The Whitley County High School Football Team is off to a tough start this season picking up its third loss of the season to Rockcastle County High School last Friday 45-8.
“They were good. We had a hard time getting going. Those guys played hard and competed. We just were not in great position to give ourselves a chance to win the game. Offensively, we had a hard time making first downs. They were pretty aggressive up front that caused us a lot of confusion. They got a lot of pressure on the quarterback fast,” said Colonels Head Coach Matt Rhymer.
“It was hard to make throws down the field. In the run game, they had a lot of run throughs. It was hard to gain much yardage there. They had a really good game plan and executed it. We had a pretty hard time.”
Rhymer noted when Rockcastle was on offense, they “played Rockcastle Football,” and lined up and ran right at the defense.
“We made some plays and made some stops. Once the ball got into space, they had a couple of backs with pretty good speed. Once the ball got into the open field, we had a hard time tackling it. They just got downhill on us in a hurry. They kind of overwhelmed our guys a little bit. It was just a tough night for us,” Rhymer added.
Last season, Whitley County lost to Rockcastle by a score of 20-48. Rockcastle has now swept the last six meetings between the two programs.
Rhymer said every week, he and his staff have felt like the team is close to being there on certain plays.
“It is just learning how to play. We are extremely young in a lot of spots. It is being able to take that next step and finish that block. It doesn’t take a whole lot sometimes to have a successful play. If you miss by a little bit, it really makes it hard,” he said.
“If we can just shore some things up and be on a little more solid footing and be a little bit more confident in what we are doing and trust what we are doing. We just need to keep getting better. I think for us, getting a little bit better will show up a whole lot, but we have to get better. We have to do a good job as a staff to put our guys in the best positions to have some success and to get a little bit better.”
Rhymer said the biggest thing his team needs is confidence.
“We need to go get some first downs and see the chains move and sustain a drive. I think once these guys understand they can, I think that will go a long way,” he added.
This Friday night, Whitley County will host South Laurel High School.
Last Friday, South Laurel defeated Knox Central in a nail biter winning 17-14 at home. The Cardinals improved to 2-1 on the year.
In 2025, Whitley County traveled to South Laurel where the Colonels were shut out by a score of 49-0.
Rhymer said he feels like his team needs to run the ball better, which will allow them to slow down the defense’s pass rush. Getting the ball out quicker with some quick passes is also a goal.
“Try to get to second and six and try to get to third and three. Just try to manufacture some first downs,” he said.
South Laurel will not be easy to stop on offense.
“They have a talented young quarterback. Obviously, they are well coached. They spread the field out nice. They do a good job of manufacturing first downs. I think they are young in a lot of spots to. We just need to try to make them go the long hard way, and us trying to find a way to go the long hard way on offense. We just need to put a good drive together and score. Once you start believing you can do that, I think things can get better,” Rhymer said.
