It’s already Week 3 of the high school football season, and our staff here at the L4 Security 13th Region Media Network had another good week of picking games.
We posted an 8-2 mark last week which now puts our season record at picking games at 17-4. That’s an .809 winning percentage. Where we come from, that’s pretty darn good.
The 13th Region has 10 more games slated this week, so let’s see if we can keep our success going.
Week 3
Friday, Sept. 2
Game of the Week
Paris (2-0) at Pineville (2-0)
We’ve got two unbeaten teams playing each other with the Mountain Lions outscoring their opponents, 99-0, so far this season.
Quarterback Sawyer Thompson has thrown for 266 yards, and seven touchdowns while Landon Robbins leads the way with 203 rushing yards, and one TD. Landon King has 169 rushing yards and has found pay dirt three times while Evan Biliter leads Pineville in receiving with six catches for 130 yards, and two TDs.
The Mountain Lions have forced five interceptions this season with King, and Tim Hall tallying two apiece. Hall also leads Pineville with 12 tackles.
The Greyhounds have outscored their opponents, 113-42.
Quarterback Kaden Frederick has passed for 281 yards, and four touchdowns while Jakari Ransom’s 199 rushing yards, and three TDs lead the way. Darian Bell has 136 rushing yards, and three scores.
Trey Murell has six catches for 154 yards, and four touchdowns while Ransom is also a threat catching the ball. He has three catches for 117 yards.
Paris’ defense has been stingy this season, forcing 12 turnovers (eight interceptions, and four fumbles).
The Greyhounds have recorded five sacks while Elijah Webb has four interceptions, one fumble recovery, and 13 tackles.
Since 1998, Paris leads the series, 4-1.
Who wins? We are taking Paris in this one, 35-21.
Corbin (2-0) at Franklin County (1-1)
This is another solid matchup that could go either way.
Franklin County dropped a 20-17 decision to Scott County to open the season before blowing out Western Hills, 69-0, last week.
Corbin picked up an impressive win in Week One, rallying to beat Pikeville, 24-19 while handing Whitley County a 42-13 loss last week.
The Redhounds are led by an efficient passing tack with Kade Elam completing 23-of-30 pass attempts for 273 yards and three touchdowns. He also has 97 rushing yards, and two touchdowns. Cameron Combs move from quarterback to the running back position has paid off. He leads the team with 184 rushing yards, and four touchdowns. He also leads Corbin with five catches for 181 yards, and four TDs.
Jacob Baker leads the Redhounds with 18 tackles while Brody Well has two interceptions and 11 tackles.
The Flyers are led by quarterback Gavin Hurst. He has completed 15-of-20 pass attempts for 295 yards, and three touchdowns. He also has 53 rushing yards, and a score on the ground.
Receivers Gilead Galloway (six catches, 143 yards, and one TD) and Peyton Ledford (four catches, 105 yards) are Hurst’s main receiving targets.
Frankfort’s defense las logged four sacks, and four turnovers this season with Brennan Robinson leading the way with 20 tackles.
Corbin leads the series, 1-0, since 1998.
Who wins? We gotta go with the road team on this one. Playing on the road will be tough for Corbin, Franklin County wins, 21-17.
Johnson Central (2-0) at North Laurel (0-1)
The Jaguars were off last week, having two weeks to prepare for this game.
If North Laurel hopes to pull off the upset, it starts with junior quarterback Tucker Warren. Warren did manage to throw for 129 yards and two touchdowns while running for 102 yards, and three TDs but completed only 8-of-19 pass attempts. Ethan Gregory’s first varsity start with the Jaguars was great. He carried the ball 16 times for 106 yards while Jack Chappell is the team’s leading receiver with three catches for 84 yards.
Jason Chappell’s team will have to have a big day passing the ball to knock off heavyweight Johnson Central.
The Golden Eagles are 2-0 and have outscored their opponents, 92-27.
Their offensive attack is simple — they’re gonna line up and coke straight at you and you to make a play.
