CORBIN — Brent Jackson’s Corbin Middle School eight grade Redhounds are one win away from capturing another eighth grade state championship.
Corbin outlasted Boyle County in the State Semifinals on Saturday with a 16-8 decision.
Jackson’s squad will be back in action Saturday in the state title game at 5 p.m. against Paducah Tilghman. The game will be played at Lexington Christian Academy High School.
“I was very impressed with our kids tonight and how they raised their game,” Jackson said. “I felt like to open the second half we needed to establish the line of scrimmage, and that’s what our Bigs upfront did for us. I thought our backs ran extremely hard, and more importantly, they blocked extremely well to allow us to establish our run game. Coach Barnett’s defense came to play allowing only one true score while creating three forced turnovers. This helped keep our offense on the field, taking the ball out of Boyle’s hands.”
The Redhounds’ first scoring drive was set up by a ripped pass intended for Luke Trett that ended up being caught by Easton Hendrickson. Corbin then scored on a run inside the 10-yard line by Jackson Marlow. Quarterback Bret Estep added the two-point conversion tying the game at eight apiece entering the half.
The Redhounds opened the second half with a perfectly placed kick by Paul Vires that was recovered by teammate Carson Freeman. The turnover would led to the eventual game-winning score.
Corbin went to a ground and pound offense philosophy and took control of the line of scrimmage.
To cap off the scoring drive, Brody Hart had a 14-yard run, breaking tackles into the end zone to give his team a 14-8 edge. Marlow found paydirt on the ensuing two-point conversion play, giving the Redhounds a 16-8 lead.
Corbin’s defense held on to stop the Rebels on their last drive.
On fourth and three from the Corbin 37-yard line, defensive tackle Brennan Miller made a shoe sting tackle dropping Boyle County’s running back just short of the first down.
The Redhounds took over with 1:43 left in the contest, and closed out the game by securing the last first down of the contest leading to them running the remainder of the time off the clock.
