CORBIN — Whitley Co. at Bell Co.

Where: Log Mountain

Date: Friday, Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: Whit. Co. 1-1, Bell Co. 2-1

The inside scoop: Things don’t get any easier this week for Jim Black’s Whitley County Colonels.

Whitley County is coming off an impressive 28-0 blanking of Rockcastle County, but now the Colonels face the task of trying to find a way to beat Bell County today on Log Mountain. The Bobcats enter with a 2-1 record while garnering a No. 3 ranking in Class 3A while claiming wins over both Bryan Station (32-31) and Middlesboro (50-6) and their only loss coming to Lexington Catholic (21-7).

“It doesn’t get any easier for us,” Black said. “Bell County is a very good team and they do what they always do — they like to run the ball. It’s the same ole Bell County and we’ve got to be ready.”

Last season the Bobcats picked up a 33-10 win over Whitley County and Black hopes things are different this time around.

“I’m hoping so,” he said. “I do know we’re better than we were last year at this point of the season and we did get a monkey off our back by winning last week, so hopefully things are going in the right direction.”

Gat. Pittman K. Central

Where: Knox Central High School

Date: Friday, Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: G. Pitt 1-1, K. Cent. 3-0

The inside scoop:  Things are going as expected for the Knox Central Panther football team. The Panthers are coming off a huge 39-29 win over Johnson Central, which is paying dividends, as Knox Central has moved two spots up to No. 7 in the Class 4A Prep Poll.

But coach Scottie Russell cautioned his team will have its work cut out for them today at home against Gatlinburg-Pittman, Tenn.

The Panthers are 3-0 on the season and are looking to go 4-0 for the first time in school history, but to do so, they must find a way to get past a Highlander squad that can’t be taken lightly, according to Russell.

“They are a very good football team,” Russell said. “They have some very good skill players and we’ve got to be able to contain them. We won’t be overlooking them, I can tell you that.

“We’re looking at film right now and going over the mistakes we made against Johnson Central,” he added.

Corbin at Danville

Where: Danville High School

Date: Friday, Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: Corbin 1-2, D’ville 2-1

The inside scoop: The Corbin Redhounds are looking to put an end to a two-game losing skid, but to do so, they’ll have to find a way to knock off one of the state’s top teams in Danville.

The Admirals (2-1) are coming off an impressive 28-21 win over Boyle County that saw tailback Jawan Grey wrap-up the victory over the Rebels thanks to a 74-yard touchdown run with 1:04 remaining in regulation.

Grey’s 115 rushing yards led Danville, as the Admirals finished the game with 242 rushing yards.

“Danville is a very good team and they have a lot of skilled athletes,” Corbin coach Steve Jewell said. “They have four, five or six kids that have lots of speed and one side of their line is huge, averaging around 280 pounds.

“They’re going to line up and run at you and they’re going to try to use their speed and go to the outside,” he added.

Clay Co. at So. Laurel

Where: Gilliam Field

Date: Friday, Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: Clay Co. 2-1, S. Laurel 1-2

The inside scoop: The South Laurel Cardinals will be looking for a win against Clay County this week, but head coach Larry Welch said the match-up will be a tough one for his team.

“This is a good team with some good kids in the backfield,” Welch said. “They are the kind of team that will run the ball downhill on you and if a team is good at that, they’re tough to stop.”

The Tigers boast a two-man attack with the running game, using Sam Carr and Joey Dezarn when it comes to eating up yards.

Carr leads the team with 285 yards and four touchdowns on 37 carries, while Dezarn had tallied 256 yards and a pair of TDs.

Lynn Camp at Pineville

Where: Pineville High School

Date: Friday, Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: L. Camp 1-2, P’ville 1-2

The inside scoop:  Pineville Mountain Lions come into Friday’s match-up with several similarities.

Both teams are 1-2 on the season and are coming off of losses of over 40 points.

The biggest similarity is the fact both teams are coached by products of Union College and Bulldogs head coach Tommy Reid.

The two coaches have so much in common, Lynn Camp coach Phil Russell said the game is being tabbed ‘The Cellar Bowl’, but not for the reasons some might think.

“Myself and Pineville coach Bart Elam go back quite a ways to the days at Union College when we were teammates,” Russell said. “We’re both Tommy Reid protegees, so we both run similar offenses to what Union College runs and they are a team that dresses as many kids as we do.

“We also lived together in a tiny apartment that we called ‘the cellar’,” Russell added. “Bart, Brandon Hillard and myself lived in a little place that had indoor/outdoor carpet all over and that was so small, we called it the cellar. It was a typical college apartment.”

Despite the fact they are friends and still speak to each other quite often, Russell said the pressure is on for both coaches for more reasons than one.

“One thing is that we have a lot of common friends, so whoever loses this game is going to catch a lot of heck,” Russell said. “The other side is that we both have teams that need to get a win and that’s the main goal.”

Leslie Co. at W’burg

Where: Williamsburg High School

Date: Friday, Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: Leslie Co. 2-1, W’burg 3-0

The inside scoop: It’s a good time to be a fan of the Williamsburg Yellow Jacket football program.

Friday’s home game against Leslie County is the annual Alumni Bowl game and what better way to celebrate it than bringing in a perfect 3-0 record for the first time since 2005.

“Everyone is excited about it,” Williamsburg coach Jerry Herron said. “The kids always look forward to the Alumni Bowl. They get to hear all of the old stories former players have and it’s just a good time for everyone.”

But there is work to be done, according to Herron. The visiting Eagles are 2-0 since dropping their season-opener to Scott, 49-7.

“Leslie County is a very good team and we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Herron said. “They return a lot of talent from last year’s team that won nine games and reached the second round of the playoffs. They are very good.”

Last season, the two teams hooked up in a classic that saw Williamsburg hold on and win in a tight affair, 36-34.

“We’ve got to be ready for them,” Herron said. “They can do a lot of things on both sides of the ball.”

Leslie County has wins over both Magoffin County (38-22) and Allen Central (37-8) and is averaging 37.5 points per game during its last two contests.

“They like to throw the ball and they have a solid running back,” Herron said. “Honestly, they are similar to us on both sides of the ball.”

McC. Cen. at N. Laurel

Where: The Jungle

Date: Friday, Sept. 7, 6 p.m.

Team Records: Mc. Cen. 1-2, N. Lau. 2-1

The inside scoop: The North Laurel Jaguars will be looking to recover from their first loss of the season this week as Chris Larkey and company get set to host McCreary Central.

The Raiders are 1-2 on the season and are coming off a 34-12 win over Knott County Central this past Friday.

The Jaguars are on a familiar path to start the season as they also stood at 2-1 before facing McCreary Central last year. North Laurel came away with what turned out to be its last win of 2011 in a 48-12 decision.

The teams are familiar with each other and Larkey said that should make for an interesting match-up.

“This is going to be a good football game and our kids are going to have to come and play hard if they want to get the win,” Larkey said. “This is a group of really hard-nosed kids and they are going to hit you hard and keep coming.

“We just have to respond to the loss and come back and want this one more than the other team,” he added.

For the Jaguars, the difference in the first two games of the season and the loss last week was the fact that the running game was held to just 127 yards on the ground, with 223 yards of total offense as a team, while defensively, the Jaguars gave 309 yards.

As a team, McCreary Central is averaging 17 points per game, while giving up 33 ppg. On the other side of things, the Jaguars are scoring at a rate of 29 points per game while giving up just 18 points per game.

That’s a trend that will have to continue if the Jaguars want to rebound from a week three loss. Larkey said the Raiders are a team that will run the ball if you let them.