Kentucky Country Day locks up first state championship with 20-16 win over Raceland

For the fourth straight year, the Raceland Rams were denied the school’s first-ever state football championship.

This time around, it was the Kentucky Country Day Bearcats (13-1) ending Raceland’s (12-2) dreams in Friday’s Class 1A Kentucky high school state football championship. Trailing by two late in the fourth quarter, KCD sophomore Deion Davidson — a defensive back all season turned offensive playmaker for the title game — peeled off a 25-yard run for a touchdown that put his team ahead for good, ultimately giving us a final score of 20-16.

Where Raceland came up short once again (losses to Pikeville in 2022 and 2023, then Sayre in 2024), KCD secured the school’s first-ever state championship. It was sweet revenge for the Bearcats, who lost to the Rams in last season’s 1A semifinals. This title was several years in the making for KCD.

“This is a group of 19 seniors who set their goal to be state champions when they were in the fifth grade,” KCD head coach Matthew Jones said. “When they were in the eighth grade, they made us take them out of school for a day and bring them down here to watch a state (championship) game so they would know what it felt like. I’ve never seen kids set goals and seven years later stay true and achieve those goals.“

Davidson, who was named the game’s MVP, finished with 85 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries on offense while adding seven tackles (one for loss) on defense. He also caught a pass for 20 yards. Raceland outgained KCD in yardage, 364-171, and had 12 more first downs, but failed to put enough points on the board as another season comes to a crushing end in the final game.

And that’ll do it. Kentucky Country Day wins the school’s first Class 1A state championship. pic.twitter.com/tNQOjLc12X

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) December 5, 2025

The ending to this game was far more exciting than the beginning. After a quarter of action, the score was knotted 0-0 with three combined punts between both teams. But KCD was moving the ball well going into the second quarter, eventually capping off an eight-play, 49-yard drive with the first touchdown of the afternoon. A couple of big gains from Davidson set the Bearcats up at the goal line as quarterback Caden Long punched in the score to make it a 7-0 ball game.

Raceland would respond right away, milking over 10 minutes of game clock. The Rams put together a tactical 22-play, 76-yard drive, but they couldn’t find the end zone, having to settle for a field goal that made it 7-3 in favor of KCD going into the intermission. It was a quick first half of action, with just five combined drives and limited yardage, but things would heat up out of the break.

KCD opened the second half with the ball, immediately putting points on the board with a quick six-play, 36-yard drive that was capped off by a one-yard trot into the end zone by Parker Rudolph to make it 14-3. But Raceland hit a groove from there, controlling momentum for the rest of the third quarter and for most of the fourth. An 81-yard drive resulted in a five-yard touchdown reception by Parker Ison, putting the Rams down 14-10. The Rams would score again the next time they touched the ball as Landen Stiltner ran in a 14-yard touchdown.

Raceland would end up missing the point after attempt, making it a 16-14 Rams lead with just a few minutes to go. But Davidson stepped up once again for KCD, taking a 25-yard run to the house with three minutes on the clock that put the Bearcats back in front 20-16 despite a failed two-point conversion attempt. Raceland had one final chance to make a comeback and finally win a title, but a fourth-down stop at midfield by KCD sealed the Rams’ fate.

“I just couldn’t be more proud of my guys,” KCD linebacker Bowen Johnson said. “That’s what it takes to win, and we did it. Go Bearcats.”

This felt like a season of destiny for KCD. The Bearcats opened the schedule with a tight win over defending state champion Sayre. The lone hiccup came halfway through the season, a disappointing 27-17 loss to Campbellsville. But KCD responded the next week with a dominant 42-8 win over Henry County and never looked back the rest of the way.

Years after setting goals of winning a state title, KCD’s group of seniors made sure to keep their word and make history.