Paintsville State Champions

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And God said ‘Let Him Play’: The Jake Hyden Story

By Joshua Blankenship Sports Writer To begin the 2020 football season there was a lot of hype surrounding Jake Hyden and the Paintsville Tigers football team.

Especially after making it to the state championship the year before and retaining most of their star power.

Hyden and the Tigers began their journey on September 11 against East Jessamine and came away with the 3924 win.

Hyden finished the game with 192 passing yards and 107 rushing yards along with four total TD’s in the game.

After getting their first win on the road the Tigers along with Hyden had their first run in with a cancelation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, it provided the Tigers and Hyden ample time to plan and prep for Hazard in what now would be their home opener on September 25.

Hyden again posted outrageous numbers passing for 191 yards and three TDs and rushing for 107 yards and two more TDs. The Tigers beat Hazard 54-0 and had moved to 2-0 on the season.

Only two games into the season, it was apparent that Hyden and the Tigers hadn’t missed a single step since last season and the hype was real.

The senior quarterback and his team now had to prep for Perry Central.

The Tigers and Hyden cruised to a 43-0 road win over the Commodores and had advanced to 3-0 on the season.

Then came Paintsville’s fourth game against the Fairview Eagles in early October.

The Tigers dominance continued as they moved past the Eagles in convincing fashion, getting the 57-6 victory at home.

In the game, Hyden completed all seven of his passes for 117 yards and three TDs. Now at 4-0 on the season, the Tigers were off to a hot start and were only looking to get better.

“Honestly I think there were a few factors that played into our good start at the beginning of the season,” said Hyden. “We were in the best shape we have ever been in, I can say that every single person on the team worked harder than they ever had before this off season and also this team just came out hungry from last year. We had one goal in mind from the start.”

That goal was making it back to the state title game and this time walking off Kroger Field with the trophy in hand.

“At this point in the season, I was feeling great. I felt as if I was the healthiest, strongest and fastest I had ever been,” Hyden stated. “I think everyone on the team felt this way. All of the work that my team and I put in during the off season was showing drastically and we could tell that it was.”

How Hyden describes it is how it seemed on the field.

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HYDEN Continued From Page 6 The numbers and wins seemed to pile up quick.

However, for Hyden, the season was about to face adversity that no one could have predicted in the next matchup against the West Carter Comets.

Hyden and the Tigers ran past the Comets 34-12.

Hyden threw for 82 yards and a TD along with 113 of the teams 276 rushing yards and two TDs. Little did Hyden know he had gotten hurt in the game and had played through the injury.

“I hurt my knee against West Carter, but I thought I just tweaked it and tried to play through it,” Hyden said. “After the game that night, I had a ball (knot) on my knee probably the size of a softball. I took it very easy in practice that next week and knew that we had Raceland that coming Friday.

My knee just didn’t feel right. The coaches told me not to run the ball at all so that took a huge part of my game away from me. Not that I could have ran it well at that point anyway. Then we played Letcher Central and that game my knee felt horrible. It was killing me the entire game. It even buckled on me at one point. After that game, my parents didn’t give me a choice, but to get an MRI and that’s when I found out I had torn my MCL.” In the two games, Hyden had played injured against Raceland and Letcher Central, the Tigers lost.

But even playing through a torn MCL couldn’t stop Hyden from producing even though his team suffered losses in both games.

Against Raceland, Hyden still threw for 136 yards and against Letcher Central, he threw for 229 yards.

With Paintsville’s record at 5-2 Hyden was about to sit out the next three weeks or more because of his injury.

“Honestly I never had a doubt in my mind that I was going to play again,” said Hyden. “I was doing anything and everything that the doctors were telling me to do to get healthy. It was a super long and slow process and three weeks into rehab the doctors told my parents that I hadn’t healed up at all so far and there was no shot that even if my team made it to the state championship that I would even be healthy enough to contribute to the

team, but my parents never told me that. I stayed hopeful and prayed every night for healing and the next week I came back to the doctor and my knee had tightened up to about 70 percent and the week before it was at about 10 to 20 percent. The doctors couldn’t believe it and said it was nothing short of a miracle that it had healed this fast.”

Hyden had his focus on praying and healing while in his first week of rehab during an open week due to a COVID cancelation where the Tigers were supposed to play Breathitt County in their season finale.

Hyden kept his prayers focused on healing during the next two weeks before having to make a tough decision on the Friday of the third week when the Tigers were set for a rematch against Raceland in the second round of the state playoffs.

“At the three week point, when my knee hadn’t healed at all from the time I had hurt it, it was the week of Raceland,” Hyden said.

“The doctors told me that if we thought this was going to be our last game then I could play, but if we won there is no shot that I would be able to play another game the rest of the year and that I would more than likely have to have surgery soon after the game. I trusted my team and I knew that they were going to win this game so that I could play again with them. When I told my team that I wasn’t going to play it was like they rallied. They were so focused and ready to beat this team so that I would be back on the field with them again. That meant so much to me and just shows the bond this group had.”

It was now three weeks into the state playoffs and in Hyden’s absence, Karsten Poe had taken the reigns of the offense and was filling in at quarterback.

Poe had played remarkable in his first three games as the starter gaining a 55-8 win over Betsy Layne in the first round, a 28-21 win over Raceland in the second round, and a 39-7 win over Hazard in the third round.

“I know every single person would take this different, but I wanted a state championship and so did everybody else,” said Hyden.

“I was there helping Karsten (Poe) learn as much as I could teach him about our offense every single day. I wanted to win and I wanted Karsten to succeed just like I would any of my brothers. Shoot, I was hoping that he would have the game of his life week in and week out at quar-

terback because I knew we needed him there. I know many people may not believe me when I say it, but I was Karsten’s (Poe) biggest supporter. I was there cheering him on every day and when he needed help, I was there for him. I grew up with Karsten and I love him like a brother. When he had success, I was just as happy as he was. With our team it wasn’t about who was playing where. We all had one goal in common and we were going to win state regardless of what obstacles this team faced.”

But what was the actual rehab process like for Hyden and where was his mindset on potentially making a come back?

“I’m not going to lie, the rehab was very hard,” Hyden said. “I was in a straight leg brace for three straight weeks and finally got to switch braces just to walk around in on the fourth week. Honestly I hadn’t even done anything on my knee until about a week and a half before I played. When I finally got to do stuff on it, I guess my muscles were weak and it wasn’t used to any pressure, but it hurt so bad.

