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2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

Pikeville dominates Paintsville in season opener, 43-21 By Mike Muncy SportS Writer

Pikeville proved last Friday it takes playing hard in all four quarters to beat a good team as the Panthers cruised to a 43-21 win over the defending Class A state champions. The Paintsville Tigers came out fast paced scoring on their opening drive, but failed to score again until a kickoff return in the fourth quarter. It proved to be too little, too late though as the Panthers had pulled away to a comfortable 36-6 lead heading into the final stretch of the game. Things started out wild right out of the gate. The Panthers won the coin toss and elected to receive. Paintsville lined up to kickoff and surprised everyone with an onside kick, which they recovered. The Tigers then proceeded to march down the field and capped off the drive with an AJ James twoyard rush to put the Tigers up, 6-0. The Panthers then got their chance on offense. The Panthers were able to march down the field all the way to the red zone, but the Tiger defense was able to step up and stop them on fourth down to force a turnover on downs, with the Tigers now starting at their own nine-yard line. Paintsville looked to have momentum on their

Panthers celebrate at Kroger Field

side with the big defensive stand, but that wouldn’t last long. With 4:15 left in the first quarter, pressure got to Paintsville quarterback James and attempted to throw it away. With no receiver in the area, he was called for a safety to give Pikeville its first points of the game; that cut the lead to 6-2. Pikeville took advantage of the good fortune and capped off a drive to end the first quarter with Blake Birchfield rushing in from nine yards out. This gave Pikeville its first lead of the game and they would not let go of it for the rest of the night. Paintsville was able to halt the momentum enough to hang on to a 15–6 deficit by halftime.

The Tigers got the ball back to start the second half, but came out flat and was forced into a three and out situation. It was again Birchfield when the Panthers returned on offense in the second half with a 13-yard run to make it 22–6 with 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Things started to swing in favor of the Tigers in the start of the fourth when Harris Phelps blasted down field on a kickoff return for the TD to make it 36–14 with 10:20 left in the fourth. Pikeville returned on offense only to end up with a turnover thanks to an Issac McNamee interception. The Tigers wasted no time taking advantage as Harris Phelps broke free for a 30-yard TD run to make it

36–21 with 9:13 left in the game. Unfortunately for the Tigers, this would be as far as the comeback charge would get as Pikeville continued to dominate. Birchfield was able to do most of the heavy lifting and McNamee punched it into the end zone with a quarterback keeper to extend the lead, 43–21. The Paintsville Tigers were unable to answer, giving Pikeville the win to start the season against the defending Class A Champions. Pikeville’s Birchfield had a big game in the win, with 214 yards and three TDs on the ground. McNamee was seven for 14 in the air with 73 yards and one interception and also one TD on the ground.

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

Panthers have to sit out Pike County Bowl reG

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The 36th WYMT/Community Trust Bank Pike County Bowl was supposed to feature a really good Pikeville team Saturday night. The Panthers, unfortunately, were just fans Saturday night as Bourbon County had to pull out of the game because of COVID-19.

Pikeville tried to find a game, but couldn’t. So the Panthers acted as host and bystanders as Shelby Valley and Pike Central played on the biggest stage of the regular season. Pikeville coach Chris McNamee released this statement on social media about not being able to participate in this year’s Pike County Bowl. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid

we have exhausted every effort to find an opponent for tonight’s Pike County Bowl game. “I appreciate those that stepped in to help through social media, phone calls and text. As one of the longest standing bowl games in the state, my heart breaks for our players as they will not be able to participate in this game again this year.

“I encourage our fans and those that have purchased tickets to come to the first game between Pike Central and Shelby Valley and cheer for the young men that get to play. “We get so caught up in RPI, rankings, and win/loss records that we lose sight that we need to celebrate the opportunity to compete.”

Pikeville topples Letcher Central By rA

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WHITESBURG — If you blinked, you might’ve missed a Pikeville scoring drive last Friday night against Letcher Central. Most of Pikeville’s drives didn’t take long as the Panthers cruised to a 48-7 win over Class 4A Letcher Central. On the opening play of the first drive, Pikeville’s Blake Birchfield scored on a 65-yard TD run to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead after the extra-point. Letcher Central was forced to punt on its first drive. On the Panthers’ second drive a bad snap, while punting set up the Cougars deep in Pikeville territory. Letcher Central took advantage of the mishap and scored as quarterback Carson Adams Nicholas Haning for an eight-yard TD pass with 1 51 left in the first quarter. Pikeville answered quick-

ly.

