Herald-Leader Top 10: Kentucky Class A high school football preseason poll for 2020
READ MORE
2020 Kentucky high school football preview
The 2020 high school football season kicked off Friday, Sept. 11. High school sports beat writer Jared Peck wrote numerous stories in the Herald-Leader and on Kentucky.com previewing the season around the city, region and state and highlighting the top players and games and rankings. Click below to read all of his stories in case you missed any of them.
Expand All
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 state’s coaches.
Could Pikeville repeat as champions of Kentucky high school football’s Class A?
A number of rivals believe the Panthers have a legitimate shot. Eighteen of 20 coaches who participated in the @HLpreps Class A Preseason Survey voted Pikeville the No. 1 team heading into 2020.
Pikeville has five state titles to its credit, last year’s coming at the expense of Paintsville at Kroger Field. The Tigers received the class’s other two first-place votes and could make another run for an all-Eastern Kentucky school finals again if the RPI bracketed playoffs shake out in their favor.
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 (12th season).
Last year: 14-0. Won 43-0 over Paintsville for the Class A state championship.
Quick look: It might be a tough ask for the Panthers to live up to a No. 1 ranking after graduating 16 seniors from their undefeated 2019 campaign.
Coach McNamee says his “biggest concern is experience.” But he has his talented son Isaac McNamee back at quarterback, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior who threw for 2,464 yards and 32 touchdowns last year against just six interceptions and was named the Class A state championship most valuable player. He’ll have one of his primary targets back in junior Zac Lockhart. Peyton Sayers, a 6-3, 270-pound sophomore offensive guard started last year.
On defense, returners Josh Taylor, a 6-2, 220-pound junior defensive end, Landon Hammock, a 6-2, 245-pound junior nose guard and Nate Collins, a 6-1, 200-pound linebacker, each racked up more than 60 tackles.
2. Paintsville
Head coach: Joe Chirico (eighth season).
Last year: 11-4. 6th District champs, regional champs. Lost 43-0 to Pikeville in the state championship.
Quick look: The Tigers bring back a number of top contributors, starting with dual-threat senior quarterback Jake Hyden, who threw for 1,609 yards and 15 TDs last season and ran for 776 yards and another 10 scores. Senior Zach Thompson and sophomore Harris Phelps combined for more than 600 yards and nine TDs in supporting roles out of the backfield. Phelps served as Hyden’s second favorite receiving target with 336 yards and three TDs in a run-heavy offense. On defense, leading tackler Luke Hyden (105 tackles with four sacks) returns along with Devin Hall’s 65 tackles and Thompson’s 53. Jake Hyden led the team in defensive interceptions with six.
3. Kentucky Country Day
Head coach: Matthew Jones (ninth season).
Last year: 13-1. 3rd District champs, regional champs. Lost 44-20 to Paintsville in the state semifinals.
Quick look: The Bearcats bring back loads of experience and confidence from their one-loss 2019 campaign. Their seven returning starters on offense include quarterback Luke Russo and the entire offensive line that set the table for 3,601 rushing yards. That total came largely from two of the best players in program history, Nick Smith and Dorian Heard, who are now graduated. Senior Drew Russell and junior Nate Caldwell become the new featured backs.
“Guys who have been waiting their turn will need to step up to replace those two great players for us to reach our vast potential,” Jones said.
Jones worries less on defense where he has 10 starters back, including seniors Exavier Douglas and Jalen Todd, who each totaled more than 100 tackles.
4. Newport Central Catholic
Head coach: Stephen Lickert (third season).
Last year: 10-3. 4th District champs. Lost 21-16 to Holy Cross (Louisville) in the region finals.
Quick look: Senior laden with a ton of speed, Lickert expects to contend again if he can keep the Thoroughbreds healthy and they can build some depth up front on both sides of the ball. “Our team has outstanding skill players,” Lickert said. “We will be one of the fastest teams in 1A.”
NCC returns leading rusher Jahmir Ackerson (738 yards, six TDs) and backfield mate Joey Runyon (345 yards, three TDs). With 2,000-yard passer Paul Kremer graduated, seniors Malaki Herndon and Buddy Atkins are both listed as QB possibilities for the balanced NCC attack. Herndon is also among the team’s top returning tacklers.
5. Raceland
Head coach: Michael Salmons (seventh season).
Last year: 7-5. Lost 32-18 to Paintsville in the 6th District finals.
