Mayor Wally Bryan honors Pat Givens before the first Hoptown/County boys' soccer game at the Stadium of Champions in 1992.
In September of 1992, the Christian County Colonels and Hopkinsville Tigers waged their first boys’ soccer match at the new soccer field at the Stadium of Champions, with the two fledgling programs renewing a rivalry that was only three years old and dominated by the Tigers. The Tigers had christened the field in a loss to Fort Campbell, but this was the first clash between the Colonels and Tigers on the new field. After both programs used Ruff Park as a home field in their first campaign, they had each called Walnut Street Stadium home for the last two seasons.
In the days leading up to the meeting, a number of prominent Tiger players had been interviewed by Brian Yount on TV-43, and when the topic of the impending battle with the Colonels was broached to one of the Tigers (who may or may not be the father of a current UHA star with magnificent hair), he predicted a 10-0 Hopkinsville victory.
After an inauguration address and recognition of Hoptown assistant coach Pat Givens, known around town at the time as “Mister Soccer,” the reality would be much different. The inspired Colonels battled all over the field and the Tigers and prolific goal-scorer Andy “Golden Toe” MacDonald were frustrated and misfired through much of the match. The Tigers’ defense managed to keep the Colonels’ Charlie Moore in check and were saved by a goal from Kirk Terhune, with Hoptown goalkeeper Geoff Houghland keeping a clean sheet for the 1-0 victory.
While the soccer on display that night left a lot to be desired, with physical contact that bordered on assault accepted as fair play and aimless kicks upfield the preferred mode of attack and defense, the future of area soccer was being shaped. From this Petri dish of athletic prowess, raw ability, and burgeoning soccer culture, would emerge what would prove to be four prolific coaching careers.
Jeff Addison was a hard-tackling, heart on his sleeve, senior defender for the Tigers. He and the Colonels’ Moore had a long-running rivalry consisting mostly of car-crash collisions and trash talk. Addison’s hard-nosed approach would take him to the next level, with a career at Brescia University following his time as a Tiger. One of those college games came against Georgetown College and former high school teammate Josh Nichols. After so many games on the same side, the two former Tigers’ paths crossed at the top of the Bearcats’ 18-yard box, with Nichols with the ball at his feet and measuring up the Brescia defender. It was a move Addison had seen a hundred times, but he was still just a fraction of a second slow, chopping down his friend to deny a scoring opportunity. While Nichols clearly went down in the box, a penalty was not awarded and Addison somehow escaped punishment from a comically lenient referee.
Despite his penchant for violence, Addison has gone on to an incredible coaching career with the Hopkinsville Lady Tigers. In 17 seasons he has amassed a glittering resume with 230 victories, twelve 8th-District titles, four 2nd-Region championships, and three regional runners-up. He has also coached countless games at the club level with Ambush, feeding not just his program but also those of surrounding schools.
Nichols has forged a successful coaching career of his own just down the road from his high school exploits. After playing in college at Lincoln Memorial University and Georgetown College, he began as an assistant at Murray High for a couple of seasons after college. After moving to Cadiz in 2002, he has been at the helm for the Trigg County boys’ team for the last 17 seasons. During that time, the Wildcats have won 183 games, with nine 5th-District titles and a couple of regional runners-up.
Another future Hoptown coach on the field that night was Rusty Logan, Addison’s partner in crime at the heart of the Tiger defense. Logan, a multi-sport standout, also adhered to Addison’s policy of kick first and ask questions later. The two would team up again in the coaching ranks, with Logan taking the reins of the Hopkinsville girls’ program in 1996 with Addison as his assistant. Logan led the Lady Tigers to 63 wins and a district title over 6 seasons from 1996-2002, before handing off the head job to Addison.
On the other side that Fall night was Colonel goalkeeper Clint Willis. Willis had returned to the field from a facial fracture that ended his junior season, suffered in a collision with the Tigers’ muscle-bound bruiser Calvin Givens. He would also return to his alma mater in a coaching capacity, taking over both the girls’ and boys’ programs at Christian County in 2003. Over 11 seasons with the boys he coached 111 victories, including the Colonels’ only region title in 2005. He served two stints with the girls, earning 17 wins from ’03-’05, before returning in 2010 to collect 25 more victories over two seasons.
While that game almost 30 years ago was short on aesthetic value and void of much in the way of tactics, what was there in abundance was love of the game and pride in being a Colonel or a Tiger. The four future coaches on the field that night would eventually combine to win 629 games and counting, including 22 district titles, and 5 regional championships. None of that would have been possible without the passion kindled in those early grudge matches that were formative not just for the players, but also for soccer in the area.