Panther quarterback Isaac McNamee dropped back after a play-action and found Zac Lockhart with a nice throw. Lockhart did the rest as he scored on a 67yard TD. Pikeville held a 13-7 lead with 1 left in the first quarter. Pikeville’s next score didn’t come until late in the first half. ockhart came up with an interception to give the Panthers the ball back. After that, McNamee found Lockhart for a 53-yard TD pass with 3:09 left in the first half. c amee found Grant Scott for the two-point conversion to give the Panthers a 21-7 lead. The Panthers weren’t finished in the first half, though. Lockhart came up with his second interception of the game. That turnover set up McNamee who found tight end Grant Scott for a TD with just 31 seconds left in the first half. That pushed the lead to

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28-7 at the halftime break. McNamee found Lockhart for a 31-yard TD pass with 8:18 left in the third quarter to push the lead to 35-7 after the extra-point kick. After Pikeville’s Barrett Caudill came up with an interception for the Panthers, Birchfield struck again. Birchfield scored on a ard run with 7:56 left in the third to push the lead to 41-7. Pikeville put the finishing

touches on the win early in the fourth quarter as McNamee found Wade Hensley for a 20-yard TD pass with 10:51 left in the game. c amee finished with five passing s. Lockhart had three receiving TDs and two interceptions on the night. Birchfield rushed for two TDs. Scott and Hensley caught a TD each.

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

Panthers knock off powerhouse Wheelersburg, OH By rA

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Pikeville traveled all the way to Ohio last Friday night. The Panthers were road warriors as they knocked off Ohio powerhouse Wheelersburg 20-7. Q uarterback Isaac McNamee led the way for the

Panthers. McNamee had a solid game as he was 12 for 19 passing for 104 yards and two TDs with an interception. Blake Birchfield led the rushing attack with 156 yards and a TD on 29 carries. Brenden Anthony added 25 rushing yards. Senior standout Zac

Lockhart led the Panther receivers with seven catches for 66 yards and two TDs. Birchfield hauled in three catches for 22 yards and tight end Grant Scott had two receptions for 16 yards. Pikeville’s defense was swarming in the game. The Panthers created four turnovers in the game.

Devin DeRossett, J eb Wilkerson and Lockhart each recovered fumbles for the Panther defense. Lockhart also added an interception on defense. Lockhart has created four turnovers in the past two games for the Panthers; three interceptions and a fumble recovery.

ockhart finished the night with eight catches for 92 yards and a TD. his was Pikeville’s first shutout win over Belfry since 1956. The Panthers got the ball first and went to work. On the opening drive, McNamee capped it off with a 27-yard TD pass to Hensle with left in the first quarter. That was a special TD in McNamee’s career. The TD throw marked his 67th career throwing TD. That set a new school record as he broke former Pikeville great and middle school head coach Matt Branham’s school record of 66 career TD throws. Belfry didn’t have standout Isaac Dixon and the effect it had on the Pirate offense was evident early in the game. The Pirates just couldn’t get an thing flowing and Pikeville’s defense swarmed to the ball. On Pikeville’s second

drive, the Panthers faced a fourth and two on the Belfry 40. McNamee found Lockhart for the first down, but instead of going down, Lockhart turned on the jets and scooted 40-yards for the score with 3:43 left in the first quarter. fter the two point conversion, Pikeville held a 15-0 lead. Belfry’s defense settled down for most of the second quarter, but the Panthers got the ball back late in the half. McNamee found Hensley for a 45-yard TD catch with just 30 seconds left in the first half. he score pushed Pikeville’s lead to 22-0 going into the halftime break. Again, the game tightened in the third. Belfry got the ball to open the half. The Pirates marched the ball deep in Pikeville territory, but the Panther defense stepped up and caused a turnover on downs, thwarting Belfry’s best chance at scoring in the

game. Both defenses played well to late in the game. That’s when Blake Birchfield scored on an 11 ard TD run with 3:43 left in the game. That score sealed Pikeville’s third straight win and pushed the lead to 29-0. Birchfield finished the game with 142 yards rushing and a TD on 19 carries. Pikeville finished the game with 325 yards of total offense. How good was Pikeville’s defense? The Panthers only gave up 139 rushing yards to the Pirates. Luke Ray led the Pikeville defense with 19 tackles. Landon Hammock followed with 18 tackles. Devin DeRossett finished with 15 tackles and a fumble recovery. Aaron Slone followed with 13 tackles and J acoby Thorsnbury added 12 tackles on the night.

