Pikeville proved they are in the hunt in Class 1A. Ran the ball well, passed the ball well and the defense was stingy. The OL was strong and stood out as the catalyst for the offense. 

Midland is young but has some nice players. Their offense is more of a ball control offense and they couldn’t keep the Pikeville defense out of their backfield. 

Congratulations to Pikeville! They did what they needed to do, made some adjustments after the CAL game and picked up a nice win representing against an out of state opponent.

Having covered Cabell Midland a time or two the last few years, they have been a consistent contender but are still adapting to change after Coach Luke Salmons departed in 2024 for Corbin. Cabell Midland had two state championship appearances (2012 and 2019) while being in contention most years during Coach Salmons' time there. They hired assistant Eric Fetty after John Ashworth left, with the team going 5-6 in his lone season but making a nice comeback after an 0-5 start. Coach Fetty's offense is one with an emphasis on running the ball.

West Virginia's culture has changed dramatically over the past five seasons or so. I do not know a lot about some of the changes with the rules, etc. but it is becoming more common to see a program become totally decimated after a successful coach leaves. With that being said, I don't think that is the case with Cabell Midland. It will continue to take hard work while also being patient with setbacks for them to continue to be successful. Coach Fetty is in his first season this year and has stability, having been around the program a long time. With that, this is still his first year as a head coach. There is so much to that position in your first year. The administrative aspect of it, and other areas are such big learning points for anybody but I am sure Coach Fetty will continue to put all he has into it and do an excellent job for the program. They still have some key players back from last season and by the end of the year could be in the thick of things.

As for Pikeville, as usual they have stacked their schedule early. Their 2022 state championship team started 0-2, their 2023 state championship team started 3-2 and the tough early scheduling paid off. They make tremendous strides over the course of the season and I think will be in the hunt for another title. Should be a great game against Raceland next week, and then travel on the road against Belfry followed by Johnson Central. The games particularly against Cabell Midland, Belfry, and Johnson Central, with their strong emphasis on power running, should provide excellent repetitions should there be a second encounter with Raceland.

Impressive win Pikeville. Strong program!