WCHS football enters season with high expectations

For the last nine months, the sour taste of a state semifinal defeat has lingered in the stomachs of Woodford County High School football players and coaches. A new slate of games is ripe for picking, though, and a chance to rewrite the script is on the table. 

Long before the first kickoff of the season arrives on Aug. 22 in the Fort Harrod Little Caesars Bowl, the Yellow Jackets have already been reminded of what ended their last campaign. 

The message isn’t written on the walls of the locker room, but it doesn’t have to be. Every difficult conditioning session, every heated practice and every conversation about consistency seems to circle back to one game.

Owensboro.

One game stood between Woodford County and the Class 5A state championship. Instead, the Yellow Jackets walked off the field one win short of playing for a title.

By all accounts, Woodford is putting in serious work this summer to prepare for war. Veterans challenge one another after nearly every rep, and if tempers flare occasionally, nobody seems concerned.

In fact, head coach Dennis Johnson welcomes it.

“The energy’s been really good,” Johnson said. “Last night was our third practice, and they got after each other a little bit. It got heated, but that’s a good thing. They’re competing.”

That competitiveness is exactly what Johnson wants from a team carrying championship aspirations.

The Yellow Jackets have earned those expectations.

Woodford County has become one of Kentucky’s premier Class 5A programs, stringing together deep postseason runs while establishing itself as a program expected to compete for regional and state championships every season. Johnson has coached teams that finished 13-1 and 12-2 in the past couple of seasons. His players know what it feels like to play deep into November. 

“This group has played a lot of meaningful football,” Johnson said. 

“They’ve been 13-1. They’ve been 12-2. They’ve been to regional finals and state semifinals. They know what the standard is around here. They know it’s championship or bust.”

That statement isn’t intended to create pressure. It’s simply the reality of where the program has grown.

Around much of Kentucky, reaching the state semifinals would be celebrated as the end goal. At Woodford County, it’s become another step in the journey.

Johnson constantly reminds his players how quickly success can disappear.

“I’m probably really bad about making them remember,” he said with a laugh. “Every time we have a bad practice, I bring it up. You can be great for 13 weeks, but it only takes one bad week and you’re going home. It’s all about being consistent.”

That message has resonated throughout preseason camp. Ask almost any senior what has changed since last season and the answers sound similar.

Competition, communication, chemistry and trust.

Senior quarterback Foxx Coons believes this year’s practices have reached another level.

“The biggest thing that’s stood out so far is the competition,” Coons said. “We’re more competitive than we were last year. The defense has stepped it up, the offense has stepped it up and every practice has been competitive.”

Senior defensive back Wyatt Peters agreed.

“The energy around this team is crazy,” Peters said. “It’s something I really haven’t been around the last three years. It just gets better every year, and I’m excited about where we are.”

Senior defensive lineman Josiah McKee, who committed to Oregon State earlier this summer, smiled when asked about preseason practice.

“Practice has been really physical,” McKee said. “Even when we’re not in pads, we’re playing physically. Now that we’ve got the pads on, we’re hitting and giving 100 percent every day.”

For McKee, one distraction has already been eliminated.

While many highly recruited seniors spend the fall balancing football and recruiting, McKee chose to commit before the season.

“It feels really good to have my commitment out of the way,” he said. “A lot of kids don’t commit until late in the season, and I think that can affect them. I wanted to get it done early so I could focus completely on my senior season.”

That focus mirrors the rest of the senior class.

Outside the program, preseason rankings and predictions have placed Woodford County among the favorites in Class 5A.

Inside the locker room, nobody seems interested.

“We definitely hear people saying this is supposed to be our year,” Peters said. “We know what people are saying, but that’s not what drives us. We’ve got different motivation. Our goal is a state championship, and that’s what we’re focused on.”

The confidence surrounding the Yellow Jackets isn’t difficult to understand.

Woodford County returns one of the state’s most explosive offenses after averaging more than 41 points per game a season ago.

Everything begins with Coons.

The senior quarterback emerged as one of Kentucky’s most productive passers in 2025, completing 228 of 366 passes for 3,331 yards and 41 touchdowns while throwing just eight interceptions in 14 games. He averaged nearly 238 passing yards per contest and displayed the poise expected from a first-year starter.

But ask Coons what matters most entering his final season and statistics never come up.

“I want to win the 5A state championship,” he said. “That’s what we all want. That’s been my goal the whole year.”

Coons believes the offense’s biggest improvement has little to do with throwing mechanics or route concepts.

“We’re a lot closer as a team,” he said. “We’re communicating really well, and we’re coaching each other instead of getting mad at each other … I think that’s made us better.”

He also learned something about leadership during last season’s run.

“I learned that the guys around me have my back,” Coons said. “I trust everybody that’s behind me, and I know they trust me too.”

Those players give him plenty of reasons for confidence.

