‘Hounds roll

If defense wins championships then the Corbin Redhounds are on their way to a lot of success this year. To date the Redhounds have seven take-aways with four of them coming in Friday’s 34-8 win over the North Laurel Jaguars at Campbell Field.

And through the first three games of the 2009 season, Corbin has allowed only five touchdowns with two of those coming in the closing minutes of wins over North Laurel and Danville. The Redhounds are fourth in Class 2A behind state powers Ft. Campbell, Murray and Caldwell County at 12.0 points per game.

It was the defense that rallied the Redhounds once again as North Laurel pushed the football down the field on two first quarter possessions. The Corbin defense gave a little from time to time but refused to break.

North Laurel ran an incredible 18 plays in the first quarter compared to Corbin’s four and failed to score. The Jaguars took the opening kick at their own 35-yard-line and drove inside Corbin territory before Caleb Watkins and Saxon Okuma sacked North Laurel junior quarterback Johnny Ray Fugate, forcing a fumble. Aaron Mann’s recovered for the Redhounds.

However, a quick three and out forced Corbin to punt the ball. North Laurel got the ball at their own 20 yard line and drove it to the Redhounds 35 before sophomore Brady Foley led a pack of ‘Hounds on a fourth and inches attempt. Foley hit Jaguars’ star running back Adrian Wardrup with a four-yard loss.

“That was a big play,” said Corbin Coach Steve Jewell.

“I was really proud of the guys,” added Jewell. “I thought we were a little roller coasty last week, by that I mean hot and cold, I felt we took a couple of series off last week. We kept the pedal down and played four quarters tonight.”

Corbin pulled off a fourth-down surprise of their own three plays later. Facing a fourth-and-six from the Corbin 44, Matthew Taylor took the snap and went 13 yards for a first-down. It was the spark they needed as Watkins followed with a 16 yard run to the North Laurel 27. Three straight first downs put the Redhounds inside the ten-yard line before Watkins was hit with a three-yard loss. He simply followed it up with a nine-yard run into the end zone, giving Corbin a 6-0 lead. Saxon Okuma added the conversion as the Redhounds took a 7-0 lead.

North Laurel (3-1) tried to answer with another long drive of their own and got the ball down to the 14-yard line where Wardrup fumbled and Foley recovered for the ‘Hounds.

It didn’t take Corbin long to answer. Ryan Fritts, showing signs of a full recovery from a knee injury, sparked the Redhounds with three straight runs totaling 30 yards. Watkins got the ‘Hounds across midfield and down to the North Laurel 44-yard-line where a Roman Mitchell pass to Matthew Taylor was good enough for six points.

“Roman stands up there and shows he can throw a little bit and that confidence is only going to grow,” said Jewell.

Mitchell missed on his first two attempts but ended the game with seven in a row for 135 yards.

Fritts had 13 carries in the game for 79 yards and two touchdowns. “I was proud of him,” said Jewell. “All the backs ran well, but you hate to see seasons taken away from kids as it as been for Ryan. The more he can challenge himself to make those cuts the better I think he is going to be by mid-season, late season and when we get to the playoffs,” said Jewell.

Corbin put the game away in the third quarter when they put together a 61-yard, 16-play drive that ended with a three-yard TD by Watkins with 3:37 left in the period. Watkins finished the game with 11 carries, 82 yards and two touchdowns.

The Jaguars were limited to three plays before Devin Sowders picked off a Fugate pass and ran it back to the North Laurel 38-yard-line. An 18-yard pass from Mitchell to Manns gave the Redhounds a first-down at the 20-yard line. Fritts took it home for a 26-0 lead with 2:16 left in the quarter. Okuma’s PAT made it 27.

Fritts added his second touchdown in the next Corbin series, going in from seven yards out for the score with 7:19 left in the game.

The Redhounds will travel to South Laurel Friday to take on the Cardinals at 7:30. South Laurel (1-3) will feature running back Tyler Vaughn, who has more than 400 yards early in the season.

Jewell said he expected the same type of game from the Cardinals. “They have a big line and they will line up and try to run it down the field.”

“They go six to seven deep (running backs) and will go toe-to-toe like they did two weeks ago,” said Jewell. “I think we are going to see a similar type of running game. They negative is, we have to go up there and play.”

Corbin 34, North Laurel 8

North Laurel            0   0    0   8-  8

Corbin              0 14  13   7-34

C- Caleb Watkins, 9 run (Saxon Okuma kick)

C- Mathew Taylor, 44 pass from Roman Mitchell (Okuma kick)

C- Watkins, 3 run (Okuma kick)

C- Ryan Fritts, 20 run (kick failed)

C- Fritts, 7 run (Okuma kick)

NL- Hughie Wagers, 6 run (Wagers run)