PRAIRIE GROVE -- Prairie Grove head football coach Danny Abshier reached a coveted career milestone with his 200th win beating rival Farmington, 19-7, in the Tigers' season-opener Sept. 2.
Danny Abshier's record now stands at 207-116-2. During the season his son, Patrick Abshier, who played quarterback and helped his dad get some of those wins, recalled his father's emphasis on molding each team into the best it could be.
"It wasn't just about the winning, it was about playing as a team and everyone working as a unit versus individual performance," Patrick Abshier said. "It was always about a team and it always worked out well."
Memories that stand out for Patrick were always referring to his dad as 'Coach' on the field and knowing what play to run next as the quarterback.
"We had a connection and I could tell what he was thinking and he would tell what I was thinking. A lot of times we knew what play was coming in and I knew before he called it and he'd point at me and say, 'Go with it.' We never did call a play in, it happened," Patrick Abshier said.
Operating from intimidate knowledge of the inner workings of the Prairie Grove football, father and son capitalized upon holding a tactical advantage.
"The play clock never ran down," Patrick Abshier said. "It definitely gave us a leg up on the competition because we had a great connection there."
Patrick's brother, Robbie, also contributed to dad's success while daughter Ashton left her mark on Prairie Grove athletics as a member of the Lady Tigers' girls basketball team.
During her senior season Ashton Abshier made the winning basket to get coach Kevin Froud his first state tournament win, 32-31, over Fordyce on Feb. 27, 2008, at Dumas.
"I'm super proud of Ashton and the woman she's become," Patrick Abshier said. "It was always fun to watch her play basketball. She had a lot of energy and I'm just very proud of her."
Patrick thinks he didn't miss any of his brother Robbie's football games while acknowledging the difference in their playing styles.
"He was a little different than I was. He liked to hit and run over people and I was more wanting to get around them and dodge them, but he was always fun to watch. I can remember one play, I think it was against Shiloh, that he broke maybe 15 tackles to score a touchdown," Patrick Abshier said.
Danny Abshier's longevity, recently completing his 28th season as head coach at Prairie Grove, isn't lost on his son.
"He's built a legacy here and just having a father and watching his career and him sticking with a place so long has given me a lot to look up to," Patrick Abshier said. "I keep telling him he's got to hang on for a few more years because I got two more boys coming up in the program. That doesn't happen very often."
Patrick recalls his mother, Kaye Abshier, also playing a role. Many of her photos were given to players when Danny passed out football awards.
"Mom has always been a big part of dad's career. She's always been here for him. Even when she didn't have any kids playing I can remember her being on the sidelines taking pictures, always there supporting dad. I always remember mom out there," Patrick Abshier said.
This past season, Danny Abshier's grandson, Alex Abshier, entered the football program as an eighth-grade member of the junior high team playing receiver and quarterback.
Alex Abshier has grown up watching his grandfather coach football. A special memory he treasures was of the 2015 Prairie Grove varsity advancing to the state finals at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium.
"There was this one time that he got all the way to the state championship so we went to the Little Rock Razorback Stadium and I remember going down on the field and cheering for him while we were down there," Alex said.
This past season Abshier guided the Tigers to an 10-2 record with only a single conference loss and advanced to the second-round of the Class 4A playoffs.
