Football

Before the start of Friday’s second round playoff game, the Williamsburg Jackets held a moment of silence in honor of sophomore football player Nick Rainwater, who died on Nov. 1 at the University of Kentucky Medical Center following a long illness. The Jacket players then ran through a paper sign with the words “Nick Strong Our District #6 Jacket Strong” as they took the field to start the game. “We have dedicated everything to him. Everything we say is Nick Strong. He is on our mind and will never go away,” Williamsburg Head Coach Jerry Herron said after Friday’s game. “He gave us strength and everything tonight.” While many teams might have...

The Corbin High School Football Team ran their overall season record to 12-0 with a victory Friday night over district foe Lincoln County, and now are making plans for a rematch against Johnson Central, which was the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season. Friday night’s Corbin vs. Lincoln County High School football game essentially turned into the Seth Huff show as the Corbin running back scored four touchdowns to lead Corbin to a 42-21 victory and another district title. Overall Huff carried the ball 16 times garnering 168 net rushing yards. Cameron Combs added six rushes for 73 yards. Seth Mills also had six rushes for 18 total yards and...

When it plays Saturday afternoon, the Corbin Middle School Eighth Grade Football Team will be going for its second consecutive state title. Last Saturday, Corbin defeated Taylor County at East Jessamine High School by a score of 20-0 in the Eighth Grade Division 2 semi-final game. Head Coach Brent Jackson said that he was pleased with his team’s performance Saturday. “Needless to say, that was a game we had on our radar for quite some time. It was kind of a rematch of last year’s semi-final game,” Jackson said. “Taylor was loaded. They are a good team. They were balanced so we knew we were going to have to play a great game...

The first round of the Kentucky high school football playoffs has produced a mixed bag of results for local teams. One easily won its first round match-up Friday night. Another didn’t have to play in the first round at all after the team, which would have been its first round opponent, canceled the rest of its football season about three weeks ago. A third saw its season come to a close with its first round defeat by a district foe. Corbin The Corbin Redhounds ran their overall record to 11-0 following a 40-8 victory over the Wayne County Cardinals Friday night. During their first meeting of the season, Corbin defeated Wayne County by...

The Corbin Middle School Eighth Grade Division 2 Football Team is one win away from having consecutive state titles. Corbin defeated Taylor County Saturday night at East Jessamine by a score of 20-0 to advance to the championship game, which will be played on Nov. 13. The Redhounds also won the Eighth Grade Division 2 title in 2020, the Eighth Grade Division 2 title in 2017, the Eighth Grade Division 1 title in 2014, and the Eighth Grade Division 2 title in 2010. For more details see Wednesday's edition of the News Journal.

The Williamsburg Yellow Jackets will host Pineville at Finley Legion Field next Friday in the second round of the Class A Football Playoffs. Pineville defeated Harlan in the first-round matchup Thursday night, 29-26, setting up the rematch of the Oct. 15 regular season game that the Jackets pulled out 21-13 win over the Mountain Lions with a last-minute defensive stand. “It was a win,” said Williamsburg Coach Jerry Herron, Jr. after the game “They (Pineville) played hard.” “They just expected them to come over here and lay down, and they didn’t,” Herron said of Pineville.

The second season will begin Friday night for football teams across the state and Corbin will look to continue its drive for an undefeated season. Whitley County will attempt to pull off a big upset on the road, and Williamsburg will watch and wait to see who will be traveling to Finley Legion Field for the second round on Nov. 12. Corbin Redhounds The Redhounds completed their first undefeated regular season since 2008 Friday night with a 40-10 road win in northern Kentucky against Campbell County. “That was good for us, just because of some obstacles that started with two hours and 40 minutes on a bus,” said Coach Tom Greer. “The...

The local football playoff picture is set, but the last week of the regular season has Corbin seeking perfection, Williamsburg seeking consistency and Whitley County looking for a huge upset against one of the traditional state football powerhouses. Whitley County Colonels Whitley County will travel to Danville Friday night, for what will be a taste of what the Colonels will face beginning in the first round of the playoffs. A road trip to face a highly ranked opponent. “We want to finish the season the right way,” said Coach Zeke Eier explaining that the Colonels have been within striking distance of winning in four of their seven losses. While the game will not...

Williamsburg football fans, cancel those other plans for Friday night as the Yellow Jackets will be playing after all. Coach Jerry Herron, Jr. has arranged for Williamsburg to play at home against McCreary Central. The Class 3A Raiders come into the game with a record of 3-7. McCreary Central defeated Clinton County on Sept. 4, 36-22. Running back Blake Botts carried the ball 19 times for 192 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Jared Kidd had 14 carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns as the Raiders put up 165 rushing yards on the night. The Raiders followed that up with a 33-26 victory over Pineville on Sept. 10. Quarterback Maddux McKinney completed eight of...

Corbin, Whitley County and Williamsburg each found themselves in tough fights on the gridiron Friday night. Corbin Redhounds The Redhounds traveled to Lincoln County Friday night for a game that would determine the district championship and found themselves in the midst of the war that Coach Tom Greer had predicted. The two teams went into the locker room at halftime tied at 21. “We needed to be in a tough football game to see how we were going to respond,” Greer said noting that the players were zoned in and focused on what the coaches were telling them concerning halftime adjustments. Corbin came out of the locker room and dominated the second half, pulling...