[BlackcatAlum]

What’s the chances Johnson actually gets eligible?

All depends on if he gets a new address

I would’ve said the same thing, but A TON of kids have been granted eligibility over the last few years without ever changing addresses and even if they did put down a different address, the school districts didn’t follow up.

I fully expect Johnson to be eligible.

[Khalisimo]

i really do not want to suffer through another offseason of adults who pretend kids will ever get ruled ineligible
as fake as the easter bunny

[hawg laig]

What??? Who the hell has been bringing me a basket full of beef jerky and beer for the last 60 years. Of course the Easter Bunny is real, but the transfer should go without a hitch unless Paintsville complains.

[2000PHS]

What??? Who the hell has been bringing me a basket full of beef jerky and beer for the last 60 years. Of course the Easter Bunny is real, but the transfer should go without a hitch unless Paintsville complains.

Paintsville is potentially losing an excellent player, but I would say there’s an equal chance that teams in Prestonsburg’s district complain haha

[ROTC]

Doesn’t matter what other districts say! If Paintsville checks the right box on the form; it’s done.

And if they don’t; they really should have the state title stripped- juss sayin

[2000PHS]

Doesn’t matter what other districts say!  If Paintsville checks the right box on the form; it’s done.

And if they don’t; they really should have the state title stripped- juss sayin

You have made it abundantly clear you do not like the fact Paintsville won a state title 4 years ago. But how in the world do these situations match?

[ROTC]

Ronnie Milsap and Stevie Wonder could see that! How did you even have the nerve to ask such a question….. They match like this….when half or more of two classes leave our school and go to yours and help you win a state title; don’t check the wrong box when ONE KID leaves you to come to us.

[2000PHS]

Ronnie Milsap and Stevie Wonder could see that!  How did you even have the nerve to ask such a question….. They match like this….when half or more of two classes leave our school and go to yours and help you win a state title; don’t check the wrong box when ONE KID leaves you to come to us.

Care to share their stats while playing for Prestonsburg High?

[RAMDAD50]

I’m hearing Salmons to Pikeville to be the OC ?

[Fanman]

I’m hearing Salmons to Pikeville to be the OC ?

Surely you're joking

[Patriot1]

I’m hearing Salmons to Pikeville to be the OC ?

Surely you're joking

I think RANDAD is stirring the pot knowing I would never do anything like that hahaha

[Red and Black]

Ronnie Milsap and Stevie Wonder could see that!  How did you even have the nerve to ask such a question….. They match like this….when half or more of two classes leave our school and go to yours and help you win a state title; don’t check the wrong box when ONE KID leaves you to come to us.

Care to share their stats while playing for Prestonsburg High?

Are we really doing this again?

[2000PHS]

Ronnie Milsap and Stevie Wonder could see that!  How did you even have the nerve to ask such a question….. They match like this….when half or more of two classes leave our school and go to yours and help you win a state title; don’t check the wrong box when ONE KID leaves you to come to us.

Care to share their stats while playing for Prestonsburg High?

Are we really doing this again?

There’s 1 person that loves to bring this up every single time…


for the record, I hope Paintsville checks whatever box needs to be checked to allow anyone to transfer, if something like that is required. I doubt any box had to be checked to allow 8th graders to choose their high school.

[Redneck]

Ronnie Milsap and Stevie Wonder could see that!  How did you even have the nerve to ask such a question….. They match like this….when half or more of two classes leave our school and go to yours and help you win a state title; don’t check the wrong box when ONE KID leaves you to come to us.

I don’t recall two classes of kids transferring to Paintsville. They were all Seniors on the 2020 team. And as far as Alex Johnson goes, Paintsville ain’t gonna fight it. It is what it is. Alex is a great kid and a great athlete. I wish him the best and hope that he excels at Pburg. I will be cheering for him every step of the way.

[Red and Black]

Ronnie Milsap and Stevie Wonder could see that!  How did you even have the nerve to ask such a question….. They match like this….when half or more of two classes leave our school and go to yours and help you win a state title; don’t check the wrong box when ONE KID leaves you to come to us.

