ALL ACCESS PASS: Forgotten Champions: Elkhorn City's Football Championship 60 Years Later

60 years ago, in 1964, a small school from eastern Kentucky called Elkhorn City High School won the single A state championship: the only championship the school ever won in any sport. The school no longer exists, as it was closed due to consolidation but in 1964 the football team made history for their school with a 33-7 championship win.

            The Elkhorn City High School football team had around 30 players, with some of them being 8th graders who got pulled up, but not many saw any playing time. Kelly Marinero was a senior on that state championship team, and he explained what type of team they had and explained their interesting offense: a side saddle single wing. Marinero was a fullback for the team and in their offense in which the ball gets snapped to either the tailback, the fullback, or the quarterback. Marinero ran the ball, and while he didn’t get the yardage that his counterparts Norman Powell and Derek Potter got, Marinero would block for them in the instances when he wasn’t running the ball. He explained that it was a different offense and couldn’t recall anyone else using it at that time, and that the players that they had at Elkhorn City allowed them to run the offense effectively. Marinero also explained that most of the players played both offense and defense. He was the cornerback when they were on the defensive, as it was mostly zone coverage with very little man to man coverage on defense.

             While Kelly Marinero remembers the game and team fondly, he can still remember his mistakes from the game. Marinero recalls having fumbled the ball just before halftime, and a picture of it ending up in the paper. He explained how devastating that was to him, even though they won the championship.

            Paul Hunt was also on the championship team, and as only a sophomore he was able to play due to the school’s small size and need for players. Hunt also loved the small school and small team as it allowed him to be more versatile and play where he was needed in the moment. However, he did say that he preferred offense over defense.

            Both Kelly Marinero and Paul Hunt remember their 1964 championship season fondly. Marinero shared that he has a scrapbook of his mementos from his time at Elkhorn City, as well as the jacket from the 1964 state championship game that was given to them by the boosters club.