CORBIN —
When I got my assignments this week from Times-Tribune Sports Editor Les Dixon I have to be the first to admit, I was excited.
Yes, as hard as that is to believe, some people in this country still get excited about their job and I am one of them.
Sure there are days that I'd rather stay home and hang out with my family, but in all reality, things could be a lot worse for me. The way things are with the job market and the economy, not only am I lucky to have a job, but I get to do two things I love to do and those are write and watch sports.
So, back to the assignment at hand, which is writing an opinion column on this week's playoff match-up between the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets and Hazard Bulldogs.
To say this is a huge game for the Williamsburg football program would be like saying Walmart is going to be busy the morning after Thanksgiving.
Not only does Jerry Herron's squad have a shot at advancing to the state semifinals, but they get a chance to knock off the defending state champions in Hazard.
Sure it will be a tough task, but I think the Yellow Jackets have the fire power to get the job done.
I've had the chance to cover Williamsburg several times this season and each time I've been equally impressed not only with how they play football, but also with how they go about the game.
The Williamsburg kids are always polite and helpful on the sidelines if you have a question and they are easy to mess with. If you know me that's a good thing because I'm always trying to joke around or pull some kind of fast one on somebody just to keep the mood light.
As for Hazard, looking at their numbers over the course of this season, they are a pretty impressive football team on paper. Unfortunately, that's all I have to go on as I haven't seen much of them other than some late night highlight on Friday nights.
Offensively, they're averaging 427 yards per game with 213 of those coming via the ground game and the other 204 thanks to the passing game.
The Bulldogs have two guys in the backfield that have tallied respectable yardage this season in Brandon Jones (542 yards, eight touchdowns) and Nathan Higgins (498 yards and eight touchdowns). They also have quarterback Evan Whitaker, who is just as much a scoring threat on the ground as he is through the air with 350 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
When it comes to the passing game, Whitaker has racked up 2,113 yards and 16 touchdowns, while completing 123 of 213 pass attempts.
Obviously, the Bulldogs seem to be a fairly balanced team when it comes to offense.
Williamsburg is a bit of a different story, with the bulk of their yardage coming via the passing game.
Quarterback Dalton Sizemore has thrown for 2,974 yards and 39 touchdowns, completing 186 of 305 pass attempts. He has only been intercepted 13 times, giving him an impressive 3-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio.
As for the ground game, Sizemore leads the way in that category as well with 577 yards and five touchdowns. Jefferson Patrick is the Yellow Jackets' leading scorer when it comes to running the football, tallying nine touchdowns with 474 yards on 74 carries.
Given the numbers, this game should be a close one and could possibly come down to a few possessions and a turnover here and there. If a quality high school football game is what you're interested in Friday night, it may be worth your while to make the trip to Hazard tonight.
If you're looking for a prediction out of me in this column, I haven't decided who it's going to be yet. If you know my track record in predictions, you might not want to pay any attention to my choice anyway.
The one thing I can predict is that I will be there on the sidelines, and whether Williamsburg wins or loses, I have a feeling this could be one of the most memorable games in a long time for the Yellow Jackets.
Sports Editorials
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Chris Parsons
Discussion
Jackets could surprise
Williamsburg has the talent to put an end to Hazard's Class A domination
- Sports Editorials
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Like it or Not
I took advantage of my boss’ offer to stay in Corbin and man the fort as opposed to another trip to Harlan County Friday night. But don’t think I’m just sitting around with the day off. There’s always something to do here in the world of Tri-County sports and Friday was no exception.
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Like it or Not
With my second day of 13th Region action out of the way (I didn’t travel Monday), I’ve decided that the road that takes you to Harlan, the Kingdom Come Parkway, was aptly named.
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The Way it Is
Now we are down to only four teams remaining in the 13th Region Boys Tournament, so I decided it’s time to cut down our list of frontrunners for this year’s Times-Tribune Tri-County Player of the Year.
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Like it or Not
While interviewing long-time Whitley County Lady Colonels head coach Larry Anderson for a game preview of his showdown with Clay County, Larry and I had an interesting conversation about several things.
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Like it or Not
To some people in Southestern Kentucky, postseason high school basketball, more particularly the 13th Region Tournament, is way more exciting than Christmas morning and with good reason I suppose.
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the Way it Is
If you’re a high school basketball fan this has got to be the greatest time of the year for you. It’s not quite March yet, but I’m sure everyone has March Madness.
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The postseason is going to be very entertaining
Before I begin rambling a bit, I’m sure you are wondering where the heck are the stories and pictures from Friday’s boys and girls basketball action?
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Richard Jones and Lady Wildcats came oh, so close
A lot of things have happened during the past week, so with that said, I’m not going to waste any of your time and get right to my rambling.
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The Border Bowl is all grown up
There’s no prouder feeling in the world than when you watch your child do something that you had hoped was possible.
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13th Region Notebook
Clay County’s Marty Bowling might be one of the most underrated players in the 13th Region at the present time, but if he continues to put up numbers like he has been, he won’t be for long — Bowling is the real deal.
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