Moving to Corbin

The Battle for the Brass Lantern will move to Corbin this season. The University of Cumberlands lost hold of the “Lantern” last season as Union College pulled an 35-34 upset.
This year the rivalry that dates back to 1905 will be played at Corbin’s Campbell Field and hosted by the Redhound Varsity Club.
“This is a win-win situation for everyone involved,” said Redhound Varsity Club President, Ronnie Bowling. “This is a great opportunity for the community to see a great football game and a chance for these players to play an exciting game under the lights at Campbell Field.”
“Our main goal is to provide a quality evening of entertainment to the people of Barbourville, Corbin, London and Williamsburg,” added Bowling.
It’s an opportunity to play under the lights in front of a large crowd and one that either school could pass up. The game will be played Saturday, September 2. It will be the opener for both teams, but more importantly, it will be a Mid-South Conference game.
A press conference was held at the Corbin Chamber of Commerce Monday with officials from both schools on hand.
Bowling also introduced sponsors, W.D. Bryant and Union National Bank. “We couldn’t do this without their support,” he added. Debbie Greiwe of Union National and Jeff Ernest of W.D. Bryant were on hand for the press conference.
University of Cumberlands first-year coach John Bland and fifth year head man at Union College Tommy Reid were on hand to talk about their respective teams.
Bland said, “We’re a new staff and we have been in the process of hiring new coaches, so a lot of things will be new.”
“From last year, coach King and his staff done a super job building the program, hopefully we will continue to build and grow, but our new staff and players, the key for us is to see how fast they catch on to new schemes, the new coaches,” said Bland. “The faster they do that, the better off we will be.”
Union’s Reid, who is 2-3 against the Patriots, said. “We’re going to bring the most experience that we have had since I have been head coach.””We only lost six seniors from last season and we already have some in place and kind of understand what we are trying to do on both sides of the football,” added Reid.
Bland likes playing at the neutral site this season. “Being the visiting the team, it will probably benefit us more than anybody,” he said. “Going to someone’s home field is always a challenge, this being on a neutral site will definitely be better than going to Union.”
“It will be a challenge for both of us, I’m sure,” said Bland.
“There are a lot of expectations,” said Bland. “Both teams have new staffs, playing in a great rivalry for the Brass Lantern and all that plays into an exciting night for all of us.”
The University of the Cumberlands despite losing quarterback Larry Hay to graduation will come into the game as the 20th ranked NAIA team in the country.
How will that effect the Patriots? “Hopefully in a good way,” said Bland. “Rankings are always very nice and teams set their goals to be ranked at the end of the season, but being able to be ranked at any time is something the kids have worked for, something the past staff has been rewarded for.” said Bland. “The team should be proud of the ranking. They know that Union is good, so I don’t think the ranking will have a whole lot to do with the preparation of this ballgame.”
“With the Union-Cumberlands game and as many years as I have been involved with it, I don’t think records and rankings have ever made a difference,” said Reid. “I don’t think it will be any different this year. It has always been a fun, exciting game. We are used to being the underdog, we’re ok with it. We are going to go in there and play hard and have a lot of fun.”
Both teams know what it means to play for the Brass Lantern. “Anytime you are competing it’s exciting,” said Reid. “When you add in a trophy that we have passed back and forth like this, it makes it even more of a battle.”
“Even though our staff is new, they are not new to rivalries. This is a conference game, a rivalry game and a bowl game,” said Bland. “The kids will be excited as will be the coaches and it should be a fun night of football.”
Cumberlands leads the series 18-9.