Touchdown Corbin!!!

The Corbin Redhounds traveled to South Laurel last week in hope of notching their elusive first win. However, the Cardinals had something different in mind as they jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and held off a late Redhound rally to win 26-6.
Although Corbin was unable to get the final result they had hoped for Head Coach Steve Jewell liked the improvement he saw from his team.
“I thought we looked well, both, defensively and offensively at times, said Jewell. “One minute the offense is playing real well and the defense isn’t, next minute the defense is playing well and the offense isn’t. We’ve got to get on the same page, but I was extremely pleased with the kids’ effort tonight.”
South Laurel wasted little time in getting their explosive offense going by taking the opening kickoff and putting together one of their signature drives. In a series that was seemingly one play, due to the perfect no-huddle offense execution, the Cardinals used 6 plays to jump on Corbin quick. South Laurel covered 60 yards by mixing in the run and pass with the scoring play coming in the form of a three yard run by senior running back Reece Schenkenfelder at the 10:10 mark of the opening quarter. The kick failed, but the score was still 6-0 in favor of South Laurel.
South Laurel Head Coach Jep Irwin knew that his team’s quick start was a key to winning the game between the two rivals.
“We started really fast and then we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit with penalties and fumbles down in their territory, too, said Irwin. They mix it up really well just like I thought they would you really have to give it to them they fought hard even though they’re 0-2 and they’re a typical Corbin team, so it was important to get off to a lead.”
Corbin’s offense took the field with quarterback Clint Cashen for the first time this season, but was unable to get anything going against the pesky Cardinal defense as they were forced to punt after three plays. However, this time Corbin’s defense was ready for the high octane South Laurel offense. After the Cardinals connected on a 24 yard completion from Ricky Bowling to Zach Marcum, the Redhounds started to toughen up. Then, on second and fifteen, Bowling threw for the end zone, but found Corbin’s Rob Madon instead as he pulled down the interception in the South Laurel end zone to gain possession for the Redhounds.
As Corbin had taken over the momentum of the game, they made a costly mistake. On the second play of their drive they laid the ball on the ground and the Cardinals’ Marcum was quick to scoop it up.
Taking over with the ball on the Corbin 21 yard line South Laurel was not about to miss out on a huge opportunity. In three plays they put the ball in the end zone again. This time it was through the air as Bowling found Corey Brown for a 7 yard touchdown pass. Then Bowling hit Marcum on a pass completion for a successful two point conversion that made the score 14-0 with 5: 10 remaining in the first quarter.
After forcing Corbin to punt again, the Cardinals got the ball and attempted to put the game away early. South Laurel began marching down the field once again as Bowling connected for a nine yard gain on the series’ first play. Then the running game got going with Brown reeling off a 16 yard run later in the drive. Seeing the game slip away Corbin came up with a big play. The Cardinals tried another run in hope of a big play, but what they got was a fumble, which Josh Sanders quickly recovered for the Redhounds.
The recovery was a great momentum change, but it didn’t last long. After a fumble and sack on the drive’s first two plays, the Redhounds were unable to capitalize on the turnover.
South Laurel again threatened the Corbin defense, but was denied as they drove to the Redhound 20 yard line only to be forced to turn the ball over on downs. Corbin then took possession and put together one of their best drives of the young season. The Redhounds found success on both the ground and air on the drive. Senior tight end Lucas Henson was the recipient of two Cashen passes that went for 14 yards with the last one getting Corbin’s drive going with a first down. Next, it was the running of Eric Blackwood and Blake Freeman that got the Redhounds deep into South Laurel territory. After the 12 play drive took Corbin down to the Cardinal 12 yard line, South Laurel was the one making the big play. Brown came up with an interception on the one yard line for the Cardinals to end the Corbin threat with less than a minute to go in the half. South Laurel then proceeded to run the clock out and both teams headed to the break with the Cardinals leading 14-0.
Corbin opened the second half the same way they ended the first, by putting together an impressive drive. They drove into Cardinal territory once again only to be denied for a second straight time. This time the drive was squelched when a pass fell incomplete and they turned the ball over on downs.
That’s when South Laurel got back on track and added to their lead. After being extremely quiet for over a quarter and a half the Cardinals converted a 37 yard pass play from Bowling to Marcum to get them inside the five and set up another score. The drive was capped off by a Bowling quarterback sneak that extended the lead to 20-0 with 5:23 to play in the third frame even though the kick was no good.
The Redhounds tried their best to answer the touchdown, but once again came up a little short. After driving inside the Cardinal 30 yard line, the drive again stalled and Corbin had to turn the ball over on downs.
Irwin was proud of the way his team didn’t budge when the Redhounds got into the red zone. “In the second half they were moving the ball on us, but they only got it in once, said Irwin. We were able to stop them two or three times when they were threatening us.”
After South Laurel’s offense was forced to turn the ball over on downs on their next drive, the Redhounds got into the scoring act. Blackwood’s 27 yard catch on the first play of the drive got the march going. Then it was Ryan Tate hauling in a 13 yard completion as the Redhounds moved quickly down the field. After Madon made a 13 yard catch of his own, Cashen was able to find Tate for a completion over the middle that led to a Corbin touchdown. Tate caught the ball at about the five yard line and would not be denied plowing his way in for six. The extra point attempt was no good, leaving the score 20-6 in favor of South Laurel.
Jewell looked at the late touchdown as a good confidence builder for his team. “We’ve been knocking on the door (of the end zone), I think we’ve been in the red zone thirteen times in the first two ball games, said Jewell. “We were in the red zone more tonight and finally got it across there maybe that will break that ice and we can build on that for next week.”
After the Cardinals recovered Chance Hendrickson’s onside kick, they were able to tack on one final score. On third down, Bowling threw a screen pass to the right side to Marcum who then juked his way across the field and 39 yards for the touchdown. Although the point after attempt was wide the pass play gave South Laurel a 26-6 advantage with only 2:30 remaining in the game.
The Redhounds were unable to get any closer as they turned the ball over and the Cardinals ran the clock out to secure the 26-6 victory.
Corbin (0-3) will be back in action Friday night as they travel to face Lexington Christian Academy (2-1).