Players still heed coach's words.
The spirit of Dave Kitchell lives on in the Coach Kitchell Summer Football Competition. Kitchell was the beloved, strong-willed defensive coordinator for the Ashland Grizzlies football team before passing away shortly after a second-round state playoff game in 2007. He was 51, a victim of cancer.
To give an idea of his strength, Kitchell, who had recently returned from treatments on a tumor on his liver, called Grizzlies head coach Charlie Hall at practice on the Thursday before that playoff against Corvallis. He also called the next night to give game-night affirmation, as he’d been doing for 20 years. Both times, Hall put his cell on speakphone so the whole team could hear Kitchell’s strong voice — it belied his condition. Ashland won, 14-7, on Friday night. Kitchell passed away two mornings later.
The Grizzlies continued to play as they went through the healing process.
At Thursday’s event, teams from throughout the region took part in passing contests, a tug of war and a truck push. A reader sends in that it was “lots of fun.”
There are plenty of photos on the Ashland Footall Club Facebook page.