It didn’t even hurt that bad when I was playing. I would do very light stuff and it would still hurt so badly.

I eventually worked myself up and the doctors said I could try to jog.

I no joke made it probably five feet before I had to completely stop. It was the worst it had hurt. Each day it started to get better and better after this. It took about of week of me jogging before I could get up to about full sprint. Then I began cutting and it hurt, but I felt confident that my knee wasn’t going to just give out. At this point, I knew I could play, not saying that I would be 100 percent, but I knew I could help the team some.”

And help the team is exactly what he did.

Hyden was cleared to play the day before the Newport Central Catholic game and decided to do what he and his coaches felt comfortable with against the Thoroughbreds.

The Tigers defeated the Thoroughbreds 21-7.

In the game, Hyden played very limited snaps only getting eight and rushing for 29 yards.

But, the point of him playing wasn’t for him to have the same impact as he did before the injury.

It was to see if Hyden’s knee could take the beating after healing back to around 70 to 75 percent.

And it did.

With the victory over the Thoroughbreds, the Tigers had now

come one step closer to achieving their goal of winning a state championship.

Now, the Tigers were set to take on the Kentucky Country Day Bearcats at Kroger Field.

“Coming back from the injury I had faced my senior year, stepping on that field for the first time was one of the happiest moments of my life,” Hyden said. “I told my team I would fight every single day and would be back on the field with them. There were times I doubted myself, but I knew at this point I kept my promise to my team. It truly was the best feeling in the world and I was ready to go. I had never wanted back on a football field so bad in my life. I was honestly just overwhelmed with happiness to be back on the field with what I had been through. It was just an amazing moment for me.”

But though Hyden believed he had kept his promise to his teammates the job was not completed yet.

Hyden rushed for three TDs in the game and helped his team secure a 38-7 victory over the Thoroughbreds and the state championship.

A feat that had taken 100 years to accomplish.

“Being able to do this for my team in the state championship game meant more to me than anything this season,” said Hyden.

“I’m not going to lie getting hurt my senior year was very hard on me and I felt like I had let my team and coaches down. There were many rough nights where I couldn’t sleep for the fact that I couldn’t get it out of my head that I wasn’t even going to help contribute to my team in winning a state title. It was very hard on me knowing that was a possibility. When I finally knew for sure that I was going to play, I was begging the coaches to let me go in at just about every position on the field. I had never been more excited. To just be out there playing with my team in the state championship game finally put my mind and heart at ease. It had been a long hard process and honestly I wasn’t sure I was going to make it to the point of where I was in the state title game, but when I was at that point on the field with all of my brothers, I knew that I had kept my promise to them.

I knew that God had defied odds to allow me to play in this game. It truly did put me at ease. It was just an unbelievable feeling to play one last time with the boys I had been playing with my entire life.”

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Week 1: East Jessamine

By Randy White Regional Sports Editor Paintsville

opened

the

season with a 39-24 win on the road over Class 5A East Jessamine 39-24.

Senior quarterback Jake Hyden opened the season with an incredible performance.

Hyden was 10 for 18 passing for 192 yards and two TDs. He also rushed for 107 yards and two TDs on 18 carries.

Hyden had a lot of help in the backfield thanks to sophomore running back Harris Phelps’ 144 rushing yards and two TDs on 23 carries.

Hyden found Karsten Poe three times for 70 yards and a TD. Devin Hall followed with three catches for 55 yards.

Zach Taylor added two catches for 43 yards and a TD. Zach Thompson and Phelps each added catches as well.

On defense, Mason Lovely was everywhere. Lovely finished with 17 tackles for the Tigers. Hunter Ousley followed with 12 tackles. Luke Hyden added nine tackles in the win as well.

Luke Hyden, AJ James and Phelps all three recovered a fumble for Paintsville.

Jonah Porter came up with an interception.

The Tigers picked up a big road win to open the season.

Paintsville’s Jake Hyden (7) and Matthew Davis (50) 2020 Paintsville State Champions

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Week 3: Hazard

By Joshua Blankenship Sports Writer Paintsville put together a full game coming away with a 54-0 shut out win over Hazard in the Tigers’ second game of the season.

Paintsville scored early driving down the field in just 52 seconds.

The Tigers capped their first drive off with a threeyard TD run by quarterback Jake Hyden with 9:08 left in the first quarter.

Hazard needed to come out on their first drive and answer back, but the Bulldogs’ efforts were thwarted by the Paintsville defense. The Tiger defense forced a turnover on downs with 7:45 left in the first quarter.

However, the Hazard defense stepped up with 5:41 to play in the first quarter and got the ball back for their offense as they forced the Tigers

to punt.

The Bulldog offense was unable to move the ball though and was forced to punt with 3:55 to play in the first quarter.

On that punt, the Paintsville returner muffed it and gave the ball back to the Bulldogs giving them another opportunity to put the ball in the end zone.

The stingy Paintsville defense wasn’t ready to give up points though stopping the Hazard offense on its first three plays leaving them with fourth and seven to go.

The Bulldogs’ quarterback Garrett Miller dropped back to pass on fourth down and was sacked by the Tigers’ Luke Hyden forcing a turnover on downs with 2:16 to play in the first quarter.

The Tigers drive extended into the start of the second, but it didn’t take long for Paintsville to punch it in the end zone. Paintsville soph-

omore running back Harris Phelps scored on a 25-yard TD run with 9:08 left in the second quarter.

Phelps’ TD extended the Tiger lead to 14-0 over the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs needed a score, but yet again the Paintsville defense denied that need and forced the Bulldogs to punt.

However, the Paintsville special teams stepped up and blocked the punt with 7:59 left in the second quarter.

With good field position, the Tiger offense swiftly moved into the redzone where Hyden found one of his favorite targets in Karsten Poe for a nine-yard TD pass with 5:57 left in the first half of play extending the Tiger lead to 20-0 after a failed extra-point kick.

Paintsville’s defense answered the call again with 4:50 left in the first half, forcing the Bulldog offense to punt again

on fourth and 45 to go.

With 2:20 left in the first half, Phelps scored his second TD on the evening as he scampered into the end zone on a 62-yard run that put the Tigers up 26-0 after a failed two-point conversion.

The Bulldogs got the ball back and were forced to put it in the air due to the 26-point deficit they’d incurred.

