Middlesboro vs. Corbin
The Jackets (3-5, 2-0 in district play) have righted the ship with two straight wins after struggling against a murderous schedule early in the season.
Corbin (7-1, 2-0) has a pair of wins against 5-A opponents and a high-powered offense has propelled the Redhounds to a #3 ranking in Class 2-A.
With a depleted backfield, Middlesboro’s hopes of pulling off an upset will likely rest on the arm of sophomore quarterback Chase Roark and receiving combination of senior Matt Powers, senior Barton Poore and sophomore Thomas Epperson.
Powers has come on strong the past few weeks and leads the team with 30 catches, 523 yards and five touchdowns. Poore has 20 grabs for 326 yards and three scores and Epperson has emerged as a big-play threat with seven catches for 192 yards and a TD.
Roark has battled through ankle and knee injuries to complete 74-of-164 passes for 1154 yards and nine touchdowns with eight interceptions.
Senior Cody Smith is the Jackets’s new lead back and has run for 266 yards and three TDs on just 38 carries. Junior fullback Josh Delauer has 109 yards on 19 carries and three TDs.
The MHS defense is led by linebackers Jon Mikel Evans, a junior with 44 total tackles, and freshman Dalton Hughett with 46.
Seniors Jeffrey Poe and Ronnie Johnson anchor things up front along with Tyler Harris and Powers has moved to defensive end.
Delauer and Smith see a lot of time at outside linebacker and the front eight will be challenged by the running game of Corbin senior Caleb Watkins.
Watkins has rushed for 1212 yards and 19 touchdowns on 107 carries to lead the Redhounds this season and has come up big against the Jackets in Corbin victories the last two season.
Ryan Fritts and Matthew Taylor have combined for over 700 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns to complement Watkins on the ground.
Junior quarterback Roman Mitchell has completed 38-of-73 passes for 747 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Taylor is the top receiver with ten catches for 176 yards, Ben House has eight for 199 and Watkins also provides a big-play threat in the passing game with eight catches for 216 yards.
Middlesboro’s young safety tandem of Sean Frost and Epperson will be tested to keep Watkins in front of them. Cornerbacks Shay Patterson and Barton Poore have been sure tacklers for the most part this season and will have to stay on their toes not only when the Redhounds look to pass, but also when they try to get Watkins and Taylor the ball on sweeps.
Watkins at linebacker and Taylor at corner also lead the Corbin defense. The Redhounds have an experienced secondary with seniors Dillon Reed, C.J. Crawford and Devin Sowders all seeing time along with Taylor and Mitchell.
Corbin brings size and speed up front with a rotation of seniors Jonathan Goforth, Guy Lewallen, Aaron Manns, Kendell Vickers, and Justin Spencer.
The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m.
Bell County vs.
McCreary Central
The Bobcats (7-1, 3-0) have already clinched the District 7-4A title and will be looking to complete another perfect district season tonight.
They go up against an improved McCreary (6-2, 1-2) team led by senior quarterback Aaron Watts and senior running back Zach Roark. The tandem gives the Raiders one of the top rushing attacks in Class 4A out of the spread option.
Roark has surpassed the 1,000 yard mark for the second straight year and found the end zone 12 times. While Watts has run for over 800 yards with 12 TDs while completing 14 passes for 269 yards and four scores.
The duo could pose a threat to a Bobcat defense that has allowed 1400 rushing yards on the season.
However, McCreary’s defense likely won’t be able to contain Bell’s stable of running backs.
Sophomore Cory Davenport leads the Bobcats with 981 yards on 118 carries and 16 touchdowns. John Dudley Hilton, Taylor Mills, Matt Raines, Dominic Carton and Ryan Collett have combined for another 800 yards and 12 TD on the ground.
Junior quarterback Ben Madon has completed 44-of-73 passes on the season for 858 yards with 9 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
Cody Davenport and Raines are his two favorite targets with 15 and 14 catches, respectively. Davenport has gone for 374 yards and four TD while Raines has 263 and three.
Hilton leads a balanced Bobcat defense with 74 tackles. Josh Brown and Eric Miller join him at linebacker, with Billy Lawson and Cody Marcum anchoring the interior line.
Dominic Carton, Keith Lowe and Justin Patterson lead the way at defensive end and will be relied on heavily to contain Watts and keep him from getting outside.
McCreary is undefeated at home this season, but hasn’t faced a team the caliber of the Bobcats.
This one also kicks off at 7:30 p.m.
Pineville at Hazard
The Mountain Lions (4-4, 1-1) are smarting from last weeks 26-18 loss to Harlan, but can still force a tie for the District 7-1A title with a upset over the Bulldogs.
Hazard (5-3, 2-0) presents a tough test for the Lions with a balanced offense and tough defense. They dominated Harlan in a 34-0 win two weeks ago and won in a forfeit over Jenkins last week.
The Bulldogs are led by junior quarterback John Combs who has completed 74-of-124 passes for 1,013 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions.
Combs and running backs Alex Hall and Eric Back have combined for over 800 yards rushing and fullback Corey Slone ran for 117 yard and two TDs against Harlan.
The Mountain Lions counter with their most balanced team in years.
Junior running back Cody Hendrickson has been their workhorse, running 112 times for 720 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Mark Combs has completed 72-of-126 passes for 1,083 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions.
Brandon Bailey has come on after and injury to Alvin Smith to complement Hendrickson in the running game.
Combs favorite target has been junior Eric Raby who has 26 catches for 304 yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Hollingsworth provides a deep threat with 11 catches for 211 yards the a team-high three scores. Senior A.Y. Evans has seven catches for 225 yards and a TD after missing the first two games with a shoulder injury.
Senior linebacker Jon Widener and Raby lead the Lion defense with 65 and 74 tackles, respectively.
Seniors Kody Bingham, Tim Hubbard and Jamie Lawson will have to play solid along the defensive line to keep the Lions in the game with Hendrickson, Bailey and Jordan Parks providing the outside rush for the Lions.
Raby and defensive backs Hollingsworth and Jarrod Nunnelley will be matched up with Hazard’s leading receivers Jordan Olinger, Joey Meehan and B.J. Combs.
The game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m.
Cumberland Gap vs. Cosby
The Panthers (3-5) head to Cocke County this evening to take on Class A, Region 1 opponent Cosby (4-4).
Leading the Eagles are a pair of running backs in Robert Herzog and Nick Koenig, who do as much damage catching the ball a they do running it, and quarterback Jordan Cates.
Cosby has met up with two Cumberland Gap opponents this season, losing to Claiborne 34-6 in their season opener and coming from behind to beat Chuckey-Doak 22-16.
The Panthers also split with those teams, handling Chuckey-Doak 35-12, and nearly coming from behind in a 28-26 loss to Claiborne last week.
Key for the Panthers will be the health of senior quarterback Ryan Shipley, who played through a badly sprained ankle in the second half last week’s game.
Coach Neal Pucciarelli called Shipley the “heart and soul” of the team and if he’s limited or unable to play, freshman Blake Franklin would take his place.
Senior Whitt Willis rejoined the Panther receiving corps last week and joins Seth Sharpe, Joseph Jenkins, Austin Oney and Trey Treece in a deep set of playmakers outside.
Senior Jeremy Jones is the top running back while Jenkins also sees time in the backfield as a change of pace.
The Panthers have lost two straight to 4-A teams in their region and will be looking to build momentum for a pivotal game at 4-A Grainger next week.
This is the first meeting between the schools and it will kick off at 7:30 p.m.
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