Panthers knock off Pirates, 29-0 reG

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BELFRY — Pikeville’s got weapons. Belfry had to pick its poison Friday night and that poison turned out to be Wade Hensley. With Pikeville’s Zac Lockhart getting a lot of attention from the Pirate secondary, Hensley had one-on-one match ups all night and he won them. Hensley had three catches for 72 yards and two TDs on the night as the Panthers picked up their third straight win over Belfry 29-0 in the ARH Bowl at Haywood Stadium. Pikeville quarterback Isaac McNamee also had a memorable game as well. McNamee was excellent on the night as he was 14 for 17 passing for 173 yards and three TDs. McNamee’s other passing TD went to his favorite weapon Zac Lockhart.

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

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Panthers fall in Lexington

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Pikeville has only played at home once this season, but the road had been kind to the Panthers until last Friday night. The Panthers squared off with Class 2A powerhouse L exington Christian and fell 31-14. Pikeville entered the game ranked as the top

team in Class A, while L exington Christian was ranked No. 2 in Class 2A. B oth teams have steam rolled opponents all season and Pikeville played well, but j ust came up short against a very talented L exington Christian team. The E agles kept the high powered Panther pass game in check. Pikeville quarterback Isaac McNamee was four

for 13 passing for 43 yards. R unning back B lake Birchfield had a huge game against the powerhouse team, though. Birchfield led Pikeville as he rushed for 255 yards and a two TDs on 25 carries. Pikeville gained 323 total yards of offense on the night. B lake Caudill rushed for 13 yards and McNamee rushed for eight. B renden

Anthony chipped in with four yards rushing. G rant S cott led the wide receivers with two catches for 19 yards. S tandout wide receiver Z ac L ockhart hauled in a 14-yard catch and Wade Hensley had a 10-yard catch for the Panthers. Anthony led the Pikeville defense with 15 tackles. L uke R ay followed with 13 tackles.

1:41 left to play. McNamee found Hensley on back-toback passes to push the ball to the Madison Central 22-yard line. Pikeville’s Jacob R ogers had a chance to win the game for the Panthers as time expired, but his ard field goal was no good and Madison Central escaped with the 21-19 win. McNamee led the way for the Panthers as he was 14 for 21 passing for 127 yards and a TD with an interception. He also added 19 yards and a TD on six carries. Blake Birchfield led the rushing attack with 124 yards on 25 carries. B renden Anthony added 25 yards on three carries. L ockhart added an eightyard run. Hensley led the receiv-

ers with six catches for 66 yards and a TD. L ockhart had two catches for 30 yards. Tight end G rant S cott hauled in two catches for 1 ards. Birchfield had two catches for 10 yards and B randon L owe added two catches for four yards. L uke R ay led Pikeville’s defense with 14 tackles on the night. Aaron S lone, Josh Taylor, S am Wright and L andon Hammock each added seven tackles. L ockhart had two interceptions for the Panthers. Madison Central scored first with 5 left in the first quarter to take a lead over the Panthers. The Indians scored again with 1:17 left in the first quarter to push the lead to 14-0. Pikeville got on the board with 6:52 left in

the first half as c amee scored on a five ard keeper to cut the lead to 14-7. After a Pikeville turnover, the Indians scored with 36 seconds left in the first half to take a 1 halftime lead. Pikeville’s R ogers knocked down a 27-yard field goal before the half ended to cut the Madison Central lead to 21-0. R ogers knocked down his second field goal with 2:44 left in the third to cut Madison Central’s lead to 21-13. With 10:02 left in the game, McNamee found Hensley for a TD to cut the lead to 21-19. The Panthers went for the two-point conversion, but failed on the try.

