FARMINGTON -- Farmington head football coach Mike Adams has known both tragedy and joy on game day over his 44-year coaching tenure.
The Enterprise-Leader compiled some of the highlights while noting the life-changing tragedy that affected Adams' coaching career. There are too many things to list in a career spanning four decades so the list was limited to 50 memorable events, most of them game days.
July 21, 1979 – Mike Adams married his college sweetheart, Diane Smith, in her hometown of Fort Smith.
1979-1980 – Adams serves as a volunteer assistant under former Fayetteville coach Joe Fred Young.
1981-1982 – Adams serves as an assistant coach on the Charleston staff then is promoted to head coach for the 1983 season.
Sept. 9, 1983 – Adams notches his first career victory and first conference win against Cedarville leading Charleston to a 1A-4 West 28-0 victory.
Nov. 9, 1984 – Adams leads Charleston into the playoffs with a 5-5 regular season record and 5-1 conference record during his second year as a head coach. The Tigers lose narrowly 9-7 to Cross County (1A-3 South) in a first-round playoff game. Charleston gives up only 96 points on defense for the season.
Sept. 26, 1986 – Adams faces Prairie Grove (2A-1) for the first time, taking a nonconference 31-13 loss.
Nov. 7, 1986 – Adams achieves his first winning season guiding Charleston to 7-3 overall record with a 5-2 league mark with a regular season finale, 41-6, win over Fort Smith Christian in 1A-4 West play, but Charleston doesn't qualify for the playoffs.
Nov. 11, 1988 – Adams records his first playoff win with Charleston handing Mayflower (1A-4 East) a 36-11 loss. A week later the Tigers lose to Mount Ida (1A-7 North) by a 6-0 score. Charleston finishes 9-2 and 5-1 in the 1A-4 West scoring 283 points while allowing 103. The 283 points scored is a career-high for Adams up to that juncture.
Oct. 13, 1989 – Adams' first wife, Diane, dies from injuries sustained in a car accident on Charleston's Homecoming Day. The couple's 4-year-old daughter, Meredith, is a passenger but unharmed. Her mother had been taking her to get dolled up as part of the Homecoming court. The couple's son, Spencer, is only 18 months old.
Alma athletic director Doug Loughridge, then a 16-year-old sophomore on the Charleston football team, remembers, "That game that night was for the [1A-4 West] Conference championship against Hackett." The team was called in and school officials explained they could either play the game as usual or by noon the next day according to Arkansas Activity Association rules or forfeit.
The team decided to play that night with Jeff Stubblefield, who retired as Charleston superintendent in 2019, serving as temporary head coach. The Tigers routed Hackett, 41-13, because as Loughridge put it, "That's what we knew Mike Adams would have wanted."
Nov. 17, 1989 – Adams and the Tigers stun No. 1 ranked Augusta (1A-5 Central) with a 24-22 win, but can't get past Hermitage (1A-7 East) a week later and suffer a 24-41 playoff loss. Charleston finishes 8-3 overall with an unblemished 6-0 conference record scoring 312 points while yielding 168.
Oct. 26, 1990 – Adams leads Charleston to a second consecutive undefeated conference season (6-0) in the 1A-4 West with a 13-8 win against Lavaca. The Tigers defeat Sparkman (1A-7 North), 35-0, in the playoffs before losing 46-0 to Barton (1A-6) achieving a record of 9-2 while producing 297 points offensively against 135 points allowed.
Nov. 22, 1991 – Adams' last win at Charleston comes in a second-round playoff game with a 43-0 thrashing of Crawfordsville (1A-3). His program continues to raise the bar – achieving a third straight undefeated conference season (6-0) followed by a 20-6 playoff win over Pulaski Academy (1A-5 North). The Tigers are knocked out of the playoffs narrowly by Rison (1A-7) with a 24-20 loss. The Tigers rack up a whopping 455 points while allowing 90, both numbers career best for Adams during his Charleston stint. He leaves Charleston with a 60-34 record as a head coach.
June 17, 1992 – Adams marries the widowed Robin Brewer, who took his daughter, Meredith, and son, Spencer, as her own; while Adams took Robin's son, Jon David, as his own during an exchange of wedding vows.
1992-1995 – Adams serves as an assistant coach on the Fayetteville staff.
Sept. 9, 1996 – Adams wins his debut as head coach at Fayetteville (4A West) with a nonconference, 31-6, rout of Little Rock Central (4A Central).
