[Patriot1]

I would love to see Raceland win a state championship. They have a great program and seem to all play hard and are physical but the main reason is so Ram A Devil will come back

[jetpilot]

Mike has become a good friend of mine over the years. We don’t pull any punches when we speak. He is great for the program

I had never heard him speak but saw his press conference after the game and he seemed like a class act.

[Orange Blaze]

To all the Raceland fans that are down on their Coach. Let offer you a “Cautionary Tale”. In 2004, Coach Mac had just won his 3rd Regional Title in his first 6 seasons as Coach. Some grumblings around town from some fans was that Pikeville could “Do Better” than Chris MacNamee as its Head Coach. As laughable as that statement is now, there were some that seriously BELIEVED it at the time. Unfortunately, the ”Braintrust” at PHS at the time were listening to those statements and Mac leaving for Pike Central in ‘05 was a direct result of it.

The same administration who ran Mac out of Pikeville, then decided in their infinite wisdom to hire “The Snake Oil Salesman” Mike Jackson as Head Coach. Mac had always had a healthy roster with at least 45-50 kids playing. In Jackson’s last year as Coach in 2007 before he bolted back to Louisville…30 kids came out for football and 12 of them were seniors. Then the administration doubled down and hired Jackson’s top assistant Mike Copley as Head Coach who’d never been a head coach anywhere before and it showed. Dude was in WAY over his head. Another year of 25 kids out playing and another down year by Pikeville standards. Copley was fired after a year in ‘08 after getting embarrassed at home by Hazard in the regional finals (only our second regional appearance since Mac left and were blown out in both games.

MAC finally gets back in the saddle in 2010 after the alumni finally threw a big enough fit to get him back along with some much needed turnover in administration. The rest as they say is history.

In 2015, Mac wins his 1st State Title and Pikevilles first since 1989….He got ran out of town in ‘05….So, you see, thinking you can “do better” sometimes literally sets your program back 10 years….just keep that in mind…

Coach Salmons has done a great job at Raceland and no one should complain about the success his teams have had.  He has won several regional titles and had 2 finals appearances. Most programs would be very happy with that.  He also cares about the program and loves everything that is Raceland and has been instrumental in making the various upgrades to our facilities over the past few years.  I think the biggest criticism about him is he is somewhat stuck in his ways and is resistant to change at times.  The Ram faithful also have to realize that we have had to face really good teams in Pikeville, Paintsville, and Beechwood over his tenure that have been legitimate road blocks in front of the coveted state title.

[jetpilot]

I would love to see Raceland win a state championship. They have a great program and seem to all play hard and are physical but the main reason is so Ram A Devil will come back

RAD took his ball and went home and forgot to congratulate the winning team and staff on his way out the door.

[Micro-Brew]

I’d say Raceland may be the front runner next year with what they return. But I’d look out for New Cath, they return some very good players as well and having watched both up close I’d say both would’ve been pretty evenly matched this year maybe giving Raceland a slight advantage.
Also guess who else I wouldn’t count out??
I can’t wait until it’s football time again.

[Scotty_Bronson]

It’s Pikevilles to lose next year again I’m afraid. They just got a well oiled machine that ain’t going anywhere and everyone else has a lot of catching up to do.

In regards to Coach Salmons, there’s not a better HC in terms of community outreach, love for the program, and commitment to the kids from flag-the oldest and newest senior. He could be a little closed minded in his approach but at the end of the day, there’s no one else I’d rather have at the helm. If I had to choose between what he has accomplished and what we have accumulated as a football program from top to bottom and 1 or 2 state titles, I’d take the consistency he has created. Paintsville won their title, lost their coach and things haven’t been the same. Fairview went on their run, things imploded, never going to be the same. We went almost a century without a regional title, now we are the favorite. We had never seen a semi final, now it’s expected. This showing was better than the first at the state championship game. We are improving bit by bit. It will be interesting though, to see how things change with Lewis retiring. Mike is a great defensive mind and I would love to see him take over that side of the ball and bring in a really good OC to run his system. But all that remains to be seen.

[jetpilot]

I too thought all along that 2023 would be the year Raceland would get their championship.

[ROTC]

I would love to see Raceland win a state championship. They have a great program and seem to all play hard and are physical but the main reason is so Ram A Devil will come back

RAD took his ball and went home and forgot to congratulate the winning team and staff on his way out the door.

Not a brand new move by this guy.  He took his KID and a few more and went to Raceland to help fuel the migration from burgundy land to ramville.

[Big Five-0-]

One team looked like they’ve been there before, the other one looked like it was the first time they’ve ever been there.  Coaches included.

Pikeville-Home field advantage!

[Big Five-0-]

I’d say Raceland may be the front runner next year with what they return. But I’d look out for New Cath, they return some very good players as well and having watched both up close I’d say both would’ve been pretty evenly matched this year maybe giving Raceland a slight advantage.
Also guess who else I wouldn’t count out??
I can’t wait until it’s football time again.

Pikeville. We graduated a lot of that great line, but some good young ones coming up with experience. Jmo