‘You win with good people.’ Pikeville overpowers Raceland for state title three-peat.

With 1:45 remaining in the UK HealthCare Sports Medicine Class A Football State Final between Pikeville and Raceland on Friday, the Panthers cranked the heat on what was a rainy, blustery afternoon and found the end zone for a third and final time.

Pikeville sophomore wide receiver Bradyn Hall caught the 26-yard touchdown pass to bring the game to its eventual final score of 21-0. At first glance, it appeared to be the first touchdown of the day not scored by junior Swiss Army man Brenden Anthony, the 2023 Class A District 8 Player of the Year. However, it wasn’t the Panthers’ rock-solid quarterback Isaac Duty who connected with Hall for the score; it was Anthony.

“You see what kind of difference he made,” Pikeville head coach Chris McNamee said after the Panthers (12-2) celebrated their third consecutive state championship at Kroger Field in Lexington.

Anthony’s difference was evident from the jump, when his 58-yard touchdown run with 9:26 to play in the first quarter gave the Panthers a lead they would never relinquish. Pikeville’s 2023 state championship victory over Raceland got out to a quick start with Anthony’s first score, something he said was intentional after studying 2022 Pikeville leading rusher Blake Birchfield’s opening kickoff return for a touchdown in last year’s 41-9 title win over the Rams.

“We talked about it all week,” Anthony said. “How big of a momentum shift that was and does for our team. And then it really changed momentum and got us going on defense, as well.”

Raceland powered down the field on its next possession in hopes of evening the score, advancing 53 yards over a drive that lasted nearly 5 1/2 minutes. However, on second-and-8 at the Pikeville 12-yard line, senior Sam Wright intercepted Raceland in the end zone on a trick play. Wright said it was a play the team had seen on film and prepared for.

“I saw them throw the pass backward and then I saw the guy breaking up the middle and I went and got it,” Wright said. “You know, it wasn’t my zone, but I saw it and I read it and I went and got it. I think that helped shift the momentum.”

The fact that Anthony and Wright both talked about “momentum” is no coincidence; it’s always the Panthers’ intention to come together to take control of any matchup, championship on the line or not.

Wright’s interception not only provided Pikeville fans a sense of relief, so narrowly escaping a Raceland equalizer, but also set the tone for a Panthers defense that would hold Raceland to 177 total yards of offense — including holding its potent rushing attack led by Mr. Football candidate Noah Wallace to just 76 yards — and shut out a team that handed them a frustrating 7-6 loss in week four this season.

After maintaining a 7-0 lead through the first half, Anthony doubled Pikeville’s lead with a 61-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. Raceland head coach Michael Salmons called Anthony “a throwback player,” complimenting both his size and his effort.

“He caused us some trouble today,” said Salmons, whose Rams finished 11-4. “I feel like, at times, we played him pretty well and had a chance to hit him on the ground, and then, you know, they give it to him enough, he just hit a couple of explosive ones, we just couldn’t be consistent for 48 minutes.”

And, just as the Panthers had in the first quarter, they built upon their offensive success with a defensive takeaway. Not a minute after Anthony’s second touchdown of the day, Wright tipped a Raceland pass before senior Westin Bevins came up with an interception of his own.

“Westin Bevins made a heck of a play catching that ball before it hit the ground,” McNamee said. “So just great effort. And again, people getting to the football and getting to the football allowed us to get that interception.”

The Pikeville defense made another pivotal play midway through the fourth quarter, when junior Blake Caudill recovered a fumble that set up the Panthers for their third and final scoring drive, which included a 40-yard run from Anthony all the way to the Raceland red zone.

Anthony finished with 237 rushing yards and two touchdowns, plus the single pass completed for 26 yards and another touchdown. He also paced all defensive players with eight solo tackles in addition to one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. He was named the state finals MVP.

The 2023 state title secured Pikeville’s second three-peat in program history, the first arriving from 1987-89 — when McNamee was on the roster himself.

“I tell everybody all the time you win with good people,” McNamee said. “And I’ve always been fortunate enough to surround myself with good people and great players, we’ve got great players that come through. Expectations are high, but I remember all these guys when they were in junior high really giving great effort. They look up to these high school guys and now we’ve got kids that are looking up to them. And it’s just a great community support, not just a football program.”

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