Phillip Hawkins is taking over as the football head coach at Bryan Station in Lexington after stepping down from the same position at Apollo earlier this month. He’ll be formally introduced during a ceremony at the school at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Hawkins resigned at Apollo effective Jan. 1, saying at the time he planned to move to central Kentucky to be closer to family and find another coaching job in the area.
“I saw that Bryan Station was hiring,” he said. “It’s a school I’m familiar with and I’ve lived in Lexington, so I knew it had potential. They’ve got a great facility and a lot of good athletes. I feel great about it — it’s the right opportunity at the right time.”
Hawkins is replacing former Bryan Station head coach Frank Parks, who led the Defenders to a 35-55 record during his eight-year tenure. Parks was most successful in his first four years, guiding Bryan Station to a 25-21 record with three first-round playoff wins. Over the last four years, they went 10-34 with no postseason victories.
Part of the dropoff, Hawkins said, is likely due to the creation of nearby Frederick Douglass — which opened in 2017. Several schools in the area lost some of their top athletes to the new school.
Though the Defenders have had a few down years, Hawkins is excited for the talent returning next season.
“They have a ton of great freshman and sophomore players,” Hawkins said. “They were depending on a lot of young players on Friday nights. I should be able to rely on them and get this thing headed in the right direction.”
In two seasons with Apollo, Hawkins guided them to a 9-13 record — winning the first four games under his tenure. They lost in the first round of the playoffs both years.
The most notable victory of the 2018 season was a 17-10 win over Evansville Mater Dei in the Border Bowl, while the highlight of the 2019 campaign was a 56-35 victory over Owensboro Catholic.
Hawkins is also a strong advocate for his players on the recruiting front. After his first year at Apollo, six players signed to continue their football careers at the collegiate level. He had similar success in getting players to the collegiate level at Doss, where he led the Dragons to a 23-24 record with three playoff wins over four seasons.
“I’m always going to try to find opportunities for these kids to play at the next level,” Hawkins said. “Bryan Station has a long history of Division I and NFL players. It’ll be interesting to see what I can find here.”
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