Care to share their stats while playing for Prestonsburg High?

Are we really doing this again?

There’s 1 person that loves to bring this up every single time…


for the record, I hope Paintsville checks whatever box needs to be checked to allow anyone to transfer, if something like that is required. I doubt any box had to be checked to allow 8th graders to choose their high school.

Those Pburg kids and their parents made a difficult decision that they strongly believed was in their best interests, in more ways than just football. I have talked to some of those parents about it and as a parent myself I understand and respect their decision and I honestly believe most people in Pburg feel the same way about it at this point. It was a tough situation, for sure, but I'm still proud of the success those boys had and truly am glad they won it, even if I'm still disappointed that I believe they had the wrong color "P" on their helmets when doing so. The amount of Blue "P" stickers on the back glass of trucks in driveways all over downtown Pburg during that time was tough for an old blackcat to see every day, no doubt, but they switched school systems because they believed their success and growth not just as football players, but as adults, was directly tied to that decision, and I have nothing but respect for that. All transfer situations should have that as the primary goal in mind. I believe Alex Johnson shares that goal, just as those kids that left the Pburg school system after 8th grade did. I respect Paintsville football and I hope they reciprocate that respect back to us.

Pburg vs Paintsville is one of the oldest rivalry games in the mountains and that game means a lot to a lot of people on US23 and it's an absolute shame that it was cancelled the first time and equally a shame that it was cancelled this time. People involved in both decisions should be ashamed. Adults should act like adults and not throw childish temper tantrums when something doesn't go their way, but maybe that's too much to ask of school administrators. Pburg shouldn't have cancelled everything the way we did after the mass transfer and Paintsville shouldn't have cancelled after this transfer either. It's a disservice to the kids and to the people of these communities who look forward to and love seeing this game every time it's played. This game has been played 70(!!!) times since the 1st one in 1925 and next year would've been the 100th year anniversary of that game at Paintsville. How many other teams not just in Appalachia but in the state of KY can say they have played another school 70 times in 100 years? It's unbelievable to have a rivalry that old! Then to slap that history in the face over childish pride about a transfer is abhorrent behavior from adults, IMO. This game went 13 years without being played between 2010 and 2023 because of pride, and the communities suffered for it. Then, they finally brought it back the last two years to ramp up for the 100th anniversary and both of those games were absolutely electric. Electric crowds, excited communities, full bleachers and pumped up sidelines both times- and now it's gone again for who knows how long because of hurt feelings, once again.

All cancelling this game does is teach our kids that we should "take our ball and go home" whenever we don't get our way, instead of standing up in the face of adversity and overcoming it. That's one of the most important lessons to teach a teenage boy about life in general, I think, and I'm proud of the way Coach Hager handled that exact situation with Betsy Layne remaining on the schedule last season after having 3 starters to transfer from Pburg to them. He didn't whine and cry and cancel the game, even though he could have, and most people wouldn't have blamed him if he did. Instead, he told the boys to work harder and win it, to rise up in the face of the challenge, and they did it. God bless him for it! I think that's the proper way to handle things like this, but I guess that's antithetical to the culture we live in today. Our culture wants us to whine and cry and blame others and run away when things get hard. I'm not here for it! We should teach these kids to be men who are capable of doing hard things as adults, not to remain pouty kids always looking for imagined insults the rest of their lives and then run away when their feelings get hurt. That's the worst possible thing to teach them! My kids are growing up in these communities and I want to know that there are good men, strong men, courageous men being raised up through football programs here instead of the alternative. We should do better, we should set better examples for them. Not trying to single out Paintsville, because there is shame enough to go around for both sides now, but I think they should reconsider cancelling this game and act like adults for the sake of these communities and the history of this rivalry. It's important to us.  

Rant over. Hail Blackcats!

[ReginaPanther08]

I heard star cornerback Jacob Brown is transferring back to his homeland in Shelby Valley. Would be a big get for the wildcats.

