This football championship was 100 years in the making.
The Paintsville Tigers built a 17-point halftime lead and went on to defeat Kentucky Country Day, 38-7 in the Class 1A title game played at Kroger Field on Friday morning.
Paintsville, which finished 10-2, becomes the first school of its size to win championships in football, baseball, and basketball.
Jake Hyden ran for three touchdowns, including two in the second half. His six-yard run in the third period made it 24-0 with 10 minutes, 31 seconds to play. He ran five yards with 5:12 left in the game to push the lead to 31-7.
Devin Hall scooped up a KCD fumble and returned it 38 yards to close out the scoring with 5:01 remaining.
Running back Harris Phelps, who finished with 221 yards on the ground, put Paintsville on the scoreboard first with a 23-yard run with 5:23 left in the opening quarter. Braydon Combs’ kick made it 7-0.
Jake Hyden’s one-yard run on the first play of the second period pushed the Tigers up 14-0 with 11:57 to go.
Combs capped the first half scoring with a 23-yard field goal with 15 seconds left before the break.
At Lexington
(Class 1A championship)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
KDV (11-2)….0 0 7 0 – 7
PV (10-2)……7 10 7 14 – 38
Scoring:
First Quarter
PV – Harris Phelps, 23-yard run (Braydon Combs kick), 5:44
Second Quarter
PV – Jake Hyden, 1-yard run (Braydon Combs kick), 11:57
PV – Braydon Combs, 23-yard field, :15
Third Quarter
PV – Jake Hyden, 6-yard run (Braydon Combs kick), 10:31
KCD – Nathan Caldwell, 1-yard run (Zach Schonwetter kick), 6:22
Fourth Quarter
PV – Jake Hyden, 5-yard run (Braydon Combs kick), 5:12
PV – Devin Hall, 38-yard fumble return (Braydon Combs kick), 5:01