‘I’ll miss him.’ Father-son duo helps Pikeville outlast Russellville in Class A finals.
For the final time Friday afternoon, Chris McNamee and his son, Isaac, joined forces to try and win Pikeville a football game.
The elder McNamee was making his fourth state title game appearance as Pikeville’s head coach, while Isaac was playing in his third under his father’s leadership.
And while the process wasn’t ideal — Pikeville established a 30-13 lead late in the first half and didn’t score again — the end product left both Chris and Isaac on the verge of tears.
Pikeville did just enough Friday afternoon in front of 5,187 fans at Kroger Field in Lexington to hold off Russellville in a battle of the Panthers, 30-27, and win the 2021 UK Orthopaedics State Football Finals Class A championship game.
It was the sixth state title won by Pikeville, and the second earned by the duo of Chris and Isaac. Pikeville finished the season 14-2.
“It’s just special to be with him (for) four years. To be down here three years of the four, just really proud of him and his teammates,” Chris said of Isaac. “I’ll miss him out here in the maroon and white that’s for sure.”
“It’s a very special feeling. A lot of emotions right now, this being my last game with the maroon, it’s a bittersweet feeling,” said a visibly emotional Isaac. “I’ve grown up coming to Pikeville and this program has been my life ever since I was born.”
The younger McNamee finished Friday’s contest with 74 passing yards and one passing touchdown, along with a short rushing touchdown.
He piloted the Pikeville offense to a 30-point first-half output, which came as the Pikeville offensive line dominated the Russellville defensive line.
Russellville head coach Mikie Benton — who played as a defensive back at UK less than a decade ago before becoming the head coach at his alma mater ahead of the 2018 season — said it took him a while to figure out what Pikeville’s offensive game plan was.
This allowed junior Blake Birchfield to run wild in the first half, where he did the bulk of what became a 179-yard rushing performance that also featured two touchdowns. Birchfield was named the game’s most valuable player.
“We did some different things today. We didn’t know much about what they were going to do up front, we had a few ideas but we weren’t certain,” Birchfield, who finishes the season with 2,508 rushing yards and 25 rushing scores, said. “We had to mix up a little bit and do things we usually don’t do.”
Benton said Russellville was able to adjust to the Pikeville offensive line’s blocking schemes at halftime, which helped Russellville pitch a second-half shutout and surrender just two first downs in the final 24 minutes.
“Once we got in at halftime I told the guys, ‘Literally, we did not play well, I didn’t call the game well and we’re only down 10 points,’” Benton said of the 30-20 halftime score, which came after a late Russellville touchdown that was set up by a 72-yard kickoff return by senior Chevis Elliott.
“I told them I feel like we came out extremely flat, maybe a little tense and a little nervous … just had to tell the guys to relax.”
Russellville controlled the second half and scored the only second-half points of the game on a 46-yard rushing touchdown by senior Jaquis Todd in the third quarter. Todd finished the game with four carries for 134 yards and two rushing scores, as he also had a 63-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter.
That first quarter score was part of a frenetic four-minute period when 33 combined points were scored and Pikeville established a lead it wouldn’t let slip.
But Russellville’s second-half comeback efforts were nearly completed.
Russellville drove to the Pikeville 18-yard line in the closing minutes down by just three points, but was forced into a fourth-and-22 before a desperation final pass fell incomplete.
Coming within three points of a perennial title challenger in the state championship game was a noble way for Russellville’s season to end, as the school made its first state championship game appearance since 1990.
“I think it definitely sets a different standard in Russellville and I think it puts Class A on notice that we’re going to be a team to reckon with, not only now but in the future,” Benton said of what finished as a 12-2 season. “Definitely don’t anticipate it being another 31 years ... I’m confident in saying that.”
Thinking back to last season’s second-round playoff loss to Hazard, Chris McNamee said that while his team had regrets about how the 2020 season ended, they took steps to make it sure it didn’t define this year’s team.
Pikeville’s mottoes this season centered around staying in the moment and focusing on the day-to-day work.
Even when it came to the biggest game of the season, one that represented the end of an era for the McNamee family and Pikeville, the same approach was taken to a winning effect.
“I know a lot of people think we’ve had film on Russellville for a long time, we got it Saturday,” Chris said. “We haven’t looked ahead all year.”
State championships
At Kroger Field in Lexington
Tickets: Available by advance sale digitally at KHSAAtickets.org. No walk-up paper tickets sold.
Online: Subscription required for live video stream at KHSAA.tv. Pay-per-view live HD video at Go.PrepSpin.com. Free audio stream at KHSAA.net.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Class A: Pikeville 30, Russellville 27
Class 2A: Beechwood 23, Lexington Christian 21
Class 4A: Boyle County 30, Johnson Central 13
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Class 3A: Belfry (8-6) vs. Paducah Tilghman (8-6), Noon
Class 5A: Frederick Douglass (13-1) vs. South Warren (13-1), 4 p.m.
Class 6A: Male (13-0) vs. St. Xavier (13-1), 8 p.m.
Note: Please visit Kentucky.com or pick up Sunday’s Herald-Leader print edition for coverage of Friday’s late games.
Recapping the 2021 Kentucky high school football state championships
Class 6A football finals preview: St. Xavier vs. Male
Class 5A football finals preview: South Warren vs. Frederick Douglass
Class 3A football finals preview: Paducah Tilghman vs. Belfry
‘You gotta have belief in your team.’ Early risks pay off for Boyle County in 4A title.
Beechwood lands final blow in another thrilling state title win over Lexington Christian
‘I’ll miss him.’ Father-son duo helps Pikeville outlast Russellville in Class A finals.
