Sports

The following articles were submitted to the News Journal by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources: 2016-17 deer season looks promising Many archery hunters in Kentucky will spend the last long weekend of summer getting an early jump on fall. Kentucky’s 2016-17 deer season kicks off the first Saturday in September with the start of the 136-day archery season. Anticipation has been building for months. “Everything right now points toward another good season,” said Gabe Jenkins, deer program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. That is welcome news following a string of record harvests. Hunters in Kentucky established a new benchmark last season by taking more than 155,000 deer....

The University of the Cumberlands Patriot Football team enters the 2016 season with a chip on their shoulder. The Patriots fell just short of a NAIA Football National Championship Series berth and now is the time for redemption. After a 2014 season where UC went 3-7, Head Coach Matt Rhymer and staff compiled a stellar 2015 squad who turned it around, tallying a 7-3 overall record and 4-1 in MSC East Division play. Now, UC looks to push their momentum even further forward as they look to win the MSC East and make their way back into postseason play in the NAIA this year. Players Lost UC would lose three key offensive...

The following are high school football scores of interest for the evening of Friday, August 19. The Corbin Redhounds hosted the Whitley County Colonels at Campbell Field Friday, coming away with a 42-6 victory to start the 2016 season off at 1-0. The Hounds will host Louisville Central next week in this year's Cumberland Falls Pigskin Classic. As for the Colonels, they will regroup and prepare for their season home opener against Middlesboro next week. The Lynn Camp Wildcats took the visiting Perry Central Commodores down to the wire Friday, but in the end the Cats would end up losing a heartbreaker, 35-34. Next week Lynn Camp will be on the road...

This From the Sidelines column appeared in the special 2016 football preview section of the August 17 edition of the News Journal: Last year I predicted that Whitley County would defeat Corbin in the opening week of the 2015 high school football season. I was wrong. This year I am going with the Redhounds, but you know what? I feel like there is a decent chance that I may be wrong again. Let me explain… I think that Corbin has to be considered the favorites coming into this matchup for a few reasons, but mainly it’s because they are returning most of their big playmakers on both sides of the ball....

The Lynn Camp Wildcats showed a lot of promise in the 2015 season. They got off to a rough start with a 40-0 loss at Perry Central, but then they won four straight, defeating McCreary Central, Jackson County, Berea and Jenkins. The Cats had a poor showing at Jellico, TN, losing 44-14, and then they lost a nail biter to Clinton County a week later, 28-26. They finished out the regular season getting blanked in district play, followed by a 68-8 defeat at the hands of eventual Class A state champions Pikeville in the first round of the KHSAA playoffs. All-in-all, 2015 was a bit of a letdown for Lynn Camp....

The 2016 Williamsburg Yellow Jackets will have a somewhat different look compared to recent years. In past seasons, Head Coach Jerry Herron has had the luxury of large senior classes. This season, however, he is only dressing five senior players. Herron said the decreased amount of seniors on his roster may be different than what he and his staff have grown accustomed to, but the silver lining is that many of his younger Jackets were able to get their feet wet in varsity games last year. So, even though this group may be younger in terms of their age, they are still bringing some valuable on-the-field expereince with them into...

Whitley County football Head Coach Jason Chappell is very excited with the 2016 season about to kickoff. He is eager to see his Colonels in action on the field, saying recently, “I really love our football team. I love where we’re at right now. This group has been absolutely getting after it. Physically, we’re a different bunch. I love the things that we’re capable of doing. I like our football team a lot.” Chappell graduated some key members of his roster last season, most notably senior quarterback Luke Woods, but he has a lot of talent coming back this fall, including eleven seniors who are motivated to lead Whitley to...

The Corbin Redhounds were one step away from their goal of playing for a Class 3A state championship in 2015. This year, Head Coach Justin Haddix seems confident that his team will be able to play their way back to the state semis, where they are likely to face a rematch with the defending state champion Belfry Pirates. A lot has to happen between now and then, however. Presently, Haddix and company are simply focusing on what they need to do to win games and advance on to the next challenge each week of the 2016 season. “As a team, we’re farther ahead of where we were last year at this...

In 2013 the News Journal’s inaugural NIBROC 3-on-3 basketball tournament featured eight teams. That number jumped up to 18 in year two, followed by 11 teams in year three. This year, the tournament set a new record for participation with a total of 23 teams converging at the Princess Vermillion McBurney Recreation Center in Corbin to see who would be crowned as the champions of the fourth annual event. Former Williamsburg Yellow Jacket Corey Shelton captained a team that won 2015’s tournament, and he was back this year to defend his crown alongside teammates Andrew Griffith and Aaron Cunningham. Shelton’s team, “The Blazers,”advanced all the way to the semifinals of the...

This From the Sidelines column appeared in the August 17 edition of the News Journal: Last Thursday night I, like many others, was blindsided by the news that the Forest Lanes bowling alley in Corbin would soon be closing its doors for good. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, can you imagine this town without Forest Lanes? Wow… I rarely ever bowl myself, but I know many folks who do. Not to mention, I have covered our local school bowlers for the past three years. To think about how many people this unfortunate situation is going to affect truly breaks my heart. It may not seem like a huge deal to...