Success sometimes breeds opportunity, and that certainly was the case when Marshall County High School plucked Ron Barnard from the Fighting Tigers' coaching staff and named him the Marshals' head coach this week.

Barnard, who was assistant head/special teams coach for CU this past (7-4) season, has been with the Campbellsville program for two years and has several years of high school coaching experience at Mayfield, Graves County and Paducah Tilghman.

"We are excited that Ron is living his dream of becoming a high school head coach," said CU head man Perry Thomas. "He has worked hard through the years to put himself in this position."

Barnard's and Thomas' association started nine years ago when Barnard was an assistant to Thomas at Tilghman.

"I have had a blast," said Barnard. "I left a good situation."

Barnard, who considers Thomas his mentor, went on to say: " I learned as much about life as I did football from Perry. He has a very unique perspective on people and what I learned was to never let a kid give up on their-self.

"He saved so many kids over the course of those nine years. The college game is different. What it did give me is a greater perspective of the athletes, not only in Kentucky, but in the nation."

Barnard's special teams ranked No. 4 in the nation in kickoff return, averaging 24 yards per return; and No. 17 in punt returns, averaging 11.8 yards.

"He did an outstanding job working with our students-athletes here at Campbellsville and I'm sure he will do the same at Marshall County," said Thomas.

Barnard will inherit a 1-9 Marshall County squad that competes in Kentucky's largest class, 6-A. Over the course of time The Marshals have a 107-383 win-loss record.

"I've had other opportunities, but it never seemed right," said Barnard. "The previous opportunities we never sought out, but I feel good about my family being a part of the Marshall County community."

Barnard is not unfamiliar to the territory, having coached against Marshall County numerous times and playing football at nearby Murray State University and coaching there in 1992 as a tight ends coach.

"Our game plan is to hit you in the mouth, help you up and then hit you in the mouth again," said Barnard. "We'll keep doing that until we get tired of hitting you in the mouth, then we'll bring someone else in to hit you in the mouth."

Barnard will be joined in western Kentucky by his wife, Michelle, and three children: Zach, Alyssa Brooke and Elijah Cole.