Hilton Named Coach of the Year

Former Breathitt High School Football Coach Dudley Hilton was awarded the Howard Schnellenberger Coach of the Year Award on June 26 by the Blanton Collier Sportsmanship Group and the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hilton served as Breathitt High School's second football coach and is currently in his 50th year as a head football coach in Kentucky.  He has enjoyed tremendous success since his early days at Breathitt and has won three state championships at Bell County (1991, 1997, and 1998).

“I am honored to have my name mentioned among the likes of Blanton Collier and Howard Schnellenberger,” Hilton said.  “You almost have to pinch me because I just did not dream of this.”

The ceremony held in Lexington included speakers such as Ernie Brown, former Pittsburgh Steeler, and Cleveland Brown’s Coach Romeo Crennel.

“A lot of people might think it is luck, but it (success) is nothing but old hard work,” Hilton said.  “Fifty years went pretty fast,” Hilton told WYMT during an interview following the ceremony.

Hilton and his wife, Jan (Davidson) Hilton, reside in Tennessee.  Coach Hilton will begin his fifty-first season at the helm when Bell County takes the field this fall.

Hilton currently ranks second in all-time wins in Kentucky behind only the late Philip Haywood of Belfry.