There’s a lot of good-natured kidding and rivalry in Russellville High School sports about who is the First Family of Pantherland. You could make a case for the Todds, the Bentons or the Morrises, among others.
Following the inductions of Russellville’s 2025 Hall of Fame class last Friday and the inductions of the latest class of Logan County Hall of Famers this Friday night during the Clash of the Cats at LCHS, it’s certainly not difficult to contend that the First Family of Land of Logan Athletics is the Mason-Allen bloodline.
In addition to Coach Lou Kendall, the RHS inductees were T.C. Thomason and D.J. Quarles. Joining LCHS Coach Ethan Meguiar at LCHS will be Clarence Mason, Gracie Mason Woodard and Cameron Mason.
The three Masons entering the Logan Hall this week bring the total in that group to six. Going in ahead of them have been Lillie Mason, Stacey Mason and Tracie Mason. Stacey and Tracie are two of the four Logan athletes to be inducted twice, along with Fred Tisdale and Regina Lanier. Tracie went in a second time as a member of a state championship track relay team while Stacey and Fred are part of the state championship basketball team.
Now, let me give you a little genealogy lesson. Two of the late Ed Mason’s children were James Edward and Chester Mason. James Edward married Elizabeth Allen. Chester married Thomas Duffey.
The Masons and the Duffeys lived on Dr. C.V. Dodson’s property in the Auburn School District across from what is now Logan County Central Office and High School. But Elizabeth Mason sent her children through Russellville to Olmstead School where she had grown up. Tom and Chester sent their son, Larry Duffey, to Russellville High School where he became a Hall of Fame football player.
Elizabeth’s parents were Walter and Ella Allen. They had five children, Willie Allen. Lillie Flowers, Louise Sanders, Elizabeth Mason and Penny Jones. At the time of Mrs. Allen’s death 44 years ago this week, they had 27 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren. The number of their descendants has multiplied dramatically since then.
Among the Mason children were Lillie, who was Miss Kentucky Basketball, an All-American basketball player and MVP of two NCAA regional tournaments for WKU, and a professional player; Gracie, the three-time MVP of girls basketball in the 13th District who played for Kentucky Wesleyan; and Clarence, who was two-time district MVP and a college player for Vol State Community College and Austin Peay. Their brother, Forrest Mason, helped the Ramblers reach the district finals after Clarence graduated. Their sister, Fannie Mason, is two-time Hall of Famer Tracie’s mom. Another sister, Gladys, is Too McKeage’s grandmother. More about him later.
One of Annie Mason Rose’s children is Joseph Rose, who was one of the best players when Cougar football first started 40 years ago.
Penny Jones’ children include Logan Hall of Famer Henry, who was a clutch player on Logan’s state championship team; Nancy and Littie, who were standouts on Coach Lugene Rogers’ Olmstead girls basketball teams which won the first seven district championships after girls basketball was reinstated here; and Paul, who was a member of the first Cougar basketball team in 1982-83. Wade Jones played for OHS. Their sister Druscilla has two sons, Craig and Londell Stovall, who had good careers in Russellville football
Another member of the Allen family, William “Thin Man” Flowers, had two daughters, Renee and Theresa, who were track standouts. Theresa is a member of the Logan County Hall of Fame as a member of that state champion relay team.
Last week, Theresa’s son, T.C. Thomason, was inducted into the Russellville Athletic Hall of Fame. The bloodline doesn’t continue here, but T.C.’s dad, Tim Thomason, is a Logan Hall of Famer as a starter on that state championship basketball team.
Joining T.C. in the Hall this year was D.J. Quarles. He’s the grandson of Larry Duffey, so they’re in the Hall together. D.J. and T.C. are distant cousins.
Meanwhile, Ed Mason’s brother settled in the Adairville area. One of his grandsons is Stacey Mason, who was named to the All-State Tournament team and was a starter on the first Trevecca Nazarene team to reach the NAIA National Tournament. 2025 inductee Cameron Mason—a state champion triple jumper—is the son of Marie Mason, Stacey’s sister, and Stacey will present his Hall of Fame plaque Friday.
