PIKEVILLE – Pikeville football has waited one year for this moment.
It wasn’t long after the Panthers dismantled Williamsburg, 57-16, in the Class 1A regional championship game, coaches, players and fans learned Raceland had come from behind in the final quarter to beat Paintsville, 14-7.
Pikeville and Raceland will meet for the second straight year in the state semifinals, a game won by the Rams on a last-second field goal last November.
Friday night’s rematch will take place at Hillard Howard Field this Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m., with the winner moving on to the championship game Nov. 30 at Kroger Field in Lexington.
The Panthers, now 10-2, built a 28-0 lead against the Yellowjackets Friday night and never looked back in winning its 23rd regional championship in school history. Running back Zack Roberts set the tone running 54 yards for a score on the game’s opening play. He finished with 153 yards on eight carries.
Pikeville’s defense was outstanding, picking off one pass for a touchdown (Jackson Hensley’s 43-yard return) and returning a fumble (Brody Birchfield’s 25-yard return) for another. Hensley also added a 37-yard rushing touchdown.
Quarterback Connor Roberts ran for two scores and passed for another.
At Pikeville
(Class 1A Regional championship)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
WM (9-3)…………………..…..0 8 0 8 – 16
PK (10-2)………………….…28 16 7 6 – 57
Scoring:
First Quarter
PK – Zack Roberts, 54-yard run (kick failed), 11:46
PK – Kyle Watkins, 34-yard pass from Connor Roberts (Connor Roberts run), 8:56
PK – Connor Roberts, 3-yard run (Tanner Hamilton kick), 5:12
PK – Jackson Hensley, 43-yard INT (Tanner Hamilton kick), 3:20
Second Quarter
PK – Connor Roberts, 1-yard run (Connor Roberts run), 10:47
WM – Dalton Ponder, 9-yard run (Gavon Thomas pass from Dalton Ponder), 9:35
PK – Jackson Hensley, 37-yard run (Zack Roberts run), 5:20
Third Quarter
PK – Brody Birchfield, 25-yard fumble return (Tanner Hamilton kick), 10:04
Fourth Quarters
PK – Zac Lockhart, 30-yard pass from Isaac McNamee (run failed), 5:29
WM – Gavin Thomas, 21-yard pass from Dalton Ponder (Caleb Rose pass from Dalton Ponder)
Next up: Pikeville (10-2) vs. Raceland (11-2), Class 1A state semifinals, Nov. 23.