Raceland Closes Season as State Runner-up 

James Collier 

Ashland Beacon 

LEXINGTON Raceland was as close as it has ever been to a Class A State Football Championship Friday when the Rams met the two-time defending champs, Pikeville. 

Trailing 7-0 late in the third quarter, a Rams turnover led to the Panthers second rushing touchdown and a 14-0 lead. The score, however, turned out to be irrelevant as one score would have been all the Panthers needed as Pikeville won its eighth title with a 21-0 shutout of Raceland on a rainy afternoon at Kroger Field. 

Raceland went three-and-out on its opening possession and Pikeville wasted little time cashing in for points with a two-play drive capped off by a Brenden Anthony 58-yard scamper and a 7-0 lead with 9:26 to play in the first. Raceland responded with a drive that took the Rams inside the Panthers 20, but an interception on a double-pass by the Rams negated the opportunity to even the contest. 

Raceland moved the ball again to inside the Panther 20 to open the second quarter, but an incomplete pass on fourth down gave the ball back to Pikeville at their own 18 with 10:37 to play in the half. 

Raceland earned its best starting position of the contest after Elias Jackson blocked the Pikeville punt as the Rams took over at the Pikeville 40 with 5:39 to play still only down, 7-0. Raceland converted a first down to the Pikeville 29 but could do no more on the drive as Logan Lundy would be sacked for a loss of 10. On the ensuing Pikeville drive, Brenden Anthony cashed in with another big run, this one rumbling 61 yards to paydirt for a 14-0 Panthers lead with 2:08 to play in the third. The Rams could not find an answer as Lundy was picked off on a deflected ball that handed the ball back to the Panthers. 

The Rams once again marched the ball inside the Panthers 20, but Lundy would fumble on third-and-one as a 12-play, 77-yard drive ending with another empty trip to the red zone. Pikeville orchestrated its best drive of the game to close the contest with a 9-play, 82-yard drive that consumed 4:03 off the clock with a 26-yard halfback pass pushing the lead to 21-0. 

Lundy finished with 101 yards in his final game with the Rams. Noah Wallace tallied 77 all-purpose yards while adding two tackles for loss. Jaxon Heighton led the Rams with seven tackles. 

Raceland closes its season with an 11-4 mark with 16 departing seniors.

Raceland in State Championship

Rams Face Pikeville for Title

James Collier

Ashland Beacon

Numbers typically do not lie. 

Friday night, however, Raceland showed why the rankings were a far cry from accurate. 

Raceland made another long bus trip to visit top ranked Kentucky County Day in the Class 1A Semifinals and by the time the clock struck zeros, the Rams had sent a message in a 42-6, running clock beatdown of the Bearcats. 

“I don’t really get into the RPI,” Raceland coach Mike Salmons said. “The game is played between the white lines at 7:30. That’s how we are built and who we are. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it don’t. That’s what we believe in. We don’t care to travel. That has been well documented this season. That doesn’t phase us.”

Raceland (11-3) scored more points on KCD than anyone had all season, while limiting them to their fewest points scored since falling to Paintsville 38-7 in the State Championship in 2020. 

Raceland dented the scoreboard on the opening drive with a six-play, 67-yard drive highlighted by a 36-yard touchdown strike from Logan Lundy to Brody Austin on a deep post route into double coverage on fourth-and-seven. 

“Brody is one of our fastest players and we have a few things in the arsenal that we have used for him,” Salmons said. “It was unfortunate that he got injured (earlier this season), so we have been trying to ease him back in. Credit to him, he ran a good post route and Logan threw it out in front of him and he went and got it. That really got the momentum on our side to start things off.”

It was Lundy’s first of three touchdown throws on the night as the Rams flipped the script from one week ago to an explosive passing attack as they Bearcats exerted their resources to stop the Raceland rushing attack.  

“When a team is good enough to run and pass, that’s why they are going to be playing in the State Championship team next week,” KCD coach Matthew Jones said. “They are talented in all phases and their quarterback did great. We had to take something away. That’s the way it is when you play somebody good.”

Lundy threw for a season-high 276 yards—his most since throwing for the same number last year against Nicholas County—while leading the Rams to a 12 of 15 third down conversion rate in the win. Lundy completed passes to five different receivers, including three different for scores, while using quick strikes to the outside edge to beat the loaded box from KCD. 

