LAWRENCEBURG – David Buchanan is a winner. And his teams are winners.
And in his third year as head football coach for the Anderson County Bearcats, things are getting better each season.
Coming off a three-win campaign in 2024, Buchanan is not worried about the record. Instead, he is more interested in the winning culture by players who are doing things in the right way.
With a lot of new pieces to the puzzle, Buchanan likes what he has seen in the off-season.
He will get some idea on his team’s progress when the Bearcats go on the road this Friday to take on Washington County.
“Physically, we are much better than the previous two seasons,” said Buchanan. “The challenge is for our effort and execution to match that improvement.”
To make that happen, the Bearcats must overcome the loss of a lot of good athletes and leaders.
“Those guys did a super job navigating us through two tough seasons,” said Buchanan. “But Bearcat football is a million miles ahead of where we were because of those guys.”
Key losses were at quarterback, the offensive backfield and the leading tackler. But Buchanan likes what he returns.
Two weeks before the season opener, Buchanan said a lot of guys are fighting for playing time and the depth chart is still in a fluid state.
Last season, junior Hunter DeGarmo saw playing time, including one start, as quarterback. However, Buchanan said DeGarmo is more valuable as tailback and defensive free safety.
Taking the snaps looks to be Henry (Cash) Cooper, a sophomore.
Center duties will have junior Jaylin Hicks with senior Kyle Johnson and senior Keaton Bauer seeing action.
The offensive line will have sophomore Logan Raley, senior Ben Stratton, sophomore Robert Lester, senior Keaton Bauer, sophomore Clayton Stratton, junior Zeke Pacheco, senior Michael Rutoskey and junior J.J. Hanks all seeing snaps.
Cooper will have a loaded backfield. At the tailback position, DeGarmo will be a lot of the carries. Look for sophomore Eli McCann, senior Braxton Mackey, junior Nicholas Aldridge and sophomore Tyler Slusher to get their fair share of snaps.
The big fullbacks leading the charge will include junior Wyatt Shouse, sophomore Eli McCann, sophomore Brayden Caldwell, sophomore Owen Dake and junior Aiden Edwards will be in the backfield.
At tight end, senior Grayson Alsabrook and sophomore Coleman Boggs appear able to be top candidates at tight end.
The wide receiver position will see senior Donovan Fallis, junior Clay Beasley, senior Clay Smith, junior Brysen Stucker, junior Nicholas Aldridge, and sophomore Tyler Slusher who will be the Bearcat catching the passes.
On the defensive line, junior Zeke Pacheco, senior Michael Rutoskey, sophomore Clayton Stratton, sophomore Marshall Sims, sophomore Logan Raley, senior Keaton Bauer and sophomore Robert Lester will fill the tackle positions.
On the end will be senior Grayson Alsabrook, senior Ben Stratton, sophomore Marshall Sims, sophomore Logan Raley, senior Keaton Bauer and sophomore Robert Lester.
Inside linebacker duties will be filled by junior Wyatt Shouse, sophomore Eli McCann, sophomore Brayden Caldwell, sophomore Owen Dake and junior Aiden Edwards.
The outside linebacker spots will be taken by junior Nicholas Aldridge, senior Braxton Mackey, junior Jalyn Crutcher, senior Israel Gonzales and sophomore Coleman Boggs.
In the secondary, junior Clay Beasley, senior Donovan Fallis, senior Clay Smith, junior Brysen Stucker and sophomore Tyler Slusher will play at the cornerback positions.
At free safety will be junior Hunter DeGarmo, senior Clay Smith, senior Donovan Fallis, junior Clay Beasley, junior Brysen Stucker and sophomore Tyler Slusher will get the snaps.
Senior Grayson Alsabrook and junior Simeon Williams will handle the punting, while sophomore Nathan Johnson will kick the extra points and Williams will be the kickoff man.
It is easy to see that the Bearcats have a lot of younger players who will get varsity time this season.
Defensively, success will come down to fundamentals, tackling the ball and getting 11 players to the ball on every play.
“Offensively, we are still figuring out what we can do,” said Buchanan. “We want to do the same things over and over again but use multiple formations.”
He wants the offense to be balance, which includes plays across the middle and down the field.
After the scrimmage against Spencer County, Buchanan was not a pleased coach. He told his players to assemble on the practice field.
He was pleased that by the time he arrived, the team had talked through the situation.
“By the time I had got to them, they had talked as a group and were committed to doing whatever had to be done,” said Buchanan. “They had just played 110 plays of football. These guys care and they want to be good.”
Playing in one of the toughest 5A districts in the state, Buchanan said the goal is to perform one play at a time and to improve on every rep in the game.
“We have made strides but are still a work in progress,” Buchanan said of the third year at the helm. “Our fundamentals, attention to detail, focus, execution, how we practice, continues to improve. It is a one day at a time deal for us.”
But is proud of the program’s progress.
“We have come a long way,” said Buchanan. “We have a long way to go as well. I look forward to each day with these guys. We enjoy and embrace the challenge.”
Buchanan is assisted by Lucas Shouse, Chris Crawley-Goodman, Mark Mathews, Davey McCann, Dylan Curry, Derek Shouse, Darion Dearinger and Ben Gilbert.
2025 Schedule
Aug. 22 at Washington County at 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 29 at Grayson County at 7 p.m.
Sept. 5 vs. Danville at 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 12 vs. Harrison County at 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 19 at Carroll County at 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 26 vs. South Oldham at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 3 at Scott County at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 10 BYE
Oct. 17 at Collins at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 24 vs. Woodford County at 7:30
Oct. 31 vs. DeSales at 7:30 p.m.