With a 47-14 victory over visiting Lincoln County last Friday, the Corbin Redhounds (9-3) now stand alone as the only coverage area team left standing in the 2025 Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) postseason.
Senior running back Cole Stevens put on a show in the game against the Patriots, finding pay dirt four times – twice rushing and twice receiving.
Senior Cam Estep also had a great night for the Hounds, catching a touchdown pass from quarterback Mason Salmons and returning an interception for a score on defense.
Speaking of defense, Corbin was dominant on the defensive side of the ball all night, with sophomore Malachi Zachery and juniors Silas Mahan and Malachi Brown laying several heavy hits and preventing the Lincoln County offense from being able to gain any momentum.
By the time that the Patriots finally found the end zone, the game was far out of reach.
While Lincoln County was not a bad team by any stretch of the imagination (finishing the season at 9-3), Corbin will now face a considerable step up in terms of competition when they travel this Friday to take on the Highlands Bluebirds with a Class 4A regional championship on the line. The winners of this game will advance to the state championship tournament semifinals next week.
Highlands will come into the regional championship contest with a record of 10-2. Their only losses this season have come against Boyle County (21-20 on Sept. 12) and the Elder Panthers, a Cincinnati-area team who currently sits at a perfect 12-0 and also boasts wins over Covington Catholic and St. Xavier.
The Bluebirds feature a lot of depth in many positions on both sides of the ball. Offensively, senior quarterback Rio Litmer has passed for just under 2,000 yards this season, including 21 touchdown passes to a host of talented receivers.
Junior Tayden Lorenzen (son of the late UK Wildcat legend Jared Lorenzen) has been turning heads all season long with his playmaking ability as both a rusher (18 TDs) and a receiver (295 yards, 4 TDs).
The Highlands defensive unit is a veteran-led group, with the team’s top three tacklers all being seniors.
The Birds and the Hounds share just one common opponent this season in Frederick Douglass High School. Highlands survived a scare from the Class 6A Broncos way back in week one, managing to pull out a 21-20 win in double overtime. Corbin came out on the losing end of their encounter with Douglass about a month later, 28-7.
To find the last time that Corbin and Highlands met up with each other on the gridiron, you have to go back 35 years, to 1990. According to an archived Corbin! This Week article offering details from the game, the score was tied at 6-6 at the half before the Bluebirds scored 14 unanswered points to take a 20-6 lead in the third quarter. The Birds would go on to win by a final score of 27-14.
Kickoff for this Friday’s meeting between Corbin and Highlands is set for 7 p.m. at Highlands High School, located at 2400 Memorial Parkway in Fort Thomas.
Photos by Hunter Juarez
