Jump into the Wayback Machine with me. We’re going to set the dial for March of 1980 when one of the smallest schools in 16th Region history made a mighty impact.

Holy Family, the tiny Catholic school in Ashland, always seemed to put a competitive basketball team on the floor.

Freddie Simpson, Bob Gilmore and Dan Stephenson led the 1950s teams and the 1970s teams seemed to always have a Brislin or a Layne somewhere on the roster. The Fighting Irish always gave everyone fits. Coach Bill Carroll’s deliberate teams of the 1970s had an upset up their sleeve at every turn. Nobody liked to play against those Carroll-coached teams.

But in 1980, Holy Family had its best chance of being a 16th Region champion if not for one thing — the Irish resided in the same 64th District with powerhouse Ashland.

The Tomcats went into the 1980 season ranked No. 1 in the state in some preseason polls but in transition on the sidelines. Coach Paul Patterson had left after four seasons when he led the Tomcats to four regional titles in a row and an unbeaten record against regional competition.

He took the head coaching job at Taylor University in Indiana where he is to this day. Patterson is one of the most successful coaches in NAIA history, going into the current season, his 31st at the school, with 667 victories.

When he left for Taylor, he hardly left the cupboard bare at Ashland. Patterson actually walked away from a team that would have perfectly fit his style of coaching. It was tailor-made for him but Taylor University was calling.

The Tomcats scrambled before hiring Ernie Simpson to inherit a team that many felt had the chance to do something great simply because of its size.

But greatness, as it turned out, also waited for little Holy Family.

Armed with a fabulous point guard in David Layne, a Division I forward in Art McCullough who went on to Youngstown State, sturdy rebounders in Mike Stewart and Dan Phillips and defensive ace David Michalak, Holy Family had the kind of team that could give anyone fits — even the mighty Tomcats.

There were other threats to the throne, too.

Fairview had a team led by Jack Preston and a budding sophomore star in Jeff Hall for wily coach George Cooke. The Eagles knew the Irish well. They played five teams in the 1979-80 season. Holy Family eventually eliminated Fairview in the opening round of the regional tournament. The Irish won four of the five meetings.

Boyd County was on the rise, too, with a coach named Jeep Clark starting to put his plan in place. The Lions would win back-to-back regional titles in 1981 and ’82.

East Carter and West Carter had bright young coaches in Charles Baker and Jim Webb, and the Carter County schools could play. They did things the right way and competed with everybody in the region all season.

But Ashland held a stranglehold on everybody, although it seemed a little less daunting than previous years. For instance, the Tomcats needed four overtimes to defeat Fairview 56-54 and defeated Boyd County 72-69 despite trailing by 10 points in the second half.

Nothing seemed to come easy for this Tomcat team, maybe a victim of being a little overhyped in the preseason. Ashland was good to be sure. The Tomcats had 6-foot-9 Jeff Tipton at center along with fellow seniors Doug Smith (6-4), Greg McCauley (6-3) and guard John Anderson. An up-and-coming sophomore named Scott Crank was the other starting guard.

Ashland had played the toughest schedule in the 16th Region and had a rather pedestrian 17-9 record going into the postseason. But the Tomcats’ undefeated record inside the region was intact and going strong at 51 straight.

Holy Family’s budget didn’t allow for much travel outside the region and the Irish went into the postseason at 24-5 under coach Mike Sherman.

The 64th District was a three-team affair in 1980 and Boyd County was eliminated after losses to Ashland and Holy Family. That set up the game most were wanting — Ashland vs. Holy Family.

The Irish were more than ready for the showdown, bolting out to a 41-22 lead in the third quarter before the Tomcats rallied. But the comeback was never complete. Holy Family, behind 26 points apiece from Layne and McCullough, had stunned the Tomcats 69-64 in the district final.

The giant had fallen in the 16th Region. Ashland had lost for the first time against a region foe since the 1975 regional tournament stunner against Greenup County.

It was Holy Family’s second district title, the other coming in 1958 when coach Tony Weinfurtner’s team followed Stephenson’s 26 points to a 66-50 victory over McKell.

In the 1980 district final, Holy Family was efficient, making 21 of 32 from the floor, while Stewart pounded the glass for 13 rebounds. Phillips played despite a badly sprained wrist that hampered him in the postseason. But he did a lot of the grunt work inside, helping keep Tipton and Smith off the backboards.

The following week the regional tournament was played at the same site as the district tournament — Summit Jr. High School (now Boyd County Middle School).

It would be an interesting week.

Ashland and Holy Family made it back to the regional finals in a highly anticipated showdown but not without some anxious moments in tight semifinal games against West Carter and East Carter.

But instead of it being a Carter County regional championship, it was Holy Family-Ashland in a rematch.

Ashland’s maligned guards, who were supposed to be the Achilles’ heel of team, came to play in the region final. The strategy against the Tomcats had been to sag inside against the tree-tall frontline and let the guards fire away from outside.

That strategy backfired in the region final as Anderson and Crank combined for 17 points and missed only one shot from the field in a 56-48 victory. Smith had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Tipton, the tournament MVP, had nine points and nine rebounds. McCauley also had 14 points.

But it was the play of Anderson and Crank that provided the difference.

Anderson sank a 10-footer to put the Tomcats in front 22-21 at the half. Holy Family trailed 46-44 with five minutes remaining but went scoreless for four minutes as the Tomcats expanded the margin to 54-44.

Layne scored 17 but McCullough had only 11. The two had combined for 52 in the district final the previous week. Simpson said McCauley’s defense on McCullough and Ashland’s better start made the difference.

The Irish dream of playing in the State Tournament for the first time was over as the Tomcats made reservations in Freedom Hall for a fifth straight season.

Ashland won its Sweet Sixteen opener against Betsy Layne before losing a 97-92 double-overtime quarterfinal classic with Covington Holmes, a team led by Dicky Beal that had beaten the Tomcats badly in the regular season.

Tipton scored 41 in the best individual game performance of any Tomcat player in history.

The 1979-80 season would belong to Ashland but it will be one that Holy Family alum proudly call its own, too.

Thirty years later, it’s still worth talking about.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.