With 1:17 left in the first half of play, Paintsville’s Zach Thompson intercepted a pass giving the Tiger offense another opportunity to extend their lead before the halftime break.

With 55 seconds left in the half, Hyden connected with Jonah Porter on a screen pass that went for 46-yards putting the Tigers on the oneyard line. Hyden capped off the drive on a one-yard plunge into the end zone with 46.7 left in the half.

Hyden’s TD put the Tigers up 33-0 after the PAT was good.

The Tigers continued to dominate and Hyden added onto his already spectacular night throwing two more TDs, the first to Devin Hall for 62-yards and the second to Colby Fugate for 70 plus yards.

Thompson scored the final Tigers TD on a three-yard TD run that gave the Tigers their 54-0 win over the Bulldogs.

Thompson finished the night with four carries, 40-yards, a pick, and a rushing TD. Phelps had seven carries for 82-yards and two TD’s on the ground.

Hyden finished the game with 13 carries for 107 yards, went 8 of 16 passing for 191 yards and five total TDs (two rushing, three passing).

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Versatile Poe helps to lead Tigers to Class A state title A Paintsville Herald Staff Report Senior athlete Karsten Poe used his versatility to help Paintsville capture the 2020 KHSAA Class A state title in its 100th season.

When senior quarterback Jake Hyden was sidelined with an injury late in the 2020 high school football regular season, Poe took over at the signal caller position. Poe finished second in passing and fourth in both rushing and receiving for state champion Paintsville.

A reliable pass catcher, Poe delivered passing, receiving and rushing TDs for the Tigers.

Through the air, Poe completed 23 of 33 passes for 378

yards and one TD. He threw only one interception in 33 attempts.

Poe hauled in 11 receptions for 208 yards and a team-high four receiving TDs. On the ground, Poe rushed 44 times for 257 yards and six TDs. “Our offensive line did so much to help me,” Poe said, complimenting the Tigers’ offensive line unit. “That group made my transition to quarterback so much easier.”

A two-way starter for Paintsville, Poe produced defensively as well. As a senior, Poe recorded 37 tackles and one sack in a dozen games.

During his prep football career, Poe has delivered on offense, defense and

special teams for the Tigers.

Poe was at quarterback for Paintsville throughout the 2020 high school football postseason, which included wins over Betsy Layne, Raceland, Hazard, Newport Central Catholic and Kentucky Country Day. He made an immediate impact at quarterback for Paintsville in a matchup against Betsy Layne during the opening round of the Class A state playoffs, completing nine of 11 passes for 170 yards and one TD. Continuing to connect with receivers often, Poe completed seven of 11 passes for 143 yards i n Paintsville’s overtime win over Raceland in the second round of

the Class A Playoffs. Thriving on the ground as well in the second round, Poe rushed nine times for 35 yards and three TDs. Continuing to excel on the ground, Poe rushed 12 times for 92 yards and two TDs in the Tigers’ win over Hazard in a region championship game.

Poe delivered another strong rushing performance in Paintsville’s triumph over Newport Central Catholic in the state semifinals, rushing 17 times for 79 yards.

Headed to the next level, Poe committed to Centre College in November. Poe made his commitment publicly exactly one month before quarterbacking the Tigers in the Class A state title game.

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Paintsville Herald photo by Joshua Blankenship

Paintsville Herald photo by Joshua Blankenship

Paintsville running back Harris Phelps carries the ball against West Carter during the regular season.

Paintsville Connor Fugate runs in open space after hauling in a catch during regular season play.

Paintsville Herald photo by Joshua Blankenship

Paintsville’s Jonah Porter goes airborne trying to gain extra yardage against West Carter in the regular season.

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Week 4: Perry Central

By Joshua Blankenship Sports Writer

Paintsville was dominate against Perry Central in the Tigers’ third game of the season.

The Tigers rolled to a 43-0 shutout win over Class 4A Perry Central.

The Commodore offense couldn’t sustain any momentum throughout the game.

Paintsville was first on the board having scored two TDs

in the first four minutes of the game.

After the Tiger offense gave the defense a 14-point cushion early on, the defense began to loosen up.

The Paintsville defense was able to stall the Commodore offense several times throughout the rest of the first half and the offense responded in spades getting into the end zone three more times before the halftime buzzer, making the Tiger lead 36-0 at the half.

Quarterback Jake Hyden was nine of 12 passing for 100 yards.

Running Back Harris Phelps rushed for 131 yards and two TDs on 12 carries.

Zach Thompson rushed for 100 yards and a TD on five carries. Hyden also added 58 rushing yards and two TDs on four carries.

The Commodores needed to be able to come out fired up in the second half and finish a drive.

However, the Paintsville defense didn’t allow that to happen and sent the game into a running clock after stopping the Commodores first drive of the second half and capitalizing with a quick score, making the Tiger lead 43-0 with 8:54 left in the third.

The Commodores were able to put together a long drive that took up nearly the rest of the third quarter.

Paintsville would cruise to the 43-0 win.

Paintsville’s Harris Phelps 2020 Paintsville State Champions

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Week 5: Fairview

By Joshua Blankenship Sports writer

The Paintsville Tigers just keep looking better and better as they improved to 4-0 after beating the Fairview Eagles 57-6.

The Tigers put up 300 total yards of offense and though Fairview rushed for 159 themselves the Tigers held them to only 30 passing yards.

Paintsville Tigers quarterback Jake Hyden had himself a fine day through the air to say the least.

Hyden went seven of seven for 117 passing yards and three TDs, connecting with Karsten Poe on a 50-yard TD, Harris Phelps two times, one for a TD and Zach Taylor one time for a 12-yard TD. Rushing was a team effort with Frederick James leading the Tigers in the category with two rushes for 85-yards and a TD. Zach Thompson had one rush for 45-yards and a score; while Phelps had five carries for 32-yards and a TD. The Tiger defense came away with two interceptions on the day as James and Jonah Porter made key plays for the Paintsville secondary.

The team’s leading tackler for the game was Parker Hopson, who had six total tackles on the evening.

Justin Ramsey was a close second with four total tackles.

Paintsville eased to the final horn and dominated throughout the entirety of the game on their way to the 57-6 victory over the Eagles.

Paintsville head coach Joe Chirico 2020 Paintsville State Champions

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Week 6: West Carter

By Joshua Blankenship Sports Writer

The Paintsville Tiger defense became the deciding factor in the 34-12 victory over the West Carter Comets.

