Tom Greer’s Corbin Redhounds are hoping their third time playing Johnson Central will be the charm when the two teams square off today at Campbell Field during Class 4A, Region 4 finals action.
The two teams have met in the regional finals the past two seasons with the Golden Eagles winning both games.
Can Corbin put an end to Johnson Central’s regional reign? If you look at both teams’ RPI, the answer would be yes.
The Redhounds (12-0) own the best RPI in Class 4A at .73519 while the Golden Eagles’ RPI (.62269) ranks seventh.
Johnson Central has reeled off eight straight wins.
The Golden Eagles have impressive wins over 13th Region teams Clay County (56-20), and Harlan County (43-0), along with Two wins over teams in Corbin’s district — Lincoln County (36-7), and Wayne County, 43-6.
They lost to Ohio’s Ironton High School, 32-21, while their only in-state loss was to North Laurel (15-14).
If you’re going to beat Johnson Central, you’re gonna have to slow down its ground attack of Zack McCoart (1,641 rushing yards, 25 touchdowns), Chase Price (1,011, 11), and Mason Lawson (760, 10).
The Golden Eagles are averaging 364.5 rushing yards per game. In their wins over Corbin the past two seasons, they ran for 384 yards in 2020, and 454 yards in last season’s game.
But this is a different Redhound team.
Just in case if you’ve not been paying attention, Corbin hasn’t allowed a point since Sept. 30 — yep, six consecutive shut outs. If Tom Greer’s squad blanks Johnson Central Friday, they’ll tie the school record of seven straight shutouts that was recorded by former coach Nick Denes’ Redhounds way back in 1935.
Just to make things even more interesting, the last time a visiting team scored at Campbell Field was Sept. 9 (Pulaski County).
The Redhounds are allowing only 90 yards rushing per game, so something has to give.
Corbin is led by Zayne Hammack’s 96 tackles. He also has three sacks. Israel Summers has 66 sacks, and a team-beat six sacks while Jacob Baker has 75 tackles baker also has three interceptions along with Brody Wells.
Zander Curry leads the Redhounds with seven interceptions.
Corbin’s offensive attack is something Johnson Central must contain as well.
The Redhounds are averaging 42.5 points per game along with 377.2 offensive yards per game.
Sophomore quarterback Kade Elam has thrown for 1,973 yards and 14 touchdowns while throwing only three interceptions on 177 pass attempts.
Elam also has 390 rushing yards while finding paydirt 12 times carrying the ball.
Cameron Combs leads Corbin with 1,049 rushing yards on only 107 carries. He’s found the end zone 14 times.
Carter Stewart (45 receptions, 922 receiving yards, and 8 touchdowns), Eli Pietrowski (18, 273, 2), Wells (20, 233, 4), and Marc Warren (12, 209, 4). Ten different Redhound players have caught a touchdown pass this season.
And don’t forget about Baker.
His 80 points is second only to Combs’ 100. Baker has connected on 60-of-61 PAT attempts while 6-of-7 field goal attempts.
Corbin possesses a career 81-42 playoff record while going 0-2 all-time against the Golden Eagles.
Johnson Central is 48-20 in playoff action.