Panthers fall on road 21-19 to Class 6A Madison Central By rA

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Pikeville had chances to knock off Class 6A Madison Central last Friday night, but the Panthers couldn’t take advantage of their opportunities. Pikeville fell on the road to Madison Central 21-19. ith ust under five minutes to play, Pikeville’s Z ac L ockhart came up with an interception to give the Panthers the ball back. The Panthers drove the ball inside the Madison Central five ard line. B ut the Panthers fumbled the ball and Madison Central held its 21-19 lead. L ate in the game Pikeville had one more chance to win the game. L ockhart received the Madison Central punt with

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

Pikeville drops hammer on Sayre, 43-7 reG

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t was fitting that Pikeville defensive coordinator Paul ullivan carried a sledge hammer onto the field against a re rida night. Because the Panthers dropped the hammer on the partans as the cruised to a win over the partans in lass istrict action. Pikeville’s defense gave up a late score to a re’s first team in the closing minutes of the game. Blake Birchfield and the offense took care of the rest for Pikeville. n the opening drive, Birchfield broke a 55 ard run with 1 5 left in the first quarter to get the Panthers on

the scoreboard. e added the two point conversion as the Panthers umped out to an lead. he Panthers defense kept bringing the pressure and a re ust couldn’t get into an offensive rh thm. Pikeville’s offense on the other other hand, was hitting on all c linders. n their second drive, quarterback Bra den homas scored on a one ard plunge with 5 left in the first quarter to push the lead to 15 . Pikeville opened the second quarter with a bang. enior quarterback saac c amee found tight end rant cott on a post route. cott made a great catch and scored on a ard with 11 5 left in the first half. fter

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

the acob ogers e tra point, the Panthers held a lead. n Pikeville’s ne t possession, c amee went back to the air attack once again. his time, he found ade ensle for a ard . ensle beat his man and c amee delivered a great pass to the corner of the end one where onl ensle could catch it and he did. fter the ogers e tra point, the Panthers held a lead. Pikeville was finished int the first half, though. Birchfield ran for a three ard with ust 6 seconds left in the half. he e tra point pushed the lead to 6 and the Panthers had a running clock against a re in the first half. Birchfield added a ard run in the third quarter for the Panthers and a re added

a late in the closing seconds of the game. Birchfield had another big game for the Panthers on the ground. e finished the game with 1 ards and three s on 1 carries. c amee was 11 for 1 passing for 1 6 ards and two s. unning back Bra den homas finished with ards and a on three carries. ensle led the wide receivers with three catches for 65 ards and a . cott followed with three catches for 5 ards and a . ac ockhart had three catches for 5 ards. eb ilkerson had two catches for ards. he Panther defense onl gave up 1 ards passing to Pennington and the partans.

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

Blake Birchfield reG

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Panthers top Phelps, 49-0

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Pikeville got off to a quick start Friday night against Phelps and the Panthers never slowed down on their way to a 49-0 win over the Hornets in district action. The Panthers improved to 2-0 in Class A District 7 action with the win and sets up a showdown with Hazard Friday night for the top spot in district standings. Pikeville opened the game and scored quickly. Panther senior quarterback Isaac McNamee found Z ac L ockhart for a 39-yard score j ust 35 seconds into the contest to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead. Pikeville held the Hornets on their opening drive and on the Panthers’ second possession of the game, running back Blake Birchfield scored on a 25-yard TD run

to push the lead to 14-0 after the extra-point kick from Aaron Chang. The Panther defense held again on Phelps’ second drive and forced another punt. O n Pikeville’s third possession, McNamee found Wade Hensley for a TD pass with 5 left in the first quarter to push the lead to 20-0. c amee finished the night four for six passing for 8 0 yards and three TDs. B ackup Isaac Duty got some action and was three for four passing for 36 yards. Birchfield led the rushing attack with 110 yards and two TDs on eight carries. Isaiah Coleman followed by rushing for 47 yards on two carries. Carson Wright added 35 yards on two carries. B rayden Thomas rushed for 26 yards on two carries. Isaac Coleman added a nine-

yard run and Deonte S tevens had eight yards and a TD on two attempts. L ockhart led the wide receivers with his 39-yard TD catch. B randon L owe had two receptions for 28 yards and a TD. Westin B evins added a 20-yard catch. Hensley had a 13-yard TD catch. B radyn Hall followed with a 10-yard catch and Adam B lankenship had a six yard catch. Pikeville finished the night with 351 total yards of offense. O n defense, Pikeville held Phelps to 122 total yards of offense. Pikeville’s B renden Anthony led the Panther defense with six tackles on the night. L andon Hammock added five tackles. L inebacker Carson Wright recovered a fumble and returned it for a a TD for the Panthers. Jeb Wilkerson came up

with an interception for the Panthers as well. The Hornets used two quarterbacks on the night. S tarter B ryson L ocklear was three for six passing for six yards and an interception. ainan and finished one for four for 11 yards on the night. L and led the rushing attack with 33 yards on seven carries. Hayden Mounts followed with 31 yards on two carries. Corey Turnmire added 19 yards on three carries. L ocklear rushed for 14 yards on 10 carries. Turnmire led the way for the Hornet wide receivers with an 11-yard catch. L and had two catches for six yards. L andon Dotson led the Hornet defense with 11 tackles.

