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The first RPI ratings for basketball teams across the state were released last week. For those interested, the RPI is supposed to be a better way of comparing two teams, taking into account not only wins and losses, but the quality of competition. It is the reason you see football teams seeking out better competition. North Laurel currently has the highest RPI in the 13th Region among the boys’ teams, while Corbin leads the region on the girls’ side. Coach Isaac Wilson’s Lady Redhounds continue to cruise along, extending the current winning streak to seven with wins over Leslie County, Somerset and Danville in the Lady Redhound Christmas Bash last week. Corbin is playing...

Blowouts in high school basketball are a fairly common occurrence. There are nights like what Corbin faced against North Laurel, where desperation mode kicks in as a team tries to dig out from a nine or ten point deficit by throwing up bad shots, leading to an ever-increasing hole. Then you have games like Thursday night between Corbin and Lynn Camp on the girls’ side where it is ugly early and only gets worse from there. The Lady Redhounds ended up winning, 72-14. Corbin put on a similar performance Friday night against Williamsburg, winning, 74-17. On any given night, you can go down the statewide scoreboard on the Kentucky High School Athletic Association website...

It was the good, the bad and the ugly in boys’ basketball this past week. The good is Coach Eric Swords’ Williamsburg Yellow Jackets remaining undefeated at 5-0. The Jackets pulled out an overtime win at home Friday against Harlan County for the biggest win of the season. Coming off of an 11-10 season, Williamsburg is riding a wave. Can the Jackets keep that wave going this week with a trip to Corbin Friday night? Stay tuned. The bad is the departure of Whitley County Coach Mark White just two games into the season. White took the firing in stride, which you expect from someone with 32 years of coaching experience. Coaches with any time in the...

Friday night brought a promising year in local high school football to a screeching halt as Corbin and Williamsburg both lost. From the time the season kicked off, Coach Tom Greer’s Redhounds appeared to be a team on a mission to make it to Lexington, despite Class 4A being loaded with talent. Greer did everything possible to prepare the Redhounds for a playoff run.  The schedule was pretty solid, beginning with Christ School out of North Carolina and continuing with the likes of Franklin County, Pulaski County, and Class 6A Simon Kenton. I still believe the annual game against Whitley County should be removed until Coach Zeke Eier has a couple of years...

To paraphrase a line from one of my favorite retired NFL coaches, how about them Redhounds! The Corbin Redhounds Eighth Grade Football Team won their second consecutive division two state championship during a game late Saturday afternoon against the Paducah Middle School. This is actually the Redhounds third eighth grade state title in five years having also won the title in 2017. Kudos to head coach Brent Jackson and his staff. It was well earned victory that all of Corbin should be proud of. I’ve known Brent for several years and he is a real class act in addition to being an exceptional coach. Will we see a third consecutive eighth grade state title...

While I was covering the Corbin Lady Redhounds’ state volleyball tournament game against Montgomery County, I noticed that there were fans and then there were spectators. Almost everyone in Gilliam Gymnasium that night was cheering for Corbin or Montgomery County, except for the little boy who was more interested in rolling his truck around the floor in the upper section. In fairness, it was a cool truck. In the section of bleachers right behind the Lady Redhounds’ bench was a sea of students, many of them fellow athletes, decked out in red. And it wasn’t just red t-shirts. There were red towels similar to the “Terrible Towels” that Pittsburgh Steelers’ fans wave. At least...

I’m going to give the Kentucky High School Athletic Association a lot of credit when it comes to disseminating information. Football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, baseball and softball scores on the KHSAA.org website are updated quickly and readily available when the media or Joe or Jane fan need or want them. Their people are also very good about answering questions, including things like what happened in the Williamsburg/Pineville football game that saw Williamsburg go from touchdown to first-down and goal from near midfield, or as Jackets’ radio announcer Stan Lovett called it, “Halfway to Gatliff.” But when it comes to some other sports, whose results don’t just involve a final score, the website...

Though our local coaches may not agree, I have to say, it was a great to see our local football teams in the midst of competitive games. Pineville came to Finley Legion Field in Williamsburg Friday night and gave the Jackets all they wanted in the Jackets’ 21-13 win. The Mountain Lions were driving for a potential tying score with less than a minute left when Williamsburg’s Cooper Prewitt came up with the game-saving interception. Coach Jerry Herron, Jr. again expressed his frustration with his team, noting that the Jackets failed to play well and escaped with the win. Williamsburg will, likely, see Pineville again on Nov. 12 in the second round of...

For the second time this season, I had to listen to Williamsburg Football Coach Jerry Herron, Jr. talk about an ugly loss suffered by his team. As Herron pointed out back on August 27 when the Yellow Jackets lost 60-28 at Middlesboro, “This ain’t our first butt-kicking!” Fast forward to Friday night at Finley Legion Field where the Sayre Spartans pounded the Jackets, 35-17. The Spartans are led by former Marshall University great and NFL quarterback Chad Pennington, and are quarterbacked by Pennington’s son, Cole. Cole Pennington threw for 344 yards and four touchdowns, while running for another. “We got humbled tonight,” Herron said. While Herron is always upfront about his team’s performance, I...

Williamsburg picked up a quality win Friday night with a 21-14 victory against Somerset. While most people will look at the Briar Jumpers’ 1-5 record and wonder how it is considered a quality win, losing to Beechwood, Paintsville, Corbin and now Williamsburg is like a college team lining up against Alabama, Clemson and Georgia. The good news for the Jackets is they have another opportunity for a statement win Friday when undefeated class A Sayre rolls into Finley Legion Field. The Spartans are currently fourth in the class A RPI rankings, having demolished Eminence, Fort Knox, Dayton and Harlan. They also picked up a 32-24 win over Frankfort. Sayre will be looking to throw...