HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Dustin Lopez, current head football coach at Hopkinsville High School, has been selected to head the Christian County High School football program at the new consolidated school next fall. On Dec. 2, CCPS employees and staff gathered to celebrate the announcement with a press conference.

The new CCHS Executive Principal Ken Carver introduced Lopez, saying that he already has established a reputation as a dynamic and respected leader. Carver shared how student athlete attendance has more than doubled at HHS since he took over, with players, students and teachers all speaking highly of him.

“I’m ready to get to work,” said an emotional Lopez during the press conference. “Two years ago, they took a chance on me probably when nobody else really would have. We battled, it was hard, but this place means a lot to me…our kids deserve so much, they deserve everything we can give them.”

Lopez was joined by his daughter during the press conference and continually expressed his excitement for the position. He said he faced two years of uncertainty about who would be hired at the new school. He used that time to have fun with the team without setting any expectations.

“This is a big job, there’s a lot that’s going to go into it and I don’t take that lightly…I was super emotional because I love this place, I didn’t want to leave,” said Lopez,

In regard to the consolidation of the schools, Lopez said that for the rest of the current school year he will prioritize getting to know students at the current Christian County High School. With incoming players from CCHS, he intends to form positive relationships to aid with the transition and give them the support they need as a coach. Lopez said, “I have to prove myself to them, not vice versa.”

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Coach Lopez’s background, experience

Coach Lopez is a Hopkinsville native whose football journey began as a standout player at Hopkinsville High School before continuing at Minnesota West Community College, where he earned Junior College All-American Honorable Mention honors, according to CCPS.

He later transferred to the University of Memphis, starting in 18 of 31 games from 2004–2006, and went on to play three seasons of Arena Football for multiple teams. Lopez began his coaching career in Tennessee and was named the Metro-Nashville Assistant Coach of the Year by the Tennessee Tribune in 2015 and helped lead teams to numerous district, regional, and state tournament appearances. Before being named head coach in 2024, he spent ten years as an assistant with the HHS Tigers.

Over the past two seasons, he helped guide the program to a 10–12 record, including a 7–5 finish this year that propelled the team to the second round of the 6A playoffs.

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