[Redneck]

Ronnie Milsap and Stevie Wonder could see that!  How did you even have the nerve to ask such a question….. They match like this….when half or more of two classes leave our school and go to yours and help you win a state title; don’t check the wrong box when ONE KID leaves you to come to us.

Care to share their stats while playing for Prestonsburg High?

Are we really doing this again?

There’s 1 person that loves to bring this up every single time…


for the record, I hope Paintsville checks whatever box needs to be checked to allow anyone to transfer, if something like that is required. I doubt any box had to be checked to allow 8th graders to choose their high school.

Those Pburg kids and their parents made a difficult decision that they strongly believed was in their best interests, in more ways than just football. I have talked to some of those parents about it and as a parent myself I understand and respect their decision and I honestly believe most people in Pburg feel the same way about it at this point. It was a tough situation, for sure, but I'm still proud of the success those boys had and truly am glad they won it, even if I'm still disappointed that I believe they had the wrong color "P" on their helmets when doing so. The amount of Blue "P" stickers on the back glass of trucks in driveways all over downtown Pburg during that time was tough for an old blackcat to see every day, no doubt, but they switched school systems because they believed their success and growth not just as football players, but as adults, was directly tied to that decision, and I have nothing but respect for that. All transfer situations should have that as the primary goal in mind. I believe Alex Johnson shares that goal, just as those kids that left the Pburg school system after 8th grade did. I respect Paintsville football and I hope they reciprocate that respect back to us.

Pburg vs Paintsville is one of the oldest rivalry games in the mountains and that game means a lot to a lot of people on US23 and it's an absolute shame that it was cancelled the first time and equally a shame that it was cancelled this time. People involved in both decisions should be ashamed. Adults should act like adults and not throw childish temper tantrums when something doesn't go their way, but maybe that's too much to ask of school administrators. Pburg shouldn't have cancelled everything the way we did after the mass transfer and Paintsville shouldn't have cancelled after this transfer either. It's a disservice to the kids and to the people of these communities who look forward to and love seeing this game every time it's played. This game has been played 70(!!!) times since the 1st one in 1925 and next year would've been the 100th year anniversary of that game at Paintsville. How many other teams not just in Appalachia but in the state of KY can say they have played another school 70 times in 100 years? It's unbelievable to have a rivalry that old! Then to slap that history in the face over childish pride about a transfer is abhorrent behavior from adults, IMO. This game went 13 years without being played between 2010 and 2023 because of pride, and the communities suffered for it. Then, they finally brought it back the last two years to ramp up for the 100th anniversary and both of those games were absolutely electric. Electric crowds, excited communities, full bleachers and pumped up sidelines both times- and now it's gone again for who knows how long because of hurt feelings, once again.

All cancelling this game does is teach our kids that we should "take our ball and go home" whenever we don't get our way, instead of standing up in the face of adversity and overcoming it. That's one of the most important lessons to teach a teenage boy about life in general, I think, and I'm proud of the way Coach Hager handled that exact situation with Betsy Layne remaining on the schedule last season after having 3 starters to transfer from Pburg to them. He didn't whine and cry and cancel the game, even though he could have, and most people wouldn't have blamed him if he did. Instead, he told the boys to work harder and win it, to rise up in the face of the challenge, and they did it. God bless him for it! I think that's the proper way to handle things like this, but I guess that's antithetical to the culture we live in today. Our culture wants us to whine and cry and blame others and run away when things get hard. I'm not here for it! We should teach these kids to be men who are capable of doing hard things as adults, not to remain pouty kids always looking for imagined insults the rest of their lives and then run away when their feelings get hurt. That's the worst possible thing to teach them! My kids are growing up in these communities and I want to know that there are good men, strong men, courageous men being raised up through football programs here instead of the alternative. We should do better, we should set better examples for them. Not trying to single out Paintsville, because there is shame enough to go around for both sides now, but I think they should reconsider cancelling this game and act like adults for the sake of these communities and the history of this rivalry. It's important to us.  

