Football

“This is where I want to be and this is where I want to coach,” Jerry Herron said during a 2006 interview with the News Journal prior to the start of his first season as head coach of the Williamsburg High School Football Team. Often in sports, statements like this are merely “coach speak” or soundbites that head coaches give when they are hired for a new job only to move on a few years down the road to something bigger and better. In Herron’s case though, he really meant it when he said this is where he wants to be. This season marks Herron’s 20th season as head coach of...

To paraphrase professional wrestling legend Ric Flair, “To be the best you gotta beat the best.” The Corbin Redhounds have exemplified this motto year-in and year-out by scheduling some of the toughest competition in the state, and several teams from neighboring states as well. 2025 looks to be no different. Let’s take a week-by-week look at the road ahead… 2025 Cumberland Falls Pigskin Classic This year’s Pigskin Classic promises to be one of the very best in recent memory, with a pair of interesting matchups that should bring a large crowd out to Campbell Field. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, Aug. 23. Corbin Athletic Director Tackett Wilson expects moving...

In year three of the Head Coach Darrell Hendrix era, the Lynn Camp Wildcats are once again hoping to put more marks in the win column and end the season with their first overall winning record since 2018. The Cats will feature a solid group of veteran players this fall, including senior DJ Wren, who finished 2024 as the team’s leading rusher, and was their overall leading scorer. Wren was also the second-leading tackler on the defensive side of the ball last fall. While lack of depth on the roster has consistently been an issue at Lynn Camp over the years, if Hendrix’s starters can manage to stay healthy in the...

Last season, the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets went 8-2 winning the district and advancing to the second round of the playoffs before falling to Hazard. The Jackets lost nine seniors from last year’s team to graduation, including starting quarterback Nate Goodin, who was also their leading rusher and accounted for more than 2,000 yards of total offense and 124 points, which was about one-third of the team’s total in 2024. Despite the loss of some key players, Coach Jerry Herron said his team will be ready to compete this season. “Our saying at Williamsburg is tradition never graduates. Our tradition is developing these players to step in. Nate was a phenomenal player as...

After a 5-6 season in 2024 that ended with a one-score loss to Wayne County in the first round of the Class 4A state championship playoffs, Head Coach Matt Rhymer’s Whitley County Colonels are poised to take the next steps toward becoming a regional contender in 2025. “We have a lot of experience coming back,” Rhymer said recently. “This is year three for me and my staff, and the biggest thing that I’ve learned at this level is that it’s all about development. We have several guys this year who have been able to develop. Those guys, when I first met them, they were young and they weren’t ready. They’ve...

The Corbin Independent School District announced Wednesday that they have hired Luke Salmons to be the next head coach of the CHS varsity football program. “CISD has agreed in principle with Coach Luke Salmons from Cabell Midland High School (West Virginia) to be the next head coach of the Redhounds,” said a statement from the district. “More information will follow in the coming days, and a reception to welcome Coach Salmons and his family to Redhound Nation will take place next week.” Additional details regarding Salmons’ hire will be provided soon.

We have been experiencing some bitterly cold temperatures in recent days, with snowy and icy road conditions that have kept many people inside their homes. If you are a Corbin Redhound football fan, one good way to avoid cabin fever would be to check out the over 170 videos that have been uploaded so far to the new Redhound Archive YouTube page. Lance Freeman (CHS, Class of 2009) is the man behind Redhound Archive, which went live online last fall. A member of the school’s football team between 2005-2008, the project began about four years ago when he was trying to collect games that he himself had been involved in. “It...

The Corbin Redhounds are one win away from another Kentucky High School Athletic Association state championship berth, but standing in their way is a Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornado team that is trying to keep their impressive undefeated season alive. The Hounds improved to 12-1 on the season last week when they defeated visiting Ashland Blazer, 42-7. It was the very definition of a dominating performance, with Corbin tallying up about 400 yards of total offense while limiting the Tomcats to only about 200 yards and a single score on the night. Senior quarterback Kade Elam led the way for the Redhounds in their win over Ashland, rushing for four...

Brent Jackson has led the charge for the Corbin Middle School football program as head coach for the past 28 years. In what could have very well been his final game at the helm, the eighth grade Redhounds went out on top with a 14-8 state championship win over Paducah in the finals of this year’s Kentucky Middle School Football Association Division 2 tournament. “They are as resilient as any group that we’ve had,” Jackson said of his 2024 eighth grade squad. “I can’t say enough about how proud I am of them.” The state championship game was played this past Saturday at Lexington Christian Academy. Corbin defeated McCreary County and...

This week, the second round of the 2024 Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Championship football playoffs will be contested. The News Journal’s two remaining coverage area teams - the Corbin Redhounds and the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets - are both set to host opponents that they have a lot of history with. Redhounds facing former district rival Wayne County Cardinals The Corbin Redhounds and the Wayne County Cardinals know each other very well. They have battled it out in multiple big game situations, and have spent many years competing as rivals in the same district. Corbin made the jump from Class 2A to Class 3A in 2011. They defeated Wayne County...