Area Teams look to Advancce

 MORGAN  COUNTY AT CORBIN

When: 7:30 p.m., Friday

Records: Corbin (9-1), Morgan Co. (2-8)

Coaches: Brian Turner MC) Steve Jewell (Corbin)

Notes: For Morgan County Friday night’s game is a David vs. Goliath. The 2-8 Cougars have very little chance of coming to Corbin and pulling the upset.

   Morgan County finished fourth in the four-team District 7 with the likes of Prestonsburg, Shelby Valley and Bath County. Coach Brian Turner’s team average 19.7 points per game this season behind the offensive strength of senior wingback Mitchell Harvey. Harvey has over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Cougars. Running backs Kyle Havens and Adam Cooper have at least five touchdowns each.

   The Cougars struggled to a 2-8 season winning over Powell County (45-26) and East Carter (12-3). The Cougars’ defense has allowed an average of 34.7 points a game, but gave up huge numbers to Rowan County, 60-6 and possible future Corbin foe, Prestonsburg, 53-12.

   Corbin continues to be led by all-state candidate Caleb Watkins, who has scored 23 rushing touchdowns on 144 carries for 1,498 yards this season. Watkins has scored 31 touchdowns and has 188 points to lead everyone in 2A. Senior Ryan Fritts has 505 yards and five touchdowns.  

   Jim’s Pick: Corbin 54, Lexington Christian 6.

LYNN CAMP AT RACELAND

When: 7:30 p.m.

Records: Raceland (6-4), Lynn Camp (4-6)

Coaches: Randy Vanderhoff (R), David Mitchell (LC)

Notes: Coach David Mitchell’s Lynn Camp Wildcats will take the long bus ride to Ashland Friday night where they will take on the Raceland Rams.

   Raceland, led by quarterback Tyler Farley, will put the ball in the air. Farley has thrown for nine touchdowns, hitting on 117 of 217 passes with seven interceptions. The Rams have four players who have caught the ball for touchdowns with Loren Huffman leading the way with five TD’s on 31 catches. He has 466 yards to pace the Rams. Bobby McKee and Johnny Shearer have two touchdowns each while Ralph Burchett has a touchdown. Five players have 20 catches or more.

   Burchett leads the Rams ground game with 255 yards and four touchdowns.

   Raceland has played a competitive schedule and has won six games. They edged neighboring Boyd County, 27-26 before losing to Ashland 31-0. They lost a big district contest to LCA, 40-0. The Rams were 3-1 in the district, beating Nicholas County (32-14), Paris (21-0) amd Fairview (14-6).

   The Lynn Camp Wildcats will rely on seniors Wesley Steele, Tyron Person and Josh Smith once again. Steele has over 1,500 yards with eight rushing touchdowns while Person has four TD’s on the season. 

   Jim’s pick: Raceland 33, Lynn Camp 26

 SOUTH LAUREL AT WHITLEY COUNTY

When: 7:30 p.m.

Records: South Laurel (4-6), Whitley Co. (6-4)

Coaches: Larry Welch (SL), Jim Black (WC)

Notes: Can the Colonels make a run in 5A once again? To do so they will have to go through a couple of District 7 football teams like South Laurel and Pulaski County. South Laurel goes to Whitley County Friday night with the Colonels playing their best football of the season. In back-to-back weeks, they have knocked off Perry Central 63-18 and last week ran over a good Rockcastle County team, 42-6.

   The Colonels played a grueling schedule to state the least this season, but dividends are paying off as Whitley County has won five of their final six games.

   South Laurel started the season slow but have bounced back to win three of their final five and last two of the regular season. They were able to stay out of the four-seed with a 29-21 win over Lincoln County, but last week Coach Larry Welch’s team may have played their best game of the year in a 42-13 win over Middlesboro.

   Tyler Vaughn had 167 yards, two touchdowns and 18 carries in the win while the Cardinals rang up 356 yards against the Yellow Jackets. J.D. Wright and Chase McWhorter have been contributing big in recent weeks. In last week’s win over Middlesboro, Wright, the quarterback, was six-of-seven for 99 yards. Tracie Burns made four catches for 89 yards.

   Whitley County will have the balanced attack of quarterback Jamie Lebanion, nine touchdowns, Cody Bowlin, 10 TD’s, Cody Bramlett, eight touchdowns and Alex Patrick, five scores. Jordan Chute has five touchdowns on 46 rushes while Josh Wynn has 607 yards and four touchdowns.

  Jim’s pick: Whitley Co. 44, Rockcastle Co. 14.

ASHLAND FAIRVIEW AT WILLIAMSBURG

When: 7:30 p.m.

Records: Fairview (7-3), Williamsburg (4-6)

Coaches: Nathan McPeek (F), Jerry Herron (W)

Notes: Offensively Williamsburg wins this game on paper, defensively Fairview wins. Regular season stats show the Yellow Jackets  averaged 33.2 points per game behind the play of senior quarterback Ryan Moses and receivers Dusty Brown, Daniel Pettit and J.P. Payne.

   However, the Jackets surrendered five more points on the season, allowing an average of 33.7. A large chunk of that came against Hazard who put up 63 points against the Jackets.

   Fairview has played well on defense most of the season and allowed 14 per game. However, the Eagles didn’t face near the competitive schedule that Williamsburg did this season. The Eagles held eight teams to two touchdowns or less. Lexington Christian broke through the defense to post a 42-0 win. But, the only other team to score more than two touchdowns was Paris in a 45-22 win by the Eagles.

   Senior running back T.J. Shelton has been the go-to player for the Eagles. He has over 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns to lead Fairview to its eight victories. Running back Drew Boyd is a player to watch with his six touchdowns and 800+ yards. The quarterback is Tyler Gilbert, who has thrown for five touchdowns.

   The defense will be the key in this game.

   Jim’s pick: Williamsburg 40, Fairview 28.