KHSAA Playoffs Round 2: Williamsburg facing long road trip to Pikeville

The Williamsburg Yellow Jackets suffered a setback against visiting Knox Central to end the 2025 regular season back on Halloween night, but they made a return to form last week against the visiting Paintsville Tigers, securing a 24-8 first round Class A playoff victory and improving to 6-4 on the season.
The game against Paintsville was originally scheduled to be played last Friday evening, but inclement weather forced a postponement to Saturday afternoon. It ended up being a good day for football, and an especially good day to be a Jacket fan.
Sophomore quarterback Reece Hatcher threw three touchdown passes in the win over the Tigers, with junior receiver Chase Meddles scoring twice and senior Ethan Moses hauling in one pass for six points.
Junior Eli Meadors found pay dirt once on the ground for Williamsburg, and he also recovered a fumble on defense.
The Jackets’ defensive backfield had a great day against Paintsville, with senior Peyton Hamilton snagging two interceptions and fellow senior Noble Mattingly snagging another. Sophomore Trenton Cornett also picked off the opposing QB once in the win.
This week, Williamsburg will play the part of the underdog as they embark on a long road trip to face the Pikeville Panthers in round two.
The Panthers ended up getting last week off after Lynn Camp was forced to forfeit their scheduled round one contest due to lack of participants. The team ended the regular season on a five-game win streak that included a 56-0 victory over Powell County, a 35-8 win at Southwestern Pulaski, a 38-0 shutout of Paintsville, a 24-6 win at Hazard and a 42-7 victory over Bracken County.
Pikeville features a host of talented juniors on this year’s roster, including quarterback JJ Reynolds, leading rusher Jayden Justice and leading tackler Jeremiah Anderson. The team’s overall leading scorer, senior Mikey Hager, has recorded most of his points as a receiver, but he has also rushed for a TD and returned one interception for a score this season.
The Yellow Jackets and the Panthers will meet this Friday, Nov. 14, in Pikeville. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.