Herald-Leader Top 10: Kentucky Class A high school football preseason poll for 2024

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories ranking Kentucky’s high school football teams class by class, according to voting by the class’s coaches.

The Pikeville Panthers have been ruling Class A’s roost for three straight seasons and have claimed the state championship in four of the last five years.

It’s crystal clear coach Chris McNamee has seized on a winning formula and few doubt Pikeville is the No. 1 team in Kentucky’s high school football’s smallest class again this season. The Panthers garnered 21 of 22 No. 1 votes cast in the Herald-Leader’s preseason survey of head coaches in the division.

The only dissenter was McNamee himself, who tapped No. 3 Campbellsville as the preseason favorite.

The Panthers face a challenging schedule against a number of top-10 teams from Class A, 2A, 3A and 4A, including a Sept. 13 road game against No. 2 Raceland, its state finals opponent each of the last two years.

This season’s Class A top 10 includes many of the usual powers, but it’s notable that Sayre checks in at No. 4, its highest preseason rank since the private Lexington school restarted its football program in 2018. A resurgent Paris program that will play on a striking new orange artificial turf this fall ranks No. 8.

Here are 2024’s preseason top 10 teams in Class A — the smallest football-playing classification established by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association — as voted on by coaches in the division.

1. PIKEVILLE

Head coach: Chris McNamee (16th season).

Last year: 12-2. State champions for the third consecutive year with a 21-0 win over Raceland.

Quick look: Seven starters return on each side of the ball with last year’s state championship game MVP Brenden Anthony, a 5-11 senior running back/linebacker, leading the way. Anthony rushed for 1,418 yards and 19 TDs last season and was second on the team in tackles with 43. Isaac Duty, a 6-3 senior quarterback, has directed the Panthers’ offense since his sophomore year. Senior defensive end Blake Caudill and junior nose guard Andrew Ferguson will help anchor the defense.

Schedule highlights: Aug. 23 at Corbin; Aug. 31 vs. Johnson Central; Sept. 6 at Lexington Christian; Sept. 13 at Raceland; Sept. 20 vs. Belfry; Oct. 18 at Paintsville.

2. RACELAND

Head coach: Michael Salmons (11th season).

Last year: 11-4. District and region champion and state runner-up.

Quick look: Despite graduating 16 seniors who were key to both of Raceland’s run to the state finals, “the goal never changes: Be playing our best when it matters most by improving every single day. Experience will come fast for our guys with our early season schedule,” Salmons said. The Rams return four starters on offense, including two of their top receivers, Parker Ison and Bryson Rowsey, both juniors. Senior defensive back Austin McKee, junior linebacker Logan Lockwood and senior lineman Evan Burroughs lead the defense.

Schedule highlights: Aug. 23 vs. Ashland Blazer; Sept. 13 vs. Pikeville; Sept. 20 at Highlands; Sept. 27 at Newport Central Catholic; Oct. 18 at Paris; Nov. 1 at Lexington Christian.

3. CAMPBELLSVILLE

Head coach: Dale Estes (13th season).

Last year: 11-2. District and region champion. Lost 28-21 to Pikeville in the state semifinals.

Quick look: Junior quarterback Kace Eastridge (also a baseball standout) is among five offensive starters returning for an Eagles team with “tons of team speed,” Estes said. As a sophomore, Eastridge threw for 1,885 yards and 19 TDs and rushed for 798 yards and 14 more scores. Six are back on defense, including senior defensive end Devin Kinser. “We were so close last year to knocking off Pikeville … our goal this year to be the first team ever from Campbellsville to make the title game.”

Schedule highlights: Sept. 6 vs. Metcalfe County; Sept. 20 at Somerset; Oct. 18 vs. Louisville Holy Cross; Oct. 24 at Kentucky Country Day; Nov. 1 at Hart County.

4. SAYRE

Head coach: Chad Pennington (seventh season).

Last year: 12-1. District champion. Lost 42-27 to Raceland in the region finals.

Quick look: The Spartans earned the school’s first district title last season led by the dynamic playmaking ability of senior Brock Coffman on offense (1,193 yards and 24 TDs receiving) and defense (nine interceptions). Senior quarterback Luke Pennington, a Dayton commit, led Class A with 50 TD passes and averaged 197 passing yards per game. Charlie Slabaugh, another senior two-way player, led the team in tackles with 57. Eleven starters return, but Coach Pennington must replace four of last season’s five offensive linemen. “They’re young, but smart. We know we have to develop those guys fast,” Pennington said.

Schedule highlights: Sept. 6 vs. Ludlow; Oct. 18 vs. Frankfort; Oct. 25 at Eminence; Nov. 1 at Bethlehem.

5. NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC

Head coach: Stephen Lickert (seventh season).

