Jim Mashek

PURPLES HAVE REACHED KHSAA CLASS 5A TITLE GAME FOUR TIMES SINCE 2020; SPADER LOOKS FOR QUICK DEVELOPMENT ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE

Optimism remains high with Bowling Green High School’s celebrated football squad, even after considerable turnover from the back-to-back KHSAA Class 5A state champions after the 2024-25 school year.

Veteran BGHS head coach Mark Spader has taken the Purples to the Class 5A state title game four times since the COVID disrupted season in 2020, with Bowling Green winning three of those games, against Owensboro High School in 2020 and Cooper High School in each of the last two seasons.

Talented quarterback Deuce Bailey, however, has moved on to Missouri State University, after rewriting the BGHS passing record book, which means the Purples will have a much different look when they open the season on August 23 with a home game against Owensboro Catholic.

(It’s the second game of the annual Rafferty’s Bowl, which can’t be played at Western Kentucky University because of a scheduling conflict.)

Spader and his coaching staff have monitored the intense heat while putting his squad through their early practices, and the Purples will have scrimmages against North Oldham and Louisville’s Male High School before launching the season against Owensboro Catholic.

Expectations remain high at Bowling Green, which is just fine by Spader.

“I didn’t start the culture here,” Spader said earlier this week. “Dan Haley had some fine teams, and (predecessor) Kevin Wallace did a great job establishing the program. We have to replace eight players on defense, and our offensive line is a work in progress.

“The quicker the offensive line can gel, together, the better off we’re going to be.”

Spader has compiled an impressive 71-23 record since succeeding Wallace in 2018, but longtime offensive coordinator Chris Seabolt has moved into an administrative role with the Bowling Green school district, and Jordan Leach and Byron Lowe will assume co-offensive coordinator roles with the Purples moving forward.

“We’ve had really good continuity with our coaching staff,” Spader said. “We’ve been battling the heat, like everybody else, but we’ve got a scrimmage coming up next week.”

The battle for the starting role at quarterback has yet to be decided, but the Purples got a boost when Jaxon Strautman, formerly of Lexington’s Frederick Douglass High School, transferred to BGHS for his senior year. Bowling Green also returns Bailey’s backup last season, 5-foot-11 junior Embree Dotson. The Purples are also looking at 6-foot-3 freshman quarterback Anthony Davis.

“Jaxon has come in and really worked hard,” Spader said. “Embree’s gotten stronger. If he isn’t the starting quarterback, we’ll find a spot for him somewhere.”

On the offensive line, the Purples return senior tackle Zach Jordan and senior guard/center Caleb Ray. They’ve got plenty of experience at running back, with the likes of Jaxen Smith (522 yards rushing, seven touchdowns in 2024) returning, along with brothers Nick and Trey Graham. And Bowling Green has one of the state’s most electric players in senior wide receiver Trevy Barber, who had 79 receptions last season for 1,327 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Bowling Green motored through the first three weeks of the 2024 playoffs, winning all of those games by double digits, before squaring off with archrival South Warren High School in the Class 5A semifinals. The Purples returned two first-quarter kickoffs for touchdowns and held on to defeat the Spartans, 31-28, to return to the championship game.

South Warren, of course, has moved up to Class 6A, the KHSAA’s classification. But Bowling Green and South will continue their fierce rivalry, and they’ll meet on September 12 on the Spartans’ home field, which has an artificial playing surface for the first time.

Defensively, the Purples should be able to count on veteran performers such as defensive end Malik Coburn — “he’s very disruptive,” Spader said — along with senior inside linebacker Montez Trussel and cornerback Dru Jones. Trussel collected 27.5 tackles for losses last season, including 16 sacks. Coburn wasn’t far behind, with 19.5 tackles for losses, and 9.5 quarterback sacks.

Spader is still exploring his options, as far as personnel, but he likes versatile players who can contribute on offense and defense. The Purples have scores of players who compete in other sports, including baseball, lacrosse and trackand field in the spring.

“We love multi-sport athletes,” Spader said. “This is a special time in these kids’ lives.”

The Purples lost a consistent scorer in former placekicker/punter Braden Widener, who has moved on to Georgetown College, but two of Widener’s soccer teammates, Kale Phelps and Oliver Gonzalez, are looking to contribute at placekicker. For the moment, Trevy Barber looks to be the Purples’ punter.

Deurce Bailey and former BGHS defensive back Grayson Newman were the Purples’ permanent team captains last season, but Spader plans to rotate captains this season, while Bowling Green establishes its identity in the new KHSAA Class 5A, Second District. Barren County, formerly a 6A school, moves into the district, along with BGHS, Greenwood, Grayson County and Warren Central.

“There’s a void of leadership, and that’s something we had with last year’s senior class,” Spader said. “This is a good group, but we’ve got some questions to answer. We talk about it every year, with our seniors. We ask them, ‘What’s your legacy going to be here?

“We have high expectations, but that’s always going to be the case.”

Purples seniors Trevy Barber and Zach Jordan embrace the expectations.

“I think we’re capable. Going to state is always going to be our goal,” Barber said.

Jordan said the Purples may have some growing pains, but he’s been encouraged by what he’s seen on the practice field.

“I feel like we have a talented team, but we have a lot of guys who haven’t played varsity ball until this year,” Jordan said. “We’re used to the expectations by now. We just try to take it one day at a time, and get better each week.”

Coming next: South Warren.