The Wayne County Cardinals, 6-1 on the season and coming off a hard-fought 49-34 district home win over Knox Central, return to action this Friday night traveling to district rival Corbin, with the district championship on the line.
The Cardinals own the #4 ranking in the latest Associated Press
Class 4A poll, while the Redhounds own the #8 spot. Corbin owns a
5-2 mark on the season and is coming off a 26-21 win at Lincoln County.
Both teams are a perfect 2-0 in league play, as the contest marks
the 31st meeting all-time between the schools, as Corbin owns a 26-4
series edge, which included a 35-6 win in 2014, the last time the
teams met.
"This is a big-time game and our kids don't understand what it's
like to play Corbin. This was a game that was a measuring-stick for
so many years and nobody on our team has ever had the opportunity to
play them. We know they are very good on both sides of the ball and
their team-speed is very scary. A lot is at stake in this game and
we're very excited about the challenge," said Cards head coach Shawn
Thompson.
The Hounds return to the district schedule for the first time since
2014 and Justin Haddix has the program rolling in his sixth season in
charge with a 63-15 record that includes two Class 3A Runner-up
finishes in 2017 and 2018, losing to Louisville Central last season
20-19. Haddix is in his 10th season overall and led Perry County
Central to a 26-20 mark, before taking over one of the area's most
tradition-rich schools.
Corbin has dominated the all-time series, but Wayne County has
managed three wins in the previous five meetings.
The 2019 Redhounds own three straight wins, which include district
wins over Lincoln County last week and Knox Central (38-21) the
previous week.
The Redhounds average 26.7 points per game and 339 yards of offense
per outing with 198 of that on the ground led by freshman quarterback
Cameron Combs.
Combs has completed 61 of 97 passes for 820 yards with 6 TDs against
2 interceptions, plus has rushed 38 times for 196 yards, with another
four scores, thru six games.
Senior running back Nick Yeager leads a talented backfield with 86
rushes for a team best 555 yards and 7 scores, while sophomore UK
offer Trey Longmire has 44 rushes for 165 yards with a TD and 6
catches for 100 yards and another score.
Corbin has a talented duo in the receiving corps as well as senior
Jacob Steely teams with freshman Dakota Patterson to pace the passing
game. Steely has a team best 31 catches for 385 yards with 4 TDs,
while Patterson has 15 receptions for 279 yards with a score.
All stats are through six games, as last week's numbers against
Lincoln County are unavailable at press-time.
"Combs just keeps getting better each and every game and is a really
good quarterback. They also have good skill kids and Yeager is a
very good running back that plays hard on both sides of the ball.
They have speed, they have excellent size on both sides of the line,
so we know we have to match their intensity on the line of
scrimmage. We also have to line-up and play sound, smart-assignment
football," said Thompson.
The Cardinal defense, which is allowing 25 points per night, is led
by the 68 total tackles and 1 sack of sophomore linebacker Lee
Shelton, while Cody Roysdon is second on the unit with 64 total
stops. Seniors Cody Vaughn and Riley Hancock are next with 50 and 48
stops, as Hancock also leads the unit with a team high 3
interceptions. As the unit will look to improve, after allowing 420
yards in last week's win.
The Wayne County offense, facing a Corbin defense that allows a very
stingy 19.4 points per game, is tallying 47.6 points per game and 430
yards of offense and that starts with junior running back and All-
State candidate Braedon Sloan.
Sloan has rushed for 1545 yards and 28 TDs on just 121 carries and
also leads the receivers with 15 catches for 368 yards and 6 scores,
while senior wide receiver Tito Ruiz adds 15 touches for 236 yards
with 3 scores.
Thomas Spencer also is a weapon and has totaled 12 catches for 290
yards and 4 TDs the past five games.
Junior quarterback Brody Weaver has completed 57 of 103 passes for
967 yards with 13 TDs, against just two interceptions and has rushed
45 times for 144 yards and two scores.
Versatile offensive weapon Carson Simpson has scored touchdowns four of the last five games and now has 143 rushing yards on just 12
attempts, plus three catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.
"We really struggled up-front against Knox Central and Corbin is
another team with very good size and speed, so we have to make sure
we come off the football with a purpose. We know everyone is keying
on Braedon, so we have to have some others step-up. We know this is
a big-time game and will have a big-time atmosphere. We just need to
be focused all week in practice, take care of the football and be
sound on special teams," said Thompson.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Corbin High School's Campbell Field.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.