole, Luke and Gage, became old enough, Pennington became their middle school coach at The Lexington School.
“I promised myself when I retired that I wanted to be present in the lives of my kids and my family,” Pennington said. “My dad and mom were present because they were educators and coaches. I saw my dad have a great impact on the players that he interacted with. So I’ve always had a passion for this level, both middle school and high school, because I see myself in my players.”
An opportunity at Sayre
In 2018, the Sayre Athletic Complex just south of the interstate off Athens-Boonesboro Road, held little more than baseball, tennis and soccer. Adjacent soccer fields were rented to local club teams.
There were no goal posts, no gridiron and no grandstand to speak of. Soccer fans often brought their collapsible outdoor chairs and set them up 5 yards off the sidelines to watch games.
The “press box” on the far side of the field looked more like something set up for a youth league baseball or softball game than anything else — it’s a two-story outbuilding now used by the opposing team’s coaches.
Pennington coached his sons at The Lexington School, one of the small Lexington private schools that sends its students on to Sayre or wherever they choose. As Pennington’s oldest, Cole, reached high school age, the family had a decision to make. When Sayre began entertaining the idea of reviving its football program, that decision became clear.
“My goal for schooling for my kids was one, to have a multiple-sport experience, and two, to be prepared for college,” said Pennington, who went to a private high school in Knoxville after starting out in public school. “I felt like my transition into college as a student-athlete and a student was smooth because of my Webb School experience in Knoxville, and so I wanted to make sure those two things happened.”
Cole, now a redshirt sophomore at Marshall, and Luke, the Spartans’ senior quarterback, also played basketball. The youngest, Gage, a sophomore, plays football and lacrosse.
Fast forward to 2024 and The SAC has a new scoreboard, a dedicated football practice field, a large building that houses the weight room, play clocks outside each end zone and a grandstand topped by a good-sized press box. The Spartans take the field through a giant inflatable Spartan helmet.
The Sayre community’s commitment to football could not be made clearer.
Sayre’s roster has grown from 24 players in 2019 in its first full varsity season when it went 1-9 to 49 today with two consecutive undefeated regular seasons and district titles, a region title and a state title on deck. That’s a huge leap in a short time for a team that used to run plays on the school’s defunct softball field.
“When I look back upon all of the improvements and all of the changes from 2018 until now, I’m quickly reminded that your work ethic can never change,” Pennington said. “Your approach can never change. Your core values can never change, regardless if you have the greatest of facilities or the most minor of facilities.”
Opportunities to win trophies come from focusing on the true mission of any high school football program., Pennington said.
“We have certainly improved over time with facilities and bells and whistles, but more importantly, we stay true to who we are as a program,” Pennington said. “And that’s the focus being on developing young men and using the game of football to do that, not only for football, but for the next chapter of their lives. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
Taking on Raceland
Despite graduating 16 seniors who produced most of its offense, Raceland booked its third consecutive trip to the Class A finals with a fresh batch of playmakers led by sophomore quarterback Jacob Waller and junior running back Shannon Marushi and a defense that has racked up 30 sacks this season including nine by senior defensive end Linden Sammons.
“To be able to get back to this point three times in a row with what they lost is pretty impressive,” Pennington said, praising Raceland coach Michael Salmons.
Sayre counters with Class A’s top offense and defense. Three seniors spearhead the Spartans attack — quarterback Luke Pennington, a Dayton commit, who has thrown 50 TD passes; Charlie Slabaugh, a Columbia baseball commit who leads the team in rushing and tackles; and Brock Coffman, a wideout/defensive back who signed with Louisville on Wednesday and has 1,387 yards and 24 TDs receiving.
Raceland defeated Sayre 42-27 in last season’s state semifinals on the Spartans’ home field. Pennington expects the Rams to be just as tough at Kroger Field on Friday.
“We know what type of game it’s going to be. It’s going to be a physical game, a downhill game. We understand that,” Pennington said. “Our job is to do the best we can to be who we are and see if we can put ourselves in position in the fourth quarter to win the football game.”
Class A state championship
Sayre vs. Raceland
When: Noon Friday
Where: Kroger Field in Lexington
Records: Sayre 14-0, Raceland 10-4
Tickets: Available online at KHSAA.org
Live stream: KHSAA.tv (subscription required)
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 10:56 AM.
