[bac2369]

What do they have returning besides Pugh? Eager to hear what they return and the expectations?

[Scotty_Bronson]

Im not sure what they return in the way of their line. In the 2nd Paintsville game, they got dominated upfront. Atleast in the film i saw of that game. I really expected Pikeville to make it to Bowling Green, but it wasnt the case. Their road doesnt get any easier next year with Hazard being in the district now and becoming part of Williamsburg/Hazard's region.

[Scotty_Bronson]

Would like to know how many off the LOS they got coming back and who will be the QB. Was Charles a SR?

[EKUAlum05]

Would like to know how many off the LOS they got coming back and who will be the QB. Was Charles a SR?

He was a Senior.

Someone may be able to correct me but I think they lose two solid linemen:
Patton and Mullins

Lose some really talented skill guys and defensive impact players:
Charles- QB
Estep- Both Ways
Maynard- Both Ways
Skeens- LB


They also lose Allara who was a weapon for them.. Pikeville actually loses 3 Kickers HAHA


Should have a solid foundation for a team with the brunt of their line back in front of Pugh. Dials will probably be their QB and Vanderbeck their top WR. The Slone kid emerged as a very good player on Defense.

Panther run game should be stout, but QB play...namely their passing game... will be the big question.

[E's Army]

Pugh is a good start. If they can block for him and play a little defense they will be a pretty good team. They had very good over all team speed this year. Maynard, Estep, Skeens and Charles were a big part of that. Estep will be irreplaceable with all the things he brought to the table.

[HAIL PIKEVILLE!]

While we are losing some key seniors and they will be missed. We have kids who can step in and be just as good. Estep and Maynard will be the hardest to replace just because of what they brought to the team that can't be measured in a stat sheet. The line loses 1 good tackle in Mullins and one great one in Patton. Tanner Roop, who was a very valuable backup last season at tackle is ready to step in and could be a special player, considering how well he was playing at the end of the year. Our Center and 2 guards are all returning and will be the strength of our line and our locker room. Pugh has potential to be the best back in EKY next season. Hopefully he can keep his emotions in check a little better and work on ball security during the offseason. Those are really the only flaws I see in his game at this point and those can be corrected with a years maturity and reps, respectively. Blake Charles will be the other back and a very capable one at that. Both can block very well and are good receiver out of the backfield. I'm going to preface what I'm getting ready to say by saying this: I intend no disrespect to Squeak Charles in any way shape or form. With that being said, I honestly believe we upgrade at QB with Cody Dials just from a skill set stand point. The kid just has better tools to work with. Better arm, more accurate, better all around athlete in my opinion. Again nothing against Squeak. He was a heck of a player. Dials has the potential to be better IMHO. We have gifted WRs in AJ Vanderbeck, Clay Slone, Cody Charles, and Andrew McNamee. None of these kids have the speed that Estep had, but they are all sure handed and can get open. McNamee will be a tall target and a matchup nightmare in the red zone. The player to watch will be Evan Rhodes. He's only a sophomore but possesses that burning speed that Estep had. With a good offseason and continued progression, he could be a serious weapon!

Defensively, Caleb Skeens will be missed, he continued a long line of Panther Linebackers like Austin Black, Tolliver Heffner, Madison Coleman, JR Robinson ETC. that hard nosed, active, in on every tackle, play to the whistle guy who set the tone for the entire defense. I loved watching that kid play and he was a key contributor to our defense being much improved over the previous 2 seasons. With all that being said. Our LB corps is still an extremely solid group. I expect that trend to continue as now these kids have had a year under Coach Sullivan's system. I may be wrong but I believe we return 5 of our front seven. Clay Slone will be a force in the secondary. He was tested quite a bit last season as he played opposite of Estep at CB and made some big plays. Player to watch: Jonathan Ray- This kid was a special teams demon last season. I'm not sure if he will be a DB or LB. No matter where he plays...he'll play all out. Just like his Old Man did.
The only thing that really concerns me about next years team is special teams. As has been previously stated. We lost a very good kicker in LJ Allara and our punter/ punt returner in Estep. Those are big voids that must be filled. This team has the potential to be just as good as last years team. I'm not sure of our regular season schedule, I know Pike Central has been added but I don't know who they replaced. The Hazard game is a district game now and I think that is a good thing. Of course the trip to Pond Creek next year will have plenty of eyes on it as well. The road won't be easy and it never is. But next years team has a legit shot at going to Bowling Green if we can stay healthy and keep our heads on straight. I'm sure Coach Mac and his staff will have them ready.

[Redneck]

Pikeville will be Pikeville, don't ever count them out. Macnamee, who IMO is one of the best coaches East of I-75, will have his boys ready to play.

[Scotty_Bronson]

Will Pugh play any LB?

[PHSForever]

Will Pugh play any LB?