“When they were so committed to take away the run, we felt like we had some advantages on the edge,” Salmons said. “We banged our head up in there early and we were able to make some throws and catches. (We) hadn’t done that in a couple weeks, so that was nice to see. Again, body blows become effective and we started running the ball later and got the edge some. I felt like we were balanced tonight. 

The Rams second touchdown of the night proved that statement. Lundy hit Parker Fannin on a quick out to the Rams sideline which ended in a 59-yard catch and run by the senior for a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. The score, however, was set up by Noah Wallace providing a block that sealed off the edge to allow Fannin to cutback to find the opening that sprung him for six. 

“One thing that is unheralded about this football team is how everybody really blocks for everybody else,” Salmons said. “It's no doubt that Noah had been our feature runner for the past few weeks, but he was out here blocking for one of his teammates and his teammates have obviously blocked plenty for him, too. Guys really pull for each other and we have no selfishness and it shows in the way we play. Guys run down field and play until the whistle blows and it was indicative on that play.”

Fannin tallied 100 yards on four catches while claiming double-digit scores for the first time in his career. 

After providing the blocking for a score, Wallace worked off his blockers for a 52-yard scamper to paydirt and a 21-0 Raceland lead at the half. Wallace led the Rams with 130 yards on 15 totes and a pair of touchdowns while surpassing 3,000 career rushing yards. 

With only one first down at the half and an offense stuck in neutral, Jones urged his team to keep battling with a reminder of last year’s second round contest against Newport Central Catholic. 

“Last year in our playoff game, we were down 21-0 and we were able to come back and the game finished 28-21,” Jones said of the loss. “We tried to remind our guys about that in hopes of bringing them back into the game. But Raceland is just so used to winning and if they get out ahead of you, they are tough.”

But the Rams would have none of it as Chase Correll forced the second KCD (11-3) fumble of the night that thwarted away a chance for the Bearcats to climb back into the contest. 

“You can’t turn the ball over against good teams,” Jones said. “When you play a team as talented as Raceland, you have to possess the ball. When we fumbled early, that hurt.”

Raceland countered with Wallace’s second score of the night that all but put the game out of reach before starting the running clock with just over nine minutes to play in the game. 

Raceland turns its attention to its nemesis and two-time defending champ Pikeville this Friday at high noon at Kroger Field in Lexington in a rematch of last year’s title game won by the Panthers. Pikeville defeated Campbellsville, 28-21 to advance and try to defend their title. 

“First class program and obviously they are the class of single A football,” Salmons said of Pikeville. “Coach McNamee and his guys are first class in all they do. They’ve got a good program and a really good team. Obviously, we are excited and grateful for the opportunity and can’t wait to get there.” 

Raceland Wins Region

Rams in State Final Four

James Collier

For the Ashland Beacon

Few words come to mind when describing Raceland’s performance Friday night when the Rams traveled to Sayre in the Class A Quarterfinals. 

Dominant and overpowering would be the two that would best fit the Rams outing in their 42-27 win that clinched their third consecutive regional championship on a rainy night south of Lexington. Raceland imposed its will at the line of scrimmage to the tune of 437 rushing yards on 63 totes while converting on all 12 of the Rams’ third-down conversion attempts in the win. 

“Credit to our kids tonight,” Raceland coach Mike Salmons said. “We are two hours from home, but you just have to pull that chin strap a little bit tighter and go right at them and I think we did that tonight.”

Raceland leaned on its rushing attack in all but six of their 69 total snaps from scrimmage in a manner that a message could have been posted on a billboard down I-75 stating stop us if you can, but the Spartans simply could not find that stop when they needed it most. Noah Wallace turned in his best rushing performance of his career with a 209-yard outburst on 25 carries that soared the senior over 1,000 yards on the season. Quarterback Logan Lundy countered with 128 yards on 26 totes while visiting the endzone four times in the thwarting of the unbeaten Spartans on their home turf. 

“We came in with the mindset that we wanted to run the ball and that’s what we did,” Wallace said. “When you can just sit and run the ball on a team over and over and over, and they can’t stop it, it builds so much team confidence for us. When you can’t stop the run, you can’t win playoff games.”

