Middlesboro senior running back C.G. Ford ran in from 20 yards out to break a 42-42 tie in the fourth quarter. He came up with an interception on Corbin's following drive and the Yellow Jackets pulled away for the 62-42 win.
“It was a good game for the fans, I'm sure it was fun to watch,” said Corbin coach Steve Jewell. “Neither defense did a lot, but Middlesboro was able to make the plays at the end.”
Redhound quarterback Clint Cashen threw for 448 yards and three touchdowns. He also scored twice on keeper plays from inside the one-yard line. But he was also picked off three times.
The game resemble a heavyweight boxing match with both teams exchanging their best shots.
Corbin tried to go for an early knockout.
Josh Sanders snuck out of the backfield and was wide open for a 41-yard catch on the Redhounds opening drive. He capped it with a two-yard touchdown run.
Sanders came free again on Corbin's next possession and took a pass over the middle from Cashen 35 yards to the end zone to make it a 13-0 game.
“They were slipping him out of the backfield and our linebackers were losing him,” Middlesboro coach Kenny Roark said. “But we made some adjustments defensively and did a much better job in the second half.”
The Jackets got a spark from a big hit by defensive back Dalin Farr to break up a 3rd down pass attempt and force a punt later in the first quarter.
One the ensuing drive Middlesboro quarterback Trevor Hoskins sprinted to his left on an option play but saw nothing but a sea of Redhound defenders. He reversed field and circled back around to his right, picked up a big block in the backfield and out ran the Corbin secondary for a 46-yard touchdown. That made it 13-7.
Corbin answered as Cashen hit Corey Sewell for a 31-yard gain on 4th and 12 from the Middlesboro 32. Sewell was taken down just inches from the goal line. Cashen went in on a quarterback sneak and the two-point conversion made it 21-7.
Casey Earls returned the kickoff 35 yards to midfield and a face-mask penalty gave the Jackets a first down at the Redhound 36. Earls took a swing pass 30 yards on the next play and Hoskins ran in untouched from six yards out to cut the lead to 7.
Middlesboro sophomore Hunter Adams intercepted Cashen on the first play of the next Redhound possession and ran it back 52 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 21 and send the Jacket bench into a frenzy.
A fired up Middlesboro defense held Corbin to a three and out. On the Jackets' second play, Hoskins hit Earls for a 54-yard pass play that gave Middlesboro their first lead of the game.
“We never got down, we stayed in it mentally,” Roark said. “Just because some bad things happen to you, you can't give up. We never felt like we weren't going to get back in the game.”
The teams traded possession and Corbin was driving for a tying score late in the first half. But Adams made a one-handed interception in the end zone on a 3rd and two from the Middlesboro seven yard line to keep the score 28-21 at the half. Adams now has five interceptions on the season.
Corbin tied it when Cashen passed to Jake Reeves for a 38-yard touchdown to tie the game with 10 minutes to go in the third quarter.
The teams went back forth for the rest of the quarter. Ford ran the kickoff back 44 yards to set up Hoskins' 35-yard touchdown run.
Cashen passed to Wagers for 33 yards and to Sanders for 14 before diving over the top for another one-yard score.
“Corbin showed a lot of class to keep coming back and that Cashen kid threw the ball all over the field on us,” Roark said. “But we've got a pretty potent offense and were able to pull some things out the hat.”
Ford's 46-yard run put Middlesboro back on top 42-35 with 3:14 to go in the quarter.
This time Cashen hit Rob Madon for a 31-yard touchdown to tie it up just before the quarter ended.
But the fourth quarter belonged to Middlesboro. The Yellow Jackets brought in two tight ends and ran the ball right at the Corbin defense. Middlesboro went 60 yards on ten plays and took 4:30 off the clock and Ford capped the drive with a 20-yard touchdown run.
Ford's interception gave Middlesboro a first down at the Redhound 31. Earls covered those 31 yards on two runs to put the Jackets up 56-42 with 3:37 to play in the game.
Middlesboro defense forced four straight incompletions and Hoskins added his fourth rushing touchdown of the game to round out the scoring.
“That two tight-end set gave us some match-up problems,” Jewell said. “I don't think we got tired, but the game was mentally draining.
They've got a ton of speed and we knew we felt coming in that we were going to have to score a lot to win it. When you score 42 points you expect to win. I'm proud of our kids' effort, they never got down and kept plugging away. Obviously we're disappointed with the outcome.”
- - -
Corbin 13 8 21 0 - 42
Middlesboro 7 21 14 20 - 62
C - Sanders 2 run (Wagers kick)
C - Sanders 35 pass from Cashen (kick failed)
M - Hoskins 46 run (Bisceglia kick)
C - Cashen 1 run (Sanders run)
M - Hoskins 6 run (Bisceglia kick)
M - Adams 52 interception return (Bisceglia kick)
M - Earls 54 pass from Hoskins (Bisceglia kick)
C - Reeves 38 pass from Cashen (Wagers kick)
M - Hoskins 35 run (Bisceglia kick)
C - Cashen 1 run (Wagers kick)
M - Ford 46 run (Bisceglia kick)
C - Madon 31 pass from Cashen (Wagers kick)
M - Ford 20 run (Bisceglia kick)
M - Earls 6 run (Bisceglia kick)
M - Hoskins 27 run (kick blocked)
Corbin MHS
First Downs 26 19
Total Yards 458 484
Rushes-Yards 20-10 38-328
Passing Yards 448 156
Passing 25-52-3 7-16-0
Fumbles/Lost 1/0 0/0
Turnovers 3 0
Penalties/Yards 8/69 13/96
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Corbin, Sanders 8-17, Light 3-3, Sewell 2-(-1), Cashen 7-(-20); Middlesboro, Hoskins 9-117, Earls 13-115, Ford 9-95, Bowling 2-9, Adams 1-(-1), Farr 1-(-7).
PASSSING: Corbin, Cashen 25-57-448-3; Middlesboro, Hoskins 7-16-156-0.
RECEIVING: Corbin, Madon 7-73, Wagers 5-114, Sewell 5-74, Sanders 4-106, Reeves 4-81; Middlesboro, Earls 3-91, Ford 2-41, Adams 1-18, Russell 1-6.
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