Corbin’s season comes to an end with loss at Boyle Co.

In what was a true clash of the high school football titans, the undefeated Corbin Redhounds made the trip to Danville last week to face the also unbeaten Boyle County Rebels in the third round of the 2023 Class 4A state championship playoffs.

In the end, the Hounds would fall despite a valiant effort, losing by the final score of 21-14 and closing the book on another historic season.

Of course, many thought that this would be the year for Big Red to bring home another state championship title, but not achieving that goal takes nothing away from the long list of accomplishments that the CHS football program has achieved over the course of the past three seasons.

The Redhounds have lost a grand total of just three games against only two opponents since the conclusion of their 2020 campaign.

In 2021, they went 12-0 before losing a heartbreaker to visiting Johnson Central in that year’s regional final. In 2022, the team went 14-1 en route to the Class 4A state championship game, where they fell to Boyle County in another all-time classic between the two rival programs. This year, they won 12 straight before the Rebels were once again able to end their momentum.

When taking a look at some of the cumulative statistics from this season, it is easy to see how Corbin was able to remain near the top of the statewide rankings since opening week.

Remember, these stats only include twelve games, as week two’s canceled contest against North Hardin ultimately ended up being recorded as a forfeit victory…

• Quarterback Kade Elam – Over 2,400 yards passing and 27 touchdowns. Over 260 rushing yards with nine scores.

• Running back Guy Bailey – Over 760 yards rushing with 15 TDs (in 10 games). Over 230 yards receiving, including a pair of touchdowns.

• Receiver Carter Stewart – Over 1,000 yards receiving, including 14 catches for touchdowns.

• Offensive specialist Cam Estep – Third on the team in rushing with 240-plus yards and four scores. Also second-leading receiver with 480-plus yards and six TDs.

• Receiver Eli Pietrowski – Third on the team as a receiver with 270-plus yards and three touchdowns.

• Kicker Noah Cima – Third-leading scorer on the team with 60 extra points and three field goals.

• Defensive ends Jacob and Jerod Smith – Combined for a total of just under 200 tackles on the year.

• Evan Baker, Mikey Neal and Jonah Mahan – Team’s third, fourth and fifth best tacklers, respectively, behind the Smith twins. Combined for over 233 total tackles on the season.

• Franklin West, Keegan Reeder, Hayden Baker, Nate Grigsby, Seth Jones, Zachary Howard and the rest of the linemen up front who made all of the above statistics possible.

Despite the sting of another tough loss to the Boyle County Rebels to end the season, Corbin has proven beyond a doubt that they deserve to remain in the conversation of who are the top teams in the state, regardless of class.

No doubt, the Redhounds will regroup, re-load, and be ready to make another run in 2024.