KSR's 2024 Kentucky High School Football Preview: Class 1A

It is once again football time in the Bluegrass. With less than a week remaining until the kickoff of the 2024 Kentucky high school football season, KSR will preview all 48 districts and all six classes. Up first is Class 1A, home to the three-time defending state champion Pikeville Panthers, the #17 overall team in KSR’s Kentucky High School Football Preseason Rankings.

District 1 in Class 1A hasn’t seen a team post a winning record since 2021 when Russellville went 12-2 and reached the state championship game that year. It’s been rough-going for that district, but 2024 could be a year of resurgence for a number of the teams in it.

Russellville will be returning senior quarterbacks Hunter Hallman and Octavious McKeage, who split time behind center last season. Hallman recorded 989 passing yards and 11 touchdowns, while McKeage threw for 463 yards and three touchdowns. McKeage was also the team’s second-leading rusher with 256 rushing yards and four touchdowns and third-leading receiver with 197 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Caverna starts their season with four away games, and that isn’t including having to play Hart County on the road on September 27th. Luckily for Trevent Hayes’ squad, junior running back Tyson Martin, who ran for 1,319 yards and 18 touchdowns (both good for top three in 1A), is returning to Caverna. The Colonels will look to try and build off of their 5-5 season last year, even if that means winning some games they probably shouldn’t on enemy territory.

Per usual, Fulton County and Ballard Memorial’s schedules consist of a number of out-of-state schools. Considering both teams went a combined 1-19 last season, perhaps some wins and more success are on the horizon for the Pilots and Bombers.

Unlike District 1, District 2 saw two standout teams put themselves among the best of the best in 1A. Campbellsville will be looking to make a deep run in the playoffs yet again this season, but first, the Eagles have to get through the regular season. They may start out on a roll considering the top half of their schedule isn’t very imposing, but their last three games could all be losses (Holy Cross [Louisville], @ Kentucky Country Day, @ Hart County).

Junior quarterback Kace Eastridge, who threw for 1,885 yards and ran for 798, returns alongside junior wideout Gabriel Noyola who was second on the team in receiving last year with 424 yards and four touchdowns.

Kentucky Country Day finished with the highest RPI in 1A last season at .77229, just above Campbellsville. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, they lost their leading passer, rusher, and top five receivers this offseason. Needless to say, it may be difficult for KCD to obtain the double-digit wins that they have been accustomed to as of late.

This season, the Cougars of Holy Cross (Louisville) will need to succeed on the ground considering their primary quarterback from last season left in the offseason. Fortunately, running back Jamari Pennebaker will be back for his junior season. As a sophomore, he ran for a team-high 1,279 yards (fourth in 1A) and 13 touchdowns. With an up-and-down schedule, the Cougars may be able to get back above .500 in 2024.

This district was a bit of a toss-up between the two Newport schools last season, and it seems like that may be the case again this year.

Coach Paul Wiggins will be taking over the Newport Wildcats in 2024 after Ryan Hahn resigned. Wiggins will be heavily reliant on senior quarterback Kyle Lee who threw for 2,534 yards and 24 touchdowns last season, both of which were top five in 1A. Additionally, the Wildcats will be returning Rodzion Thompson, who tallied 1,393 scrimmage yards and 17 total touchdowns (one from a fumble recovery, two on kickoff returns) last season as a junior.

Then, there is Newport Central Catholic, who don’t technically have a home game in 2024, according to their schedule. This is because the school is in the process of erecting a new athletic facility for its soccer, football, baseball, softball, and track and field teams.

The Thoroughbreds lost running back Demetrick Welch due to graduation, but in return, they get senior quarterback Louie Collopy back behind center. Last season, he threw for just 588 yards and 11 touchdowns, but 2024 could be a breakout year for Collopy as Newport Central Catholic will look to stay atop of District 3.

In 2023, Ludlow had a winning season for the first time since 2019 after John McMillen took over the program. Under McMillen, the Panthers were run-heavy, recording 3,229 yards on the ground compared to just 1,264 through the air. Fortunately, leading rusher Dameyn Anness is back for his junior season after posting 1,251 yards on the ground along with 13 touchdowns last year.

On the defensive side of the ball, senior linebacker Carson Evans will be leading the defense after recording 78 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and two fumble recoveries in 2023.

The Indians of Holy Cross (Covington) took a massive blow this offseason after losing running back Ulysses Porter. In eight games as a freshman, Porter ran for 954 yards and 14 touchdowns. His 119 rushing yards per game were third in 1A.

However, tight end Max Hunt, who received an offer from Vince Marrow and Kentucky in June, will be back for his sophomore season after he caught 11 passes for 113 yards last season. If Hunt can continue to develop into what Marrow thinks he can be, then he should see a huge spike in production this season.

Two of the best players in all of 1A are in this district. Firstly, there’s Dayton quarterback commit Luke Pennington for the Sayre Spartans. As a junior, Pennington threw for 2,555 yards and 50 touchdowns to zero interceptions. Pennington was far and away the state’s leader in passing touchdowns in 1A last season.

