Football in the holler: Rayce Lindon plays for the name on the front

HAZARD, K.Y. – Fans cheer as players run down the field, children are throwing a football on the blacktop and music is playing over the speakers as the bright Friday night lights shine down on Daniel Field.

Rayce Lindon, a senior on Hazard High School’s football team, hypes up his teammates after a play prepares to get back on the field to try to hold off Pikeville in their second to last regular season game.

As Hazard football’s middle linebacker, running back, backup quarterback and one of four captains, Lindon leads the team through every aspect of the game.

Before the whistle on the field blows, the bells ring through the halls of Hazard High School.

Lindon walks through the school halls in the mornings, talking with his friends, watching film and doing school work. He goes from class, to work at Hazard Independent Schools office, to practice each day.

At practice, Lindon runs plays, does speed training and he leads his teammates. Lindon is a part of Hazard football’s leadership council, a new addition to the locker room.

Several players were chosen by coaches before the 2025 football season began to be a part of the leadership council. Hazard football Head Coach Matt Chandler said it was a more formal way to involve the players in leadership and to make the players’ voices more heard.

Chandler said he, and all of the coaches, work to do more than just teach their players to play football – they help them grow as men.

“We try to raise them the best we can. Some of them only get guidance in the three hour window they’re with us,” Chandler said.

Along with being on the team’s leadership council, Lindon is a team captain, and to him, remaining calm in his leader is vital.

“I like to be the kind of the person that hypes everyone up and gets them ready, but also keeps them calm, keeps them cool,” Lindon said.

Hazard is a school of 300-some students, most of whom have grown up together and whose families have been in Hazard for years. Lindon is one of those students, and he is part of one of those families.

Lindon’s parents went to Hazard High School before starting a family of their own, all who have gone through Hazard Independent Schools. Lindon himself has been playing football with his teammates since they were small kids just learning how to put on their pads.

Some teammates, he’s played with since Kindergarten, fostering a tight bond where Lindon said he has been able to grow on the same page with his teammates, form some of the tightest bonds he has and play for his community.

“My main motivation is just winning. You know, I grew up with like everyone I play with, and we’ve all wanted to win,” Lindon said. “…This is my hometown, so it’s really just like the fans deserve it, the players deserve it, so I know I have to motivate myself to play for them.”