Murray State University Athletics
Having a true home-field advantage
8/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
For most high school football players, they dream of going to college to continue their careers. Check the rosters of any college, and chances are you will find players from throughout the country, but on those same rosters are players who did not have to travel far from home. Murray State is fortunate to have most of the premier football players in the area playing close to home.
High schools throughout western Kentucky such as Paducah Tilghman, Mayfield, Marshall County, Murray High, Calloway County, Graves County and others in the region have sent players to the Racer program.
Playing close to home has a lot of advantages, according to Marshall County product Justin Ard.
"I love it," he said. "It's wonderful for me. When I moved here, the first thing my family did was come and see a Murray State game. My parents were all excited, and I never dreamed I could play here. Now, my parents can come and see me play, and my mom has seen every game I've played."
Even bitter rivals in high school can end up on the same team. Calloway County's Tony Ryan is an up-and-coming member of the Racer defenseive unit. One of his teammates is Nathan Williams from crosstown rival Murray High, a member of that same unit.
In high school, they shared no goals. Now, they are friends, but they still keep up with their old teams.
"I still follow Calloway and try go get out to see as many games as I can," said Ryan.
Williams called Ryan a "pretty good little quarterback" during his playing days for the Lakers. Nathan still follows the Tigers, who have produced several Racer standouts, most recently in the kicking game with the likes of Chris Dill, Shane Andrus and Greg Miller.
Ryan says he is happy playing close to home. "I really enjoy it. I grew up here, but still get to meet a lot of people who remember me from high school," said Ryan. "A lot of family members get to come to the games and see me."
Williams feels it is important for schools like Murray State to have local players.
"You get a lot more support, and it's a lot of fun," said Williams, who will likely miss this season after undergoing surgery for a fractured pelvis, for which recovery time is about six months.
Ryan can relate there, too, since he suffered a season-ending injury two years ago. It's obvious playing close to home is good for those players, and Murray State University.
It's also good for players like Terrence Biggers, Chris Burgett and Derrick Parrott of Mayfield; Jake Ladd of Graves County; Chris Fountain and Marvin Burns of Tilghman; Letiz Arnold of Ballard Memorial; and Gary Crass of Murray High. All of their friends and family will be able to watch them play Division I college football without driving very far from home.