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

Zac Lockhart and Isaac McNamee

Tough running: Panthers knock off Bulldogs, 17-0 reG

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HAZARD — After being upset by Haz ard 21-12 in last year’s Class A playoffs, Pikeville wasn’t about to look past the Bulldogs with the regular season district title on the line. Behind a steady ground attack headed by their strong offensive line and Blake Birchfield running behind them, the Panthers pulled out a 17-0 win over Haz ard last Friday night. Pikeville’s defense bended, but never broke in the shutout win. On the opening drive, Pikeville marched down the field and Birchfield capped off the long drive with an eightyard TD run with 8:52 left in the first quarter. Haz ard pinned Pikeville inside their own five ard line on the Panthers’ next possession. On Haz ard’s third posses16

sion of the game, the Bulldogs marched the ball down field. Haz ard had the ball inside of Pikeville’s 10-yard line and on fourth and fourth from the Panther si , am right came up with an interception to thwart a ard’s attempt at getting on the scoreboard with 7:30 left in the second quarter. The Panthers added to their lead before the end of the first half as aron hang knocked down a field goal with 1:07 left to push Pikeville’s lead to 10-0. Haz ard opened the second half with the ball. The Bulldogs once again drove the ball deep in Pikeville territory, but couldn’t score. he game score remained 1 , until the fourth quarter. ith 1 left, Blake Birchfield scored on a ard run to push the lead to 17-0. Birchfield had a big hole to run through created by the offen-

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

sive line. Then once he got into the second tier of the defense, he lowered his shoulder and down went two Haz ard defenders. Birchfield sta ed on his feet and hit a video game like turbo boost and then, three Bulldog defenders tried to bring him down, but his feet kept churning, until he was all alone running into the end z one. It was a highlight reel run for the Birchfield to help put the game awa . Birchfield led the wa for the Panthers as he racked up 193 yards and two TDs on 30 carries. Haz ard drove down the field one last time into Pikeville territory. On fourth down, a ard quarterback a Pelfrey’s throw sailed out of bounds in the corner of the end z one giving Pikeville the win and the No. 1 seed heading into the Class A playoffs. Pikeville quarterback saac c amee was seven for

13 passing for 77 yards. ac ockhart had five catches for ards. Brandon Lowe added a 30-yard catch and Grant Scott hauled in a three-yard catch. Aaron Slone led Pikeville’s defense with 11 tackles. Luke a and arson right followed with eight tackles each. right added the two interceptions. Pikeville’s defense held a ard to 1 total ards of offense. The Bulldogs only rushed for six yards on the night. reshman quarterback a Pelfre led the wa for the Bulldogs going 1 for 6 passing for 1 ards with two interceptions. he Panthers held a ohnson to ust one 1 ard catch on the night. J ohnson wasn’t credited with any carries.

Landon Hammock

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

Panthers roll past Hornets, 49-0 reG

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Phelps had its back against the wall Thursday night in the opening round of the Class A playoffs. The Hornets only suited 14 players and on top of that, they were facing, Pikeville. The Panthers have been dominant all season and rolled to a 49-0 win over the Hornets in their regular season matchup. The Panthers had the same exact outcome this time around with a 49-0 win, but they had to work harder this time around. Pikeville had the running clock in the first half in the first meeting. That wouldn’t be the case Thursday night. O n the opening drive, Pikeville marched down the field and scored on an 11 yard TD pass from Isaac McNamee to Wade Hensley to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 8 :26 left in the first quarter. Phelps moved the ball on its first drive, but punted the ball back to Pikeville. Pikeville moved the ball deep into Phelps territory on its second possession, but the Hornet defense came up with a fourth down stop to force a turnover on downs. The Hornets offense then had some momentum on their second drive. B ryson L ocklear picked up a first down run and then Cainan L and found big man L andon Dotson for a big pass play to move the ball 20