However, this matchup was closer than one would think from looking at the score.

West Carter was the first on the scoreboard when Leetavious Cline scampered in from eight yards out for the first score of the game with 6:28 remaining in the first quarter putting the Comets up 6-0 over the Tigers after a missed point after attempt (PAT).

However, the Paintsville offense struck back with 4:59 to go in the first quarter as Harris Phelps punched the ball into the end zone on a two-yard run.

The Tigers converted their PAT giving them the 7-6 lead over the Comets.

The two teams battled for momentum the rest of the quarter, but neither was able to get back into the end zone as the quarter closed.

The struggle for momentum continued into the second, but Tiger quarterback Jake Hyden and the Paintsville offense seemingly snatched the momentum when he found his cousin Karsten Poe on a 28-yard strike with 4:18 left to play in the first half.

After converting the PAT, the Tigers extended their lead to 14-6.

Although the momentum seemed to be in the paws of the Tigers, the Comets

and quarterback Orry Perry looked to streak back into the picture as he connected with Jackson Bond on a 10-yard TD pass with only 22 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

The Comets cut the Tiger lead to 14-12 with the TD, but couldn’t tie the game as they failed the two-point conversion try.

The Tigers entered the half up, but knew the game could turn either way if they took their foot off the peddle.

The two defenses made it their mission to hold their ground.

With 7:35 remaining in the third quarter, the Tigers defense managed to force a turnover on downs, but West Carter held them at bay and

out of the end zone.

With neither offense able to get into the end zone, the Tigers needed a spark.

The Paintsville defense was ready to deliver just what the team needed, forcing and recovering a fumble with 1:20 remaining in the third.

Hyden, Phelps and the Tiger offense began the drive and quickly marched to the two-yard line as the third quarter ended with the score still at 14-12.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Hyden tightened his chinstrap and barreled into the end zone on a two-yard run to put the Tigers up 21-12 after a successful PAT. The Comets were set to

respond as they took over possession and began to march down the field.

Just as it seemed they would get into the end zone, Tiger safety Frederick James essentially put the nail in the coffin after picking off Comet quarterback Perry and returning the interception 94-yards for a TD to put Paintsville up 27-12 after a failed PAT. Hyden capped off the Paintsville victory with a oneyard TD run with 3:27 to play and after a successful PAT the tigers then stalled the final Comet drive and milked the clock on their way to the 34-12 win, moving the Tigers to 5-0 on the year.

Paintsville’s Austin Allen 2020 Paintsville State Champions

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Week 7: Raceland

By Randy White

Regional Sports Editor Paintsville fell to Raceland 23-20 on a last second field goal.

Raceland

kicker

Peyton

Ison made a field goal to give the Rams the win over district rival Paintsville and the No. 1 seed in District 6 heading into the Class A playoffs.

Paintsville was led by quarterback Jake Hyden. Hyden was 10 for 18 passing for 136 yards.

He only added five rushing yards on the night, though.

Running

back

Harris

Phelps led the Tigers with 120 rushing yards and a TD on 17 carries. Luke Hyden followed with 36 yards and a two TDs on eight carries.

Zach Taylor led the receivers with six catches for 86 yards. Devin Hall had two catches, while Jonah Porter and Karsten Poe each caught a pass each.

Nathan Marsillett led the Tiger defense with 13 tackles.

Hunter Ousley followed with nine tackles.

Luke Hyden, Porter and AJ James all came up with an interception for the Tigers, but the three turnovers weren’t enough to give them the big road win.

Raceland was led by quarterback Jacob Heighton. Heighton was 17 for 29 passing for 166 yards and a TD with three interceptions. Heighton also led the Rams rushing attack with 52 yards and a TD on 15 carries.

Paintsville celebrates after a Harris Phelps TD 2020 Paintsville State Champions

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Born to Ball

By Joshua Blankenship Sports Writer

Harris Phelps burst onto the scene rather quickly and stayed in that spotlight all year long on his way to helping his team win the state title and claiming the championship game’s MVP award in the process.

With that said, the sophomore running back didn’t have plans of having this kind of success, but was always destined to be a standout running back. Why” It’s in his blood.

He had an outstanding freshman season, but he played second fiddle in the Paintsville back filed to his older brother John Walker Phelps.

John Walker Phelps rushed for 1,334 yards and 18 TD’s and a couple years before that in 2016 his oldest brother Kent Phelps ran for 2,044 yards and 32 TDs. Well here’s why he was destined to succeed — Harris Phelps was born to ball.

After John Walker Phelps graduated, he handed the reigns as Tiger running back to Harris as Kent had done for him.

This season as a sophomore, Harris Phelps ran for 1,406 and 19 touchdowns.

Yeah, you read that right he is a sophomore.

“Honestly, I didn’t really have any individual goals for the season,” Phelps said. “Our main goal as a team was to win state. Thankfully we were able to achieve our goal.”

However, one could say that because his team had this goal is why Phelps was able to achieve such a feat due to not having a full regular season because of COVID-19.

But on the other hand, if they would have had a full regular season, then Phelps may have surpassed his oldest brother Kent and ran for 2,100 yards.

Phelps is a patient runner and takes that after his brothers and like them when he gets in the open field, chances are he is making a house call.

But the young runningback claims to have always drawn inspiration from his older brothers.

“They were definitely an inspiration,” Phelps said. “I’ve looked up to them all my life. They’ve always pushed me to be the best I could be in any situation growing up. I think it definitely helped being the youngest because my brothers and their friends always picked me on.”

His older brothers helped Phelps more than they knew helping him develop a thick skin that allowed him to shrug off a bad first half (if he had one) and come out stronger in the second.

Phelps and his older brothers shared a close bond and according to Phelps his brothers talked to him before every game.

“Before every game,” said Phelps. “That’s when both my middle brother, John, and my oldest brother, Kent, would always tell me to just have confidence in my running style and have fun when I got the ball.”

The youngest Phelps brother latched on to his elder brothers words and played with enough confidence for all his teammates and then some.

Every carry Phelps had this season you could see the joy he played with.

Phelps never showed frustration and was always willing to do what was best for his team.

In the seven regular season games the Tigers played, Phelps rushed for 639 yards.

Which means he averaged 91.2 yards per game and didn’t play in the regular season finale.

But with the team’s

goal being on getting back to a state title, something as trivial as the regular season wasn’t as important as the state tournament.

