Boyd Buchanan football coach Gary Rankin reached another milestone in his illustrious career Friday night.
The Buccaneers opened the season with a 47-27 home win against Maryland’s Pallotti, and Rankin notched victory No. 500 of a career that has already earned him a place in multiple halls of fame.
With the win, Rankin became only the fourth prep football coach in the country to ever reach 500, joining J.T. Curtis (John Curtis Christian in River Ridge, Louisiana), Bob Hyland (St. Mary’s Springs in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin), and Jim Roth (Southern Columbia in Catawissa, Pennsylvania).
“It’s pretty daunting to me. It takes me back, it throws me back a little bit,” Rankin said. “I’ve been fortunate to coach for a long time, been fortunate to coach for good programs and coach in 15 games a year for a bunch of years.”
Sept. 2, 1983, marked Rankin’s first win, a 21-14 victory for his alma mater Smith County over Gordonsville. It snapped a 26-game losing skid for Smith County, with Rankin’s head coaching career starting with an 0-10 season the year prior.