While the memory of a 77-7 blowout district win for Panhandle against Sunray on Friday night at Panthers Stadium will probably be forgotten over the years to come, it will be the moments of what followed that will last a lifetime for Panthers head coach Dane Ashley.
By beating Sunray, Ashley put himself in glorified air, getting his 92nd career victory, all at Panhandle High School over his 11 seasons, surpassing the late, legendary Stocky Lamberson as the winningest head coach in Panther football history.
“I know a lot of coaches and people that have played for or coached with Stocky,” said Ashley, who has a 92-38 overall record at Panhandle. “He’s been a name in the coaching circuit I’ve heard my entire life. I know he was a hard-nosed coach that pushed guys to their limit but he also loved them with all he had. We have a scholarship here in Panhandle in his name, so to be put in the same conversation as a coach like Stocky Lamberson is quite the honor.”
When the clock struck zero Friday, Ashley went to shake hands with Sunray head coach Wes Boatmun and assumed he was on his way to do his routine postgame speech to his team. That wasn’t the case on this night. Ashley didn’t know his wife Amy had been planning a surprise celebration over the past few weeks to honor her husband for his special achievement.
The Panhandle crowd didn’t leave the stands, there were over 40 former players on hand along with Ashley’s family in attendance. Interim superintendent Blair Brown, who hired Ashley to Panhandle, and the current Panther team stood on the field with Ashley to celebrate the milestone and give Ashley the respect he has earned.
“I was completely surprised,” Ashley said. “I wasn’t expecting anything quite like that. I’m so grateful to have Amy in my life. She is my support system. She lets me come home and vent, then tells me to pick myself up and get back to work. I love her more than anything and I wouldn’t be where I am without her. Seeing the former players there was so special to me. There were guys there from my first year, and guys that came throughout the years to the current guys we have now. That’s what I loved to see. The coaches drive the bus, but the players are the engine to a successful program.”
Panhandle has become Ashley’s home. He grew up living in Booker for 10 years, spent three quick years in Stratford and then went on to college at Angelo State before cutting his teeth in the coaching world with assistant jobs at Levelland, Amarillo High, Bullard and Tascosa. However, he’s never had his feet on the ground like he has in Panhandle. He truly cares about that community and he cares what the community thinks about him.
“I love Panhandle,” Ashley said. “My family loves it, and we’ve raised our kids here. I feel like this is my hometown. A lot of people say they don’t care what people think, but I care what the Panhandle community thinks of me. I want to coach at a place I’m wanted. When I saw the stands still full after the game the other night, and all the former players back, I felt appreciated and they do want me here.”
While there have been opportunities for Ashley to move on or chase another job, Ashley says it’s hard because of the kids coming through the program. That is a huge reason why he has also made a coaching life in Panhandle.
“I could have looked for another job or gone somewhere else,” Ashley said. “I didn’t, because I don’t know if there is another school willing to put in the work that Panhandle kids do. We ask a lot in our athletic program and these guys and girls never say no. We work hard all year long, especially in the summer. What I ask doesn’t matter if they aren’t bought in, but everyone always buys into what we’re doing. I ask a lot of the coaches and they always step up. We work a lot with the junior high and JV, and they put in the work. There is a lot that goes into building a successful program.”