By Les Dixon / Sports Editor
It wasn’t easy, but the Corbin Redhounds did just enough to earn a date with Prestonsburg in next week’s Class 2A, Region 1 title game.
Corbin jumped out to a 23-point lead during the game’s first eight minutes, but could never hit the cruise control button because Shelby Valley scored 20 unanswered points before coming up short, losing to the Redhounds, 44-27.
“Sometimes when you have a big lead, you have a letdown, and that’s what happened to us,” Corbin coach Steve Jewell said. “But you have to give credit to them. They made the adjustments and they found some of our weeks spots on defense and we do have some. We expected them to give us a tough game and they did.
“But to our kids’ credit, we made the adjustments at halftime and our defense made a big stop and we were able to pull out the win,” he added.
Caleb Watkins turned in another solid effort for the Redhounds (10-2) by carrying the ball 21 times for 217 yards and three touchdowns.
Now Jewell’s squad will focus on Prestonsburg, who defeated Middlesboro, 61-20.
“Prestonsburg is a totally different team than the one we saw last year,” Jewell said. “We won’t be seeing the three-back stuff this time around. They have spreaded things out and their quarterback can run.
“This is going to be a tough game,” he added. “I hope we have a good crowd travel with us to support the team next week.”
Corbin didn’t waste any time jumping on Shelby Valley. The Redhounds scored on the game’s first play from scrimmage, as Watkins raced 65 yards to give his team a 7-0 lead.
Corbin’s impressive play carried over on defense.
The Redhounds limited the Wildcats (8-4) to a three-and-out and on fourth down, Corbin took advantage of a high snap and recorded a safety in the endzone to increase their lead to 9-0 at the 9:14 mark of the first quarter.
The Redhounds took advantage of good field position during their second possession. Watkins’ six-yard touchdown run wrapped up a four-play, 36-yard drive and made the score 16-0 during the process.
Corbin made it three-for-three on its third possession of the contest, as Brady Foley got in on the scoring action by rushing for a nine-yard touchdown to give his team a 23-0 with 4:03 remaining.
Shelby Valley finally got on the scoreboard right before the end of the first quarter behind BJ Roberts’ 12-yard touchdown run. The Wildcats added the two-point conversion through the air and found themselves trailing, 23-8.
After holding Corbin on offense for the first time in the game, Shelby Valley responded with its second consecutive touchdown. Roberts scored on a 40-yard run with 9:57 remaining in the second quarter and the Wildcats’ deficit was cut to nine points at 23-14.
Shelby Valley continued to put Corbin on its heels late in the first half after putting together an impressive 11-play, 62-yard touchdown drive which made the score, 23-20.
The Wildcats converted two third downs during the drive and one fourth down, as Roberts added his third touchdown of the game with a six-yard run.
Shelby Valley dominated the clock during the third quarter, but couldn’t find paydirt.
Corbin eventually made the Wildcats pay during its opening drive of the fourth quarter, as Ryan Fritts reached the endzone from two-yards out to make the score, 30-20.
The Redhounds took advantage of a Wildcat turnover seconds later and Watkins scored from four yards out to make the score 37-20 with 10:03 remaining in regulation.
Just when it looked as if the game was over, Shelby Valley returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a score to cut its deficit to 37-27.
Corbin finally took control of the game on its next possession as Roman Mitchell hit Ben House for a 23-yard touchdown pass on a third-and-18 situation. Saxon Okuma added the PAT to give the Redhounds a commanding 44-27 advantage.