Nov. 15, 1996 – Adams guides the Purple Dawgs to an upset over No. 1 ranked, Texarkana (4A South), winning his first playoff game at Fayetteville, 14-10, followed by a 31-28 win over Conway (4A Central) and a heartbreaking 14-13 loss to Fort Smith Northside (4A West). Fayetteville finishes 8-5 overall and 4-3 in the 4A West.
Nov. 19, 1999 – Adams leads Fayetteville to a second consecutive playoff win beating Little Rock Central (5A Central), 24-20, after a first-round, 40-19, defeat of Sylvan Hills (5A East). The Purple Dawgs are ousted from the playoffs by Fort Smith Northside (5A West), 20-13 and end the year with a high in points scored (309) during Adams' stint as Fayetteville head coach and an 8-5 overall record.
Oct. 11, 2002 – Adams gets career victory No. 100 by defeating Van Buren, 30-0, in a 5A West conference game.
Nov. 8, 2002 – Adams wins his last game as Fayetteville head coach by a 36-22 margin over Bentonville in 5A West play. The Purple Dawgs end the season, 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the 5A West missing the playoffs. Adams concludes his tenure at Fayetteville with a 42-35 record, leaving after the season to become Farmington head coach in December of 2002.
Sept. 19, 2003 – Adams gets his first win as Farmington head coach, 36-24, in nonconference action against Paris (3A-4) following losses to Huntsville (4A West), 28-14; and Harrison^(4A West), 42-0.
Nov. 7, 2003 – Adams loses his first game in the "Battle of 62" rivalry against Prairie Grove sustaining a 50-14 conference loss to finish the year 3-7 and 2-5 in the 3A-1.
Nov. 5, 2004 – Adams leads Farmington to first of 10 straight playoff berths wrapping up the regular season at West Fork during 3A-4 action with a 20-13 win to finish 5-2 in the league. The Cardinals go 7-4 overall, the first of six consecutive winning seasons at Farmington for Adams.
Nov. 12, 2004 – Adams' first playoff game as Farmington head coach ends in a 20-13 loss at Osceola (3A-3).
Sept. 29, 2006 – Adams wins his first game in the "Battle of 62" rivalry against Prairie Grove coming out on top, 7-6, in a defensive struggle.
Nov. 9, 2007 – Adams nails his first playoff win as Farmington head coach with a 46-22 road victory at Heber Springs (4A-2). The Cardinals lose, 54-21, in the second round at Dollarway (4A-4).
July 14, 2011 – Adams' son, Spencer, hired as offensive line/defensive line coach and named head coach of the seventh grade football program. Spencer coaches seventh grade through the 2018 season then relinquishes the duties to concentrate on his tasks as Offensive Coordinator for the varsity.
Sept. 11, 2009 – Adams experiences the first tie of his career, 7-7, during a nonconference game against Ozark (4A-4).
Nov. 4, 2011 – Adams records his first win against Shiloh Christian during a regular season 4A-1 finale at Allen Holland Field, winning big, 58-37.
Nov. 11, 2011 – Farmington senior defensive end Clinton Ledbetter begins the game with back-to-back sacks of the Dumas quarterback setting the tone for a 42-6 Cardinal win. Senior quarterback Deon Clay throws five touchdown passes to five different receivers. The 36-point defeat of Dumas (4A-8) represents Adams' largest margin of postseason victory to date at Farmington.
Nov. 18, 2011 – Adams employs the "Flex Defense" invented by the late Dallas Cowboys' coach Tom Landry with defensive tackle Brennan Warren playing half-a-yard off the line of scrimmage. Warren wreaks havoc as the Cardinal defense shuts down previously unbeaten Heber Springs' (4A-2) running game and the Cardinals take a 28-12 victory. Junior tailback Spencer Boudrey puts the nail in the coffin breaking a 90-yard touchdown run after Farmington stopped Heber Springs on fourth down.
Nov. 25, 2011 – The Cardinals overcome a 16-0 deficit at McGehee (4A-8). Adams uses a time-out forcing the Owls to punt on fourth down late in the first half. McGehee doesn't get the kick away and Farmington takes over at the 10. Adams calls time-out setting up a lob from Deon Clay to junior wide receiver Matt Brackett for a touchdown on fourth-and-1 from the one with a single second left in the first half reducing the margin to 16-7 at halftime. Spencer Boudrey, playing defensive end, sniffs out a screen pass in the second half which he intercepts and returns for a touchdown to give Farmington its first lead, 19-16. McGehee rallies and drives for a score to move in front, 23-19. The Cardinal offense sustains a game-winning drive with senior tailback Jared Martin scoring the winning touchdown for a 26-23 final.
