Football

The following is a recap of week 8 high school football action, as well as a look ahead to week 9... Whitley County Football Coach Jason Chappell said prior to Friday night’s 27-16 victory over Harlan County that his team was still getting better. At the end of the first quarter it couldn’t have been much worse, as the Colonels were facing a 9-0 deficit behind an offense that saw the first drive killed by an interception, and the second stifled by successive sacks. An 11-play 69-yard drive midway through the second quarter got Whitley County on the board. Quarterback Dylan Wilson successfully executed the quarterback sneak to get the last two...

All coverage area high school football teams are coming into week 8 of the 2017 season after picking up wins over district opponents last Thursday and Friday. The Whitley County Colonels were able to bounce back from a loss to North Laurel two weeks ago by traveling to Perry County Central and coming away with a 27-20 win over the Commodores, improving them to 4-3 on the year. Senior Logan Lambdin, whose late-game interception return for a touchdown sealed the win for Whitley, ended the night with nearly 100 total receiving yards, including two touchdowns. Senior Colonel Dawson Swain scored on a 20-yard touchdown run with just minutes remaining in the...

For two years in a row the Corbin Redhounds have played competitively, but ultimately ended up on the losing end against Class 2A powerhouse Mayfield. This year Head Coach Justin Haddix and company made the trip to Austin Peay University hoping that the third time would be the charm against the mighty Cardinals, and as it turns out, it was. Mayfield came into last week’s game against Corbin with an undefeated 5-0 record. Once again considered to be a favorite to contend for a Class 2A state title this December, the Cards presented the Hounds with arguably their toughest task to date. Corbin proved they were up to the task,...

The Whitley County Colonels were hoping to get back on track last Friday night, coming off of a bye week that followed a loss at Rockcastle County. They did just that, amassing nearly 400 yards of total offense in a 28-6 victory over Bell County in front of an enthusiastic home crowd at Colonel Stadium. Most of Whitley’s offensive production came from running backs Dawson Swain and Zach Saylor, with Swain rushing for 193 yards and a score, and Saylor rushing for 105 yard and a score. It was Logan Lambdin who got the Colonels on the board first last Friday, scoring on a 28-yard touchdown run with 8:11 remaining in...

The following is a partial collection of the high school football coverage found in the September 6, 2017 edition of the News Journal. For complete coverage, including previews, predictions and additional photos, see the print edition. Redhounds improve to 3-0 with 34-7 win over Pulaski County, Traveling Friday to take on defending Class A champs Beechwood The Corbin Redhounds have faced a pair of tough challenges during the past couple of weeks, first defending their home turf at Campbell Field against visiting Alcoa, Tenn. for the 2017 Cumberland Falls Pigskin Classic, and then welcoming in Class 5A favorites Pulaski County less than seven days later. On both occasions the Hounds answered the...

Even though the visiting Somerset Briar Jumpers picked up twice as many yards rushing the ball as Williamsburg did in total offense last Friday night, Yellow Jackets Head Coach Jerry Herron still found several positives to build on for next week. Despite the fact that the team finished the game with five different offensive linemen than they began with, the Jackets were still able to drive the ball late in the game and score a touchdown. “There is something to build on there,” Herron said. “We had some injuries. We had some kids who decided that they didn’t want to play anymore and departed on us. That’s just the way it...

As it has the last couple of seasons, the annual Corbin versus Whitley County football game drew in a massive crowd last Friday night. As the hosts in 2017, the Colonels were hoping to make a major statement with a win over the Hounds in week 0, but in the end the visitors were able to walk away with a 14-0 victory. This game, now called the First Priority Bowl, is always sure to create a lot of hype within the neighboring communities of Corbin and Whitley County. These meetings haven’t always lived up to the hype, but this year’s contest was certainly not a disappointment. Even with minutes left...

The Tri-County Sports Authority is gearing up for another exciting youth football season in 2017. Things got kicked off in a big way this past Monday with the annual TCSA camp, held at Corbin High School. The one-day camp is hosted each year by the Redhounds football team, and this year’s event saw around 100 kids participating. In addition to getting the chance to win awards in punt, pass, kick and racing competitions, all campers had the opportunity to sign up to be a part of the upcoming fall season. “We’ve seen an increase every year,” TCSA President Chad Estep said of recent participation in the camp. “Kids get an hour-and-a-half...

The first Border Bowl to be played outside of Williamsburg was certainly a memorable on for the Kentucky All-Stars, who traveled to Sevierville, TN last week and came away with a dominant 34-16 win over Tennessee to tie the all-time series up at 5-5. “This is my fourth year being involved with this game, and I’ve learned a lot of lessons from it,” said Kentucky Head Coach Jerry Herron (Williamsburg). “We knew that special teams and defense were going to be very critical in the game. You just can’t win without those things. You don’t really have the time to put an offense together, so you just want to basically...

The Border Bowl has traded one “burg” for another in 2017. In it’s tenth year, the annual high school football all-star game is being played outside of Williamsburg for the very first time, moving to the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The game itself will be played this Saturday, January 21, at Sevier County High School, but all practices leading up to the big event will be held at the Rocky Top Sports World complex in Gatlinburg. Players and coaches, including five athletes from our coverage area, reported there Wednesday for check-in and registration. As those five local Kentucky All-Stars were exiting Rocky Top, they took a few moments to pose...