‘Football saves kids.’ Trimble County program rising from the ashes.
In small towns across America, high school football often plays a larger-than-life role in local culture. Back in 2018, that important thread was removed from the fabric of the Trimble County community.
Three summers ago, the Trimble County High School football team was struggling to find enough players to fill out a competitive roster. Rather than put kids at risk of injury by sending them onto the field before they were ready or asking others to play an exhausting number of snaps on both sides of the ball, officials made the difficult decision to cancel the 2018 season. Several players joined the high school team at nearby Carroll County and helped the Panthers put together their first winning season since 2012.
It was the second time in history that Trimble County’s high school football program went dormant. In 1984, the season was cut short as injuries devastated an already thin roster. The program did not return until 1996.
This time around, its absence was much shorter. Trimble County returned to the field in 2019 under head coach Brian Simmins, who guided the middle school team the year before after moving to the area to teach history and American government. Simmins, who spent several years as an assistant coach at Bellevue and Walton-Verona, was recruited to lead the Trimble County program back to life and accepted the challenge.
“That group I coached in middle school as eighth-graders, that’s basically my sophomore class now,” Simmins told the Herald-Leader. “I decided, ‘You know what, I’m not going to let this just become a feeder program for Carroll County.’ So I took the initiative of getting the weight program going and got some other people in the building to help me out.”
Simmins said it was important to get the high school program back up and running as soon as possible.
“I thought getting it going again quickly was very important,” Simmins said. “Football saves kids. Our kids, if they’re out on the field Friday nights they’re not out on the road making dumb decisions. It’s great for our kids and it’s great for our community.”
With an unusually young roster, Simmins opted to ease the team back into competition in 2019 with a schedule consisting mostly of junior varsity matchups — the Raiders played just one varsity game in 2019. But this season, the program has an eight-game varsity schedule as it works to regain its status in the Class 2A Fifth District.
The Raiders are still incredibly young, with a roster that features 23 underclassmen and just three seniors. Though Trimble County is not eligible for postseason play this year, Simmins said his kids understand how important this season is in terms of building a foundation for the future.
“We’re a very young team, we’re very sophomore- and freshman-heavy,” Simmins said. “Our goal is to grow and improve every week and win as many games as we can this year and hopefully be in a strong position next year. Any time you start a new program, which is essentially what we’re doing, it’s a long process. They know we’re trying to build a culture.”
On Sept. 18, Trimble County won its first game since 2017. After opening the season with a 28-0 loss to Bracken County, the Raiders defeated Shawnee 14-6.
“The kids were very excited about the win, and I think our assistant coaches were even more excited,” Simmins said. “We only went down there with about 18 kids and pulled out the win. They were very happy, but I really want to give our kids a feeling of having higher expectations for ourselves. I wanted them to enjoy it, but I also wanted to deliver the message that, ‘OK, this is a start. Now let’s build upon it.’”
Last Friday, Trimble County traveled to Lexington to face a team that has been busy writing its own story of rebirth. Sayre went nearly half a century without a football program before returning to the field in 2018. The Spartans defeated Trimble County 40-0, but Simmins said the game was an important step for his young squad.
“After the game I pointed out to the kids that Sayre is in year three and we’re in year one, essentially,” Simmins said. “I told the kids you could see that Sayre is ahead of us when it comes to the little things, the details. My message was that this was a learning experience. We watched the film together (Saturday) morning. This is a continuous growing and learning process.”
Meghan Wilson was one of several Trimble County fans who traveled to Lexington for the game. Her son, Brayden Wilson, is a freshman for the Raiders. Meghan Wilson said the return of the Trimble County program was incredibly important to her son and the community.
“When the program went away Brayden was really worried. He plays all the sports he can, so he was really upset about it and I know a lot of the older kids were because some of them had to go to different schools just so they could play. It took a toll on everybody,” Wilson said. “So, it’s been great all-around for the team to come back. It’s an important outlet for the kids and the adults. The community comes together around football.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 7:14 AM.
