Lynn Camp is celebrating 90 years of football this season.
The Wildcats’ first team took the field in 1936. Even then, newspapers like the Tri-City News described Lynn Camp saying, “They showed plenty of fight and surprising line strength that gave promise of better things to come.”
Better things did come. In 2003, the Wildcat football program won its first and only regional championship.
Who helped lead that team?
None other than first year Lynn Camp Head Coach Allen Mitchell.
That team, which was led by another Mitchell who is back on the coaching staff, made a deep run into the post season. The 2003 squad lost to Beechwood 45-12 to end the historic run in the semi-finals.
Now, Allen Mitchell has returned home hoping to take his team a little further.
“When they told me they were giving me the job, I got emotional,” said Allen Mitchell. “I’ve got brothers, physical brothers, literal brothers, and brothers that I played with that all started contacting me about a big deal that we’re back because we have such a family that was fostered here for so many years.”
“To be a part of this program is super special just because of what it takes to play football,” Allen Mitchell explained. “There are some places that you can go and stand on the sidelines and maybe not get that many reps. When you’re playing football here, it’s special because you’re going to get 120 plays a game. You have to be a tough individual to get through our practices and to get through our games. It’s just a special place to play.”
To Allen Mitchell, Lynn Camp is special, but special doesn’t always mean easy.
“The biggest thing, and being away for 15 years, is everybody getting back to knowing me because I mean, we got kids that, you know, their dads played here or their uncles played for us and everything else, but they really don’t know us. And so just being able to get back around the kids and get back around the community and them see us and the way our coaching staff works with the kids. I think that’s just a draw because yes, we’re hard, but we love the kids. We treat the kids great. We try to give them as much as we possibly can.”
While the Mitchells work on regaining the support of the community, Allen Mitchell says the administration is behind the program.
“We’ve got great support from our administration, you know, from the superintendent all the way down,” said Allen Mitchell.
He takes over the program after a short stint at South Laurel.
Allen Mitchell replaces Darrell Hendrix who led the Wildcats for three seasons.
Last season, the Wildcats went 5-6. They forfeited the final game of the season against Pikeville due to lack of participants.
Lynn Camp will travel to Jellico for its first game of the regular season on Friday. Last year, the Wildcats defeated Jellico 14-7.