They’ve already got five play with more than 100 yards rushing — Zack McCoart (318 rushing yards and 4 TDs). Carter Conley (298 rushing yards, and five TDs). Chase Price has also rushed for 138 yards, and two TDs hole Logan Music has rushed for 103 yards and one score.
Johnson Central leads the series, 3-2, since 1998.
Who wins? This is a tough one but when it comes down to it, North Laurel is going to have its hands full. Even though the game is at The Jungle, look for Johnson Central to pull out a 36-13 win.
Knox Central (2-0) at South Laurel (0-2)
The Panthers are RED-HOT.
And it all could be because of the play of Steven Partin. Has 421 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in only two games. He has also passed for 82 yards, a touchdown while completing 8-of-10 pass attempts.
Partin’s receiving threats, Gavin Chadwell (seven catches for 39 yards), and KT Turner (two catches, 47 yards, and two TDs) are solid as well.
As for the Cardinals, it’s been a rough road so far this season.
The Cardinals have been outscored 81-22, and think don’t look to be close again this Friday.
Quarterback Noah Smith has 162 passing yards and a touchdown for South Laurel while Garrison Brown leads the team with 11 rushing yards. The Cardinals have 32 Carrie’s this season that has totaled negative eight yards. Hunter Bundy leads South Laurel with 80 receiving yards for a score while Brown has seven catches for 59 yards.
Knox Central leads the series 6-3 since 1998.
Who wins? Look for the Panthers to score early, and never look back. Can Partin have another four touchdown game? We say yes. Knox Central cruises 49, South Laurel 7.
Harlan County (1-1) at Whitley County (0-2)
When these two teams play, expect a lot of points to be scored. Harlan County, and Whitley County have played against each other 12 times, and the series is even at six apiece.
The winner has averaged 39.75 points per game while the loser has averaged 20.1 points per game.
Expect another high scoring contest this time around.
Harlan County is looking to out an end to its one-game losing skid after falling to Hazard last week, 40-20.
Black Bear quarterback Ethan Rhymer has thrown 15 passes this season with three going for interceptions. He has passed for 57 yards, and one touchdown. Harlan County does most of its damage via the ground game.
Thomas Jordan has 190 rushing yards, and four scored while James Howard has ran for 118 yards, and a TD. Josh Sergent has rushed for 100 yards, and a score.
The Black Bear defense has forced six turnovers this season with Sergent leading the team with 15 tackles and two interceptions.
Whitley County has struggled getting an offense going. The Colonels are averaging 216.5 yards a game. Quarterback Tye Hamblin has thrown for two touchdowns, three interceptions, and 175 yards
Shane Parker leads the Colonels with 75 rushing yards while Mason Croley’s 71 receiving yards lead the way. Bryson Parter has a team-best five catches for 62 yards, and a TD.
Sam Haynes has put together two solid games on the defensive side for Whitley County. He leads the Colonels with 19 tackles.
Who wins? This one is a tough one. Whitley has an edge playing at home but look for the Black Bears to surprise and win, 28-22.
Lynn Camp (1-1) at Clay County (1-1)
The Tigers have dominated this series between these two teams since 1998, leading 6-1. The last time Lynn Camp defeated Clay County was on Sept. 5, 2003 with a 52-8 decision.
Since then, it’s been all Tigers.
It looks like the Wildcats will enter the game as heavy underdogs with the way Clay County has been playing.
The Tigers hung tough with Knox Central before losing 34-26 to begin the season, and followed the loss with a 42-32 win over Leslie County last week.
Clay County’s possesses one of the best offenses in the region, averaging 34 points per game.
It all starts with quarterback Tate Rice, who has thrown for 509 yards and six touchdowns. Lucas Allen leads the way with 241 rushing yards, and three TDs while wide outs Zachary Saylor (10 catches, 232 yards, and three TDs), and Tyson Wagers (13 catches, 205 yards, and two TDs) have dominated during the season’s first two weeks.
Lynn Camp is looking to erase last week’s memory of losing to Frankfort, 52-0.