University of Louisville commit Darrian Tomlin returns after one of the best seasons by a running back in school history. Tomlin rushed for 1,550 yards and 19 touchdowns on 199 carries while averaging more than 110 rushing yards per game. His ability to break tackles between the tackles while also catching passes out of the backfield made him one of the most versatile offensive weapons in Kentucky. Now, with Tomlin going back to defense this season, offenses will try and figure out how to stop him as a defensive force.

Defenses face an impossible choice.

Commit extra defenders to stop the Jackets run game and Coons has experienced receivers capable of making them pay.

Look for big things from Aidyn Powell and Ryan Brown this season. Both backs run downhill with many defenders ran over last season. 

Senior Omari Jointer headlines that group after catching 15 touchdown passes and finishing with 895 receiving yards. Greyson Hodge added 763 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, while Kael Rihtar contributed another 625 receiving yards and five scores. Look for a breakout season from David Jones Jr.

Combined, Woodford County has one of the deepest receiving corps in the state.

Jointer admits last year’s ending still fuels him.

“Oh yeah, I carry that with me,” he said. 

“It’s on my mind all the time. We went out bad last year, and that’s something I don’t want to happen again. I’m just trying to win a state championship. That’s really all I’m focused on.”

The offense’s success starts long before the football leaves Coons’ hand.

Eastern Kentucky commit Justyn Perez anchors an offensive line that also includes Beechem Robbins, Marques Johnson, Dylan Branson, Maxx Escaloni, Jack Garrison, Marques Johnson and Cameron Johnson. The unit returns with another offseason of strength training and experience after consistently protecting Coons while opening holes for Tomlin.

Perez believes the biggest difference isn’t physical.

It’s personal.

“Our chemistry has gotten a lot better,” Perez said. “Everybody talks more now, offense and defense. The communication has improved, and that’s helping us execute. We’ve have to keep winning one play at a time.”

Johnson believes depth determines how far this team goes.

“We’ve probably got seven guys who could start at receiver,” he said. “We’ve got experience, we’ve got depth and we’ve got a lot of guys who can play football. In 5A you’ve got to have that because injuries happen. We’re going to play a lot of people.”

Defensively, the Yellow Jackets must replace several key contributors from last year’s semifinal squad, but the foundation remains intact.

McKee returns after tying for the team lead with five sacks before announcing his commitment to Oregon State. Peters anchors an experienced secondary, while Kaden Gilliam returns after recording 54 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Senior Elias Tackett was second on the team with 10.5 tackles for loss and also had three sacks. Neamyiah Davis-Jones and Jackson Irvin were also enforcers on the defensive squad last year and hope to contribute big seasons this fall. Christopher Reed Jr. had two interceptions last year, one for a touchdown. Also, look for a big season from the McKinney brothers, Jayden and Jalen, who came on strong last season. 

McKee expects the defense to establish its identity immediately.

“When people come to our stadium, or when they see us on the road, they’re going to see the energy we play with,” he said. “By the end of the game, they’re going to know who we are.”

Special teams also return stability.

Cash Wolfe connected on all three field goal attempts last season while converting 57 extra-points, giving the Yellow Jackets another dependable weapon in close games.

As impressive as the returning talent appears on paper, Johnson continues steering conversations away from rankings and predictions.

Instead, he talks about timing.

Programs aren’t remembered for being great in August.

They’re remembered for what they become in November and December.

“We’ve got to treat every day like it’s your last,” Johnson said. “The programs that win state championships are consistent, and they peak at the right time. We don’t need to be our best in Week 3 or Week 4. We need to be our best in Week 13.”

That message has become the heartbeat of Woodford County’s preseason.

Few programs in Class 5A enjoy the level of community support that surrounds Woodford County football. On Friday nights, Community Stadium becomes one of the largest gatherings in the county as generations of fans fill the stands dressed in black and gold. 

The cheerleaders patrol the sidelines, keeping the energy high from kickoff to the final whistle, while the WCHS marching band plays the National Anthem. A rowdy student section creates a constant wall of noise, and the sideline DJ keeps the atmosphere alive between plays as families, alums and former players pack the stadium. 

Youth football players run on the field with the high school team, dreaming of wearing the same Woodford County uniform one day. That support isn’t lost on the players or coaches. They understand they’re representing more than just themselves each Friday night. 

“We get a ton of support from the community,” said Johnson. “We love having everyone at the games, from the families of the players to the cheerleaders and fans. That’s what makes Woodford County special. They support the team and we enjoy having the youth players out on the field to show them that this can be them someday too.”

For all the talent returning to the field this year, none of it guarantees another deep playoff run. Every senior interviewed acknowledged the same reality Johnson reminds them of almost daily: one bad week can erase months of hard work.

The Yellow Jackets believe they have everything necessary to compete for a Class 5A championship.

Now they have a season to prove it.

And if Johnson has his way, the Jackets will be playing at Kroger Field in December.