Herald-Leader Top 10: Kentucky Class A high school football preseason poll for 2021

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of stories ranking Kentucky’s high school football teams class by class, according to voting by the class’s coaches.

The Pikeville Panthers enter the 2021 season perceived as the overwhelming favorite in Class A, the smallest division in Kentucky high school football.

In all, 18 of the class’s 26 coaches who voted in the @HLpreps Preseason Football Survey put Pikeville No. 1, expecting Coach Chris McNamee to field another team capable of winning a state championship as the program has done five times prior.

“After graduating only five seniors last year, I feel like one of our strengths is experience,” said McNamee, who has his son and 2019 state championship most valuable player Isaac McNamee as a senior signal-caller for this year’s campaign.

Their challengers are sure to include last year’s champ, Paintsville, which will be breaking in a new head coach, and Kentucky Country Day, which made its first appearance in the state finals in 2020. The second-ranked Tigers got three No. 1 votes, No. 3 KCD and No. 5 Raceland each had two top nods and No. 4 Newport Central Catholic got the other.

Here are the preseason top 10 teams in Class A — the smallest football-playing classification under the Kentucky High School Athletic Association — as voted on by coaches in the division.

1. Pikeville

Head coach: Chris McNamee (13th season).

Last year: 6-3. Lost 21-12 to Hazard in the District 7 championship.

Quick look: The Panthers feature a dynamic offense that generated a single game state-record 388 receiving yards for senior wideout Zac Lockhart last season off the arm of senior QB Isaac McNamee. Where Pikeville lacked experience in 2020 and got upset in the playoffs by a Hazard team it had routed a month earlier, this year’s more veteran Panthers team looks to right that wrong and get back to Kroger Field. Landon Hammock, a 6-foot-3, 275-pound two-way senior lineman anchors the protection for McNamee and helps open the holes for junior running back Blake Birchfield, who had 715 yards and nine TDs rushing in their COVID-19 shortened season.

Marquee matchup: The Panthers visit Class 3A rival Belfry on Sept. 17.

2. Paintsville

Head coach: Trevor Hoskins (first season).

Last year: 10-2. State champions Defeated Kentucky Country Day 38-7 in the finals.

Quick look: Hoskins jumps from the collegiate assistant coaching ranks to a state championship program 100 years in the making at Paintsville. While the Tigers graduated 12 seniors off their title-winning squad, junior running back Harris Phelps, who ran for 1,406 yards and 19 TDs in 2020, comes back with experience on the line in front of him. “The biggest concern will be replacing the playmakers and leaders that were lost while navigating one of the toughest schedules in the state,” Hoskins said. The Tigers have a murderer’s row of ranked opponents early — Beechwood, Aug. 27; Pikeville, Sept. 3; and Somerset, Sept. 10.

Marquee matchup: The Tigers host district foe Raceland on Oct. 22.

3. Kentucky Country Day

Head coach: Matthew Jones (10th season).

Last year: 10-2. District 3 champs, regional champs. Lost 38-7 to Paintsville in the state finals.

Quick look: KCD returns three key playmakers off its state finals team from a year ago with four-year starter Luke Russo at quarterback and 1,000-yard rusher Nathan Caldwell and near-1,000 yard rusher Eric Dickerson in the backfield. But with roughly half the offensive and defensive starters graduated, there are questions. “Despite our relative youth and inexperience, we have outstanding skill players and some young ones that are ready to prove themselves,” Jones said.

Marquee matchup: The Bearcats’ trip to Frankfort on Oct. 15 will set the tone for district play.

4. Newport Central Catholic

Head coach: Stephen Lickert (fourth season).

Last year: 8-3. District 4 champions. Lost 21-7 to Paintsville in the region title game.

Quick look: District champs in each of the last two seasons after dropping to Class A, Coach Lickert returns six starters on each side of the line, but none in the skill positions of quarterback, running back or wide receiver. An experienced defensive front features seniors Kwintin Gilliam and Dom Morgan, its two leading returning tacklers. Lickert told The Cats’ Pause: “We’ll be young, but extremely talented.”

Marquee matchup: The Thoroughbreds go to defending Class 2A champ Beechwood for a playoff tune-up on Oct. 29.

5. Raceland

Head coach: Michael Salmons (eighth season).

Last year: 4-6. Lost 28-21 in overtime to Paintsville in the District 6 finals.

