Pikeville Dominates Raceland in 1A Title Game for 2nd Three-Peat
One championship is excellent. A second can define a generation. But a third changes the landscape of Class A football forever. No. 24 Pikeville entered Friday’s state championship bout as the premier program in 1A. With seven state championships in school history, Pikeville’s maroon and black filled Kroger Field with a confident swagger of domination during pregame warmups.
With only 500-ish students between 7th and 12th grade, Pikeville could be a stepping stone to the more extensive programs in Kentucky—a former coal mining town on the edge of Appalachia, yet a hub for football dominance. And for a second straight year, Pikeville and No. 22 Raceland met for a chance to make history.
Last season in this very same game, Pikeville ran no mercy on Raceland in the final, winning 41-9, a domination that set the scene for 2023. Tensions flared to start as the Raceland Rams flexed their earlier victory over Pikeville back in September of this season. That game ended 7-6, so most within Kroger Field expected a Big Ten-style matchup.
First drive phenoms
Pikeville started the game on defense, showing their best-in-class athleticism rushing towards the ball. A three-and-out quickly gave the ball to the Panthers. Junior Brenden Anthony set the tone for the Panthers with a 58-yard touchdown run to open the scoring on Pikeville’s third play. Anthony powered through multiple defenders and hit a hole from the offensive line. For a bulldozer-like build, Anthony has great speed, as he would show it again later in the game.
Each team squandered opportunities to put points on the board for the remainder of the half. Raceland entered the red zone late in the first quarter after multiple personal fouls on Pikeville. Following a few negative plays, Raceland’s staff called for a trick play. The Rams senior quarterback Logan Lundy swung the ball to freshman Jonah Arnett, who looked to the end-zone for six. However, Pikeville senior Sam Wright snagged the ball in the blue area, giving the ball back to the Panthers.
Wright spoke on the play, telling reporters, “That’s a play we have seen on film. They went into their trick play, and I saw the receiver breaking up the middle, so I went and grabbed it. It wasn’t my zone, but I saw the play and made it.”
Each team’s defenses held firm for the remainder of the half as no real opportunities presented themselves. Each squad felt good entering the second half, as Pikeville only held a 7-0 advantage.
Pikeville’s time to shine
The second half started just as the first did; three straight punts combined resulted in the closest thing to Iowa football Kroger Field has seen. But then, Brenden Anthony changed the game for a second time. He powered through two tackles and broke away along the Raceland sideline for a score. Anthony’s rush was good for 61 yards this time, besting his previous mark in the first half.
Then, Pikeville’s defense fed from Anthony’s domination with a first-play interception of Lundy. However, the play caused controversy as a personal foul was called after the play for a brutal hit. All of Raceland felt the hit caused the interception, but it was a close call that went Pikeville’s way.
However, Raceland’s defense came up big as they held Pikeville to no points off of the interception. But, as the Rams drove, Lundy fumbled a draw play, resulting in the third turnover from Raceland in the red zone. From there, it was over as Pikeville’s Anthony added to his monster performance with another touchdown, this one a throw on a trick play of their own. Junior Bradyn Hall caught the ball after streaking through the middle on an Anthony toss play. The touchdown was good for 26 yards and ended any hope that Raceland had for the game.
Anthony ended the game with 237 yards rushing on 25 attempts for two rushing touchdowns — a bell-cow back to the highest extent, carrying Pikeville’s offense to the victory. The game ended 21-0 in favor of Pikeville, completing the program’s second three-peat (1987, 1988, 1989) and the Panthers’ eighth championship in program history.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard