The road to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Championships kicks off this week for high school football teams across the Commonwealth. In our coverage area, fans will be following along closely with the action in the Class A and Class 4A tournament brackets.
Williamsburg, Lynn Camp to meet in special Thursday encounter
Earlier this week, it was announced that the first round game between the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets and the Lynn Camp Wildcats will be played on Thursday, Nov. 7, at Williamsburg High School.
The Jackets come into this contest with an overall record of 7-1, having won their last six games in a row. Senior quarterback Nate Goodin has shined this season, passing for over 800 yards and six touchdowns while also rushing for nearly 1,000 yards and 16 scores.
Sophomore receiver Chase Meddles has been Goodin’s favorite target through the air, catching passes for just under 500 yards and four TD’s. Another sophomore, Eli Meadors, is coming into the playoffs as Williamsburg’s second-leading rusher (behind Goodin), averaging over 50 yards and at least one score per game.
Isaiah Sizemore, Peyton Tye and the rest of the Yellow Jacket defense have done a great job keeping opponents off the scoreboard in recent outings, completely shutting out Pineville, Lynn Camp and Harlan. They allowed Middlesboro to reach the end zone just once, and they limited Perry County Central to 12 points last week in a regular season finale victory, 28-12.
Where Williamsburg has dominated district competition this season, the Wildcats have struggled. As previously mentioned, they were shut out by the Jackets, 48-0, and they didn’t fare much better against either Middlesboro or Harlan. The only district contest that was remotely competitive was an 18-12 loss at Pineville two weeks ago.
The Campers are limping into the postseason after losing their last five games. This after a promising 3-1 start to their 2024 campaign that had some fans thinking they could make waves in the district.
The bright spot for Lynn Camp this season has definitely been the play of junior DJ Wren, who has rushed for nearly 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns. He is also one of the team’s leading tacklers on defense.
Redhounds hosting Russell County in round one
The Corbin Redhounds are firing on all cylinders heading into postseason play, boasting a 9-1 overall record and currently sitting near the top of the Class 4A rankings along with Boyle County, Franklin County and Paducah Tilghman.
Senior quarterback Kade Elam has posted absolutely crazy stats this season, throwing for over 2,600 yards and 28 touchdowns. He has also rushed for just under 300 yards and ten scores.
Of course, a QB doesn’t achieve that level of success without some pretty fantastic protection from his front line. This has certainly been the case for Elam this fall season.
Junior Cole Stevens has led the way for Corbin on the ground, averaging over 70 rushing yards per game, and a talented receiving corps including Cam Estep, Noah Cima, Colton Creekmore and Eli Pietrowski provides Elam with plenty of targets through the air.
The Hounds haven’t really been tested since their trip to Johnson Central in early October, and while Russell County (5-5) shouldn’t be overlooked, they stand little chance of giving Corbin a run for their money when they roll into Campbell Field this Friday evening. The Lakers are coming off of a 52-14 win over winless LaRue County in their regular season finale, while Corbin defeated a capable Pulaski County Maroons squad last week, 28-12.
Colonels going on the road to Wayne County
The most interesting opening round matchup featuring coverage area teams is definitely the Whitley County Colonels (5-5) traveling to face the Wayne County Cardinals (7-3).
This has been a roller coaster season for the Colonels, who opened the season with a big win over Knox Central only to lose a heartbreaker one week later at North Laurel. A win over Harlan County lifted their spirits, but disappointment followed again with back-to-back losses to Campbellsville and Bell County.
Whitley once again turned things around, winning back-to-back games against Scott, TN and Perry County Central, but a brutal loss to Corbin and a tough road game at Letcher County Central followed.
Last week, the Colonels managed to end the regular season on a high note with a 33-31 victory over Madison Southern, giving them some much-needed momentum heading into the playoffs this week.
Whitley’s offensive game plan has pretty much hinged on the running abilities of junior Dee Parker, who has rushed for well over 1,700 yards and 26 TD’s. Senior Chris Cureton has been handling quarterbacking duties, and is also the team’s leading tackler on defense.
Wayne County will have the benefit of home field advantage this Friday, but they ended the regular season with back-to-back losses (55-0 vs. Boyle County and 21-14 vs, North Laurel).
