Harts High School preparing football players for the future: Lions will get in two years of football before consolidation occurs

DAILY MAIL SPORTSWRITER

HARTS - Call him crazy, but Harts High's Randy Adkins thinksbringing football back to this tiny school is a good idea.

"It's going to be a chore, but I'm looking forward to it," saidAdkins, who starts the first practice for Harts varsity football inmore than 40 years at 5 p.m. today.

Adkins, a Lincoln County native who graduated from Duval High in1986, knew what it was like to win with the Yellowjackets, eventhough he didn't play as a freshman during their state championshipseason of 1982.

A decade of work, a degree from Marshall University and a hiringin 2002 at Harts got the ball rolling.

Adkins, who is starting with one assistant coach - KevinHutchinson - officially saw his vacation end Sunday, after a returnfrom the beach.

"We're not just coaching a team; there's been a lot of work and alot more work to do," Adkins said.

Most of the other work includes the field, which sits across thedriveway from the school's main entrance.

Adkins said it's "barely" 120 yards long, but the school is tryingto obtain the property that extends beyond the fence at the oppositeend of the school building.

Light poles have been erected to handle lights and the oldscoreboard also is going to be replaced. Goalposts, as well, have yetto be installed.

Fortunately, the team's first home game isn't until Oct. 8, whenHannan visits, buying the program some time.

Optimism reigns.

"It'll all come together," said Adkins. "Before we went to thebeach we didn't think we'd have a trainer, but now we do.

"We got money for bleachers and the scoreboard, so financially weshould be able to get it going. We got a lot of the labor fromcommunity volunteers."

The football side of the operation includes enough work forAdkins, who hopes he sees all 25 athletes who took physicals lastspring return today.

He's pieced together a 10-game schedule - six against varsityteams and four versus junior varsity squads. His attempts to organizea full schedule against varsity competition fell short.

Then again, the Harts High football experience will be brief,since the school will convert to just grades K-8 when Lincoln CountyHigh opens in 2006.

The new school, located in Hamlin about 30 miles away from Harts,opens in two years as a consolidation of Harts, Duval, Hamlin andGuyan Valley.

Even if his players don't attend Lincoln County High, they'll havethe option of attending Chapmanville High - approximately 12 milesfrom Harts - and may choose to play football there.

"The consolidation is not my motivation, although it will have tobe important for these kids to get some football experience," Adkinssaid. "My motivation is getting the school's first win. During thoseyears when Harts had a football team, the closest they got to winningwas a 0-0 tie."

While Harts will only have seven years of football to discuss -1957-61 and 2004 and '05 - next year's final team will have a legacyall its own.

"That's probably trophy-case worthy," Adkins said.

"In fact, there's been talk of getting the picture of the lastvarsity team and getting a plaque for it.

"I'm not in a trophy case anywhere. I missed my statechampionship. I'm not in the trophy case over at Duval, so I'd liketo be in a trophy case."

Sportswriter Rich Stevens can be reached atrichstevens@dailymail.com or 348-4837