END OF SERIES

Whitley County quarterback Austin Ysidro looks for an open player.

The 45^th and final meeting between Whitley County and Lynn Camp Wildcats on the football field is over for now according to Colonels’ Coach Jim Black. The Colonels overwhelmed the Wildcats Friday night with a 49-0 victory to end the series with a 32-13 record.

It was the fifth straight win for the Colonels and 18^th in the last 20 years.

The Colonels didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard as senior Josh Nichols opened the game with a 47-yard kickoff return to the Lynn Camp 28. Five plays later it was Nichols on a 15-yard run to the end zone to put the Colonels ahead for good. Sophomore kicker, Alex Conlin, booted the ball through the uprights for a 7-0 lead early in the quarter.

It was the first of four touchdowns in the quarter for the Colonels. Lynn Camp’s first drive of the period ended in an Aaron Mills fumble at the 40-yard line. A 15-yard run by sophomore quarterback Austin Ysidro and a 25-yard run by junior Austin Hooper put the Colonels ahead 14-0 after Conlin’s kick.

Whitley County held the Wildcats to three and out and the Colonels had the ball back with 5:38 left in the period.  The Tilmon Jackson punt return gave the Colonels a first down at their own 43-yard line. Four plays later it was Jackson going in from five yards out for touchdown number three of the quarter. The big plays were back-to-back runs of 36 yards from Hooper.

The Wildcats got a spark of offense when Tommy Hatfield ran 18 yards on a first-down from the 34-yard line. But, the drive quickly came to an end when Mills was sacked for a loss of 11 yards. Facing a fourth-down at the Whitley County 45-yard line, the Wildcats went for the first down marker, but the play went nowhere and the Colonels took over with 1:20 in the quarter.

Hooper again had back-to-back carries of 20+ yards to the seven-yard line to set-up yet another TD for the Colonels. This time it was freshman Zack Mills going in for the touchdown with :17 seconds left. Hooper added the conversion and the Colonels led 28-0.

Things slowed down a bit for the Colonels in the second quarter as Whitley County added just one TD. It came when Hooper broke loose for a 57-yard run with 2:07 remaining in the half. Conlin’s kick made it 35-0.

Hooper had a big first half for the Colonels, running the ball 11 times for 187 yards. He finished the game with 242 yards.

It was a quick second half as the quarters were lowered to 10 minutes with a continuous clock running throughout the second half.

The Colonels still managed to put 14 points on the scoreboard. The first TD came after an Alex Sears interception at the Lynn Camp 17-yard line. Two plays later it was Ysidro going in from 11 yards out for the score. Conlin’s kick made it 42-0.

Another three and out, saw the Colonels take over at the Whitley County 28-yard line. Nichols started the drive with a 37-yard run to the Wildcats’ 35. Hooper had back-to-back carries of 12 and 11 yards before freshman quarterback Luke Woods went around the right side for a 12-yard TD. Conlin’s kick made it 49-0 with seconds left in the quarter.

Whitley County will turn its attention to the Somerset Briar Jumpers this week for what is expected to be a tough contest. The Jumpers are ranked anywhere from first in Class 2A to fifth in one poll.

Whitley County beat the Briar Jumpers last season in a home game, 27-21 as the Jumpers had a hard time stopping Boston Bryant, who ran for 179 yards and a touchdown. “It was a tough game,” Whitley County Coach Jim Black said. “It was a hard fought game. We just need to go over there and be ready for everything. That’s the way we are going to approach practice. They are a good football team.”

Somerset comes into the game with a 4-1 record. Their lone loss came at the hands of Breathitt County two weeks ago, 24-13.

Quarterback Tanner Gadberry leads Somerset along with running backs Will Lange and Brycen McWilliams. Somerset likes to throw the football and Gadberry’s main targets are Cam Cheuvront and Lange. The two had 100+ yards in a win over Southwestern earlier this season.

“They are very impressive and try to be very physical in everything they do,” Black said. “We will have to play a good football game to beat them over there.”

The Colonels are at the halfway mark of their season and own a 3-2 record. “We were not here last year. We were 2-3 after the Lynn Camp game, so it feels good to be above the .500 mark. We have a lot of things to build on. I am real excited about this football games. If we stay healthy we can win a lot of games,” Black said.

“A lot of these players are maturing right before our eyes,” Black added. “We just need to take these games one at a time and build on them.”

Whitley Co. 49, Lynn Camp 0

Lynn Camp              0   0     0   0-   0

Whitley Co.            28   7   14   0- 49           

First Quarter

WC- Josh Nichols 15 run (Alex Conlin kick)

WC- Austin Hooper 25 run (Conlin kick)

WC- Tilmon Jackson 5 run (kick failed)

WC- Zack Mills 7 run (Hooper run)

Second Quarter

WC- Hooper 57 run (Conlon kick)

Third Quarter

WC- Ysidro 11 run (Conlin kick)

WC- Luke Woods 12 run (Conlin kick)