The Wildcats have only completed two passes this season while attempting seven passes. Peyton Wilson has thrown for 58 yards. Running back Brody Lane has rushed for 249 yards, and one touchdown.
Who wins? Clay County will capture its second win in a row with a 56-12 victory.
Harlan (2-0) at Unaka, Tenn. (1-1)
The Green Dragons are looking to start the season with three wins for the first time since 2015 when they won their first four games.
To do so, they must find a way to beat a Unaka team that handed Harlan a 52-34 loss this season.
But that was last season.
The Green Dragons look much-improved after defeating both Berea (28-22), and East Ridge (22-16).
Harlan has only passed for 30 yards this season but it’s ground game is averaging 322.5 yards per game. The Green Dragons also possess a stingy defense that is surrendering only 69 rushing yards per game and 174 passing yards per game.
Dylan Middleton has been impressive on defense, leading the team with 15 tackles.
Jayden Ward leads Harlan with 286 rushing yards, and three touchdowns while Darius Akal has 248 rushing yards, and two TDs.
Who wins? We really don’t know much about Unaka, Tenn., but we are going to go with the Rangers at home, 35-18.
Leslie County (0-2) at Williamsburg (2-0)
We’re going to get to see two of the best quarterbacks in the mountains on Friday.
Williamsburg’s Sydney Bowen continues to work his magic, leading the Yellow Jackets with 339 passing yards, and two touchdowns along with 190 rushing yards, and four touchdowns. Hunter Thomas has 81 yards rushing and one TD.
Nate Goodin leads Williamsburg with 98 yards receiving on six receptions while scoring once. Jordan Perkins has five catches for 96 yards. Cade Hatcher leads the team with nine receptions while garnering 70 yards. Ben Hale has two receptions for 55 yards, and one score.
Defensively, Griffon Bates leads the Yellow Jackets with 22 tackles and one sack. Cooper Prewitt has 21 tackles while Hale and Thomas have 20 tackles apiece.
Williamsburg will have to find a way to slow down Eagle quarterback Landry Collett.
Collett has thrown for 455 yards and five TDs while while running for 96 yards and two scores. Dalton Maggard leads Leslie County with 116 rushing yards.
Collett has numerous receivers to throw to.
Five Eagle receivers have at least three receptions. Dalton Baker has nine catches for 108 yards while Charles Hoskins has nine catches for 79 yards and a TD. Wyatt Ostrander has eight catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Bryce Pugh has been dominant on defense for Leslie County. He leads the Eagles with 26 tackles with eight of those going for a loss.
Williamsburg is 8-2 against Leslie County dating back to 1998.
Who wins? The game could be a shootout. Look for Williamsburg to prevail, 56-38.
Garrard County (0-2) at Middlesboro (0-2)
Something has to give when the Lions and Yellow Jackets meet Friday. One of the teams are going to come away with a win.
We really feel like it’s gonna be Middlesboro.
The Yellow Jackets lost a 22-21 heartbreaker to Williamsburg last week, and hung tough against Hazard during its season-opener before losing, 42-24.
Quarterback Cayden Grigsby is confusing to turn heads with his play. He’s passed for 288 yards, and two TDs while running for 243 yards and a score. Vincent Smith has 128 yards on the ground and one rushing touchdown.
Grigsby’s main targets are Rylee Foster, and Kameron Wilson. Foster has six catches for 120 yards, and a TD while Wilson has six catches for 87 yards, and a score.
Garrard County enters the game struggling on offense but then again the Lions played two solid teams in Somerset (28-14), and Danville (36-0), but lost both contests.
The Yellow Jackets are 3-0 against Garrard County dating back to 1998.
Who wins? The game might be tight early on but Middlesboro will eventually pull away with a 35-7 win.
Week 3
Thursday, Sept. 1
Morgan County 0-2, Jackson County 0-2
Both teams have had a lot of struggles this season, and I expect this matchup to be a tight one.
Neither teams’ stats were completely updated when we wrote this, so that’s why they’re a lack of numbers for this game.
Who wins? Yes, Jackson County is at home but look for Morgan County to win, 21-20.