inside the Pikeville 10-yard line. The Hornets couldn’t come up with a score, but did move the ball. Pikeville’s second score came with 8 :20 left in the first half as Brenden nthon scored on a five ard run with 8 :20 left to push the lead to 14-0. Phelps fumbled the ball on the kickoff giving Pikeville the ball back deep in Hornet territory. Phelps’ defense came up big again by forcing the Panthers to turn the ball over on downs at their own four-yard line. After the Phelps punt, McNamee hit Z ac L ockhart in the flat. ockhart did the rest as he found the end zone from 32 yards out with 5 left in the first half to push the lead to 21-0. Phelps tried to run the clock out in the first half, but Pikeville got the ball back with j ust over a minute left. The Panthers went into attack mode and McNamee found G rant S cott for a 21-yard TD pass with j ust four seconds left in the half. S cott stiff armed a Hornet defender and drug two other defenders into the end zone with him in a fantastic hard run after the catch. That pushed Pikeville’s lead to 28 -0 at the break. Pikeville put the game away in the second half. The Hornets open the half with the ball, but were forced to punt on their first possession. Pikeville’s Jacoby Thornsbury blocked the

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

Isaac McNamee

punt and Joshua Taylor recovered it and returned it to the end zone for a TD with 1 left in the third quarter. That pushed Pikeville’s lead to 35-0. O n Pikeville’s next possession, Carson Wright scored on a 32-yard TD run with 5:31 left in the third to push the lead to 42-0 and start the running clock. Pikeville backup quarterback Isaac Duty added a TD after that to set the game’s final score at . McNamee led the way for the Panthers going 12 for 20 passing for 176 yards and three TDs. McNamee also broke another school record in the win. He was tied middle school coach Matt B ranham with 360 completions for most completions during a career at the school. McNamee broke the record with his first completion of the

night and is sitting at 372 career completions after the game. R unning back B lake Birchfield finished with 15 yards rushing on eight carries. Wright added 37 yards and a TD on three carries. Anthony added 12 yards and a TD on two carries. Duty added a one-yard TD run. L ockhart led the Panther receivers with six catches for 97 yards and a TD. L owe followed with two catches for 39 yards. S cott had a 21-yard TD catch. Hensley hauled in two catches for 17 yards and a TD. Aaron Chang was seven for seven on his extra-point kicks on the night. Isaac Coleman and Deonte S tevens each came up with interceptions on the defensive side of the ball for the Panthers.

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

Blake Birchfield

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Hazard experienced j ubilation after upsetting Pikeville in the district championship last season. The B ulldogs couldn’t duplicate that feeling with another upset win as Pikeville picked up a 28 -6 win over Hazard to claim the district championship. The Panthers got the ball first. Pikeville drove the ball down the field, but a ard safety Andrew Ford came up with an interception in the end zone; Pikeville quarterback Isaac McNamee was looking for Wade Hensley on the play. Hazard used the momentum from the interception and turned it into points. Max Pelfrey found Hank 24

Pelfrey for a 66-yard pass to get into Pikeville territory. Max Pelfrey found his Ford for a nine-yard TD with 6:30 left to give the B ulldogs a 6-0 lead. Pikeville answered as Blake Birchfield scored on a 1 ard run as the first quarter ended to tie things up at 6-6. O n the Panthers’ next possession, Birchfield scored on a 29-yard TD run with 56 left in the first half. McNamee found tight end G rant S cott for the twopoint conversion to give the Panthers a 14-6 lead. Hazard tried to answer before halftime, but a couple of big penalties hurt the B ulldogs’ chances. Hazard’s L egend G oins tried to cut into the Pikeville lead as he attempted a ard field goal before the half ended. G oins’ kick was no good

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

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and Pikeville held a 14-6 halftime lead. Pikeville got back on the scoreboard late in the third quarter as McNamee found Hensley for a nineyard TD pass with 2:51 left in the quarter. After the e tra point, Pikeville held a 21-6 lead. Hazard tried to answer as the B ulldogs marched the ball deep in Pikeville territor , but the Panther defense held and forced the B ulldogs to turn the ball over on downs with 11:36 left to play. rom there, Birchfield put the finishing touches on the win as he broke a 42yard TD score with 5:56 left to play. That pushed the lead to 28 -6. Birchfield led the wa for Pikeville as he rushed for 18 9 yards and three TDs on 24 carries.