I doubt it if Ray continues to develop. With the shoulder injury from his sophomore year, I'd think Mac would like to limit the amount of wear and tear he has to take. Just my opinion.

[Scotty_Bronson]

I doubt it if Ray continues to develop. With the shoulder injury from his sophomore year, I'd think Mac would like to limit the amount of wear and tear he has to take. Just my opinion.

I get it. I just didnt know of he would due to graduation losses. His speed and strength would probably make him a good lass rusher from te edge as well.

[bac2369]

I'm sure he will fill in on selective defensive series but not many..

[NEWARKCATHOLICFAN]

Any changes in the schedule?

[SPORTS FAN 101]

This is what I have heard the schedule is next year. This is not confirmed.
@ Prestonsburg
Letcher Central PCB
@ Paintsville
Sheldon Clark
@ Belfry
District Games: not sure of order
South Floyd
@jenkins
Hazard
@ Phelps
Pike Central, Last game of season. Should be a sellout.

New games:
Letcher Central PCB, Jenkins and Pike Central
Dropped games:
Middlesboro,Russell and Allen Central moves to 2A.

[topnotch]

Merry Christmas to all.

[topnotch]

Happy new year.

[Mastadon89]

Anything new going on? How are weights?

[TheBoz]

Will be right there at the end of season.

[PHSForever]

Anything new going on? How are weights?

Weights are going well. Very good turnout so far, I believe they are getting about 30-35 boys in the weight room each day they work out. That will go up soon, I'm sure.

[bac2369]

Is the Hazard game at Pikeville again...

[Mastadon89]

Is the Hazard game at Pikeville again...

Theyre in our district now so itll be later in the year and im 90% sure its at hazard.

[bac2369]

Theyre in our district now so itll be later in the year and im 90% sure its at hazard.

Thanks.. I sure hope I'm able to attend.

[bac2369]

Is there any new games on the schedule?

[Panther Thunder]

Is there any new games on the schedule?

In no specific order

Prestonsburg
Letcher Central
Paintsville
Sheldon Clark
Belfry
South Floyd
Jenkins
Hazard
Phelps
Pike Central

[PHSForever]

In no specific order

Prestonsburg
Letcher Central
Paintsville
Sheldon Clark
Belfry
South Floyd
Jenkins
Hazard
Phelps
Pike Central

Schedule actually is pretty decent. I like the variety of offensive style we will see, as well as defense.

[Mastadon89]

Curious thought…
Whens the last time Pikeville played this many local teams (WYMT coverage area teams) in a schedule?

[bac2369]

I like the Letcher game for them. The Paintsville game will be huge as well plus the district game with Hazard to see how the east can shake up this year.

[TribePride]

While we are losing some key seniors and they will be missed. We have kids who can step in and be just as good. Estep and Maynard will be the hardest to replace just because of what they brought to the team that can't be measured in a stat sheet. The line loses 1 good tackle in Mullins and one great one in Patton. Tanner Roop, who was a very valuable backup last season at tackle is ready to step in and could be a special player, considering how well he was playing at the end of the year. Our Center and 2 guards are all returning and will be the strength of our line and our locker room. Pugh has potential to be the best back in EKY next season. Hopefully he can keep his emotions in check a little better and work on ball security during the offseason. Those are really the only flaws I see in his game at this point and those can be corrected with a years maturity and reps, respectively. Blake Charles will be the other back and a very capable one at that. Both can block very well and are good receiver out of the backfield. I'm going to preface what I'm getting ready to say by saying this: I intend no disrespect to Squeak Charles in any way shape or form. With that being said, I honestly believe we upgrade at QB with Cody Dials just from a skill set stand point. The kid just has better tools to work with. Better arm, more accurate, better all around athlete in my opinion. Again nothing against Squeak. He was a heck of a player. Dials has the potential to be better IMHO. We have gifted WRs in AJ Vanderbeck, Clay Slone, Cody Charles, and Andrew McNamee. None of these kids have the speed that Estep had, but they are all sure handed and can get open. McNamee will be a tall target and a matchup nightmare in the red zone. The player to watch will be Evan Rhodes. He's only a sophomore but possesses that burning speed that Estep had. With a good offseason and continued progression, he could be a serious weapon!

