Talk of the town: Hounds, Colonels set to meet as district opponents for the first time

Since the 2015 season, with the exception of 2020’s covid cancellation, the Whitley County Colonels and the Corbin Redhounds have met on the gridiron in an annual game played for bragging rights in the county. So far, the Hounds have dominated the series, compiling a 7-0 record against the Colonels. Things are going to mean a whole lot more now, however, with both teams competing in the same district for the first time.

When Whitley and Corbin meet at Campbell Field this Friday, Oct. 13, it will be to determine which team will sit atop the rankings in Class 4A, District 8. The Hounds, who are a perfect 7-0 on the season, traveled to Letcher County Central last week and took down the Cougars, 39-14. Meanwhile, the Colonels (5-2) made the trip to Perry County Central and topped the Commodores, 56-32.

Corbin has done what most expected them to do so far in 2023, which is dominate the competition and establish themselves as one of the favorites to win it all in Class 4A. Through six games, junior quarterback Kade Elam has thrown for nearly 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has also rushed for nearly 200 yards, including seven scores.

Senior running back Guy Bailey has been the Redhounds’ go-to rusher, amassing just under 400 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground despite missing some time due to injury.

Senior Carter Stewart has once again led the way for Corbin’s receiving corps, catching passes for over 550 yards and seven touchdowns so far this year.

The Redhounds have been great defensively this fall, with the addition of the Smith twins – Jacob and Jerod – paying huge dividends. The brothers, who recently committed to play for the University of Kentucky beginning next school year, are one and two on the team’s leaderboard for tackles, with Jacob having 66 and Jerod recording 56.

Whitley County could very easily be coming into this week with a record of 6-1, but an ultra-competitive contest against visiting Bell County ultimately did not go their way back on Sept. 15 as they fell by the final score of 48-42.

The Colonels had a bye week after the disappointing to loss to the Bobcats, and have since regrouped nicely, defeating Scott, Tenn. and Perry Central in a pair of road games by a combined score of 119-46.

This is a much-improved Whitley County team when compared to a year ago, no doubt, but when they come up against the Hounds this week overall depth could become an issue. When doing a side-by-side comparison when it comes to athletic ability in key positions on the field, though, the Colonels should be able to hold their own.

Whitley’s senior quarterback, Tye Hamblin, has proven himself as a dual threat, both throwing and rushing for well over 300 yards before entering into district play last week.

The Colonel offense depends heavily on the abilities of running back Dee Parker, who has already surpassed 1,000 rushing yards this season, and in addition to doing major damage after taking hand-offs from Tye, he is also a capable receiver.

Tye’s favorite target through the air is receiver Tyler Rose, who will do his part to make sure that the Corbin secondary remains on its toes despite Whitley’s overall run-heavy offensive game plan.

Hamlin, Parker and Rose have all been regular contributors on the defensive side of the ball as well, along with teammates Ryan Steely, Chris Cureton, Andrew Brown, Hunter Smith, John Croley, Cody Bryant, and others.

While the homestanding Redhounds will be heavily favored once again in this year’s matchup, the Whitley County Colonels have shown that they are definitely not a team that should be overlooked. A few unexpected surprises are certainly not out of the question here.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Campbell Field.