As the playoffs started, the Tigers were experiencing injuries at several key positions along the offensive line and at quarterback.

Karsten Poe stepped in at quarterback and Mason Lovely made the switched positions on ofSee HARRIS, Page 31 2020 Paintsville State Champions

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HARRIS Continued From Page 29 take us. Luckily, they carried us all the way to the state championship game and we were blessed enough to win it.”

Throughout the playoffs, Phelps ran for 126 yards and

two TDs in the first round, 130 yards and one TD in the second round, 120 yards and two TDs in the third round, 170 yards and three TDs in the semifinals and in the state championship, he ran for 221 yards and one TD. This comes to 767 rushing yards and nine TDs in the playoffs.

As stated earlier, Phelps gives the credit to an offensive line that helped the Tigers rush for 3,082 yards this season.

In the end though, Phelps says he is just happy he and his teammates just got to have a season.

“I just wanted to say we were so thankful for our

coaches and fans this year that supported us the whole season,” Phelps said. “We were blessed to have a season this year and the KHSAA doesn’t get enough credit for giving us a season. And most importantly, you have to give the credit to God to put us in the position we were in.”

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Paintsville Herald photo by Randy White

Paintsville’s Karsten Poe runs with the ball against Hazard in Class A region championship game. The Tigers and Bulldogs had to battle each other and a muddy field.

Paintsville Herald photo by Joshua Blankenship

Paintsville’s Zach Thompson runs with the ball against West Carter.

Paintsville Herald photo by Joshua Blankenship

Paintsville coach Joe Chirico talks to his team earlier this season.

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Week 8: Letcher Central

By Trevor Thacker Sports Writer Paintsville ended up traveling to Whitesburg to take on a rolling Letcher Central Cougars team.

The Tigers were coming off a heartbreaking loss at Raceland and were looking to bounce back, but the Cougars dashed those hopes as they defeated one of Class A’s best, 18-7.

The Tigers wasted little time as they crossed the goal line with 2:37 to play in the first off Luke Hyden’s two-yard scamper. With the extra point, Paintsville held an early 7-0 lead after one period of play.

Letcher Central opened the flood gates to start the second. The Cougars’ Carson Adams broke for a huge run down the right side for one of many first downs on the drive.

Two plays later, the Adams pass was deflected, nearly intercepted by a Paintsville Tiger, before Sam Little made a spectacular play down to the three yard line.

Adams called his own number from the one and crossed the pylon with 8:30 to go before the half. The Cougars opted for two, which failed, leaving the Tigers with a one point advantage heading into the locker room.

The third opened with all the momentum in Letcher Central’s favor.

With the Cougars driving, Little broke for a 62 yard touchdown run with 9:40 to play in third quarter. The kick was off on the extra point but Letcher Central took command with a 12-7 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers fumbled and the Cougars Jackson Meade was able to fall on it.

Adams did the rest as he broke for a 33-yard TD run to extend the lead to 18-7 and it would stay that way to end the third.

Joe Chirico and his Tigers weren’t leaving Whitesburg without giving it all they had one last time.

The Tigers, in a fourth and long situation, converted for the first down keeping their hopes alive. Paintsville pounded the ball down the field into the red zone. At the one-yard line it came down to one play; fourth and goal on the oneyard line. The Cougar defense held to force a turnover on downs to seal the huge 18-7 win for Letcher Central.

Paintsville finished regular season play with a 5-2 record.

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36 2020 Paintsville State Champions

Playoffs 1: Betsy Layne

By Joshua Blankenship Sports Writer Paintsville finished last season at Kroger Field.

The Tigers took their first step to get back there in the opening round of the Class A playoffs.

The Tigers were on the attack early and often on their way to the 55-8 win over Betsy Layne.

Paintsville tailback Harris Phelps got going early on with two big runs on the Tigers opening drive.

With 11:22 to play in the first quarter, Phelps broke a 20-yard TD run to cap off Paintsville’s opening drive.

After the extra-point kick, the Tigers went up 7-0 on the Bobcats.

Betsy Layne took over possession and quarterback Charles Mims helped the Bobcats move the ball, until the Tiger defense stood tall and forced the Betsy Layne offense to punt with 8:45 left in the first quarter.

The Tigers’ offense wasted little time as they exploded

down the field with some more strong running.

Phelps again capped off the second drive for the Tigers with a four yard TD run as the clock struck 8:15 in the first quarter.

Trailing 14-0, the Bobcats needed to plug the leak in their ship quick.

Mims came out slinging on Betsy Layne’s second drive.

However, the Paintsville defense doesn’t like to give up big plays through the air.

Paintsville safety Frederick James caught Mims trying to get the ball down field and jumped the route perfectly with 6:05 left in the first quarter to come away with a big interception to give the Tigers the ball back with a chance to extend their lead over Bobcats.

The Paintsville offense struck again with 5:19 remaining in the first quarter as Karsten Poe broke a 13-yard run for a TD to extend the Tiger lead to 21-0 over the Bobcats.

Betsy Layne needed to finish a drive to gain some momentum but were forced to

give the ball back to the Tigers after a quick three and out.

Paintsville’s Luke Hyden finished the drive for the Tigers on a short TD (which was his first of two TDs on the evening) run with 2:58 left in the first quarter.

With the Paintsville lead now at 28-0 after Luke Hyden’s TD run, the Bobcats needed a good drive to end the quarter but instead were forced to punt the ball back to the Tigers.

Poe, who is filling in at quarterback for the injured Jake Hyden, showed off his arm as he completed a 21-yard TD pass to Colby Fugate. That put the Tigers up 35-0 over the Bobcats as the first quarter came to a close.

As the second quarter began, the Bobcats needed to get on the board to gain a little momentum.

However, Betsy Layne’s drive was cut short and the Tigers took the field again and initiated the running clock when Nate Marsillett broke off a 24-yard TD run to put Paintsville up 41-0 over the Bobcats with 10:30 left to play in the second quarter.

Betsy Layne finally started to move the ball thanks to a couple completions from Mims and some penalties committed by the Tigers.

With 3:12 left in the first half, Mims completed a TD pass to Brady Robinson for 19 yards to give the Bobcats their first score of the game.

The Bobcat TD was capped off with a successful two-point conversion run by Mims to cut the Paintsville lead to 41-8.

The Tigers then set off on a long drive that would take the game into the halftime break.

