Challenges await local football teams on Friday night

Williamsburg picked up a quality win Friday night with a 21-14 victory against Somerset.

While most people will look at the Briar Jumpers’ 1-5 record and wonder how it is considered a quality win, losing to Beechwood, Paintsville, Corbin and now Williamsburg is like a college team lining up against Alabama, Clemson and Georgia.

The good news for the Jackets is they have another opportunity for a statement win Friday when undefeated class A Sayre rolls into Finley Legion Field.

The Spartans are currently fourth in the class A RPI rankings, having demolished Eminence, Fort Knox, Dayton and Harlan.

They also picked up a 32-24 win over Frankfort.

Sayre will be looking to throw the ball, but is another team that can, and will, run.

On Sept. 17 against Dayton, Cole Pennington threw for 219 yards and three touchdowns for the Spartans.

Can the Jackets slow the Spartans offense down?

Coach Jerry Herron, Jr. threw a new wrinkle at Somerset Friday night when wide receiver Jayden Rainwater lined up at running back.

Among his carries was a 55-yard touchdown early in the second quarter that gave Williamsburg a 14-0 lead.

Quarterback Sydney Bowen ran all over the field once again though he still has a number of receiving option including Martin Shannon.

How will Sayre try to play this?

Just up the road, Whitley County will wrap up the three game homestand against class 5A Collins out of the Lexington area.

The Titans are coming off of a 27-19 win at Madison Southern.

Quarterback Kenyon Goodin ran for 95 yards and three touchdowns while throwing for 233 yards.

Coach Zeke Eier has preached that his Colonels have to stop the run. Collins may help them with that by throwing the ball all over the place.

After a week off, Corbin will play host to class 6A Simon Kenton.

The Pioneers picked up their first win of the year last week, defeating Connersville, Indiana, 56-20.

The four losses include Beechwood, Southwestern, Highlands and Oldham County.

Simon Kenton ran for 330 yards and six touchdowns in the win. While Franklin County had some success running the ball against the Redhounds, no team has had that degree of success. 

Corbin will hit the road after Friday for the district matchups at Knox Central and Lincoln County.

Coach Tom Greer has his Redhounds focused on the Pioneers. Will this be another running clock situation?

A few other things:

• Congratulations to Corbin golfer Eli Fisher who placed second in the region tournament to qualify for the state golf tournament in Bowling Green.

• The soccer district tournament will begin Monday. On the boys’ side, Corbin and Whitley County will face off in the first round of the 49th District at North Laurel, while North Laurel and South Laurel will face off in the second game.

Does Corbin have another run deep into the state tournament in them? Can Whitley County pull off an epic upset and end Corbin’s season? We will find out at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

• The girls teams will also play at North Laurel, beginning Tuesday night. Whitley County will face South Laurel while Corbin takes on North Laurel. Win or go home time for both teams Tuesday.

 • On the volleyball court, Corbin and Whitley County, along with South Laurel, are the top three teams in the 13th Region. Could we see a repeat of 2020 where Corbin and Whitley both make the 13th Region final. There are still over two weeks remaining in the season with the final game on Oct. 12 featuring Whitley County traveling to Corbin.