A pair of multi-sport student-athletes who excelled in college, a baseball
player who was part of a national championship team, a talented three-sport
athlete that played professional baseball, and a high-scoring basketball star
will be inducted into the Allen County-Scottsville High School Athletic Hall of
Fame. Shelby Harper, Emma Napier Mahaney, Derrick Harwood, Jeff Rippy, and
Garrett Stone will join the AC-SH Hall of Fame in induction ceremonies on
September 13.
Shelby Harper graduated from AC-S in
2009 after a stellar five-year athletic career. The 5’4” guard finished high
school with 1,627 points---currently sixth on the all-time scorer’s list.
Harper is second all-time in assists (442) and steals (411). She holds the
single-season record for steals (146). Her career-best 38 points in a game
ranks fifth best all-time. Harper averaged 19.2 points per game as a senior,
helping guide the Lady Patriots to a 21-10 record and into the Region 4
tournament for the first time in eight seasons. Harper also played softball and
ran track her senior season. On the field, Harper helped AC-S to a Region 4
championship while on the track, Harper was a member of the 4x100 relay team
that was third and the 4x200 relay team that placed fourth in Class 2A state
championships.
After turning down the opportunity to play college ball on scholarship
at several smaller NCAA or NAIA colleges, Harper elected to walk-on at the
University of Louisville. In her first season for the Lady Cards, Harper worked
her way up the depth chart and into the Louisville starting line-up. Harper
started 17 games, averaged 3.8 points per game, and dished out 61 assists.
Harper earned a scholarship and would play in 92 additional games while at Louisville. In her 2013 senior season, the
Lady Cards posted a 29-9 record and finished the season as the NCAA National
Runner-Up.
Emma Napier, a 2009 graduate, was a teammate of Harper’s with the Lady
Patriot basketball program but the softball field would be where Napier
excelled. Napier was named All-District and All-Region multiple times during
her high school career. She was a member
of the Class 2A All-State teams her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons
including her selection as the Class 2A Co-Player of the Year in 2009. Napier’s
2009 Patriot Fast Pitch team won the Region 4 championship and placed fourth in
the KHSAA state tournament. Napier batted .400 and led the team in hits and
runs scored. In her five-year AC-S softball career, Napier was part of a
program that won 161 games, captured five district titles, and won a pair of
regional titles (2005 and 2009).
Napier attended Campbellsville University where she was a four-year starter---with
the exception of a time as a sophomore when an injury kept her on the bench. As
a junior in 2012, Napier started 59 games, batted .374 with 74 hits, 50 runs scored, had
40 RBIs, and ended the season with a .566 slugging percentage. Napier was a
First Team All-Conference member, an Academic All-Conference Team member and
named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team. As a senior, Napier led the
Tigers in hitting with a .460 batting average. She also led the team with 84
base hits, 65 runs scored, 18 doubles, three triples, 14 home runs and 22
stolen bases. Napier was selected as the Mid-South Conference Player of the
Year as well as the NCCAA Mid-East Region Co-Player of the Year and helped the
Tigers to a 43-17 record and their first MSC regular-season title since 2009.
She was also named to National Christian College Athletic Association
All-America team in 2013 and was an NAIA Second Team All-American selection.
Napier helped Campbellsville to a fourth-place finish at the NCCAA Tournament.
Derrick Harwood graduated from AC-S in 2006 after rewriting
the baseball record book during a six-year varsity career. Harwood closed his
high school career as the all-time leader in eight categories---including career hits (163), doubles (50), RBIs (104) and batting average
(.443). As a junior and senior, Harwood helped AC-S win back-to-back Region 4
baseball championships. Harwood was a member of the 2005 Kentucky Junior
All-Stars.
Harwood signed to play college ball with Western Kentucky University. He
would later transfer to Calhoun Community College before spending the last two
seasons of his college career at Cumberland University. In 2010, Harwood was a
member of the Cumberland squad that posted a 58-9 record and won the NAIA National
Championship. Harwood later served as an assistant coach at Cumberland, head coach
at Warren Central High School, and as an assistant at Clarendon College.
Jeff Rippy participated in basketball, baseball, football, and
track and field as a student at AC-SH prior to graduation in 1982. Rippy was a
starter on the 1981 basketball team that finished 27-3 and won the Region 4
title. His senior season, Rippy helped lead the basketball team to a District
15 championship along with a 20-9 record. He finished his AC-S career just shy
of 1,000 career points. Rippy was also a key contributor as the 1982 Patriot baseball
team won the Region 4 title and advanced to semi-state play. In addition to
baseball in the spring of 1982, Rippy placed second in high jump in the Class
2A state track and field championships.
Following graduation, Rippy attended Trevecca Nazarene College and played basketball and
baseball. He later transferred to Western Kentucky University and walked
on the baseball team as a red-shirt. Finding that he missed basketball, Rippy
transferred to Berea College and was able to play basketball and baseball---helping
Berea basketball reach the national tournament. The following summer, Rippy was
signed to play in the New York Yankee minor league organization. After
playing minor league baseball for three years, Rippy completed his undergraduate
work. He would later teach and coach for seven years at Trousdale County (TN).
While there, Rippy coached both girls and boys basketball for two years before
settling in as the boys coach for five years. In the early 2000’s, Rippy moved
to Monroe County High School where he served as assistant coach before moving
up to serve as coach of the Falcons for two years. In 2010, Rippy began a stint
as assistant girls basketball coach at AC-SH with the highlight of his career
coming in 2015 as the Lady Patriots finished as the girls state basketball
runner-up. Rippy currently serves as associate head coach with the Patriot
basketball team.
Garrett Stone helped the Patriot
basketball team return to prominence during his five-year high school career
(2002-2007). As a solid scorer and rebounder, Stone helped AC-S to District 15
titles in 2005, 2006, and 2007 with the 2005 team reaching the Region 4
semifinals. The Patriots went 87-33 during Stone’s high school years. As a
senior in 2007, Stone averaged 14.3 points and 6.2 rebounds. Stone---a numerous
All-District and All-Region selection--finished his playing days at AC-S with
1,256 points, currently fourth on the all-time scoring list for AC-S basketball.
Stone also played golf with the Patriot golf program for three years.
Stone signed to play basketball at Shawnee Community College and later
transferred to Brescia for a season. After stepping aside from playing the
sport, Stone entered teaching and coaching. As an assistant at Bowling Green,
Stone has been a part of five Region 4 championship teams, two state runner-up
teams, and the Purples’ 2017 state championship team. Currently, Stone is the
coach of the Bowling Green Junior High basketball team.