Another Logan Hall of Famer, track star Billy Taylor, is the son of Stacey’s sister Mildred and her husband Joe Taylor. Billy’s sister, Tammy Taylor, was a good athlete. She became part of the athletic Groves family in Tennessee, and her sons, Taylor and Shaun Groves, have won a state basketball championship for East Robertson.
There’s more: Stacey’s older brother, Raymond Mason Jr,. was the talented center on Coach Tommy Cummings’s Adairville district championship team in 1972, the only Adairville High School basketball team to win the district in its last three decades. His son, Montez Mason, was one of the stars of Coach Dick Webb’s regional runner-up Cougar team in 1993. Montez;s son Isaiah had a great basketball career at Bowling Green High and is now playing for Georgetown College.
One of Logan’s best basketball players in the team’s second decade was Marcus Mason, who went on to play for Berea College. He is the son of another of Raymond Mason Sr.’s children, Brenda, and another member of that great Adairville team, Danny Finch.
Two of the second generation Adairville Masons were Rita and Regina, who were among the best Adairville players in the beginning of girls basketball here. Rita’s daughter is Camille Edison, who had a good run as a fierce Lady Cougar rebound specialist. A brother, Ricky Mason, scored 50 points in a Cardinal game early in his Adairville career. His granddaughter, Ta’Kiyah Mason, is in her fourth season as a key member of current Lady Cougar basketball team.
Lonnie Mason, the son of Bennie Margaret Mason and the late Adairville basketball star James Washington, played three sports for LCHS and was head coach of Cougar basketball longer than anyone else in school history. His daughter, Taleia Mason, had a long and impressive career in Lady Cougar basketball. Former Cougar football standouts Chris Washington and Charles ‘Punkin’ Adkins are his cousins.
Grace Mason Woodard’s son, Anthony “BA” Woodard, was a key player for Russellville’s first regional champion boys basketball team in 1998 as the point guard. His son, Anthony ‘Rooster’ Woodard was an integral part of Coach Mikey Benton’s 2021 state runner-up football Panthers as a fifth-year senior after transferring from LCHS, where he had drawn rave reviews as both a football and basketball player. In fact, Coach John Tinsley’s Cougars won the district basketball tournament twice and a game at region each year in Rooster’s final years in a Logan uniform.
Another of Gracie’s sons, Orlondo Woodard, was a good basketball player for Russellville and was a Kentucky Nike HoopStar. He will present his mom’s Hall of Fame plaque Friday. Clarence Mason’s son, Jacolbie Mason, who was an RHS athlete, will present his plaque.
Current RHS star athlete Octavius “Too Too” McKeage is the son of Tweedy and Wanda McKeage. He was the leading scorer in football this fall and passed the thousand-point barrier for the basketball Panthers recently.
Deshaun Mason and Brinley Mason, who is Marcus' daughter, have played extensively for Russellville in recent years.
Stacey Mason adds, ‘I had a sister who worked in the county clerk’s office years back for Kenny Chapman named Ann Warfield. They moved to Louisville. Her son Chris played basketball at Morgan State and now has a son named Camryn who plays baseball at Transylvania University. He also won a state title while playing for Louisville Trinity.”
Asked if former Cougar star Craig Bailey is part of the Mason clan, Stacey said, “Technically, Craig (Deuce’s dad) is not my nephew, but he has always been raised as such. His younger sister is my niece, and her daughter (Kiyah) is the one who plays for Lady Cougars now.’
Deuce Bailey has been the Bowling Green High quarterback for four years and led the Purples to their second Class 5A state championship in two years this fall.
So, this is the evidence we’ve gathered to show why the Masons and beyond deserve serious consideration as the First Family of Land of Logan Sports. We apologize to anyone in this family whom we may have unintentionally omitted.