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Class of 2014 Biographical Information

    Former athletic greats Feb Marr, Ernest Neil, Joanna Oliphant, and Keith Sutherland will be inducted into the Allen County-Scottsville Athletic Hall-of-Fame Friday night at halftime of the Patriot football game against   Marshall County.   

   Feb Marr was an outstanding basketball player for the Allen County Patriots in the early 1960s. Marr was instrumental in leading his 1962 team to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state tournament with a perfect 30-0 record. Marr scored 35 points in the Patriots’ opening round win over Henry County---capping a senior season in which he averaged 15.9 points per game. AC-S lost in the quarter-finals to finish with a 31-1 record---the best-ever season in terms of winning percentage in school history.

   Marr finished his high school career with 1,148 points. He was a member of the All-Fifth Region Tournament and All-State Tournament teams in 1962, a Third-Team All-State selection in 1962, an All-District selection in 1961 and a All-Southern Kentucky player in 1962. He also participated in the Kentucky East-West All Star game for seniors to cap his Allen County career.

   Marr received a scholarship to play basketball at Mississippi State University but soon choose to return to his Allen County roots. Marr passed away in 2006.

   Ernest Neil was a 1949 graduate of Scottsville High School. As a junior, Neil helped lead his Pointer basketball team to the 1948 regional title---the first time a boys basketball team from Allen County reached state tournament play.  Following high school, Neil attended Lindsey Wilson College on a full athletic scholarship and graduated from the then two-year school in 1951. Neil attended David Lipscomb University where he was the captain of both the basketball and baseball teams.

   Following graduation from David Lipscomb in 1953, Neil did post graduate work at Western Kentucky University. Neil would enter the education field in 1955---teaching and coaching at Uniontown High School in Union County (KY). Neil would then return to Scottsville where he coached basketball for eight years---leading the Scottsville Pointers to an overall record of 122-101. Neil also coached the school’s baseball, golf and tennis teams.

   Neil decided to leave the educational field in 1964 and began a 20-year career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. After retiring from the FBI, Neil worked in banking until his retirement in 2001. He passed away earlier this year in Pennsylvania.

   Keith Sutherland graduated from Allen County High School in 1974 after a distinguished sports career as a Patriot. Sutherland played four sports---football, basketball, baseball, and track---through his junior year in high school before stepping away from baseball and track as a senior.

   On the gridiron, Sutherland played running back on offense, middle linebacker on defense and served as both the kicker and punter. In his junior year, Sutherland helped lead Allen County to the school’s first football district championship. Sutherland---the district’s leading rusher in 1972---helped the Patriots to the title and a 9-3 record under coach Bob Driver. Following graduation in 1974, Sutherland signed to play college football at Western Kentucky University. After a short time at Western, Sutherland returned home and entered the work force and started a family.

   Sutherland was also a member of the Patriot basketball team for four years. The 6’2” forward finished his basketball days averaging 12.4 points as a senior in 1974. He would finish with 738 career points. Sutherland also played baseball under coach Robbie Cline and ran track for coach Driver.

   Joanna Oliphant was a five year member of the Lady Patriot basketball team. The spirited point guard was instrumental in helping the AC-S girls basketball program post a remarkable 100-18 record from 1975 until 1980. She guided AC-S to region championships in 1976, 1977, and 1979. In her senior year (1980), AC-S posted a 29-3 record---the most wins ever by a Lady Patriot team---a season highlighted by an Louisville Invitational Tournament championship.

   Oliphant was a five-time All-District selection, 1980 District Most Valuable Player, an All-Region selection in 1977, 1979, and 1980, and the region MVP in 1980. Oliphant was a Courier-Journal All-State selection four times (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) and a Lexington Herald-Leader All-State selection twice (1979, 1980). She was named First Team All-State by both the Associated Press and United Press International in 1980—the same year in which she represented AC-S on the East-West All-Star team. Additional honors included being named to the LIT First team in 1980, and to the All-State Tournament First Team in 1979. Oliphant was an All-American Honorable Mention in 1980 as well as the Lady Patriot MVP.   

   Oliphant finished her AC-S career with 1,193 points---currently ninth among all-time scorers at AC-S.  Oliphant---who also ran track and served as a baseball manager---signed to play college ball at Cumberland College however, her career was cut short by a knee injury.