The Bobcats were set to receive in the opening minuets of the second half, but with 8:40 left in the third quarter the Bobcats found themselves going for it on fourth down.

The Tigers came up with a stop that forced a turnover on downs and gave them the ball on the Betsy Layne 42.

Paintsville then cruised to the 55-8 win over the Bobcats after two more scores late in the third and early in the fourth.

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38 2020 Paintsville State Champions

Playoffs 2: Raceland

By Joshua Blankenship Sports Writer In Paintsville and Raceland’s first meeting the Rams squeezed in a last minute field goal to beat the Tigers 23-20.

However, something was different in this second meeting between the two foes.

This time, the Tiger defense stepped up in overtime to solidify Paintsville’s 28-21 overtime win.

Raceland had the ball on the Paintsville one-yard line in overtime. A score and extra-point extends the game or a score and a two-point conversion wins the game for Raceland.

But Paintsville’s defense didn’t give the Rams a chance to figure out which decision to make as the Tigers stopped

Raceland on fourth and goal from the one to secure the 2821 overtime win and advance to the next round of the Class A playoffs.

With the loss, Raceland finished the season with a 4-6 record.

With the win, Paintsville advances to the Class A Region 3 championship game against Hazard. The Bulldogs upset Pikeville 21-12.

The weight of the game and the ramifications of what a loss this time would mean for the visiting Tigers.

Although the stakes may have been different this time, the hunger the Tigers had to reach their ultimate goal had stayed the same, if not grown since that first meeting.

Paintsville was outdone on the ground as the Rams ran for 183 yards to the Tigers

164.

However, the Tigers evened that out by out-passing Raceland 138 yards to 110.

Quarterback Karsten Poe and runningback Harris Phelps led the way in terms of yards and scores for the Tigers.

Poe, who is filling in for a recovering Jake Hyden, ruled the day completing seven out of his 11 attempts with 143 yards through the air.

Poe also ran for 35 yards and three TDs while Phelps ran for 130 yards on 26 carries and a TD. Poe was able to find Zach Taylor three times in the contest for 62 yards and Jonah Porter twice for 54 yards.

On defense, Mason Lovely led the Tigers in tackles with 10 solo and 12 total, while Luke Hyden followed close

behind with nine total tackles and Poe recording eight total.

Paintsville also won the turnover battle coming away with two interceptions by Devin Hall and Frederick James.

James came away with interceptions in the last two playoff games for the Tigers and has played a major role in the secondary for Paintsville.

The Tigers defense and offense are doing their part to help them reach the Class 1A state title for the second year in a row in hopes of this season walking off Kroger Field with the title in hand.

The 28-21 win over the Rams gave the Tigers the district six title as they prepared for a Hazard Bulldogs team that is coming off a huge win over the reigning state champion Pikeville Panthers team.

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Paintsville Herald photo by Joshua Blankenship

Paintsville’s Jonah Porter tries to get past a Raceland defender in action during the regular season.

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Lovely delivers on both sides of the ball for Tigers A Paintsville Herald Staff Report

A defensive standout, senior Mason Lovely wound up making an impact offensively for Paintsville during its state championship-clinching season.

On the offensive side, Lovely made a move to right tackle and helped to lead the Tigers up front. Lovely, who continued to pace Paintsville defensively from his position on that side of the football,

switched jersey numbers from 3 to 69 when he made the move to the offensive line.

"We wanted to do anything we could to help the team," said Lovely. "We didn’t care about individual recognition. We just wanted to win state. We were all willing to do absolutely whatever it took even if that meant switching positions and changing numbers.”

Lovely, who transferred to Paintsville from Magoffin County prior to the start of the 2020/2021 schoolyear, aver-

aged 10 tackles per game for the Tigers during his senior season. Leading the Tigers defensively, Lovely recorded 120 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 12 games. Lovely registered 64 solo tackles during his senior campaign.

The productive Lovely was the state's top tackler as a junior at Magoffin County in 2019, recording 200 tackles in nine games.

With Lovely at right tackle along its offensive line, Paintsville rushed 46 times

for 303 yards and four TDs in the Class A state title game.

Lovely led the Tiger defensive unit in the state championship game, recording a game-high 12 tackles and forcing one fumble. The Paintsville senior logged seven solo tackles during the state championship game versus Kentucky Country Day. Lovely continued to draw interest from several college football programs following the Class A title game but remained uncommitted in mid-January.

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Paintsville Herald photo by Randy White

Paintsville’s Luke Hyden runs the ball against Hazard in the Class A region championship round of the playoffs.

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Playoffs 3: Hazard

By Randy White Regional Sports Editor It was cold and rainy.

The muddy field eventually just turned to soup.

But the weather, the field conditions nor Hazard could slow Paintsville down.

The Tigers cruised to a 39-7 win over the Bulldogs to capture the Region 3 championship and get one step closer of getting back to Kroger Field.

With the win, Paintsville (8-2) advanced to the state semifinals as the Tigers are set to host Newport Central Catholic. Newport Central Catholic knocked off the No. 1 team in the RPI rating, Louisville Holy Cross, 42-21.

“It feels good, but the job is not done,” Paintsville sophomore running back Harris Phelps said. “We still have two more games to take care of.”

Paintsville got going early. On the opening drive of the game, Harris Phelps scored on a five-yard TD run to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead after the extra-point kick by Brayden Combs.

The mud hurt Phelps’ cutting ability, but it couldn’t stop him from having a big game.

“It definitely does, but everyone is playing in it, so it’s all the same for everyone, you just put your head downhill and run,” Phelps said.

The Tigers forced Hazard to punt on the Bulldogs’ first possession of the game.

That punt didn’t work out so well as Paintsville blocked the punt attempt by Hazard’s Max Johnson.

Paintsville took over deep in the Bulldogs’ territory.

Phelps scored his second TD on the night from 21 yards out to push the lead to 13-0 with 8:15 left in the first quarter.

“We knew we had to start fast because they were coming off of a great win,” Paintsville coach Joe Chirico said. “We put a big emphasis on special teams as every team does. We got lucky on a couple of turnovers. We’re just excited to be moving on and the answer for that is just hard work every day and just grinding.”

“We knew it was going to be wet, so we knew that we’d have to run the ball and set the tone early,” Harris Phelps said. “We did that on the first drive when we went down and scored.”

Phelps finished the night with 120 yards and two TDs on 22 carries to lead the way for Paintsville’s rushing attack.