Defensively, Caleb Skeens will be missed, he continued a long line of Panther Linebackers like Austin Black, Tolliver Heffner, Madison Coleman, JR Robinson ETC. that hard nosed, active, in on every tackle, play to the whistle guy who set the tone for the entire defense. I loved watching that kid play and he was a key contributor to our defense being much improved over the previous 2 seasons. With all that being said. Our LB corps is still an extremely solid group. I expect that trend to continue as now these kids have had a year under Coach Sullivan's system. I may be wrong but I believe we return 5 of our front seven. Clay Slone will be a force in the secondary. He was tested quite a bit last season as he played opposite of Estep at CB and made some big plays. Player to watch: Jonathan Ray- This kid was a special teams demon last season. I'm not sure if he will be a DB or LB. No matter where he plays...he'll play all out. Just like his Old Man did.
The only thing that really concerns me about next years team is special teams. As has been previously stated. We lost a very good kicker in LJ Allara and our punter/ punt returner in Estep. Those are big voids that must be filled. This team has the potential to be just as good as last years team. I'm not sure of our regular season schedule, I know Pike Central has been added but I don't know who they replaced. The Hazard game is a district game now and I think that is a good thing. Of course the trip to Pond Creek next year will have plenty of eyes on it as well. The road won't be easy and it never is. But next years team has a legit shot at going to Bowling Green if we can stay healthy and keep our heads on straight. I'm sure Coach Mac and his staff will have them ready.

You're definitely right about Caleb Skeens. He was an all star for us for 3 years. I'm glad Caleb had a chance to continue playing football, and hopefully Coach Mac is helping him continue that dream.

[bac2369]

Anyone got the dates of some of those games?? Pikeville has a few posted on scoreboard.. I was eager to see the date of that hazard game??

[Big Five-0-]

While we are losing some key seniors and they will be missed. We have kids who can step in and be just as good. Estep and Maynard will be the hardest to replace just because of what they brought to the team that can't be measured in a stat sheet. The line loses 1 good tackle in Mullins and one great one in Patton. Tanner Roop, who was a very valuable backup last season at tackle is ready to step in and could be a special player, considering how well he was playing at the end of the year. Our Center and 2 guards are all returning and will be the strength of our line and our locker room. Pugh has potential to be the best back in EKY next season. Hopefully he can keep his emotions in check a little better and work on ball security during the offseason. Those are really the only flaws I see in his game at this point and those can be corrected with a years maturity and reps, respectively. Blake Charles will be the other back and a very capable one at that. Both can block very well and are good receiver out of the backfield. I'm going to preface what I'm getting ready to say by saying this: I intend no disrespect to Squeak Charles in any way shape or form. With that being said, I honestly believe we upgrade at QB with Cody Dials just from a skill set stand point. The kid just has better tools to work with. Better arm, more accurate, better all around athlete in my opinion. Again nothing against Squeak. He was a heck of a player. Dials has the potential to be better IMHO. We have gifted WRs in AJ Vanderbeck, Clay Slone, Cody Charles, and Andrew McNamee. None of these kids have the speed that Estep had, but they are all sure handed and can get open. McNamee will be a tall target and a matchup nightmare in the red zone. The player to watch will be Evan Rhodes. He's only a sophomore but possesses that burning speed that Estep had. With a good offseason and continued progression, he could be a serious weapon!

Defensively, Caleb Skeens will be missed, he continued a long line of Panther Linebackers like Austin Black, Tolliver Heffner, Madison Coleman, JR Robinson ETC. that hard nosed, active, in on every tackle, play to the whistle guy who set the tone for the entire defense. I loved watching that kid play and he was a key contributor to our defense being much improved over the previous 2 seasons. With all that being said. Our LB corps is still an extremely solid group. I expect that trend to continue as now these kids have had a year under Coach Sullivan's system. I may be wrong but I believe we return 5 of our front seven. Clay Slone will be a force in the secondary. He was tested quite a bit last season as he played opposite of Estep at CB and made some big plays. Player to watch: Jonathan Ray- This kid was a special teams demon last season. I'm not sure if he will be a DB or LB. No matter where he plays...he'll play all out. Just like his Old Man did.
The only thing that really concerns me about next years team is special teams. As has been previously stated. We lost a very good kicker in LJ Allara and our punter/ punt returner in Estep. Those are big voids that must be filled. This team has the potential to be just as good as last years team. I'm not sure of our regular season schedule, I know Pike Central has been added but I don't know who they replaced. The Hazard game is a district game now and I think that is a good thing. Of course the trip to Pond Creek next year will have plenty of eyes on it as well. The road won't be easy and it never is. But next years team has a legit shot at going to Bowling Green if we can stay healthy and keep our heads on straight. I'm sure Coach Mac and his staff will have them ready.

Very good and informative post. I've heard soph. Wyatt Battaille's name mentioned a few times as far as a possible replacement for squeak at the qb position. Another choice maybe?

[Scotty_Bronson]

Mac always has two very consistent things, on each and every team. 1...he gets kids all buying in, they live and breath, for Pikeville Football. 2...game preperation/planning. These are two of the tree things (the others being turnovers) that can allow a "down year" or "less tallented" team to be successful. Whoevers is undercenter and whoever if providing protection for them and Pugh, you can rest assured that no matter what other variables may present themselves, these 2 things will remain constant with Mac at the helm. Always rooting for the Panthers, unless I see them on the opposite sideline of my Rams!!lol good luck to the Panthers this year!