Kroger KSR Game of the Week: Belfry at Pikeville

We are traveling east on Friday for the Kroger KSR Game of the Week. The Belfry Pirates will travel to Pikeville to take on the Panthers in a cross-county grudge match. Both programs are traditional powerhouses and coached by mountain legends.

Pikeville is led by Chris McNamee. The head coach was an all-state safety and state champion for the Panthers. He later starred at EKU before coaching Pikeville to multiple state titles. The Panthers won the 1A state championship last season after beating Russellville 30-27 at Kroger Field. Pikeville has won six state titles in program history including two of the last three. McNamee’s squad enters the contest with a deceiving 1-2 record. The 1A program jumped up in class in the season opener where they fell 24-19 to 4A Corbin. 5A Covington Catholic traveled to Pikeville in week two and came away victorious after a 27-19 win in the Pike County Bowl. The Panthers got in the win column last week after topping rival Paintsville 36-0.

Pikeville is led by Blake Birchfield. The running back averages 96 yards per game. He’s also scored four touchdowns. Tayvian Boykins adds 78 yards per outing and has also put up four scores. Carson Wright paces the defense after recording 32 tackles and 5 TFLs.

Belfry captured their eighth state championship after defeating Paducah Tighlman 33-28 last December. Legendary head coach Phillip Haywood has roamed the Belfry sideline for decades. The icon isn’t slowing down anytime soon. His teams normally peak for the playoffs and annually challenge for the state title. Haywood’s 3A squad dropped the season’s first game 34-21 to 5A Pulaski County before topping Bourbon County 42-14. A 36-7 loss at Lexington Christian was disappointing a week later. But, Belfry went on to beat Louisville Central 24-21 last Friday.

The Pirates enter Friday’s matchup with a 2-2 record. Belfry operates a run-heavy offensive attack that’s rolling up 242 yards per game. Dre Young averages 130 per contest. He’s joined by Ace Caudill’s 91.7 and Caden Woolum’s 52 yards per game respectively. Rudy Blackwell paces the Pirates’ defense with 29 tackles.

We should be in for a good one on Friday night. Odd things tend to happen when these two face off. I fully expect the Kroger KSR Game of the Week to be quite an eventful contest between two powerhouse programs from the same county.

Football state.

Kroger is a staple in your hometown community just like high school football. There’s nothing quite like Friday nights in the Bluegrass. We are honored to share this journey with Kroger and you for the third consecutive season.

Past Kroger KSR Game of the Weeks: