[Panther Thunder]

http://www.people.com/people/archive/art...93,00.html

An article about the 1988 Pikeville football team. I'm sure a lot of you have already read it, but it's a nice thing to look back at.

[Mama Bear]

http://www.people.com/people/archive/art...93,00.html

An article about the 1988 Pikeville football team. I'm sure a lot of you have already read it, but it's a nice thing to look back at.

Great article!

[BlackcatAlum]

Awesome read, thanks for sharing!

[Beef]

First time I've read it. GREAT article though!

[If...Then]

Now this was back when Pikeville had "School Spirit"

Very interesting Article though

[BlackBearDenMother]

Great read, thanks for sharing.

[The Ville]

Now this was back when Pikeville had "School Spirit"

Very interesting Article though

I agree, but it was also when Pikeville was "decent"

[Panther Thunder]

I agree, but it was also when Pikeville was "decent"

I'm not trying to get off-topic on the positives of this thread, but that shouldn't be a factor.

[HazzBeen]

I remember when that writer stayed at our house and wrote the article. I was 8 years old!

[BatCat11]

Good read

[HAIL PIKEVILLE!]

I remember reading this article when it first came out back in '88. I was in 5th grade. It was the first time and one of the very few times since that I actually read something positive from an outside media source about ANYTHING from Eastern Kentucky. Still to this day when you say youre from Pikeville to anyone from other parts of the state the first thing they mention is football.

[belfryrocks]

Belfry has always been better

[EKUAlum05]

Belfry has always been better

This is a Belfry fan who knows when to call a spade a spade....some of those Panther teams in the 80's were as good as any team in the state regardless of class. There is a reason why the Belfry/Pikeville series has been nearly dead even until recent years, Pikeville had a fantastic program and I would love to see them return to that level alongside Belfry.

[jetpilot]

Belfry has always been better

LOL one of those Pikeville teams beat Belfry 47-6 at Belfry.

[jetpilot]

This is a Belfry fan who knows when to call a spade a spade....some of those Panther teams in the 80's were as good as any team in the state regardless of class. There is a reason why the Belfry/Pikeville series has been nearly dead even until recent years, Pikeville had a fantastic program and I would love to see them return to that level alongside Belfry.

:rockon: Would love to see Pikeville and Belfry in Louisville every year.

[EKUAlum05]

Those Hilliard Howard teams were an absolute machine in their prime. Running..passing..defense...special teams.... simply a fine tuned machine. Made it even more special when Belfry snapped their winning streak

[jetpilot]

Those Hilliard Howard teams were an absolute machine in their prime. Running..passing..defense...special teams.... simply a fine tuned machine. Made it even more special when Belfry snapped their winning streak

And which team went on to win a state championship that year?

[IRISH4]

There is actually a copy of this framed outside the gym doors at Pikeville High School.

[Playboy5]

Awesome!! Great find!

[bucslover68]

And which team went on to win a state championship that year?

First of all, this is a Pikeville thread and should be respected as such. It seems however, that the two Pike County powers of Pikeville and Belfry are always intertwined. Just some observations coming from a Belfry fan who grew up in Belfry, but has lived in Pikeville over 20 years, and has no problem pulling for the Panthers. The 1987 team was the best, and started the best run, of any mountain team ever, IMO. 43-1 over the 87-89 span, and again 14-1 with a runner-up trophy in 1991. You are right jetpilot. In 1989, Pikeville went on to the 3-peat. Belfry's win snapped a 33-game winning streak for Pikeville. Paris had the record at the time, 38, and Pikeville would have probably smashed the 38 straight mark if not for the Pirates. Belfry had a really good team that year, and by most people's observations, they could/should have beaten Highlands in the semis up north. A lot of people forget the 1988 Pikeville and Belfry game. I believe it was postponed a night, and Pikeville won a really good game the next night. The point being that maybe Belfry was the one team during this run that actually hung with the Panthers to a certain extent( excluding 1987,which was a transition year for the Pirates after two state runners-up.) I really wish the competitive level was now what it was then. Belfry is in the midst of what may be the second or third best run in history in the mountains. It is not over yet, and the last chapter has not been written. Good Luck to both Pikeville and Belfry this week.