Quick look: The Rams are looking forward to having back a healthy Jake Heighton, their three-year starter at QB who missed half of last season due to injury. “He is our leader, heart and soul of our team,” Salmons said. Defensive leaders are the veteran linebacking duo of Will Nichols and Hunter Correll who combined for more than 150 tackles last season. “We lost multiple playmakers on the perimeter, but do return some linemen who gained valuable experience in 2019,” Salmons said. “We will most definitely be a work in progress for the 2020 season and hope to be playing our best football come playoff time.”
6. Williamsburg
Head coach: Jerry Herron (15th season).
Last year: 10-3. 8th District champs. Lost 36-34 to Paintsville in the region finals.
Quick look: Herron likes his experience in the trenches and depth on the edges as the Yellow Jackets turn to sophomore Sydney Bowen to quarterback a traditionally pass-heavy offense. Senior wideout Gavon Thomas caught for 1,177 yards and 16 TDs and junior Jayden Rainwater will be looking to step way beyond his 271 yards and five TDs from a year ago. Senior Linebacker Chris Howard, 6-2, 225 pounds, led the team in tackles last year with 104 and has quality experience alongside him in senior Jeff Tye (34 tackles, four sacks) and junior Bronson Bates (41 tackles, nine for a loss). Junior defensive lineman Bryce Creerkmore-McCullah also had a standout 2019 with 14 tackles for a loss and four sacks.
7. Holy Cross (Louisville)
Head coach: Erik Dick (first season).
Last year: 11-3. 2nd District champs. Lost 36-7 to Pikeville in the region finals.
Quick look: Senior Chaz Geraghty, 6-3, 218 pounds, returns as the Cougars’ dual-threat quarterback along with third-leading rusher, senior Lex Thomas. They combined for more than 1,500 yards and 20 TDs last year with Geraghty getting another 1,182 yards and 10 TDs through the air. They’ll have a mostly new receiving core with 6-5 senior Mason Hirst the biggest target. Brett Minor, a 6-2, 235 pound senior, is the only veteran on the defensive line, but Holy Cross has everyone back in the secondary. “We are young and talented and these kids will give you everything they’ve got,” Dick said.
8. Crittenden County
Head coach: Sean Thompson (third season).
Last year: 10-3. 1st District champs. Lost 36-22 to Kentucky Country Day in the region finals.
Quick look: The Rockets could be scary. “We are a veteran-led team with depth at all positions,” Thompson said. Xander Tabor, a 6-2 senior, led the Rockets in rushing last year with 1,616 yards and 17 TDs and he has nearly every starter back from last season to help him out. Luke Crider split time at QB as a sophomore in 2019 and converted 11 scoring throws. Leading tacklers and seniors Caden McCalister (116) and Lathen Easley (81, with seven sacks) return to lead a defense that pitched three shutouts.
9. Hazard
Head coach: Daniel Howard (first season).
Last year: 7-5. Lost 45-12 to Pikeville in the 7th District finals.
Quick look: Senior QB Garrett Miller returns along with leading receiver Andrew Ford, a junior, for a “young team” Howard believes will be able to contend. Brayden Thomas got some carries last year and will likely lead the rushing attack. Linebacker Zane Deaton was second on the team in tackles with 78 as a sophomore and, similarly, safety Max Johnson also excelled during his freshman year with 59 tackles, a sack and two interceptions, including one that he took in for a touchdown.
10. Bethlehem
Head coach: Bryan Walker (third season).
Last year: 8-3. Lost 34-13 to Holy Cross (Louisville) in the 2nd District finals.
Quick look: The Eagles are building into a contender with Walker converting a losing record into a winning one in his second season. Some dangerous playmakers return to the fold, including leading rusher Zane Wickliffe who gained 908 yards with 15 TDs as a freshman, and senior leading receiver Xavier Cheek and his 577 yards and six TDs. Walker expects a big year from junior RB/WR/S LaDarion Montgomery, as well. Juniors Logan Cross, a 6-2, 205-pound linebacker, Jacksen Young, a 5-10, 180-pound linebacker and Clay Brown, a 6-3 260-pound tackle, lead the defense.
Others receiving votes
(In order of votes received)
Eminence, Russellville, Frankfort, Campbellsville, Ludlow, Bishop Brossart, Nicholas County, Dayton, Fulton County, Lynn Camp and Pineville.
Survey method: Rankings reflect the participation of 20 of the 34 Class A teams (58.8%). 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.
Correction: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect coach for Holy Cross Louisville.
This story was originally published August 30, 2020 at 2:27 PM.
