A legendary high school football coach in Western Kentucky died after becoming ill during a preseason football scrimmage on Friday night.
As reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader, longtime Caldwell County (Ky.) High School football coach David Barnes, who continued in his roles as football coach and athletic director after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2017, died on Saturday less than 24 hours after he suffered an apparent illness during Caldwell County’s Friday night scrimmage at Hopkins County Central (Ky.) High School. He was 59.
Barnes spent 13 seasons at Caldwell County, his alma mater, winning 110 games to just 50 losses and leading Caldwell County to the 2012 state final. He previously coaches at Daviess County (Ky.) High School for 13 seasons before moving on to lead Caldwell County beginning in 2006.
It didn’t take long for Barnes’ former charges at Caldwell County and other programs to step forward and praise the legendary coach.
Here’s Purdue quarterback Elijah Sindelar, who was on the 2012 Caldwell County squad which reached the state championship game.
Another of the touching testimonials to Barnes came from current Murray State head coach Mitch Stewart.
There has been no word about when a memorial service to Barnes will be scheduled, but it feels safe to say that whenever it is set up, it will be widely attended.
