Pikeville Defeats Belfry 48-13 in Kroger KSR Game of the Week

Mountain rivalries just mean more.

An argument can be made that Pike is the most “Football County” in the Commonwealth. A large contribution to that designation has been Pikeville and Belfry’s success on the gridiron. The two schools have combined for fourteen state championships since 1987. There are counties with more banners. I’m not so sure that any county in the Commonwealth is as passionate as Pike. Football defines the area. Pikeville is the King for the next 365 days after beating Belfry 48-13.  

The game is and will always be personal to participants and supporters. Much like the Danville and Boyle County showdown from a couple of weeks ago, Belfry-Pikeville is another classic example of Kentucky’s inimitable city/county grudge matches. Fans wore Pikeville maroon or Belfry red. Attendees were either Pirates or Panthers. There’s no middle ground in a mountain rivalry. There were no casual observers. You could feel the tension, excitement, and angst in the air before kickoff. Pikeville’s stadium sits by its impressive campus and just below a mountain top that can be seen behind the goalpost and scoreboard. Friday’s backdrop was simply majestic and familiar. 

Pikeville has won six state championships in program history. The Panthers captured titles in 1987, 1988, 1989, 2015, 2019, and 2021. Belfry has eight titles in its history. The Pirates were crowned champs in 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2021. Both schools won titles in the same year on three occasions (2015, 2019, 2021). Danville is “Title Town” and that name is warranted and accurate. But, Pike can be described as Kentucky’s “Football County.” 

Forewarning, the theme and scope of this post changed on the long ride home. This is a rewrite that’s taking place early Saturday morning. The game was fun, but there were deep feelings and emotions that surfaced on my trip. I need to tell my story to better describe what I saw on Friday. I have history with Pikeville and Belfry. 

Full disclosure, my memory isn’t so great these days so numbers and specifics may not be historically accurate. But, I hope to paint an accurate picture of the pageantry, connectivity, and beauty of football in the mountains. Please bear with me. I played for Cumberland High School. We competed against both Pikeville and Belfry. 

The first matchup was against Pikeville in the inaugural Pike County Bowl. You have to remember; the Pike County Bowl was a trendsetting concept in the ’80s and made statewide news. The doubleheader featured two top teams from out in the state against Pikeville and Belfry. We knew it was a marquee event when the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Mike Fields attended the game. You have to remember this was pre-internet days. Most of Kentucky read the Herald-Leader or Courier Journal. Being featured in either was special. 

The contest was enormously attended and the outcome was decided on the game’s last play. Let’s just put it this way: a last-minute pass to an open Cumberland receiver in the end zone was called incomplete by one referee but a touchdown by another. After a long discussion, the final call was incomplete. Ballgame. That play was my fault. Darren “Pickle” Jones was the intended pass catcher. I was the thrower and carelessly tossed the football too low for my buddy Pickle. Haunts me to this day. Pikeville was declared the winner and celebrated. Cumberland lost and was not very happy at the game’s ending. Tempers flared after the horn but the final score stayed the same. 

I would not be in my office typing away well after midnight if not for that 1985 Pike County Bowl. I’ll try to explain. I was a baseball and basketball player that happened to play quarterback and safety. In other words, I was off the radar. Like I said earlier, the Lexington Herald’s Mike Fields covered the game. He wrote positively about me and even threw in a picture of an interception as you can see below. My life changed after that. My name began to surface statewide. Offers came in, I signed with Kentucky. Maybe that would have happened anyway. Who knows. But, I can tell you that Mr. Fields’ article changed my life. That night many decades ago led to my playing days which evolved into me writing about the Cats on Kentucky Sports Radio. 

Fast forward to November of the next year. We travel back across Pine Mountain to face Pikeville in a playoff game. I remember the night being cold and rainy. The Good Guys (Cumberland) won this time and captured the region title. We kept getting aggravated by this one particular PHS defender. He was an excellent tackler with great instincts and limited our explosive plays into medium gainers. That defensive back was Chris McNamee who is now the highly successful Pikeville head coach and whose name is atop the school’s new indoor practice facility. McNamee was named All-State on both sides of the football before being a star EKU Colonel. 

Following that karma-driven loss to Cumberland in 1986, Pikeville did not drop another game for three consecutive seasons. That streak included three state championships. Chris McNamee was the captain of the school’s first state title team. I greatly respect that man. Always have. The Panthers went from a regional contender to a statewide power under Coach Hillard Howard. 

The Belfry-Cumberland series was also quite odd but didn’t involve postgame brawls. The offenses varied in style but gained similar results on the scoreboard. The first matchup was on the old Belfry football field. The Pirates beat us 7-6 or something of that nature. The low-scoring affair was not expected. I’d never heard of Belfry before that week. I didn’t even know it was in Pike County. The Pirates would go on to dominate their classification for years to come.

The rematch was at Cumberland the following season. The game’s outcome was much like the year before. Two potent offenses struggled to get the football in the end zone. The defenses took over the game. Belfry won, again. The Pirates were led by quarterback Dwayne Francisco and went on to the state championship game that season. Belfry’s head coach was Phillip Haywood who still leads Belfry to this day. The Legend went on to win eight titles at the school. Haywood was also my head coach in the Kentucky-Tennessee All-Star Game. I deeply respect and admire that man. Legend.

Pikeville and Belfry have flourished since my days in the mountains. Cumberland High, unfortunately, closed its doors permanently and was absorbed into Harlan County High School. Consolidation has many positive outcomes. I get it. But, it also led to the downfall of the unique pageantry that surrounded distinct communities. I find it sad that schools like Cumberland, Elkhorn City, Lynch, and so many others no longer exist. Friday football games in those places were communal gatherings disguised as an athletic competition. 

Storytime is over. Let’s get back to the now because that’s probably why you clicked on this article. This game has history. Belfry leads the all-time series over Pikeville 39-38-2. This rivalry has been streaky. Belfry won thirteen consecutive in the not-so-near past. Pikeville has now won four straight. The Panthers were led by KSR All-State RB Blake Birchfield’s 173 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Isaac Duty went 9-11 for 195 and two scores. The Panthers were strong in the third phase by forcing three turnovers. 

Pikeville is going to be a tough out in 1A. McNamee’s team is extremely well-coached and executes at a high level. They are also well-dressed and have college-like facilities. Pikeville announced on Friday that it will be just the second team in Kentucky with a Jordan Brand endorsement. I was incredibly thrilled to see Coach Haywood on the sideline. The Belfry and Kentucky legend has a two-deep full of freshmen and sophomores. Regular season losses will be somewhat misleading. The Pirates often peak come when the playoffs begin. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Belfry make another deep run. 

I had a long ride home to think about this post. I’m sorry the story went backwards. I’m certainly not a “Glory Days” kind of dude. I just couldn’t get the connectivity and beauty of mountain football off my mind. The KSR YouTube channel will publish our video from our trip to Pikeville on Sunday. It will highlight players, Pikeville’s incredible facilities, and a couple of interviews. I truly enjoyed my time in Pikeville. I deeply appreciate two teams that are extremely well coached that play the game as it was intended.

Football County. Football State.