Rant over. Hail Blackcats!

I wish this game wasn’t getting cancelled as well. Hell I wish we’d bring back the Apple Bowl against Johnson Central.

[RbDraw97]

I heard star cornerback Jacob Brown is transferring back to his homeland in Shelby Valley. Would be a big get for the wildcats.

Back to his stomping grounds, he was a star player back at valley heard his time at pikeville has fell off since middle school

[ArmChairHC]

There’s a really good group of “home grown” kids in Pikevilles MS program. Names like Wright, Caudill, Johnson, etc coming through the ranks. I expect some of the kids in the in coming Soph and Jr classes to make a bit of an exit in terms of transferring back to where they originally came from bc of it. Brown leaving isn’t really a surprise to me.

[haroldjthompson79]

Heard that Pikeville star 44 and 22 are transferring back to their homeland of pike central. Would be a huge loss for the panthers

[bac2369]

any confirmation on any of these accusations.

[Belichick]

Don’t get your hopes up

[Khalisimo]

Heard that Pikeville star 44 and 22 are transferring back to their homeland of pike central. Would be a huge loss for the panthers

better chance of jesus coming back and starting an only fans

[Big Five-0-]

I heard star cornerback Jacob Brown is transferring back to his homeland in Shelby Valley. Would be a big get for the wildcats.

Hearing just the opposite. Big plans for him in the Pikeville backfield this season.

[TheTruth!]

I heard star cornerback Jacob Brown is transferring back to his homeland in Shelby Valley. Would be a big get for the wildcats.

Hearing just the opposite. Big plans for him in the Pikeville backfield this season.

I’d say justice and brown will have to step up big next year with the way Pikeville likes to run the ball.

[Blackcat 4 Life]

There’s a really good group of “home grown” kids in Pikevilles MS program. Names like Wright, Caudill, Johnson, etc coming through the ranks. I expect some of the kids in the in coming Soph and Jr classes to make a bit of an exit in terms of transferring back to where they originally came from bc of it. Brown leaving isn’t really a surprise to me.

I agree. There are just so many spots/positions that kids can play. When you have a talented group, someone is going to be left out. I look for the transfer portal to slow down for this obvious reason and you will see kids starting to transfer out.

[Big Five-0-]

I heard star cornerback Jacob Brown is transferring back to his homeland in Shelby Valley. Would be a big get for the wildcats.

Hearing just the opposite. Big plans for him in the Pikeville backfield this season.

I’d say justice and brown will have to step up big next year with the way Pikeville likes to run the ball.

Yep. Both waited their  turn last season behind Brenden Anthony and Blake Caudill. They know this season is their turn and time for both to make some noise. Anything can change without a doubt, this day in time with the transfer portal being as active as it is but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a transfer with justice and brown's name on it. Imo, off season hype.

[zangazang]

I heard star cornerback Jacob Brown is transferring back to his homeland in Shelby Valley. Would be a big get for the wildcats.

This is a ridiculous take. Why would brown transfer after getting some good minutes on a competing pikeville team just to go to a valley team that is going to continue to struggle?

[Blue_Bird96]

I heard star cornerback Jacob Brown is transferring back to his homeland in Shelby Valley. Would be a big get for the wildcats.

This is a ridiculous take. Why would brown transfer after getting some good minutes on a competing pikeville team just to go to a valley team that is going to continue to struggle?

Was Pikevilles season much stronger than Valleys this year?

[Patriot1]

I heard star cornerback Jacob Brown is transferring back to his homeland in Shelby Valley. Would be a big get for the wildcats.

This is a ridiculous take. Why would brown transfer after getting some good minutes on a competing pikeville team just to go to a valley team that is going to continue to struggle?

Was Pikevilles season much stronger than Valleys this year?

The schedule was stronger but the outcome was debatable but in saying that Pikeville got to see more of Kentucky HAHAHA don’t get mad Jet