CORBIN — Corbin at Tates Creek

Where: Tates Creek High School

Date: Friday, Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: Corbin 1-1, Ta. Creek 1-1

The inside scoop: Things don’t get any easier for Steve Jewell’s Corbin Redhounds as they pay a visit to Tates Creek High School today to square-off against the much-improved Commodores.

This isn’t the same Tates Creek squad Corbin defeated last season at Campbell Field, 21-14. The Commodores are 1-1 on the season, but have played two solid opponents so far, coming away with a 28-9 win over West Jessamine before losing a 65-54 shootout against Class 5A power Harlan County last week.

Tates Creek spotted the Black Bears a 23-0 lead in the first half before making a game out of it, as sophomore quarterback Graham Gordon completed 15-of-31 pass attempts for 350 yards and five touchdowns. Receivers Marcus Wilkerson and Dennis Oxidine did most of the damage for the Commodores by combining for eight receptions and 217 yards receiving. Oxidine is also a threat running the ball by finishing the game with 59 yards and two touchdowns.

“We’ve got our hands full, that’s for sure,” Jewell said. “It doesn’t get any easier for us. Tates Creek has a lot of fire power and they can score a ton of points quickly.”

J. Central vs. K. Central

Where: Clay County High School

Date: Friday, Aug. 31, 8:45 p.m.

Team Records: J. Cent. 2-0, K. Cent. 2-0

The inside scoop:  The Knox Central Panthers are looking to go 3-0 for the first time under coach Scottie Russell, but to do so, they’re going to have to find a way to get past Johnson Central.

The Golden Eagles don’t possess the running talents of former tailback J.J. Jude, but still return a solid nucleus of talent that has surprised many by defeating North Carolina’s Hayesville High School (39-7) and Perry Central (44-36).

“They still like to do what they’ve done the past several years, but they are more balanced in the backfield,” Russell said. “They are very big and strong and for us to win, we’re going to have to find a way to stop their running game.

“They also like to throw the ball occasionally, too,” he added. “They’ve got a quarterback that likes to run with the ball, so we’ve got a lot of stuff we need to focus on coming into this game.”

Rock. Co. at Whitley Co.

Where: Colonel Stadium

Date: Friday, Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: R.C. 1-1, Whitley Co. 0-1

The inside scoop: Whitley County’s first game of the season didn’t have the outcome coach Jim Black wanted — a 49-20 loss to Russell County.

But with a week to work on things, Black hopes his team's fortunes can change Friday at home against Rockcastle County.

“We’re working on things right now,” he said. “Rockcastle County is a good, hard-nosed team that we’ve got to be ready for. I know they still like to run the ball, so we’ve got to be ready for that.”

The Colonels (0-1) had trouble stopping Russell County’s run attack last week, allowing 230 yards along with some big-play runs from tailback Nick Britt.

“This should be a very good game,” Black said. “Hopefully, we have learned from some of the mistakes we made from last week. I know we’ve got to come out and show up in the first half.”

Mad. So. at Lynn Camp

Where: Mitchell Field

Date: Friday, Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: M.S. 0-1 at L. Camp 1-1

The inside scoop: The Lynn Camp Wildcats gave up 338 yards on the ground to South Laurel last week in a 55-6 loss in the Cumberland Valley Bowl.

The good news for the Wildcats this week is that they’re back home where they won the first game of the season.

The bad news is Madison Southern is coming to town and the Eagles are bringing Division 1 prospect Damian Harris with them. Harris, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound sophomore, ran for 742 yards and 11 touchdowns on 62 carries last season. He runs a 4.42 40-yard dash.

“This kid is all-world from what I’ve seen and he already has about five major schools offering him scholarships,” Lynn Camp coach Phil Russell said. “When you play against a couple of backs like they’ve got, you have to stay home on your assignments or they will gash you to death.”

No. Laurel at Wayne Co.

Where: Wayne County High School

Date: Friday, Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: N.L. 2-0, Wayne Co. 2-0

The inside scoop: As his team heads into today’s road game against Wayne County, North Laurel head coach Chris Larkey said there's two things his team, which is ranked 11th in the state in 5A, has to do if they expect to win the game.

“We absolutely have to shut down the passing game and run the football well,” Larkey said.

Those are good ideas, but one of them may not guarantee a win.

Wayne County was held to just 53 yards through the air last week against Estill County, but managed to gain 208 yards on the ground en route to the 54-6 victory. The week before however, it was all about Cardinal quarterback Tyler Guffey. The junior threw for 185 yards and four touchdowns, completing 6-of-7 pass attempts.

What it boils down to, Larkey said, is that the Cardinals are a really good all-around football team and he thinks the Jaguars are in for the toughest test of the season to this point.

“They are going to be the best team that we've played so far this season,” Larkey said. “They have a really good defense and they like to hit you.

“They will line up and try to stop the run and have quite a few athletes that can do that,” he added. “They are going to be a really good team in 3A. They've got everybody back from last year and I think they are really going to surprise a lot of people with the way they play football.”

So. Laurel at Russell Co.

Where: Russell County High School

Date: Friday, Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m.

Team Records: S. Laurel 1-1, Ru. Co. 2-0

The inside scoop: If you like offense, today’s match-up between South Laurel and Russell County could be the game for you.

Last week, Russell County knocked off Whitley County 49-20 and the Cardinals beat Lynn Camp 54-6. With a combined 103 points scored between the two teams, Welch said he feels like the offense will be in full force.

“These guys have some of the best backs in the area,” Welch said. “The Britt kid is really fast and can make you miss, so you have to be able to tackle and get in front of him.

“It’s really just a matter of fundamental football and improving on some of those things,” he added. “We did some good things against Lynn Camp, but there is always room for improvement.”

Speaking of Lynn Camp, Welch said the win was much needed. Even though going in, most people expected the Cardinals to come up with the victory, he said sometimes those are the games that are most important.

“When you have a game you’re expected to win, you still have to go out and execute,” he said. “The kids know what’s expected of them and you really want them to be that way so they know what’s at stake.”

Pineville vs. W’burg

Where: Log Mountain

Date: Friday, Aug. 31, 6 p.m.

Team Records: P’ville 1-1, W’burg 2-0

The inside scoop: The Williamsburg Yellow Jackets will try to continue their winning ways today in the City/County Bowl up on Log Mountain against the Pineville Mountain Lions.

The Yellow Jackets have steamrolled the competition during their first two games of the season by outscoring their opponents 104-8 during the process, but Williamsburg coach Jerry Herron cautioned Pineville wouldn’t be a pushover.

“Pineville is a very good football team,” he said. “I’ve been stressing to the kids that we can’t overlook them. They are a senior dominated team and our kids know if we do the things we need to do on offense and defense, things should take care of themselves.”

The Mountain Lions are coming off a 46-6 win over McCreary Central, but lost its season-opener to Class 5A’s North Laurel Jaguars, 42-20.

“They are going to present many problems for us,” Herron said. “We’re going to have to execute on both sides of the ball better.”

Another concern for Herron is the path the remnants of Hurricane Isaac will take.

“That’s a big concern,” he admitted. “That’s something else we’ve got to worry about. We’ve got a stressful week ahead of us with not knowing what type of weather we’re going to run into Friday.”

Pineville will have concerns of its own trying to find a way to slow down the Yellow Jackets’ potent offensive attack.

During its 36-point win over Harlan, Williamsburg totaled 368 yards total offense, as quarterback Dalton Sizemore completed 17-of-28 pass attempts for 220 passing yards and three touchdowns.