RECORD BREAKER

Freshman Zach Mills and sophomore Austin Ysidro combined for 351 yards as Whitley County crushed Letcher Central in Whitesburg Friday night, 55-19.

The win left the Colonels with a second-place finish in the district race and now Whitley County will host the North Laurel Jaguars in the first-round of the KHSAA playoffs, Nov. 2.

The teams combined to post 42 points in the first quarter and 28 of those belonged to the Colonels. Ysidro scored the first TD of the game on a 28-yard run in the game’s opening seconds (11:43), but the host answered with a 68-yard run by Austin Tyree. The Colonels had a 7-6 lead on the strength of Alex Conlin’s extra point with just 34 seconds gone off the scoreboard.

Things settled down a bit until senior Boston Bryant broke through on a five-yard run to put the Colonels up, 13-6. Again, the Cougars answered with a short drive that saw Tyree break loose on a nine-yard run, closing the gap back to one point.

Senior Tilmon Jackson got in on the fun with a nine-yard touchdown and Bryant added his second TD with :39 left in the opening period as Whitley County took a 28-12 lead.

The Colonels began to pull away in the second quarter as Ysidro scored on a 44-yard run early in the second period and Mills went around the corner for a 76-yard run to the end zone with 4:47 left in the half. Conlin’s kicks made it 42-12.

Whitley County (6-3) wasn’t done yet. Ysidro scored on a 29-yard run and freshman Luke Woods added a 46-yard run to the end zone as the Colonels took a 55-12 lead by the end of the third quarter.

The Colonels rolled up a team record 617 yards which ties Paris High School for eighth in the state according to the KHSAA record books. The new record broke the previous mark set against Perry Central (507) three years ago.

Whitley County will close out the regular season against the Boyle County Rebels Friday night. The Rebels will bring a 5-4 record to Colonels’ Stadium after playing a tough schedule that including defending 4A state champion Fort Thomas Highlands, state semifinalist Lexington Catholic, 5A state semifinalist John Hardin and always tough Danville High.

The Rebels lost to Highlands (52-32), Danville (28-21), John Hardin (34-14) and Lexington Catholic (24-21).

Junior Seph Burke and seniors Lloyd Hall and quarterback Casey Whittle lead Boyle County.

Whitley Co. 55, Letcher Central 19

Whitley Co.             28  14   6   0- 55

Letcher Cent.            12    0   0   7- 19

First Quarter

WC- Austin Ysidro 28 run (Alex Conlin kick)

LC- Austin Tyree 68 run (run failed)

WC- Boston Bryant 5 run (kick failed)

LC- Tyree 9 run (run failed)

WC- Tilmon Jackson 9 run (Zach Mills from Ysidro)

WC- Bryant 1 run (Conlin kick)

Second Quarter

WC- Ysidro 44, run (Conlin kick)

WC- Zach Mills 76 run (Conlin kick)

Third Quarter

WC- Ysidro 29 run (Conlin kick)

WC- Luke Woods 46 run (kick blocked)

Fourth Quarter

LC- Watts 10 pass from Blair (Watts kick)