The Tigers got the ball back late in the first quarter.

Paintsville quarterback Karsetn Poe did the rest as he scored on a 27-yard TD run with 3:37 left in the first quarter to push the lead to 19-0.

Poe finished the game with 92 rushing yards and two TDs on 12 carries. He was also three for six passing for 21 yards.

“It speaks volumes for Poe and those senior lineman, Chirico said. “Poe stepped in a tough spot and has thrived and done everything that we’ve asked him to do. I can’t say enough about him, but I have a team full of those guys, so I can’t single one out. I’m just proud of all of them.”

“He (Karsten Poe) does a great job,” Phelps said. “We have full trust in him. He just

knows what to do on every play and he runs the ball very well and he can pass it when he has to.”

Paintsville wasn’t finished in the first quarter, though.

The Bulldogs fumbled and the Tigers got the ball back. This time, Luke Hyden scored with 1:14 left in the opening quarter to push the lead to 25-0.

Hyden had a big game for the Tigers as he rushed for 91 yards and two TDs on 12 carries.

Neither team scored in the second quarter. Paintsville got close a couple of times and were back up by penalties or turned the ball over on downs.

All of Hazard’s drives were cut short by penalties or fumbles.

Paintsvile held a 25-0 lead over Hazard in the first half.

Paintsville’s offensive line did a job and helped the Tigers rush for 319 yards in the game.

“They’re (the offensive line) great,” Phelps said.

“They make my job a lot easier. They know their jobs and they just make my job a lot easier.”

Paintsville’s defense was just as impressive. The Tigers recovered five fumbles on the night and blocked two punts.

“They (the defensive line) played phenomenal,” Chirico said. “To do what they did and come out here on a sloppy night. It was a rough track.

Throwing the ball was tough, so you’re going to set on the run. I thought they did a tremendous job and I though our linebackers and linebacking corps and everybody played well.”

Neither team scored in the third quarter.

But Paintsville opened the fourth quarter with Poe’s second TD run of the night. That pushed the lead to 32-0 after the extra-point.

Hyden scored his second TD of the night with 8:28 left in the game. The extra-point pushed the lead to 39-0 and started the running clock.

The running clock symbolized the end of the season for the Bulldogs.

The Paintsville defense held Hazard standout running back Max Johnson in check.

Johnson rushed for 51 yards and a TD on 14 carries.

Johnson scored the Bulldogs’ only TD as time expired.

Quarterback Garrett Miller was four for 12 passing for 17 yards.

Hazard finished the season with a 4-6 record in coach Dan Howard’s first year in charge.

Paintsville is back in the state semifinals for the second straight season. Last season, the Tigers went on the road and picked up a 44-20 win over Kentucky Country Day. The Tigers have the experience of being here before.

“It’s huge,” Chirico said.

“Those guys (the seniors) come to work every week and there is no time off for them.

They really like being here.

They like being with their brothers and it’s fun to be around here. When you have the comradery the way it is, they just like being here.

“You don’t have to refocus when you’re playing in the final four. They know what’s at stake. They’ve known what’s at stake every week. It’s just a matter of them doing their job and doing what we have to do.”

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Paintsville Herald photo by Randy White

Paintsville’s Harris Phelps runs the ball against Hazard in the Class A region championship round of the playoffs.

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Semifinals: Newport Central Cath.

By Joshua Blankenship Sports Writer Paintsville walked onto the field knowing the implications of a loss.

However, this would be nothing more than fuel in the tank for the Tigers as Harris Phelps and his offensive line dominated the point of attack leading Paintsville and head coach Joe Chirico to their second consecutive Class A state championship game with their 21-7 win over Newport Central Catholic.

“It starts with those guys up front,” said Chirico. “Harris did a great job and our offensive line just kept pushing and the receivers kept blocking and all those things. Harris ran hard and he has a lot to live up to. He has two brothers who went through here and he is just carrying the torch right along with them.”

On Friday, Phelps was carrying more than just that torch. He was carrying the dreams and ambitions of his teammates who were battling beside him.

Phelps ran 21 times for 170 yards and three TDs on the evening.

However, at the start of the game it was Newport Central Catholic that landed the first blow late in the first quarter.

After recovering a Paintsville fumble in the end zone with 6:55 remaining in the first quarter, the Thoroughbreds drove down the field and with 1:00 on the clock Newport Central Catholic quarterback,

Malaki Herndon, connected with Joey Runyon on a 46-yard TD pass to go up 7-0 on the Tigers.

Paintsville took their second drive into the second quarter before striking back with 9:39 remaining in the first half as Phelps broke free for a 31-yard TD run to even the score at 7-7.

With 6:40 in the second quarter to play, the Tigers forced a Thoroughbred fumble. The fumble was recovered

by Paintsville’s Zach Thompson. That put Paintsville on their own 38.

The Tigers couldn’t capitalize on the fumble recovery and were forced to punt, but again regained possession with 1:32 remaining in the half forcing Newport Central Catholic to punt.

However, the Thoroughbreds weren’t finished making plays as they picked the Tigers quarterback, Karsten Poe, off on the Tigers first play of Paintsville’s ensuing drive.

The Thoroughbreds believed they had made it into field goal range and on fourth and long as they lined up for a 40-yard attempt with 19.3 on the clock.

The kick was short, but the Tigers luckily had Devin Hall back deep to return the kick if it fell short.

Hall managed to return the kick to the Paintsville 26yard line where Poe took a knee to send the game into the halftime break tied up at 7-7.

Coming out of the break, the Tigers were set to kickoff

and the defense for Paintsville was ready to make their stand.

With 10:55 remaining in the third quarter, Herndon dropped back to pass for the Thoroughbreds and Luke Hyden for the Tigers was in hot pursuit. Luke Hyden came away with a sack that put the Thoroughbreds in a fourth and 20 scenario.

Paintsville began their first drive of the second half on their own 37-yard line.

The Tigers converted on third down twice on the drive by way of a couple Harris Phelps clutch runs.

With 8:06 remaining in the third quarter, Phelps again broke away from the Thoroughbred defense for a 36 yard TD run (his second of the game) to help the Tigers take the 14-7 lead over Newport Central Catholic.

The rest of the third quarter was engulfed in struggle from both teams as the Thoroughbreds couldn’t get into the end zone to tie the game, but the Tigers could put the game out of reach as they were dealing with a determined Newport Central Catholic defense.

