FHS Coaching Legends (used)

Former Forest High School head football coaches Gary Risher (left) and Ken Bramlett share a laugh as they reminisce about their respective coaching careers during the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the 1970 Bearcat Team winning the Overall Little Dixie Conference title. The special event was held Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, on L.O. Atkins Field at FHS. Bramlett led the 1969 squad to the program’s first overall conference title with a 10-0-1 record. Risher, who served as line coach that season, succeeded Bramlett as head coach and led the 1970 team to a perfect 11-0 mark and a second-straight LDC crown. The 1970-71 school year also marked the first year of full integration at FHS. Serving as Risher’s first-year assistant coaches were James “Bo” Clark, who previously served as head coach of the “Black Bearcats,” and Billy Ray Dill, a former FHS gridiron standout. Sadly, Coach Bramlett died at age 86 on March 22, 2021. Coach Risher lost his battle with cancer at age 81 on Sept.15, 2022. (Coach Clark was interviewed for a news story about the magical 1970 campaign but died at age 89 on May 28, 2019.)