Two weeks ago, Blue Mountain quarterback Cohen Kirby stood on the field after the Eagles’ 63-14 win over Pine Grove with his dad, Keith, posing for a picture.
It was a unique moment not just for the Kirby family, but in high school athletics: a son breaking his dad’s school record.
Earlier in the evening, Cohen surpassed Keith’s mark for career passing touchdowns in Blue Mountain history. It was the junior quarterback’s 39th career passing touchdown, breaking Keith’s record of 38 that had stood since 1999.
As they shared the moment on the field, Cohen looked to his dad.
“Two more records to break, Pops,” Cohen told him.
Keith’s response required no hesitation. Already beaming with pride, he told Cohen, “Go crush it, kid. I couldn’t be more proud of you.”
For Keith, Cohen breaking his touchdown record is something he never really thought about over the last few seasons. While all records are meant to be broken eventually, both Keith and Cohen were focused on the present rather than worrying about what the future might hold.
“Quite honestly, when he started this journey at the end of his freshman year, I don’t even think it was on his radar, nor was it mine,” Keith said. “I knew I had some records, but I didn’t know exactly what they were until that article came out. So being able to know that in advance was really cool.
“And for him to be able to meet that achievement, it was a special moment,” he added. “Records are meant to be broken, and what father wouldn’t want their son to be the one to break it?”
For Cohen, while he’s happy to have the record, it’s one he knows he wouldn’t own without the help of his teammates and support system.
“Obviously, it’s something special. You don’t really come across that too often,” Cohen said. “I’m not worrying about the records, but we got that as a team, and I’m just glad that happened.
“Spending that moment with my dad and my family, who have been my biggest supporters since day one, it’s something special because they’ve been there and they’ve been with me through my ups and downs,” he continued. “Obviously, after breaking that, it was a special moment between all of us because my dad wanted me to break it, and he wants me to break his other records. So it’s surreal. It’s awesome.”
A contrast in style
While the Kirby family sits atop the Blue Mountain record book, how Keith and Cohen got there came via two widely different styles.
When Keith was the quarterback of the Eagles, Blue Mountain ran a Wing-T offense. Keith wasn’t asked to throw a whole lot, but when he did, he was efficient.
“We ran the Wing-T, so it was more designed rollouts,” Keith said. “We might’ve thrown the ball eight times a game, maybe 15 to 20 some games.”
Cohen, however, has had the opportunity to throw in a much more pass-friendly offense. But while the system is more friendly to airing it out, Cohen’s abilities as a quarterback are well ahead of where Keith was at the same age.
“Cohen is so different in his pocket-passing presence,” Keith said. “He can read the defense. Unlike me—I was a lot shorter back in the day, only 6-foot tall, couldn’t really see over the line and had to make vision lanes for myself. Cohen has that pocket presence.”
How Cohen understands and sees the game is also something that has been fun for Keith to watch transpire.
“He’s been around the game a long time to know defensive coverages, all those things at such a young age. It’s special to see for me because I look back at myself at that age, and I knew half of what he knows at this point,” Keith said.
“From a turnover standpoint, he really beats himself up if he throws an interception or if he turns the ball over,” he added. “He takes pride in making the right decisions. And I think that goes back to just him being a smart individual, a smart player, a smart kid.”
A natural leader
Blue Mountain coach Chuck Kutz has seen Cohen’s poise and maturity develop firsthand.
“He’s always been a very intelligent kid — natural leadership roles in the weight room, certainly in the school community, but in the huddle he’s the field general,” Kutz said. “That’s really what you want from a quarterback, for sure.”
“As you get more comfortable with the speed of the game, I think your decision-making process slows down and therefore you’re making great decisions,” Kutz noted. “Two out of our last three games, he was 8-for-8 and 7-for-7. Certainly has great targets to throw to, but you’ve got to put the ball on the money, too. Last week, 16-for-22, a very productive day. He makes excellent decisions. It shows up in his interception ratio. I think he has one that was off of a tipped ball, so he’s not making bad decisions.”
Keith was also quick to credit the Blue Mountain coaching staff and the team surrounding Cohen for his son’s success.
“The numbers that he’s putting up aren’t realistic unless you have the supporting cast of talent in all three phases, but also an equally talented coaching staff that is dedicated and committed to the team—breaking down schemes, looking at film, and looking at what coverages the defensive schemes are going to be for the week,” Keith said. “Fortunately, Cohen has an extremely talented group around him and supporting cast. It just goes back to all the hard work that they put in over the summer to get them to this point.”
Cohen shared a similar sentiment when asked about the key to his success up to this point.
“Just working as a team,” he said. “All aspects of the game. Really, there’s just a lot I could say. I put in a lot of hard work, so has the team… It’s just a lot of faith, a lot of just going along and playing a football game as it comes.”
A classic father-son football bond
The bond between Keith and Cohen mirrors that of many football families in Schuylkill County.
Growing up, Keith coached Cohen across multiple sports. While Keith is no longer coaching him, the two still share a close dynamic, both in football and beyond.
“My dad coached me in all three sports growing up, and he was always just someone that I could look to for information,” Cohen said. “Instead of getting upset about the criticism he’d give me, I’d listen to it, and I’d take it, and I’d make sure I used that. It helped me because now in high school, if I were to get yelled at, I can take it. I’m not sitting back there whining about it. I could take that criticism and use it for my game.”
Cohen continues his athletic career at Blue Mountain as a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and baseball. A dedicated student-athlete, he stays locked into his sports while maintaining strong grades in the classroom and serving as Blue Mountain’s Class of 2028 class president.
“He’s a pretty dedicated and committed kid,” Keith noted. “All the kids say it now—he’s locked into the season. Everything outside of school-related—which, he does very well academically—when it’s time to go to practice, he gives it his all. He’s dedicated to his coaches and his teammates.”
That dedication continues at home as well, where Cohen will at times look to pick his dad’s brain.
“Some nights we’ll watch film right after and just sit down and evaluate what went right and what went wrong,” Cohen said. “He never comes down on me at all. Say I make a bad read, he’ll be like, ‘Hey, here it is.’ He’s always just a positive person about it.”
While Keith welcomes film sessions, he also works to keep Cohen balanced between family life and athletics.
“It’s a balancing act,” Keith said. “You don’t want to overwhelm them. You don’t want to put them in a spot where they get sick of it. It’s a balancing act as a parent.
“We still have the home life. It’s talk about how your day went, talk about something outside of football. It’s not 100% sports-related,” he added. “At home, we do try to have those moments where we just talk briefly—kind of what went right, what went well, great job here or there.”
Cohen also finds escapes of his own, allowing him to unwind away from the game.
“I love fishing, especially trout fishing in the spring with my buddies,” he said. “I love going up to Cabela’s… shopping and stuff. Just being around my friends. I got a tight group of people, and it’s great to be around them. I can always count on them.”
For the Kirby family, the last two and a half years have been a joy to watch from the stands. While they’re proud of what he’s accomplished on the gridiron, court, and diamond, they’re even prouder of who he has become as a person.
“Myself, and I’ll include my wife as well because he wouldn’t be where he is without her, we couldn’t be more proud of the athlete that he is and the accomplishments that he’s had,” Keith said. “More importantly, the young man and the leader that he’s become, not only on the field, but off the field.
“It’s a really special time. I’m going to embrace every moment and cherish it because I know it’s going to go by quick. And in all prayers saying this—I hope that he crushes my other two records.”