Quick look: Logan Lundy, a 6-3, 210-pound sophomore quarterback, is expected to take the reins of Coach Salmons’ typically balanced attack. Fellow sophomore Noah Wallace emerged as the Rams’ leading rusher and has 6-3, 275-pound senior lineman Will Farley back to open holes in the defense. Raceland took its lumps against a tough schedule last year, but was one of only two teams to hang a loss on state champion Paintsville, a district foe.

Marquee matchup: The Rams begin a four-game road trip at defending Class 3A champ Ashland Blazer on Aug. 20.

6. Williamsburg

Head coach: Jerry Herron (16th season).

Last year: 6-3. District 8 champs, region champs. Lost 27-7 to Kentucky Country Day in state semis.

Quick look: Herron believes he has one of the best players in the state in dual-threat junior quarterback Sydney Bowen who threw for 1,555 yards and 19 TDs and rushed for 566 yards and another nine scores last season. The Yellow Jackets also return senior linebacker Chris Howard, who led the team with 114 tackles. Senior wideout Jayden Rainwater figures to be Bowen’s primary target as Herron looks for a few more playmakers.

Marquee matchup: The Yellow Jackets visit Sayre on Oct. 1.

7. Hazard

Head coach: Daniel Howard (second season).

Last year: 4-6. District 7 champs. Lost 39-7 to Paintsville in region finals.

Quick look: The Bulldogs began last season 0-5, but none of that mattered after they pulled off one of the state’s most stunning upsets ever, knocking off defending champion Pikeville for a district championship. Hazard returns a ton of experience from that team including junior running back/safety Max Johnson, whose 50-yard interception return for a TD with 2:29 left in the district finals secured the 21-12 win. Johnson also led the team with 889 yards and nine TDs rushing last year.

Marquee matchup: Hazard hosts Pikeville on Oct. 22.

8. Holy Cross (Louisville)

Head coach: Eric Dick (second season).

Last year: 7-2. Lost 42-21 to Newport Central Catholic in the District 2 finals.

Quick look: Coach Dick’s offense leaned more on the run last year, with a dual-threat quarterback now graduated. Chris Perry, a junior, completed only one pass in 2020, but it went for a 54-yard TD. Last-year’s second-leading receiver Garrett Thornsberry, a senior, also has QB by his name in preseason, so the job might be up for grabs. On defense, they’re more settled with leading tacklers Tyler Ballard and Jacob Ashby returning.

Marquee matchup: The Cougars go to Bethlehem on Oct. 8.

9. Crittenden County

Head coach: Gaige Courtney (first season).

Last year: 7-3. District 1 champs. Lost 35-7 to Kentucky Country Day in the region finals.

Quick look: The Rockets return senior quarterback Luke Crider, who threw for 1,398 yards and 19 TDs and his primary target, junior wideout Preston Morgeson, who was on the end of nine of those scoring throws, but Crittenden has questions to answer in the run game and on defense where graduation hit hard. Still, they’ll be a favorite to get back to the trophy rounds.

Marquee matchup: The home opener against Class 2A’s Murray on Aug. 20 is an early litmus test.

10. Bethlehem

Head coach: Bryan Walker (fourth season).

Last year: 6-3. Lost 28-27 in overtime to Holy Cross (Louisville) in the District 2 finals.

Quick look: The Eagles’ big-time playmakers are back, including run-catch threat Ladarion Montgomery who Coach Walker says “can score anytime from any position.” So, too, is quarterback Cooper Stone and Montgomery’s backfield mate Zane Wickliffe. All together, those three accounted for more than 3,000 yards of offense and 32 TDs.

Marquee matchup: Eagles make trek west to Crittenden County on Oct. 1.

Others receiving votes

(In order of votes received)

Sayre, Russellville, Bishop Brossart, Frankfort, Paris, Ludlow, Nicholas County, Pineville, Dayton, Campbellsville, Caverna and Eminence.

Survey method: These rankings reflect the participation of coaches from 26 of the 35 Class A teams (74.2%). Every coach in the division was given the opportunity to participate in the @HLpreps annual survey emailed to their address listed on KHSAA.org. Multiple attempts were made to contact each coach.

This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 6:00 AM.

Jared Peck

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-488-2883

Jared Peck, the Herald-Leader’s Digital Sports Writer, covers high school athletics and has been with the company as a writer and editor for more than 20 years. Support my work with a digital subscription