CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – On Wednesday, Austin Peay football kicker Logan Birchfield brought the Ohio Valley conference championship trophy across College Street to his place of employment at James Corlew Chevrolet.
“A lot of the guys here at the Corlew dealership follow the football team,” Birchfield said. “Each week, they would ask me how many more games until we win the OVC championship. I thought it’d be really cool with Corlew Sr.’s support of Austin Peay and everyone really caring about it, that I’d bring the trophy in just to share with everybody.”
For Birchfield, being able to share the exceptional accomplishment with his work family is a moment he won’t soon forget.
“It was a great experience,” Birchfield said. “This summer, I was looking for a job to occupy my downtime as a fifth-year senior. They were obviously willing to work around my football schedule and gave me a job down in the cleanup department. Ever since I’ve been here, they’ve been really nice to me. I love the James Corlew company.”
The redshirt senior has had a very successful season this year for the Governors. He received Ohio Valley Specialist of the Week honors, eclipsed 200 career points and has continued to shatter the all-time Austin Peay single-season extra-point record by going a perfect 60-for-60 in PATs.
“At first, I was kind of afraid of another coaching change with it being my third since coming in,” Birchfield said. “From the minute Coach Hud (Mark Hudspeth) talked to the team for the very first time, I knew he really knew what he was talking about. That’s when I decided to come back for my fifth year. I also had a couple more records that I wanted to break. We already had a special team, but this year Coach Hud really gave us the right culture. We all came together as a family, worked hard and now have a conference championship to share not only with the school, but the city of Clarksville.”
When the Elizabethton, Tennessee native looks back on his time as a Gov, it’s the relationships he’s built along the way and personal growth he’s underwent over the years that stick out to him the most.
“I had originally signed to go to EKU (Eastern Kentucky) out of high school,” Birchfield said. “There was a last-minute call from Coach Cannon (Kirby) who showed a big interest in me, so I changed my mind to stay in state and go to Austin Peay. Through all the experiences and adversity that I’ve gone through here, I feel like I’ll be a better man and husband in the future. Without those things happening, I don’t think I would be who I am today and I’m glad that God put in my mind that Austin Peay was the place where I needed to be. There’s always a bigger picture to everything.”
After he’s finished with school and football, Birchfield plans on joining yet another team while serving his country.
“When I’m done with this season, I’m actually going to go into the Air Force,” Birchfield said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to do some mechanical work on jet engines and stuff like that. Maybe retire after 20 years and get back to doing custom car stuff which I love. I’m a very team-oriented guy and I like a structured schedule. I think it’ll be a good place for me to go.”
Birchfield and the rest of the Governor football team will depart from Clarksville on Friday, as Austin Peay flies to California to take on Sacramento State in the second round of the FCS playoffs, Saturday, Dec. 7.