Football coaching giant Owen Hauck dies

February 17, 2016 FieldsColumn

BY MIKE FIELDS (Feb. 17, 2016)

Owen Hauck, whose Boone County football Rebels were the scourge of Lexington teams from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s, died this morning. He was 88.

Hauck coached Highlands to the state championship in 1964, and the Bluebirds were state runners-up under him in 1963 and 1966. He guided Boone County to state runner-up finishes in 1986, 1987, 1992 and 1994. The Rebels knocked off Lexington competition on their way to those last four title games.

During one dominant stretch, Boone County went 31-2 against Lexington teams, and it did it in smash-mouth style with a strong, physical offensive line and hard-running tailbacks. The Rebels’ star ball carriers included John Alford, John Ransdell, Tony Law, Brandon Black and, most notably, Shaun Alexander.

Alexander went on to star at Alabama and in the NFL, where he won MVP honors while playing for the Seattle Seahawks.

Alexander noted Hauck’s passing on twitter today: “Love you Coach Hauck. Thank Jesus for allowing a great man like you in my life. You taught us how to fight & be a winner.”

When Mike Meighan was an assistant at Bryan Station and head coach at Paul Laurence Dunbar, he regularly knocked heads with Hauck.

Meighan’s clearest memory of facing Boone County in those days?

“I remember getting my a– kicked,” Meighan said with a laugh. “They always had those really good tailbacks, and he’d just pound you with those guys.”

Hauck had an overall record of 284-130-4, including a few years coaching in Ohio. He won 258 games in Kentucky before retiring after the 1997 season.

Hauck was inducted into the Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame in 1999.

Football coaching giant Owen Hauck dies

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