Coach Herb Conley's nine-year coaching reign ended after the Tomcats finished 9-3 with a heartbreaking 14-13 overtime loss to Lexington Tates Creek in the Class AAAA State At-Large semifinals in Putnam Stadium.

Ashland's 1975 season produced one of the hardest-hitting defenses in school history with the team that carried the nickname of JAWS all the way to the biggest championship game in the state of Kentucky. The Tomcats fell just short of perfection but it's a team that is still remembered 45 years later.

Ashland started the season 5-0 before a demoralizing 13-6 loss to Russell seemed to turn the tide in a 6-3-1 season where coach Herb Conley had several upperclassmen in the lineup. A big season was on the horizon.

Ashland was coming off 21 victories and only one loss in Kentucky in two years but the Tomcats were depleted going into the 1973 season. They still managed a 6-5 record and nearly shocked undefeated and top-ranked Boyd County in the last game.

Coach Herb Conley talks about his second season in 1969 that finished 4-7. It had some good moments but wasn't up to the lofty standards of Tomcat fans who were starting to become uneasy about their 28-year-old coach.