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ac amee finished the game seven for 10 for 43 yards and a TD. He rushed for 39 yards on 10 carries. Carson Wright rushed for 25 yards on four carries. B renden Anthony added 12 yards on two carries. Z ack L ockhart led the wide receivers with four catches for 18 yards. Wade Hensley had two catches for 15 yards and a TD. B randon L owe added a 10yard catch. L uke R ay led Pikeville’s defense with 11 tackles. Devin DeR ossett followed with eight and Aaron S lone had six. Hazard turned the ball over on downs on its next possession and Pikeville took over and ran the clock out.

Pikeville captures region title reG

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How good was Pikeville’s offense last Friday night against Williamsburg in the region championship round of the Class A playoffs? E ven though Williamsburg thought the Y ellow Jackets were slowing Blake Birchfield, he ended up with 193 yards rushing and a TD. The pass game opened up for the Panthers and Isaac McNamee threw for ards and five TDs in the Panthers’ 50-21 win over Williamsburg. Pikeville’s offense exploded for 471 total yards. Isaac McNamee had a big week last week as he announced his commitment to Murray S tate on Thursday night and then went 14 for 18 passing for 202 yards and five s against illiamsburg leading the Panthers to a R egion 3 title. O n Pikeville’s second pos-

session, Blake Birchfield scored on a three-yard TD run with 46 seconds left in the first quarter to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead. With the 193 rushing yards and on 1 carries, Birchfield went over , rushing ards on the season. The Panthers got the ball back and took advantage as Isaac McNamee found Wade Hensley for a 38 -yard TD pass with 1 6 left in the first half to push the lead to 12-0. Pikeville forced another Williamsburg punt, but fumbled the on the punt return. illiamsburg quarterback S ydney B owen took advantage of the mishap as he scored with 6:47 left to cut Pikeville’s lead to 12-7. The Panthers drove the ball down deep into Williamsburg territor on their ne t drive, but Williamsburg stopped them on fourth and goal to take over. It didn’t hurt Pikeville’s momentum as Panther linebacker

Carson Wright tackled B owen in the end zone for a safety with left in the first half. hat pushed Pikeville’s lead to 14-7. That was all the momentum the Panthers needed. Pikeville got the ball back on the safety and Isaac McNamee found Hensley from nine yards out to push the lead to 21-7 with ust over a minute left in the first half. ensle finished with five catches for 74 yards and two TDs. he Panthers were finished in the first half, though. Pikeville went for an onside kick and K endall Wright recovered the ball to give the Panthers the ball at the Williamsburg 17yard line with 1:07 left in the half. Isaac McNamee found Z ac ockhart on the first pla from 1 yards out to push the lead to 28 -7 with 1:00 left in the half. ockhart finished with si catches for 73 yards and two TDs.

The Panthers had a short kickoff before the half and Williamsburg took advantage as Bowen scored as the first half buzzer sounded to cut the Pikeville lead to 28 -14 at the half. Pikeville got the ball to open the third quarter and the Panthers took advantage as B renden Anthony scored on a four-yard run with 5 left in the quarter. That pushed Pikeville’s lead to 3514. O n the next Panther possession, saac c amee found G rant S cott running wide open down the field. saac c amee unloaded for a 34-yard TD throw to the tight end to push the lead to 42-14 with 5:14 left in the third. S cott had three catches for 55 yards and a TD. n the ne t possession, Isaac McNamee found L ockhart for a 21-yard TD with 2:34 left in the third to push the lead to 5014 and started the running clock. Williamsburg got a late score.

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

Blake Birchfield

Panthers feast on Rams 36-7 in semis reG

By rA ionA L

nD y WH ite SportS eD itor

Pikeville sent a message last Friday night in the Class region semifinals. That message was simple — the Panthers are only focused on gold. Pikeville rolled to a 36-7 win over Raceland last Friday night in the Class A state semifinals. Pikeville rolled off 36 straight points to get a running clock in the third quarter against the ams. The Panthers got the ball first and Blake Birchfield took the ball 5 ards for a TD run with 9:39 left 26

in the first quarter to give the Panthers a lead. Birchfield had another big game for the Panthers as he rushed for 192 yards and three TDs on 22 carries. Pikeville’s second TD came through the air. saac McNamee found Wade ensle for a big 5 ard gain to set up a TD pass to Zac Lockhart with 10:12 left in the second quarter to push the lead to 1 . On the Panthers’ next drive, MacNamee found Lockhart for a big gain through the air to set up a si ard Birchfield run to push the lead to 1 .

