Pike Co. Central Hawks: Season Preview & Outlook

It's that time a year again, Football time in the mountains. Teams are practicing, and working hard in the Summer heat to prepare for the season. Among those teams is the Pike Central Hawks. Lead by third year Head Coach John Champan who has shown success in his previous two years as Head Coach. Last season for Pike Central was eventful to say the least. With rumors and scandal floating around Pike Central finished 8-2 with an first round playoff loss. The Hawks enter this season as what seems to be the toughest district in the mountains. The 3A district 8 beefed up by adding Lawrence County to the mix. The District ended in a 3-way tie last season between Belfry, Sheldon Clark, and Pike Central. Look for this District to bring some exciting games. The Buckley's Creek Faithful feel their team can overcome, and win the schools first District title.

Highlight Video of the Day: Kristian Skyles (Sheldon Clark)

Sheldon Clark's KP Skyles returns for his senior season after a 1154 yard rushing and 17 touchdown season last year as a junior. He'll be expected to carry a lot of the load this year for the Cardinals.

Hatfield/McCoy Senior Bowl Sign-ups at UPike

2011 Kentucky senior graduates who played football last season in the area can still sign-up to play in the Hatfield/McCoy Senior Bowl on July 30th at Matewan High School. Either contact Kentucky coach, David Jones via his Facebook or show up at the meeting at UPike gymnasium Sunday, July 24th at 5 PM.

Highlight Video of the Day: Alan Boggs (Pike Co. Central)

Alan is one of the best quarterbacks in the area this upcoming season and he plays for the emerging Pike Central Hawks.

Boggs threw for 2697 yards and 39 touchdowns last season, he also rushed for 416 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Allen Central Rebels: 2011 Season Preview & Outlook

Jeremy Hall and his Rebels are coming off of 5-6 season with a 1st round playoff loss to eventual class A state final runner-up, Hazard. The Rebels return most of their offense including QB Micah Harlow, who threw for 1285 yards and 17 touchdowns. Harlow returns his go-to-guy Sheldon Rice who led the team in receiving yards last season with 729, Rice also had 8 touchdowns. However the Rebels did graduate their leading rusher Shane Hamilton, but expect Mickie Parsons to get majority of the carries this season, as Parsons was second on the team last season with 634 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Parsons also was second in receiving behind above mentioned Sheldon Rice, as Parsons had 389 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Highlight Video of the Day: Korey Jarrell (Betsy Layne)

Betsy Layne RB Kory Jarrell is our highlight video of the day.

Last season Kory rushed for 1,236 YDS & 11 TD's.

Prestonsburg Blackcats: 2011 Season Preview and Outlook

Last season was yet another successful season for coach John Derossett and his Prestonsburg Blackcats, as the Blackcats finished with a 10-3 season and a runner-up finish in region 4. The Blackcats will face another tough, yet exciting schedule this upcoming 2011 season, with the new class realignments teams like Bath County & Morgan County were replaced with Betsy Layne & Leslie County in the district. The region added Danville, Lexington Christian and Somerset.

The Blackcats graduated some key players from 2010 team including the two leading tacklers, TE/MLB Alex Griffith & OL/OLB Trevor Stovall. WR/DB Nathan Slone is another graduate that will be missed in the 2011 season, as he was 3rd on the team in receiving yards and 2nd on the team in interceptions. However, the Blackcats return majority of their team including do-it-all player Joseph Jamerson. Jamerson lead the team in rushing yards, was 2nd in receiving yards, had the most interceptions with 9 and was 3rd on the team in tackles. Jamerson will also be the place kicker & punter for the Blackcats this upcoming season. Other key returning players will be WR/RB/DB Bryson Williams, who lead the team in receiving yards, touchdowns and was 2nd on the team in rushing yards as a sophomore. QB Adam Crisp also returns as he threw for 2809 yards and 29 touchdowns last season. The offensive line returns a veteran group consisting of Chris Cook, Alex Garner, Zak Rowe and Kinsey Van Dyne.

Pikeville Panthers: 2011 Season Overview and Predictions

Basic Overview:

The 2011 Pikeville High School football team will try to compound on a relatively successful, rebuilding 2010 season. Gone from the 2010 squad that finished 8-5 with a loss in the Class A Region 4 championship game to, eventual state runner-up, Hazard are players like 4-year starter and dynamic play maker Taylor Ratliff, line-men Ben Staggs, Madison Coleman, and Taylor Mullins and RB/LB Ross McCoy. These losses are significant as all saw action on both sides of the football. The Panthers do return several keys players from the 2010 team, however. Quarterback/Safety Randy Maynard will once again lead the Panther offense and defense. Maynard had a solid season on the ground last season and improved week by week through the air. The Panthers will return Sophomore RB/CB Chase Hall as well. Hall showed signs of the ability to be a solid workhorse in the RB position even though his carries were partially limited playing behind upperclassmen. This season should be a breakout season for Hall who has really worked well in the weight room and could see many touches with the absence of Ratliff and McCoy. Senior Kicker Zack Burgy-Vanhoose will be in his final season as a Panther, but more than likely not his final season in pads. The strong-legged kicker has been rated the #1 kicker in America by the Ray Guy Kicking Academy. Burgy-Vanhoose is several spots ahead of kickers that have already committed to Iowa and Colorado.