CORBIN — Harlan at Lynn Camp

Where: Mitchell Field

Date: Friday, Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: Harlan 1-3, L. Camp 2-2

The inside scoop: The Lynn Camp Wildcats are sitting at 2-2 on the season and are coming off a win over Pineville this past Friday.

That combination is something Wildcats’ head coach Phil Russell said may go a long way against Harlan today.

“I think these kids are really starting to buy in to what we are doing with this program and it’s showing,” Russell said. “I think something a lot of people overlook is the fact we have nine seniors on this team and that’s nine kids that have been in this football program and know what it’s all about.

“This past week I kind of called those seniors out and let them know that this is the time when they have to start establishing an identity and I feel like they did that in the Pineville game,” he added. “We put together a plan at halftime and we showed a lot of discipline in that game and stayed within that game plan and that was the difference in the game.”

This week, Lynn Camp will have to deal with Harlan coach J.B. Donahue and a game plan that Russell said will be a reflection on the long-time coach.

“J.B. Donahue is a coach that you can believe will come ready and he will bring with him a game plan that you’ll have trouble with,” Russell said.

W’burg at Oneida, Tenn.

Where: Oneida, Tenn. High School

Date: Friday, Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: W’burg 4-0, Oneida 3-1

The inside scoop:  The Williamsburg Yellow Jacket football team will be facing off against their toughest opponent yet when they travel to play Oneida, Tenn. Friday.

The Indians (3-1) are ranked No. 2 in Tennessee’s Class 2A while the Yellow Jackets (4-0) moved up to the No. 3 spot in the latest Associated Press poll.

Both teams possess solid offensive and defensive play, as Oneida managed to pull out a 45-22 win over Williamsburg last season.

“This is going to be a very tough game for us,” Williamsburg coach Jerry Herron said. “Last year they were so much bigger than us upfront and I hope the work we’ve done in the offseason has allowed us to get stronger.

“They return almost everyone back, so like I said, it’s going to be a tough game for us,” he added. “A game like this will only make us better and I know we are ready for the challenge.”

 

South Laurel at Corbin

Where: Campbell Field

Date: Friday, Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records:S. Laurel 1-3, Corbin 1-3

The inside scoop: Both Corbin and South Laurel enter Friday’s showdown at Campbell Field needing a win, confidence and momentum heading into their respective district slate coming up.

The Redhounds started the season with a big win over Class 6A’s George Rogers Clark, but followed it up with three consecutive losses by a total of 21 points.

It’s not been any better for the Cardinals, who also possesses a 1-3 record with its lone win coming against Lynn Camp.

Both teams entered the season with high expectations, but both teams have struggled putting anything together.

With that said, Corbin coach Steve Jewell and South Laurel coach Larry Welch are hoping things will change this week.

“Both teams are hungry and both teams are looking for a win,” Jewell said. “I know both of us have been on the verge of victory, but haven’t been able to seal the deal. We are shooting ourselves in the foot. We are our own worst enemy and hopefully we can turn it around this week.

“It should be a very good game,” he added. “We did play well at times against Danville last week, but I’m not big on moral victories because they sure don’t show up in the win and loss column.”

Welch, who saw his team drop a 38-20 decision to Clay County at home last week, admitted this could be a make it or break it game for his Cardinals.

“You want to win this game, so you can go into district play with some type of confidence,” he said. “There is no doubt about it that we need a win. Right now, we are frustrated and we realize this is a very big game.”

South Laurel will also try to find a way to beat Corbin for the first time since 2006.

Whitley Co. at Clay Co.

Where: Clay County High School

Date: Friday, Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: Whitley Co. 1-2, Clay 3-1

The inside scoop: Getting off to a slow start offensively has been a reoccurring theme for the Whitley County Colonel football team.

The Colonels dug themselves a hole during their first game of the season against Russell County before losing, 49-20 and they were staring at a 14-0 deficit to Bell County just last week and eventually lost 21-14.

Coach Jim Black hopes the offensive woes don’t show up against Clay County on the road Friday.

“We’ll find out soon enough, I guess,” he said. “We are just struggling in the first half offensively — defense we are fine. It’s just that we can’t seem to put anything together and then we’ve dug ourselves a hole.”

Whitley County almost pulled off a shocker on Log Mountain last week, but offensive woes during the game’s first two quarters hurt the Colonels’ chances.

“If we ever get things going on offense in the first half, we can be a very good team,” Black said. “We are working very hard, so we’ll see what happens.”

Clinton, Tenn. at K. C.

Where: Knox Central High School

Date: Friday, Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records:Clinton, Tenn. 1-3, K.C. 4-0

The inside scoop: Each week the Knox Central Panthers win, they are setting a new school record for consecutive wins opening a season.

They hope to continue the streak this week at home against visiting Clinton County, Tenn., who will bring in an 0-3 record after losses to Tennessee’s Dobyns-Bennett (44-6), Karns (45-24) and Hardin Valley Academy (13-10).

Knox Central on the otherhand, is unbeaten at 4-0 on the season with wins against South Laurel (40-21) and Johnson Central (39-29) along with victories against Tennessee schools Karns (14-7) and Gatlinburg-Pittman (34-6).

“Clinton County is better than they were from last season,” Knox Central coach Scottie Russell said. “They are really big upfront and they have a nice quarterback and a couple of wide receivers that can hurt you. This is a team you can’t relax on because if you do, you could be in some trouble.”

Russell’s Panthers will enter the game ranked sixth in Class 4A and the second-year coach said he and his staff have been doing a good job keeping his team focused on the task at hand heading into their game with the Dragons Friday.

“Our kids have a lot of confidence and they should, but we are really working hard on keeping them grounded,” he said. “We have shown them the mistakes they are making each game and we are continuing to improve on those mistakes.

“The big thing for our kids is they want to keep this rolling and the only way to do that is continue to work hard during the week,” Russell added. “They have a good team and if we don’t come out focused and ready to play, we could be in some trouble.”

One edge Knox Central has in its favor is the backfield duo of Jeffrey Canady and Jonathan Gist. Both players are averaging more than 100 yards on the ground.

“It’s very big to have both of those back there running the ball,” Russell said. “If a team focuses on one, it means the other one can step up and carry the load and they both have shown they can do that.”

Russell Co. at N. Laurel

Where: The Jungle

Date: Friday, Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: Russell Co. 4-0, N.L. 3-1

The inside scoop: The North Laurel Jaguars are facing their toughest test of the season this week as the unbeaten Russell County Lakers come to town for a Friday night showdown.

The Lakers have knocked off Campbellsville, Whitley County, South Laurel and Pulaski County while averaging 47.5 points per game.

Defensively, Russell County is giving up just under 12 points per game during the four-game streak.

North Laurel isn’t far behind record-wise, sitting at 3-1 on the season with a loss to Wayne County as the only blemish on its record.

For the Jaguars, the offense is scoring at a rate of 33.5 ppg, while giving up 15.5 on defense. As a team, North Laurel is gaining 223 yards per game on the ground, while giving up just 93.

With the high-powered offense of Russell County coming to town, something has to give.

“This is a really good team and really, one of the best teams on our schedule all year,” North Laurel coach Chris Larkey said. “These guys are set everywhere offensively with a good quarterback, good receivers and probably one of the best backs in the state.”

The Jaguars aren’t exactly running back poor themselves though. The duo of Gabe Blair and Michael Nelson have combined to average 167 yards per game so far this season.