Coach Salmons nearly echoed the words of his senior tailback. 

“You have to be able to run the ball in November to survive,” Salmons said. “There are two things that don’t survive in the month of November; dogs trying to cross the road in rush hour traffic and teams that can’t stop or run the ball. I felt like in large we ran the ball. Over 400 yards is phenomenal and (Sayre) only ran for three.”

Raceland found itself playing catchup early in the contest after Sayre took the opening drive 82 yards in eight plays with Luke Pennington tossing his first of three touchdowns and a 7-0 lead. 

“We talked about getting a fast start and trying to put the pressure on them early,” Sayre coach Chad Pennington said. “We didn’t want them to be too comfortable. Our guys did that and they executed really well on the first two drives. The start of the game was exactly what we wanted.”

But the Rams dominant offensive showing began on their first play from scrimmage behind a 15-play, 89-yard drive that ate up 7:09 of the quarter capped off by a Lundy 6-yard plunge that evened the affair at 7-7. 

“We took nearly the whole first quarter, especially after they went 82 yards on the first drive,” Salmons said. “I was really proud of our defense. I see they had just around 200 yards of offense. At times, it seemed like a little more than that. They had two possessions that they got two touchdowns and the rest of the game they had one offensive touchdown. I thought our defense adjusted well. When you can control the A-gap, you typically win the football game.”

Sayre regained the lead only five seconds into the second stanza, but the Rams countered with an equalizer with 4:51 to go in the half on Lundy’s second score of the night. As the Rams lined up to kick the PAT, an opportunity on the field presented itself and the Rams rolled the dice for a two-point conversion and a 15-14 lead that they never gave up the remainder of the night. 

After the Rams forced the first failed third-down by either team late in the second quarter, a Sayre punt attempt was muffed and the Rams needed to cover only 43 yards with just over two minutes remaining to find paydirt. Lundy’s third score of the night did just that while leaving only 38 ticks on the first half clock while extending the Rams lead to 22-14 at the break. 

Raceland wasted little time getting back after Sayre’s defense as the Rams shortest drive of the night of 1:29 resulted in a Jaxon Heighton 72-yard scamper to the house and a 29-14 edge. With all the momentum leaning toward the Rams, they rolled the dice with an onside kick and made a successful recovery which led to a 35-14 lead on a Lundy to Brayden Webb touchdown pass with 5:29 to play. 

“We always talk about the first four minutes of the third quarter,” Salmons said. “It was total domination. (Sayre) muffs a punt, we score and get a one score separation before the half. We get the ball to start the second half and bam, we go down and score and then get the onside kickoff and go score again. So, that run by Jaxon gave us a little bit of a comfort level there. Our guys came out of the locker room really ready to go and they bought into the game plan from the word go. The game plan was we were going to play as physical as we could play tonight and the game would be won on the line of scrimmage.”

Heighton finished with 98 yards on 11 carries with the 72-yard scamper being his career long. The duo of Wallace and Lundy surpassing the century mark was the first for the Rams since Isaac Browning and Wallace did so last year in the state semifinals against Louisville Holy Cross. Lundy’s mark was the first 100+ rushing performance since tallying 137 at Paintsville in 2021. Wallace becomes the first back to surpass the 200+ yard mark since Bailey Walker ran for 208 in a 2016 playoff win over Nicholas County. 

“Super proud of those guys,” Salmons said of Wallace and Lundy. “They are seniors who have really put their bodies in position to do this. You can’t just show up and make something like this happen. Between the two of them, they carried the ball over 50 times. That’s astronomical. When you can line up and snap the ball to your quarterback or snap it to No. 2 (Wallace) and get nearly seven yards a carry, that’s pretty satisfactory.”

Lundy said the recipe for the game was simple. Run, rinse and repeat. 

“Throughout the week, Coach Salmons said the gameplan was to make that A-gap ours,” Lundy said.

The Rams signal caller was also quick to praise the big bodies at the point of contact that allowed the Rams to feast in the running game. 

“Coming from the Ashland game, the line was a little rough, but we were all a little rough, honestly,” Lundy said. “I think playing those powerhouse schools—and I’m super proud of them for hanging in there—but the powerful schedule has made the game slow way down for them. I can’t say enough about the line tonight and I’m super proud of them.”

