The cream is rising to the top
We have some top-fight footballers we have featured leading up to the season and even during the first part of the journey. These guys are all delivering, exactly, the type performances we foretold they would. In this segment we will go around the horn and catch up with some of these guys and how they are performing through the first six (6) to eight (8) games. Enjoy the trip.
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, “KPGFootball”
Pikeville, KY: A lot of people started “writing off” the Panthers when they opened on the short end of a 45-7 score, opening weekend, to Christian Academy-Louisville. We numbered among the doubters.
Then the Panthers handled a “middle of the road” West Virginia team and fell behind Raceland, 27-0, in Pikeville, with six minutes remaining in the 3rd-Q. We had picked Raceland to invade Pikeville and win by 14. Our bet was looking sound.
Then someone on the sideline said, “Guys, we have a Mikey Hager and they don’t.” That was all it took.
Since that moment the Panthers have taken strides to target their extraordinary athlete and (perhaps) the mountains fastest player. Since that game, the Panthers have looked, every bit, the 1A contender we expect to take the field on Friday nights for Coach Chris McNamee.
From the 6-minute mark through the end of the game against highly regarded Racelend, Pikeville rediscovered they had split wide the best athlete in the Appalachias. Hager caught five (5) huge targets, logged a receiving TD, logged a pick-six, and two onside kick recoveries later it was Raceland, and not Pikeville, leaving Pike County wondering just what the heck had happened.
The “pick-six” was the play of the game. It sealed the deal for the Panther team.
Looks like we counted the Panthers out a little too early. Looks like those who had forgotten about Mikey Hager may have been a bit early there too.
The Panthers have won three straight and stand at 5-3 with games remaining at Hazard and home for Bracken County. Hazard has a ton of athletic talent on the roster, and Bracken County is having a banner season, so the road ahead is a difficult one.
Hager has been consistent and a bright spot for the team. We don’t have last night’s stats as they will be posted either tomorrow or Monday. We can tell you through seven (7) games Hager leads the team in receptions (37), receiving yards (411), receiving TDs (5), scoring (6-points a game), and all of that is on offense.
Hager plays defense too. Hager has registered (through the first seven) 22-tackles, an INT, a pick-six, and is among the leaders in PBUs (passes broken up).
Hager and Gavin Johnson are the best two wide receivers on the eastern end of Kentucky. They may also be among the better back-third guys!
Perry County (Hazard), KY: We have been screaming, “Buy, Buy, Buy!” all season on the Hazard Bulldogs. Hazard took on a little more than they were ready to chew in playing powerhouses like Prestonsburg, Campbellsville, and Raceland but the competition bodes well for them with the playoffs just around the corner. THIS IS NOT A TEAM YOU WANT TO HAVE TO PLAY IN THE FIRST OR SECOND ROUND! Take our word for it.
Hazard sits at 4-4 with Pikeville and Somerset remaining. That is a tough row to hoe.
Who hasn’t disappointed, at all, is Hazard’s superstar athlete and three phase player, Gavin Johnson (’27). Johnson has demonstrated his being among the class’s very best, most versatile, and (perhaps) fastest player at his level of competition.
Through the first eight (8) games, Johnson (’27) is leading the team in receptions (57), TDs receiving (6), and receiving yards (697). Johnson is third on the team in scoring, putting up five and a half (5.5) points a game, and is tied for second on the team in INTs. Johnson is among the leaders in tackles (67).
Breathitt County (Jackson), KY: Speaking of Breathitt; QB, Miles Hollon (’28) is killing it. He is leading the team in passing (80 completions in 124 passing attempts entering last night’s game), passing yards (1,280 entering last night’s game), passing TDs (15 entering last night’s game), and has his team sitting at 6-2 heading into the final stretch against Jackson County and a Russell (3A, 7-1) team, so tough, you would swear Ivan McGlone had mysteriously returned to the Red Devil sideline.
That Russell game will be a huge test for both teams. Breathitt is a 2A team and rounding into a team no-one wants to see in the playoffs. Russell is a 3A team and the same could be said about TJ Maynard and his Red Devils.
We still believe Breathitt is an elite 2A team. Should Breathitt get by both Jackson County (1-7) and Russell, the Bobcats entering the playoff at 8-2, with the talent it boasts on offense, particularly in the backfield, would make The Riverbank a mighty exciting place to watch some playoff football.
Madisonville, KY: We have been talking about Ryder Sandidge all season long and his versatility and utility playing for one of 5A’s elite programs and teams. The Maroons (7-1) have a “Mr. Football” candidate in the offensive backfield (Markezz Hightower), and all-state candidates all over the field (Ryder Sandidge as an ATH, Jayden Travis at TE, Kirk LeGrange at LB, Kadence Price at OL).
Sandidge has done what we expected of him when we first identified him as a budding star at the beginning of the year. Sandidge (’27) has scored multiple touchdowns rushing, has made some impressive returns on special teams to include housing a kickoff against Central, leads the team in receptions (37 entering last night’s game), and has plugged in with extraordinary play anywhere the team has needed his talents.
North is 7-1, and despite the slip up last night (Lost 49-40 to Apollo), playing as well as any team in Kentucky 5A. The “Mops on Top” host another top-rated, 5A team in Owensboro (Senior) High (6-2) this coming weekend. This will be a game at which the Cleats 2 Whistle podcast will be broadcasting live. I will join my colleagues for the broadcast of what figures to be the biggest western KY, 5A matchup in several years.
The Maroons can continue to “shock the world,” or the “KHSAA world” anyway, should they find a way to rebound from the season’s first loss and put away Owensboro Senior’s Red Devils. We will see you all there!
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
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