By Tim Branstetter / Staff Writer
Although Knox Central coach Wayne Mills admitted he would like to win every game on the schedule, he’s happy with what his team achieved during their district runner-up performance this season.
The Panthers finished with a 7-5 record and were defeated 19-0 in the second round of the playoffs by Lawrence County.
“I would like to win them all, that’s my goal every year,” Mills said. “But we finished 7-5 as the district runner-up, we won a playoff game and we had a winning season for the third straight year. So I’m proud of what this team accomplished this year.”
The Panthers suffered two early losses that started with a tough 24-22 defeat to Somerset in the Pioneer Bowl.
Then they traveled to North Laurel where they faced a red hot Jaguar team and came up short 28-21.
The Panthers finally picked up their first win of the season at Middlesboro as they defeated the Yellow Jackets 41-21.
Chad Merida led the way with 224 yards and two touchdowns. Johnathan Barger completed 13 of 17 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns.
They were forced to stay on the road and face another high scoring offense, but managed to come away with a 48-46 win over Williamsburg.
After dropping a 27-7 loss to Clay County, the Panthers defeated McCreary Central 34-6 during their first home game in five weeks.
“We had some ups and downs,” Mills said. “It was like a rollercoaster.”
The Panthers dropped a tough 34-6 loss to Bell County on the road, but bounced back with their biggest win of the season as they defeated Rockcastle County 21-20 in overtime.
“The Rockcastle win was a big win for us,” Mills said. “That was a great game. We fought back and had to deal with adversity. It was for all the marbles. Our kids really started playing well after that game.”
After taking advantage of an open week, the Panthers put together three straight wins. During the three wins, they only allowed 10 points and scored 116 themselves.
Their next three wins started with a 35-7 victory over Madison Southern. Merida rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown, while Barger threw for 133 yards and three touchdowns.
“Chad had a great year for us,” Mills said. “He rushed for over 1,500 yards. He is a good football player. Travis Canady was a real vocal leader for this team as a junior. He would challenge the team every game. We didn’t have a lot of leadership this season, but Travis kept us together.”
The Panthers followed with a 41-3 win over Harlan on the road to improve their record to 6-4.
A 40-0 win over Boyd County in the first round of the playoffs earned the Panthers a trip to Lawrence County.
“Our defense did a really good job late in the season,” Mills said. “Our defensive line played well down the stretch for us. We do have 15 juniors and 14 sophomores that will move up.”
Mills hopes his upperclassman will step up and lead the Panthers back to the playoffs where he would like to have another shot at Lawrence County.
“We will be more seasoned next year,” he added. “This off season has to be big for us. We have to work hard in the weight room. Hopefully we can earn another trip back to the playoffs and get another crack at Lawrence County.”
Local Sports
Related Photos
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Photo by Tim Branstetter
Discussion
Panther Pride
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Getting close
Corbin coach Tony Pietrowski knew this season would be a work in progress as several players would be learning new roles and trying to figure out what they needed to do to get the Redhounds ready for the postseason — he was right.
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Taking a leap back
Just when it seemed as if the Lynn Camp Wildcats were going to snap their five-game losing skid, they went cold from the floor.
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13th Region district tournament schedule
North Laurel High School will be the host of the boys and girls 49th District Tournaments.
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Ready for a run
It’s been 27 years since the Whitley County Lady Colonels captured a 13th Region championship.
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Contenders
Not many people considered the Corbin Lady Redhounds to be a contender for the 13th Region championship coming into the 2011-12 season, but coach Jennifer Parsons did.
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Change of Pace
The old saying goes, “Where there is smoke there is fire,” and that was the case on Tuesday as Cameron Smoak led Williamsburg to a 43-33 win over a physical Berea team.
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Smith leads Redhounds past McCreary Central
The Corbin Redhounds made all of the right adjustments at halftime and managed to use a big third quarter to pull off a 50-46 road win over McCreary Central.
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Wildcats fall on the road to Jellico, Tenn., 85-67
The Lynn Camp Wildcats dropped their fourth game in a row after falling to Jellico, Tenn. Tuesday, 85-67.
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Lady Wildcats roll; Knox Central falls on the road to Pulaski Co.
The Barbourville Tigers traveled to Leslie County and picked up their fourth straight win as they handed the Eagles a 63-57 loss.
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Hill Topper
The Jaguars were looking for a little revenge after suffering a 61-54 loss to the Redhounds earlier in the season, but Trevor Hill was not going to let that happen as the eighth-grader from Corbin went up high to grab the rebound and tipped it back in at the buzzer to give his team a 52-50 win over North Laurel.
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