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

Pikeville held a 21-0 lead at the half. n the second half, Pikeville’s Wade Hensley took over. The Rams couldn’t cover Hensley as he caught the TD pass to push the lead to . c amee finished the night 1 for 15 passing for 1 5 ards and two s. Hensley led the receivers with five catches for 1 ards and a . ockhart added four catches for ards and a as well. Birchfield scored the Panthers’ final and the converted the two-point score to get the clock roll-

ing.

Raceland scored after the running clock went into effect. Pikeville ( 13-2) is scheduled to take on Russellville at noon Friday in Lexington at K roger Field in the Class A 2021 UK Orthopaedics tate ootball inals. Pikeville will be looking for its third state title under hris c amee. c amee won his first state title with the Panthers in 15 and the Panthers won it again in 1 . McNamee also played for Pikeville in the late 80s when the Panthers won three straight state titles.

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

Pikeville captures Class A Title reG

By rA ionA L

nD y WH ite SportS eD itor

It looked like Pikeville was getting ready to put the game away and start celebrating early last Friday afternoon against Russellville. And then — the momentum of the game shifted to Russellville. The Panthers responded by grinding out a 30-27 win over the Panthers of Russellville to become the UK Orthopaedics Class A state champions. With 23 seconds left in the first half, Pikeville kicker Aaron Chang knocked down a ard field goal to give Pikeville a 30-13 lead over Russellville. The game looked like it was on the verge of getting out of hand. Then Russellville had a long kick return and with no time left in the first half, ovari Gamble found Anthony Woodard for a four-yard TD pass. fter the e tra point, Pikeville held a 30-20 win over Russellville at the half. Russellville kept the momentum going in the second half. aquis odd scored on a 46-yard TD run with 9:21 left to pla in the third quarter to cut the lead to 30-27. he game wasn’t quite over, though. It because a defensive stalwart after that. And Pikeville’s defense came up big when they needed. ith 1 1 left to pla , Russellville took over at their own seven-yard line. 28

Isaac McNamee and Coach Crhis McNamee Russellville put together a 6 ard drive, but on fourth down, Pikevillle’s defense stepped up and made a big fourth down stop because of their pressure forcing Russellville to turn the ball over on downs with just 2:15 left to play. Once Pikeville got the ball back, the Panthers ran out the clock for their sixth K HSAA state championship. This is coach Chris McNamee’s third as a coach at Pikeville and his second with youngest son Isaac McNamee. Coach McNamee won his first state championship as a coach with eldest son Andrew in 2015 and followed it with another with Isaac in 2019. Pikeville exploded out of the gates to open the game. Blake Birchfield scored on a three-yard TD run with 5 left in the first quarter to take a 6-0 lead. Russellville answered as Todd scored on a 63-yard TD

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition

run with left in the first quarter to tied things up at 6-6. Birchfield scored on a seven-yard TD run with 3:28 left in the first quarter to give Pikeville a 13-6 lead after Chang’s extra-point. Birchfield had another excellent game for the Panthers as he finished with 1 yards and two TDs on 30 carries. He was named the game’s MVP. Russellville answered as quarterback ennon ies found Woodard for a 44-yard TD pass with 2:25 left in the first quarter to tie things up at 13-13. fter that, Pikeville took over. ust 1 seconds after ussellville’s , Pikeville quarterback saac c amee found Wade Hensley for a 52-yard TD pass. After the e tra point b hang, the Panthers took a 20-13 lead. Pikeville got the ball back again in the second quarter

and this time, saac c amee ran it in from four yards out with 5 left in the first half. That score pushed the lead to 27-13. Then Pikeville drove the ball down the field again before the half, but went for the field goal late in half on fourth down to push the lead to 30-27. hat field goal, turned out to be the difference make in points. saac c amee finished the game seven for 17 passing for 74 yards and a TD. He added seven yards and a TD on the ground. Hensley led the Pikeville wide receivers with two catches for 66 yards and a TD. Grant Scott had two catches for six yards and Birchfield added a seven-yard snag. Devin DeRossett led Pikeville with nine tackles. uke a followed with five.

2021 Pikeville Panthers Class A State Championship Edition