Additionally, his favorite target last season, senior wideout Brock Coffman, will be back in 2024 after posting 1,193 receiving yards and 24 touchdown receptions in 2023. His 24 touchdown catches were tops in 1A. In fact, he was the only player who had at least 20 receiving touchdowns in all of 1A last season. The Spartans are looking very, very dangerous heading into this season, and they are certainly a major threat to win the state championship in December.

Then, there’s senior Blaze Berry, who will be playing at the quarterback spot for the Eminence Warriors. Berry led 1A in passing yards last season with 3,567 yards through the air. Pennington was actually second in that stat, but the gap between Berry and Pennington yards-wise was over 1,000 last year. Additionally, Berry threw for 40 touchdowns last season as well.

To add to the star power in this district, senior tailback Landon Smither, who rushed for 1,050 yards and seven touchdowns last season, will be another dynamic weapon in Eminence’s offense. Expect Eminence to improve on their 6-5 2023 season while Sayre continues to excel in 1A.

Similarly to District 5, this district is very top-heavy and features a pair of state championship contenders. Michael Salmons has led Raceland to back-to-back state championship game appearances, and he’ll look to finally get over the hump and put the Rams on top this season.

Unfortunately for Salmons, he lost Logan Lundy, his leading passer, and over 2,300 yards on the ground this offseason. Unlike a lot of 1A schools, Raceland has a massive roster, which should make the turnover situation a bit better for them.

The other team in this district that will make some noise this season is Paris. However, Paris is already making noise here in the preseason due to their unique new field color — a very bright and vibrant orange.

The new orange field at Paris HS pic.twitter.com/ELSS7gAzuq

— Ryan Lemond (@ryanlemond) August 7, 2024

Julius Gregory will be taking snaps behind center again this season for the Greyhounds. As a freshman, he recorded 1,517 yards and 19 touchdowns through the air. While Paris did lose their top two rushers, senior Elijah Webb is primed to have a breakout season after recording 428 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground with just 24 touches as a junior. Just like Raceland, Paris is a team that could also make a deep run in the playoffs this year.

Despite the fact that Middlesboro had the best record among its district counterparts last season, Williamsburg may be the team to watch to win District 7 in 2024.

Middlesboro is losing quarterback Cayden Grigsby to graduation, and all he did last year was throw for 2,023 yards and run for 898 while tallying 26 total touchdowns. Considering the fact that Gribsby was responsible for almost all of their offensive production last season, it’s understandable that the Yellowjackets might take a step back this season.

However, Williamsburg will be returning Nate Goodin for his senior season, who played a similar role that Grisgby had last year. In 2023, Goodin threw for 1,066 yards and eight touchdowns, but he was most effective on the ground, running for 1,319 yards and 18 touchdowns. If Goodin is going to take that next step and really excel this season, he has to improve on the 11 interceptions he threw a year ago.

As for the other three teams in this district, they’ll continue to try to find some level of continuity through their new head coaches. Harlan will be led by first-year head coach Brian Williams in 2024, while Lynn Camp has second-year head coach Mark Huddleston running the ship. Pineville is under coach Allen Harris, who is just in his third year with the Mountain Lions.

Lo and behold, the Pikeville Panthers. Coach Chris McNamee has led the Panthers to three consecutive 1A state championships, and he’ll look to make it four this December. Pikeville should once again be dominant in 1A considering they are returning senior quarterback Isaac Duty and senior running back and linebacker Brenden Anthony as well.

Duty threw for 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns last season while Anthony ran for 1,418 yards (tops in 1A) and 19 touchdowns on the ground. He also threw one pass which resulted in a 26-yard touchdown as well. Would it shock anyone to see the Panthers make it four consecutive state championships? No, no it wouldn’t.

Paintsville, on the other hand, has gone 6-6 in the three seasons following their state championship in 2020. After Joe Chirico left for George Rogers Clark, things haven’t been the same for the Tigers. However, they’ll be returning linebackers Crayson Lafferty (132) and Lucas Howard (107), who each finished in the top 10 in total tackles in 1A last season.

As for Hazard, things are looking uncertain under first-year head coach Matthew Chandler. Offensively, the Bulldogs were among the worst teams in the state, regardless of class. Fortunately, they’ll have senior Max Pelfrey back at quarterback this fall. He passed for 1,171 yards and eight touchdowns while rushing for a team-high 134 yards and one touchdown as well. And yes, team high is correct. Hazard was really bad offensively in 2023. Of course, in a new year under a new coach, perhaps the Bulldogs can start rebuilding by getting a few wins under their belt this season.

KSR’s Pre-Season Honors

• Class 1A Player of the Year – QB Blaze Berry (Eminence)
• Class 1A Coach of the Year – Chris McNamee (Pikeville)
• Class 1A State Champion – Pikeville Panthers