“We knew it was going to be a dog fight for four quarters,” said Phelps.

And how right he was as the momentum of the game seemed like it could have went either way, until Phelps put the nail in the coffin late in the fourth quarter.

With 2:59 remaining to play in the ball game, Phelps plunged into the end zone for

the third time of the game to put the Tigers up 21-7 over the Thoroughbreds.

That would be all it took to seal deal for the Tigers and punch their ticket back to Kroger Field in Lexington for Paintsville’s second straight Class A state finals appearance.

The Tigers leaned on Phelps heavily in the contest and he pulled through for his guys each and every time the coaching staff called his number.

However, Phelps knows that in those spots it wasn’t just his number being called, but the offensive lines as well.

“They have full trust in our line and I have full trust in our line,” said Phelps. “I’m glad they gave me the ball in important spots in the game and it was my job to make the most out of them.”

Phelps and the Tigers now set their sights on Kentucky Country Day in Friday’s state championship matchup.

However, coach Chirico knows that doesn’t discredit how hard the road to this destination was.

“First and foremost, you got to thank God for all he has done for us and a lot of times that gets lost in all that we do,” said Chirico. “My coaching staff works hard and the kids responded to the adjustments we made. You don’t get to the final four without a couple tough matchups and they played hard and we were just lucky enough to come away with the win.”

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Championship: Kentucky County Day

By Joshua Blankenship Sports Writer Head coach Joe Chirico and the Paintsville Tigers made the trek back to Kroger Field in Lexington for their second straight appearance in the Class A state championship, where the Tigers were pitted against a familiar foe in the Kentucky Country Day Bearcats. The Tigers played Kentucky Country Day in the Class A State semifinals last season, winning 44-20 to go on to play Pikeville in their title loss.

Unlike last season, Paintsville won the Class A state championship with a 38-7 win over Kentucky Country Day. This is the first state title for the Tigers in their 100 year history as a football program.

Redemption was the mood for the Tigers as they were led onto the field by Brayden Chirico, who led the team in a methodical business-like walk to the sideline.

Running back Harris Phelps was also locked in from start to finish as he exploded to help the Tigers walk away with the 38-7 win and the hardware to prove it.

“100 years of Paintsville trying to win a state title,” said Joe Chirico. “I take zero credit in this, my staff and all the players deserve all the credit in this not me. I’m just the guy who got to be the head coach.”

Chirico’s staff and players definitely came to play as the Tigers were the first to strike midway through the first quarter as Phelps broke away down the sideline on a 33-yard TD run with 5:44 left in the first quarter to put the Tigers up 7-0 after a successful extra-point kick.

The Paintsville defense 46 2020 Paintsville State Champions

held its ground and forced the Bearcats into a punting situation in their first series of the game.

Kentucky Country Day didn’t get to boot the ball down the field though, having the punt blocked with 2:00 to play in the first and Paintsville regaining possession of the ball in great field position inside Bearcat territory.

The Tigers second drive of the game spilled into the second quarter were Paintsville wasted little time getting on the board again.

The Tigers’ Jake Hyden, who had made the switch to running back after being the starting quarterback all season before a knee injury sidelined him for a couple weeks, plunged into the end zone on a one-yard TD run with 11:57 remaining in the second quarter.

A successful extra-point kick put the Tigers up 14-0 over the Bearcats early on and was applying pressure on Kentucky County Day. The Bearcats began their second drive and started to move the ball on the Tigers.

However, the drive stalled deep in Paintsville territory and with 8:41 remaining in the second quarter, the Tigers forced a turnover on downs that placed the beginning of their third drive on their own 25.

Paintsville pounded the ball down the field, grinding massive amounts of clock away each play down the field.

With 17 seconds to play before the half the Tigers found themselves in a perfect spot to line up for a field goal right before the half.

The Braydon Combs field goal was set up by a 49-yard run by Phelps that brought the Tigers into chip shot range.

Combs’ successful kick put Paintsville up 17-0 on the Bearcats going into halftime.

With all the momentum in the Tigers clutches, Paintsville looked to keep rolling into the final quarters of play and extend their lead further as the Tigers were set to receive coming out of the halftime break.

Phelps kept up his strong performance as he weaved through traffic before finding open field and busting the Bearcat defense for a 53-yard gain.

Two plays later, Hyden capped off the opening drive of the third quarter with a powerful six-yard TD run that extended the Tiger lead to 24-0 with 10:31 remaining in the third quarter.

This TD was Hyden’s second in the game, but wouldn’t be his last.

However, the Bearcats struck back shortly after when Nathan Caldwell broke the plane of the end zone with 7:07 left to play in the third quarter cutting the Tiger lead to 24-7.

Paintsville and Kentucky Country Day then began to enter a stalemate that ended with 5:12 left in the fourth and final quarter of play.

At that mark, Hyden spun past two defenders before lowering his shoulders and crossing into the end zone on a five-yard TD run that put the Tigers up 31-7, seemingly clinching the win.

However, the Tiger defense would be the ones to put the proverbial nail in the coffin when on the next Bearcat offensive series. Paintsville forced a fumble and the Tigers’ Devin Hall made a house call returning the fumble 38 yards into the end zone to seal the 38-7 win.

Hyden and Phelps ended

the game as the leading rushers for the Tigers as Phelps ran 22 times for 221 yards and TD while Hyden finished with 35 yards and three TDs on the game.

“We knew they were going to be a tough team,” said Phelps. “It was going to be a battle coming in and we knew we were going to have the set the tone early running the ball. I give all the credit to my offensive line. I wouldn’t get any yards without them honestly.”

Head coach Joe Chirico shared his running backs sentiments saying, “Those guys worked hard and they are in a lot better shape than people realize. A lot of those guys go both ways and play offensive and defensive line. They work tremendously hard.”

The Tiger offensive line was moving bodies by the masses allowing the offense to go for 318 total yards (303 rushing) and was absolutely a cornerstone in the success the Tigers coming away with the monumental win.

As for Hyden, the championship game marked the second in his return since his injury weeks earlier.

The Paintsville star toughed it out and was able to share the field with his brothers one last time.

“I wouldn’t want to be a part of any other team,” said Hyden. “This team has battled through a lot this year. We had a lot of things not go our way but we never stopped fighting and kept pushing through it.

I’m just so thankful to be apart of this team.”

Now, the Tigers are enjoying the monumental win that gave Paintsville its first state title in school history.

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