The Times-Tribune
CORBIN —
By Tim Branstetter / Staff Writer
The Corbin Redhounds squared off against Class 4A's top-ranked team, Boyle County, and even though they were handed a 42-10 loss in the Cumberland Falls Pigskin Classic, they were beaten, but not bruised.
The Rebels (3-0) came into the game wanting to show why they deserved the No. 1 ranking and they did just that by capturing their 18th win in a row during the process, while improving to 32-1 during their last 33 games.
Corbin coach Steve Jewell wasn’t happy with his team’s three costly turnovers, but was pleased with his team's effort.
“Our kids battled against a really good ball club,” he said. “We responded well in the second half. We were able to drive the ball and we created a fumble. I’m really pleased with the effort and the fight we showed tonight.”
But in the end, the Redhounds turned out to be their own worst enemy by throwing two interceptions, while fumbling the ball away once.
“We gave them some touchdowns,” Jewell said. “We did exactly what we knew we couldn’t do against a team like Boyle County — we turned the ball over.”
Corbin caught the Rebels off guard on the opening kick-off with an on-side kick recovery, but the Redhounds’ opening drive stalled on the Rebel 40-yard line.
The Redhounds’ first turnover came after getting a big defensive stop.
Roman Mitchell was picked off by Boyle County’s Lamar Dawson on the Rebels’ 30-yard line with 5:15 remaining in the first quarter. Devon Hale took advantage of the Redhounds’ miscue with a six-yard touchdown run to give Boyle County a 7-0 advantage.
Josh Jewell helped the Redhounds stretch out the Rebel defense with four catches on their first four possessions. Jewell hauled in a nine-yard catch, a five-yard catch, a 10-yard catch and another nine-yard catch.
Corbin mixed in a fake punt with 11:43 remaining in the second quarter, as Mitchell found an open Josh Coppock for a 15-yard reception. Mitchell Frederick caught a three-yard pass, but Matthew Taylor was dropped in the backfield on a reverse. The Redhounds were forced to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Saxon Okuma to close the gap at 7-3 with 8:13 left in the second quarter.
“I feel like we can take a lot from this game,” Jewell said. “We saw some positives tonight.”
But it didn’t take long for Boyle County to answer back.
The Rebels responded with a 65-yard scoring drive followed by a 48-yard interception for a touchdown by Dawson and grabbed a 21-3 advantage with 5:58 remaining in the first half.
The Redhounds found themselves trailing 28-3 at the half, but Matt Jewell pounced on a Rebel fumble to start the third quarter and keep Corbin’s hopes alive.
Although the drive stalled, the Redhounds came up with another defensive stop and put together a 68-yard touchdown drive with Ty Cobb at quarterback.
Cobb hit Taylor for a 17-yard gain on third and 10 and connected with Josh Jewell for an 11-yard completion to push the Redhounds to the Boyle County 40-yard line. On the ensuing play, Cobb dropped back and found Taylor open down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown pass to make the score 28-10 with 3:14 remaining in the third quarter.
The Rebels managed to pull away with a 66-yard scoring drive and scored again on an 80-yard touchdown run by Devon Cox for a 42-10 advantage with 5:33 remaining to play.
“Ty threw some good passes,” Jewell said. “He was a little nervous and got a little happy in the pocket, but we saw some good things tonight. We still have a battle at the quarterback position.”
Despite the loss, Jewell let his team know that the most important games were still ahead.
“We just have to put this one behind us,” he said. “We have North Laurel then South Laurel. Those games are what matter now. We have to get ready for a good North Laurel team.”
