“Play for Coach Mac”: How Carthage remembered a former long-time assistant coach

Two months before Carthage played for its seventh state championship in 13 years, the Bulldogs lost the heart of their team. 

Longtime assistant coach and teacher Dennis McLaughlin passed away on Oct. 7, 2019, after a four-month battle with cancer. McLaughlin spent 37 years at Carthage and was the only assistant coach kept on when Scott Surratt took over the program. It was one of the most important hires Surratt ever made.