Dec. 2, 2011 – Adams and the Cardinals play in the 4A State semifinals losing 49-25 at Malvern (4A-7) and concluding his deepest playoff run to date at Farmington. The Cardinals finish 11-3 with the second most points generated by an Adams coached team, 452, against 233 points allowed on defense.
June 21, 2012 – Adams serves as an assistant All-Star coach to West head coach Daryl Patton, of Fayetteville, while Farmington graduates, Deon Clay and Jared Martin, start at linebacker and figure prominently in a West All-Star football victory at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on the University of Arkansas campus.
Nov. 11, 2012 – Farmington senior tailback Spencer Boudrey scores all five Farmington touchdowns with freshman tailback Justice Hobbs, promoted to varsity for the playoffs, running in four 2-point conversions and passing for a fifth on a trick play during a 46-40 shootout loss at Newport (4A-2). The Cardinals finish 7-4 0verall and 4-3 in the 4A-1.
Sept. 20, 2013 – Adams experiences the second tie of his career, 7-7, during a nonconference game at Paris (3A-4).
Sept. 19, 2014 – Adams and the Cardinals stun Van Buren (6A West), 42-22, at Allen Holland Field.
Oct. 10, 2014 – Adams gets his first win in 5A West Conference play since leaving Fayetteville downing Clarksville on the road, 22-0.
Sept. 4, 2015 – Adams and the Cardinals (5A West) hand eventual State 4A Runner-up Prairie Grove (4A-1) a solid 28-12 defeat in the season-opener at Allen Holland Field. The Tigers will not lose again until they reach the Class 4A State finals in December.
Oct. 30, 2015 – Adams gets his first win over Maumelle in 5A West action during a 42-21 Cardinal victory.
Nov. 6, 2015 – Adams gets his first win over Harrison, 28-25, as Farmington secures its first 2-game win-streak in the 5A West to finish out the regular season at Allen Holland Field. Farmington (5-5, 3-4) loses a coin toss and misses the playoffs.
Oct. 14, 2016 – Adams gets his first victory at Vilonia by a 22-13 score during 5A West competition.
Oct. 20, 2017 – Farmington storms back from an early 21-0 deficit trimming Maumelle's lead to 21-14 at halftime and rallying to win the 5A West contest, 31-30, with a 2-point conversion in overtime.
Nov. 2, 2018 – Farmington retires Allen Holland Field following a regular season, 35-6, loss to Harrison. Senior tailback Reid Turner rips off an 85-yard touchdown run for the Cardinals' only score.
Aug. 15, 2019 – Farmington showcases new 3,700-seat Cardinal Stadium and the school's $16 million sports complex with an open house during the annual Red and White game.
Sept. 6, 2019 – Skydivers land on the turf in Cardinal Stadium delivering the game ball and an American flag. U.S. Congressman Steve Womack serves as honorary captain remaining on the sideline throughout the first half as Adams leads Farmington (5A West) to 27-7 nonconference win over Prairie Grove (4A-1) to christen Cardinal Stadium. With the victory Adams improves to 8-9 in the Highway 62 rivalry series.
Sept. 20, 2019 – Adams achieves career win No. 200 as the Cardinals snap a 5-game losing streak to Pea Ridge (4A-1) with senior quarterback Marqwaveon Watson busting an 87-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals win 24-7 at Cardinal Stadium.
Sept. 27, 2019 – Senior Drew Sturgeon kicks a field goal to lift Farmington to 22-21 Homecoming win over Clarksville in the 5A West opener. Adams' grandson, Harlin Pettigrew, child of his daughter, Meredith and her husband, Ryan; is part of the Homecoming Court.
Oct. 4, 2019 – Adams gets his 100th win at Farmington, career win No. 200, and his first win over Doug Loughridge, who played for him at Charleston, as the Cardinals win at Alma, 31-25, to begin the season 5-0 and 2-0 in the 5A West. Loughridge moves to athletic director at Alma after the season.
Oct. 25, 2019 – Adams and the Cardinals defeat Huntsville, 50-7, assuring Farmington of its first winning season since moving up to the 5A classification. The Cardinals lose their final two regular season games and miss the playoffs while finishing 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the league.
Aug. 28, 2020 – Adams leads Farmington to a 24-6 win over Rogers Heritage at Cardinal Stadium, the school's first-ever win over a 7A opponent in varsity football competition, and Adams' first win over the state's largest classification since leaving Fayetteville. Adams' career record stands at 204-143-2.