No one could accuse Glasgow football coach Jeff Garmon of ducking a challenge.

With the Scotties moving up to Class 3A, District 2 after a dominating run in Class 2A under their longtime coach, it might have been expected to see the nondistrict slate soften just a hair as Glasgow prepared to battle bigger district competition.

Or not – the Scotties instead have added Class 5A defending state champion South Warren for a Sept. 27 home matchup and kept Class 4A defending state champion Franklin-Simpson for another home matchup to close out the regular season Nov. 1. Throw in a season-opening game against fellow 3A program LaRue County – which reached the state semifinals last year – plus a slate of customary rivalry games and then that new district competition, and the schedule looks plenty tough this season.

“Whatever they call this RPI stuff, we ought to have a pretty good one when it’s all said and done if we can stay in some ballgames,” Garmon said.

The Scotties have some holes to fill from last season’s 11-2 squad that reached the Class 2A state quarterfinals, but there’s still solid experience returning in the form of starters and backups who saw significant playing time.

“We’ve got a good mix of returning players that played in a lot of big ballgames and also got some new faces to add to the mix a little bit,” Garmon said. “So it’s been fun. Anytime when you can take a new group and kind of see what you can do with them, it’s fun.”

The biggest area of concern may be offensive line, where the Scotties must replace four starters – including current Alabama freshman Tanner Bowles – from a unit that paved the way for Nick Mitchell’s 2,000-yard rushing season last year.

Junior Tad Shelton is the lone full-time holdover on the line from last year, and highly-regarded senior lineman Chase Jones is ticketed to start both ways for the Scotties this season.

Mitchell (2,071 rushing yards, 30 touchdowns in 2018) is back for another season, and Jones thinks he can be just as productive running behind Glasgow’s rebuilt line.

“I think we’ll make the same thing happen as long as we just come together and come to play,” Jones said. “I think we can just keep on feeding Nick, who went and got fed last year. I think we’ll be just fine.”

Garmon stressed diversifying Glasgow’s offense a bit more this season, meaning maybe a few less carries and a few more catches for Mitchell.

“We have to get more balanced in our offense a little more and we going to have to be able to throw the ball a little bit better,” Garmon said. “ … We still need that production, but we need it in some different avenues, where he’s rushing for 1,400, maybe 1,500 yards and tries to have 500 yards receiving. And I think that’s a very realistic goal he could have.”

The Scotties have solid experience at the skill positions, with returning starting quarterback Tanner Abernathy (1,122 passing yards and 20 TDs last year) and top receiver Kynarius Flynt (28 catches, 390 yards, 6 TDs) among that group.

“I think our chemistry is good,” Abernathy said. “We’ve all been playing together for three years, now four years,” Abernathy said. “We’ve been in that region championship game two of those three years that we’ve been here and hopefully we can take that next step this year.”

Glasgow’s solid on the defensive side, especially along the line of scrimmage with Jones (38 tackles, three sacks) and fellow senior Darian Johnson (50 tackles, two sacks) anchoring a veteran group.

Sophomore Hunter Scott, who also saw significant time at running back last year, is back at linebacker after playing in 12 games last year. Senior wide receiver-defensive back Denzel Wood adds experience in the secondary.

There are questions to answer before the season opener against LaRue County in the Aug. 23 Scottie Bowl, but Garmon thinks his team is fully capable of another deep playoff run – this time in Class 3A.

“That’s just football,” Garmon said. “You replace people each year. Everybody has the same issues and the same problems. Those kids have to get some games under their belts, but I think they can do it.”

Glasgow 2019 Football Schedule

Aug. 23 – LaRue County

Aug. 30 – at Russellville

Sept. 6 – Monroe County

Sept. 13 – at Allen County-Scottsville

Sept. 20 – Hart County

Sept. 27 – South Warren

Oct. 4 – at Adair County

Oct. 18 – Taylor County

Oct. 25 – at Casey County

Nov. 1 – Franklin-Simpson{&end}