But the offensive line was not the only line making noise throughout the game as the defense stepped up big in the second half. After the Spartans converted all four third down conversions to start the game, they would finish with only one over their next five while turning the ball over on downs on their final two possessions highlighted by a combo sack by Linden Sammons and Chase Correll that all but sealed the Rams ticket to the semis while handing the Spartans their first and only blemish on their resume this season.

The Rams added a new chapter to their record books while making another step toward a return trip to Kroger Field on Dec. 1 and a berth in the State Championship.

“This is the first time we have won a regional championship three times in a row and seven in the past 11 years,” Salmons said. “Sometimes you just pinch yourself and be grateful and humble to be in this position. It's about our players. We pour our heart and soul into them and in return they give it back. We saw that tonight. We are excited to eat a little breakfast on Thursday morning, practice a little football, eat a little turkey and get on the road and head to Louisville.”

Raceland will visit Kentucky County Day on Black Friday in Louisville. The Bearcats earned the top overall seed in the playoffs with the highest RPI over the regular season. It will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.  

The Boys of Fall 

James Collier

Ashland  Beacon

FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS WEEK 1

ASHLAND 56 HARRISON COUNTY 14

Ashland started on its heels to start the postseason with a visit from Harrison County, but when the Tomcats landed on their feet, there was no slowing them down. 

After falling behind 6-0 on the first play from scrimmage by the Thorobreds, the Tomcats rolled off 56 straight for a 56-14, running clock win at Putnam Stadium. 

A pair of Cam Davis rushing touchdowns in the first quarter gave Ashland an answer and the lead for good in the first-round route. Davis endzone visits covered 19 and six yards. He also added a 48-yard receiving touchdown in the second. 

Ashland blew the game open in the second stanza with four endzone visits by four different players. Braxton Jennings hauled in a 24-yard pass from LaBryant Strader with 8:32 to play in the half. Tay Thomas stomped 17 yards to paydirt three minutes later, Davis tacked on with his third score and Brandon Houston closed the frame with a 24-yard pass from Strader for a 42-6 halftime lead.

Nate Freize hauled in a 1-yard pass to open the third quarter and Asher Adkins closed out the Ashland scoring with a 23-yard run with 12 seconds to play in the frame. 

Strader went 11 of 13 for 195 yards and four touchdowns. Thomas paced the Tomcats with 99 rushing yards. Davis tallied 57 receiving yards and added 25 on the ground. 

Ashland travels to Covington Catholic Friday night. 

BOYD COUNTY 14 MASON COUNTY 7

After a rout of Mason County in the regular season, Boyd County found itself in a grind it out type of game Friday night in Maysville to open the postseason. 

But Rhett Holbrook did what he has done all season long, come through in the biggest moments for the Lions as they held on for a 14-7 first round win over the Royals. 

Holbrook threw for 146 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another that proved to be the equalizer in the win. Garrett Crum hauled in the touchdown strike. Boyd County’s defense came up big as well with a pair of fumble recoveries and three sacks. 

Boyd County travels to Johnson Central Friday night looking for their first win over the Golden Eagles since a 30-0 win in 2002. 

RUSSELL 42 BOURBON COUNTY 8

Russell wanted to leave no doubt Friday night to open their postseason inside the friendly confines of Henry R. Evans Stadium. 

Ethan Pack and Andre Richardson-Crews marched up and down the field to lead Russell to a 42-8, running clock win over Bourbon County. 

Pack threw for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns and ran for 62 yards and two more scores. Richardson-Crews added two endzone visits while rushing for 60 yards in the win. Richardson-Crews dented the scoreboard for the first score of the night with 8:34 to play in the first with a 1-yard plunge and a 7-0 lead. Pack’s first score followed four minutes later and a 14-0 Russell lead after one. 

Pack and Richardson-Crews scores bookended a Parker Mitchell 23-yard touchdown reception from Pack and a 35-0 lead at the half. Mitchell caught his second TD of the game to open the third with a 27-yard grab. Mitchell finished with 56 yards on three balls. 

Russell travels to Lexington Catholic Friday night. 

SAYRE 48 FAIRVIEW 8

Fairview fell to Sayre, 48-8 Friday night in the opening round of the postseason. No stats were reported. 

Fairview closes its season at 2-9.