Last year: 8-5. District champion. Lost 28-23 to Campbellsville in the region finals.

Quick look: Senior wideout Charlie Ford led the Thoroughbreds in receiving and was among their top tacklers. He’s one of eight starters back on defense and five starters back on an offense that will look to junior quarterback Emmanuel Miles and senior running back Kaleb Cole to step into the other key skill positions. Miles “has had a great summer,” Lickert said. “This will be a really fun team to watch. We just need to stay healthy and we should have every chance to compete in late November and December.”

Schedule highlights: Aug. 23 vs. Lloyd Memorial; Sept. 27 vs. Raceland; Oct. 11 at Newport.

6. KENTUCKY COUNTRY DAY

Head coach: Matthew Jones (13th season).

Last year: 11-3. Region champion. Lost 42-6 to Raceland in the state semifinals.

Quick look: The Bearcats have had an amazing run of success over the last five seasons and look to continue that despite returning only two starters on offense and three on defense. Those starters include leading tackler Bowen Johnson, a 6-1 junior linebacker. Caden Long, another junior, takes over at quarterback. “He is a talented runner and passer that brings toughness and strong leadership to the team,” Jones said. Parker Rudolph, a 5-6, 170-pound running back, is expected to be the featured rusher.

Schedule highlights: Sept. 6 vs. DeSales; Oct. 11 at Louisville Holy Cross; Oct. 18 at Bethlehem; Oct. 25 vs. Campbellsville.

7. MIDDLESBORO

Head coach: Larry French (sixth season).

Last year: 9-3. District champion. Lost 34-14 to Pikeville in region finals.

Quick look: Coach French likes his team’s speed on defense and depth at the running back position, where Vincent Smith, a 6-0, 180-pound senior, figures to be the featured back and should improve on his 597 yards and seven TDs rushing from last season. The Yellowjackets have just two starters back on offense and defense, though, so a learning curve is ahead. Smith and junior linebacker Malachi Coots were two of Middlesboro’s leading tacklers.

Schedule highlights: Sept. 13 at Shelby Valley; Sept. 20 vs. Covington Holy Cross; Oct. 4 vs. Harlan; Oct. 11 vs. Pineville; Oct. 18 at Williamsburg.

8. PARIS

Head coach: Tyquan Rice (fourth season).

Last year: 10-2.

Quick look: The speedy Greyhounds should benefit from the new orange turf field that’s expected to be ready for the home opener. Rice has eight starters returning on each side of the ball. Elijah Webb, a 6-2 185-pound senior, proved to be a dual threat at wideout with more than 1,000 total yards and 19 TDs last season. “Webb has always been electric for us. He makes big plays when it matters most,” Rice said. Leading tackler Preston Cowan, a 6-3, 260-pound defensive end, returns as well.

Schedule highlights: Aug. 23 vs. Frankfort; Aug. 30 at Paintsville; Sept. 20 at Rockcastle County; Oct. 18 vs. Raceland.

9. LOUISVILLE HOLY CROSS

Head coach: Eric Dick (fifth season).

Last year: 6-6.

Quick look: The Cougars have just two starters back on offense, but one of them is Jamari Pennebaker, a 5-10, 175-pound junior who rushed for 1,279 yards and 13 TDs last season. Leading tackler Aiden DeWees, a 6-0, 205-pound senior linebacker, is among four defensive starters returning. Dick said “the makings of a great team are in there. Time will tell how quickly we will gel as a team to reach our goals.”

Schedule highlights: Sept. 13 vs. Jeffersontown; Oct. 11 vs. Kentucky Country Day; Oct. 18 at Campbellsville; Oct. 25 vs. Bethlehem.

10. PAINTSVILLE

Head coach: Trevor Hoskins (fourth season).

Last year: 6-6.

Quick look: The Tigers remain a young team with several sophomores starting in key positions, including quarterback AJ Johnson, who scored 14 TDs last season, and top target Anderson Lauffer, a 6-1 wideout/defensive back who caught eight TDs and led the defense with four interceptions. Senior tight end/linebacker Luke Howard had a team second-best 49 tackles and two sacks and is one of five defensive starters back in the fold.

Schedule highlights: Aug. 30 vs. Paris; Oct. 11 at Hazard; Oct. 18 vs. Pikeville.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES

In order of votes received: Williamsburg, Bethlehem, Ludlow, Hazard, Ballard Memorial, Russellville, Caverna, Covington Holy Cross, Newport, Dayton, Eminence, Bishop Brossart, Frankfort.

Survey method: These rankings reflect the participation of coaches from 22 of the 32 Class A teams eligible for postseason play (68.8%). Every coach in the division was given the opportunity to participate in the @HLpreps annual survey via email. Multiple attempts were made to contact each coach.