CMS Eighth Grade Football Team win second consecutive state title

The Corbin Middle School Eighth Grade Football Team is now the Division 2 State Champion for the second year in a row.

Corbin defeated Paducah 29-6 during a game late Saturday afternoon at East Jessamine High School.

“I can’t say enough about our kids and our coaching staff, and what a tremendous job they have done. Two in a row is special. It is the first time it has ever been done at Corbin Middle School,” Head Coach Brent Jackson said Saturday only minutes after the victory adding that a third state title will be the goal next year.

“We will start talking about that tomorrow as a matter of fact. We have a great group coming. I feel like we ought to be back here next year if we do the right things and just trust the process.”

Jackson said that defense was the main key to victory.

“The defense made stops. They kind of stymied what they did and what they have been able to accomplish all year. I feel like we flew around and hit people. We didn’t necessarily have turnovers like we did last game, but just kind of stopping them at what they did and not allowing them to stack up first downs.”

Corbin received the opening kickoff of the game, but punted the ball after its first three plays.

Corbin defender Dallas Merida soon picked off a Paducah pass that he ran back to the around the Paducah 10-yard line.

Cole Stevens then ran the ball in for a touchdown at the 5:03 mark in the first half. Corbin missed the two-point conversion and went up 6-0.

Stevens ran in Corbin’s second touchdown with 2:29 to go in the first quarter and the successful two-point conversion put Corbin up 14-0.

The score remained unchanged until Cam Estep ran in a touchdown from about 10 yards with 0:19 seconds to go in the second quarter. The subsequent two-point conversion put the Redhounds up 22-0.

Corbin then recovered the kickoff with 0:17 seconds to go in the half. On the last play of the half, a Corbin receiver came down with a long pass reception that he advanced inside the Paducah 10-yard line before being brought down by defenders after time expired in the half.

Paducah received the kickoff to start the third quarter and drove down for its only touchdown at the 7:21 mark in the third quarter. After an unsuccessful two-point conversion, the score was 22-6 with Corbin up.

At the 5:02 mark in the fourth quarter, Estep intercepted a pass at the Corbin three-yard line to stop a Paducah drive. Corbin then drove the ball 97 yards down field where Stevens capped off the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run at the 1:49 mark in the fourth quarter.

Corbin then successfully kicked the extra point to go up 29-6. The stadium announcer noted that it was the first successful extra point kick of the championships this year.

Jackson noted that this year’s championship march started back in March.

“All of the puzzle pieces fell in place. It was a process, but our kids buy into the process. It is like follow the process and it will get you to where we want to be in the end, and obviously that is where we are at,” Jackson noted.

Jackson also complimented the scout team members and how well they performed the last two weeks helping the eighth graders prepare for two very tough opponents.

“Our guys worked every day in practice, every play to give us the look we had to have to pull this off,” Jackson added.

Last year, the Redhounds defeated South Oldham in the championship game by a score of 28-8 to win the 2020 Eighth Grade Division 2 Championship.

The Redhounds also won the Eighth Grade Division 2 title in 2017, the Eighth Grade Division 1 title in 2014, and the Eighth Grade Division 2 title in 2010.

This year’s team included: Cam Estep, Cole Stevens, Euell David Martinez, BJ Jackson, JP Carmichael, Landon Crawford, Dallas Merida, Bo Walters, Clay Botner, Lucas Brittain, Evan Taylor, Joseph Brigmon, Eli Pietrowski, Jacob White, Jackson Dutkiewicz, Hunter Fuson, Tyson Blalock, Max Farmer, Gavin Hinkle, Myles Marlow, Jaden Davis, Baron Butler, Seth Jones, Alex Eaton, Hayden Lambert, Gary Hobbs, Ashton Wright, Peyton Hamilton, Dylan Johnson, Timothy Thompson and Leo Portillo.

The coaching staff included Jackson, Jeff Barnett, Buddy Butler, Tim Massengill, Jesse Hayden, Gregg Foley, Dylan Massengill, Chance Hendrickson, Ryan Tate, Evan Keck, Travis Hart and Zac Horvath.

Sideline staff were Johnny White, Jenni Lou Jackson and Jenny Barnett. Managers were Jack Jackson, Logan Crawford and Jackson Jones.