8 hours ago, Calico Jack said:

There are many bad takes on here that fall under:

1. Hater

2. Don't know what they don't know

3. Mix of both

But this one ranks at the top, of what I hope (for you), falls under the 1 spot.

I think the truth lies in the middle.

The beauty of Pikeville is they have no shied away from competition from bigger classes. That gives a good gauge of where they would stand. 

When you are a smaller school it is all about talent pool. Typically those talent pools ebb and flow... some years are deeper..some years are more shallow.

For Pikeville I think they are in the midst of a little bit of a talent pool regression starting with the 2024 season after a historically high mark.

 

2024- Pikeville was a very good Class A team that probably would not have won the title in any other class.

2023- We saw a slight downward trajectory but they were a Class A Champ (although Raceland beat them in the regular season) where the Class started catching up to them. Pikeville beat some good bigger schools but also got beat easily by LCA. I would say Pikeville would have been a top 5 team in 2A and 3A but probably would not have won either Championship.

2022- Arguably the best of the best. They were clearly the best 1A team and I honestly think they could have been a strong contender to win 2A and 3A and judging by their Corbin and CovCath scores they could compete with most of the "big boy" class' top teams as well.

2021- LCA got them for their lone loss but they beat 3A Champ Belfry. Belfry didn't have Mr. Football that game, but I still feel confident Pikeville would have won 3A. That was arguably the best LCA team that finished runner-up to an excellent Beechwood team. Pikeville was a little bange dup against LCA.. I think they were close to LCA and Beechwood but 7-14 points behind. Remember LCA also beat 4A Champ Boyle so once again Pikeville was at least competitive with the best of the mid to small schools.

2020- Covid year and down year. That was the bridge from there previous run. Only competitive in 1A.

2019- The peak of their previous talent pool surge. Undefeated and shocked 3A Champ Belfry with an upset. Their schedule became increasingly difficult after this run. I think Belfry and Pikeville were even (3A was not strong). Somerset won the 2A title.. I think Pikeville could have went toe to toe. 4A probably was out of reach with JC and Boyle both being excellent that year.

2018- Lost to Beechwood in 1A Final. Lost decidedly to Belfry. Very good 1A team and could have competed in 2A, but no bigger class beyond.

2016/2017- Only competitive in 1A. Bridge rebuild years from previous run, talent pool was shallow and played lots of youth.

2015- Peak of talent pool crop. Won 1A title over Beechwood. This was the re-emergence of the Pikeville program. This set the climb of what became bigger and better. They were the best 1A Team but probably would not have competed in any other class except 2A where Mayfield would have probably been better. 3A Champ Belfry crushed them.

2013/2014- These were the teams that were building to the 2015 squad. Good 1A teams but nothing else. 

 

^^^^

Long story short... you can see the evolution of Pikeville. They started with a lower talent pool that they had to maximize to be a 1A Champ. They had to rebuild that all over but the next time led to a crescendo that could have competed with anyone, let alone 1A/2A. The next wave was built on a deeper talent pool and it was an even stronger wave that was able to be sustained longer.

I think this alludes that the truth is in between. Pikeville has clearly proven that when they peak out they have been good enough to go with any team and be championship worthy essentially Class 1A-4A. At the same time, the majority of years I think the other poster may be accurate that Pikeville was an elite 1A Team who would have been a very good but maybe not Championship worthy team in other classes. 

Reading the tea leaves I think Pikeville is not about to see that deep of talent pool as what we saw a few years prior to 2024. With that said, it is much deeper than it was in 2013, and if the pattern repeats itself I think Pikeville will be very, very good in a couple years again.

Pikeville’s 2025 Schedule:

Aug 22 at Christian Academy Louisville
Aug 29 vs. Cabell Midland (WV) (Pike County Bowl)
Sep 5 vs. Raceland
Sep 12 vs. Johnson Central
Sep 19 at Belfry
Sep 26 vs. Powell County
Oct 3 at Southwestern
Oct 10 - OPEN
Oct 17 vs. Paintsville (District)
Oct 24 at Hazard (District)
Oct 31 - OPEN

The Panthers are looking for one more game in 2025. 

On 3/6/2025 at 2:53 PM, Mountain Football 606 said:

Pikeville’s 2025 Schedule:

Aug 22 at Christian Academy Louisville
Aug 29 vs. Cabell Midland (WV) (Pike County Bowl)
Sep 5 vs. Raceland
Sep 12 vs. Johnson Central
Sep 19 at Belfry
Sep 26 vs. Powell County
Oct 3 at Southwestern
Oct 10 - OPEN
Oct 17 vs. Paintsville (District)
Oct 24 at Hazard (District)
Oct 31 - OPEN

The Panthers are looking for one more game in 2025. 

Beechwood has week 11 open too. Let’s get someone on this one. Pikeville vs. Beechwood!!!! 

Complete 2025 Schedule

Aug 22 at Christian Academy Louisville
Aug 29 vs. Cabell Midland (WV) (Pike County Bowl)
Sep 5 vs. Raceland
Sep 12 vs. Johnson Central
Sep 19 at Belfry
Sep 26 vs. Powell County
Oct 3 at Southwestern
Oct 10 - BYE
Oct 17 vs. Paintsville (District)
Oct 24 at Hazard (District)
Oct 31 vs. Bracken County 

Graphic courtesy of X.

Nice schedule!

1 minute ago, theguru said:

Nice schedule!

Especially the front half.

I'm with @Bac2369, I would like to have seen Pikeville and Beechwood work something out for Week 11. Still a solid schedule, regardless.

1 minute ago, DevilMayCare said:

Especially the front half.

I'm with @Bac2369, I would like to have seen Pikeville and Beechwood work something out for Week 11. Still a solid schedule, regardless.

They can't help the district games...

I disagree on Pikeville and Beechwood, I don't want to play a team four hours away that is really good the week before I go into the playoffs and for Beechwood I think Campbell County was a much better choice. 

Is it August yet?

Any updates from the Pikeville faithful? The last I heard they had two lineman switch schools to Johnson Central. Any other updates would be appreciated.

Next man up.

3 minutes ago, ChiefSmoke said:

I like it!

Just now, theguru said:

I like it!

First time I saw a Team Issue football, we were doing a QB Camp at Pikeville. Coach McNamee had them. We switched over at Mercer. They are becoming a popular football in KY.  They are same company as Big Game which does most of the SEC, Big Ten.... UK, UGA, Alabama, Tennessee, etc. 

2 minutes ago, ChiefSmoke said:

First time I saw a Team Issue football, we were doing a QB Camp at Pikeville. Coach McNamee had them. We switched over at Mercer. They are becoming a popular football in KY.  They are same company as Big Game which does most of the SEC, Big Ten.... UK, UGA, Alabama, Tennessee, etc. 

Big Time!

But the bigger question is will Pikeville bounce back this year?  7-6 last year.  How far back do we need to go to find a season that bad for the Panthers?

1 minute ago, theguru said:

Big Time!

But the bigger question is will Pikeville bounce back this year?  7-6 last year.  How far back do we need to go to find a season that bad for the Panthers?

I believe so. As Lee Trevino would say, "The Hungry Dog Hunts Best."