REDHOUND ROUT

 The Corbin Redhounds had their final tune-up before meeting Middlesboro this week for a district championship. The Redhounds pounded the Leslie County Eagles, 49-0 as senior Matthew Taylor had an outstanding game for Corbin.

Taylor scored four touchdowns and ran for 125 yards. Junior running back Brady Foley added two touchdowns on 93 yards.

Junior quarterback Ty Cobb had one of his best games, connecting on 14-of-23 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown to Mitchell Frederick.

Corbin (6-2) got off to a slow start, scoring seven points in the first quarter, but picked up the momentum in the second period to put three touchdowns on the scoreboard for a 28-0 lead.

“We sputtered around on our first couple of series in the first quarter then got on track when the kids made a good call on a fake punt and from there it snowballed to a lot of positive things,” said Corbin Coach Steve Jewell.

“We were worried about them getting off to a good start and getting some positive energy going with their home crowd,” said Jewell. “We were able to take them out of it pretty quick after the first couple of series.”

Corbin put together an 11-play drive late in the first quarter to get on the scoreboard. Taylor capped off the 67-yard drive with a 13-yard run at the 1:13 mark for the 6-0 lead. Saxon Okuma tacked on the PAT and the ‘Hounds led 7-0.

After a short drive by the Eagles, Corbin took over at their own 43-yard line. Three plays later Taylor broke loose for a 25-yard run to the end zone. Okuma’s kick made it 14-0.

Corbin went on to add two more touchdowns before the half ended. Cobb hit Frederick on a 22-yard pass play and Foley scored from three yards out as Corbin took a 28-point lead to the dressing room.

Jewell said of Cobb’s performance. “He did a good job, but he still has a lot of room for improvement as far as learning his reads.”

“We’re progressing and it is the same way with Foley and Taylor. They are blocking well for each other and I felt like the line blocked well as the game went on,” he added.

The Redhounds scored the first time they touched the ball in the third quarter. Foley took a first-down play at the 46-yard line to the end zone. With the extra point on target by Saxon, the Redhounds had a 35-0 lead.

Once the Redhounds got the ball back it took only two carries by Taylor to score. The touchdown came on a 21-yard run with 6:16 in the third period.

Taylor’s longest touchdown of the night came from the Corbin 49-yard line early in the fourth quarter.

Josh Coppock led the Redhounds in passing yards with 57 on three catches, Josh Jewell had five catches for 55 yards and Taylor added to his all-purpose yards with four catches and 55 yards, giving the senior 180 yards for the night’s work.

The defense was tough on Leslie County’s Troy Napier. The Eagles quarterback was intercepted four times. Frederick had two interceptions while Hunter Grubb and Josh Coppock had one each.

The Redhounds will take on the Middlesboro Yellow Jackets Friday night in what will be the district championship game in Middlesboro.

The 4-4 Yellow Jackets will present a problem for the Redhounds with junior quarterback Chase Roark. He has thrown the ball for over 1,400 yards and had a big night against the Knott Central Patriots last week in a 65-6 win.

“Obviously everybody focuses on him,” said Jewell. “He throws a good ball and has a good strong arm, he has some good-sized targets.”

“The backfield scares me,” said Jewell. “They have a couple of kids with a lot of good speed, one of them has more speed than strength and the other has a lot of strength and speed (#21 Eddie Witherspoon and #4 Cody Smith).”

“The Smith kid has some jets on him and I worry about them when they get you in spread formations,” added Jewell. “They like to bust you up the middle.”

Jewell hopes his team can jump out to the early lead. “We need to get after them early,” he said.

“If we don’t it could be an uphill battle all night long,” said Jewell.

Two years ago the Redhounds were a heavy favorite and came away with a 14-7 win. The last win by Middlesboro came in the 2006 shootout when the Jackets won, 62-42.

Corbin 49, Leslie Co. 0

Corbin              7  21  14  7- 49

Leslie Co.            0    0    0  0-   0

CHS- Matthew Taylor 13 run (Saxon Okuma kick)

CHS- Taylor 25 run (Okuma kick)

CHS- Mitchell Frederick 22 pass from Ty Cobb (Okuma kick)

CHS- Brady Foley 3 run (Okuma kick)

CHS- Foley 46 run (Okuma kick)

CHS- Taylor 21 run (Okuma kick)

CHS- Taylor 51 run (Okuma kick)