Obstacle No. 1 is out of the way for Shawn Thompson’s Wayne County Cardinals, and now they have another tough test in Week 6 against unbeaten Corbin.

A win over the 5-0 Redhounds would almost assure Wayne County its respective district’s top seed with remaining district games against Casey County and McCreary Central, but if Corbin can pull off the upset, the Redhounds would have the inside track to the district’s top seed.

But this we do know — it’s going to be awful hard to beat Wayne County.

The Cardinals handed the Bobcats their worst loss of the season with a 41-6 win this past week, and dominated in every fashion of the game.

They’re looking to do the same this week at home against a Corbin team that has dominated its competition this season.

The Redhounds have outscored their opponents 213-21 so far, but if you look a bit closer, some may question if the Redhounds have been battle-tested this season.

Their five opponents’ combined record so far this year is 7-20.

But with that said, Steve Jewell’s squad has done what it’s supposed to do — take care of business.

Corbin has a 14-0 win over winless Southwestern, which could be its most impressive win of the season along with a 55-7 defeat of a rebuilding Danville squad.

Wayne County on the other hand has been an offensive juggernaut.

The Cardinals have scored at least 40 points per game in five of their six games this season with their lowest point output (36) coming against South Laurel in a Week One 29-point victory.

Wayne County is averaging 40.9 points per game while allowing 12 points per game. The Redhounds’ numbers are just as good.

Corbin’s revamped offensive attack is averaging 42 points per contest while its defense has turned in three shut outs, while allowing only four points per game.

That’s quite impressive.

So who’s going to win the game?

Let’s take a closer look.

For Corbin to win, the Redhounds must play mistake-free football, and eat up a lot of clock. Corbin has a lot of offensive weapons in players such as Mr. Everything Taylor Waddle, Cai Jackson and the workhorse in the running game, Jake Coppock.

Those players have the potential to beat any team, but with that said, the Redhounds have been a quick-strike scoring team on offense so far this season, which could play in Wayne County’s favor.

Why?

The Cardinals’ offense might just see a lot of opportunities top score again this week.

So, it’s key for Jewell’s squad to not turn the ball over and eat up a lot of clock, but that is easier said than done.

So what are the keys to victory for Wayne County?

The Cardinals must continue to play physical football, which they did last week against Bell County.

Thompson’s squad is going to enter the game as a heavy favorite, and if they can jump out on Corbin quickly, Wayne County might run away with the win like it did against Bell County.

Look for Thompson to mix things up on offense early, and look for the Cardinal defense to see on both Coppock and Waddle. Those are the two players that stir the drink for Corbin.

If Wayne County can bottle up both Coppock and Waddle, and not turn the ball over on offense, it could be a long day for the Redhounds.

 

MY PREDICTION

In a battle of two of the remaining six unbeaten football teams left in Class 3A, look for Wayne County to prevail.

Wayne County 35, Corbin 14

If Les says it will be Wayne 35 to 14 then my $$$ is going on them too! I think you are dead on

I think Wayne has been battle-tested.

35-14 looks about right for me too.

Being a Monroe fan I have been fortunate (actually unfortunate) to see some of the states best teams clash with our Falcons over the years, FC during their great run, Puducah Tilghman and Central as well. Point being, Wayne is as good of a team that I have seen in several years. IMO, their only road block will be South Warren, who in reality shouldn't be playing in 3A.

I believe that the fact that Corbin has had an easy go of it the past several weeks will hurt them this week. They have not played a physical team since the opening win over Southwestern, but that will change this week, and how Corbin responds to it is unknown at this point. They are still young on the line, playing 2 sophomores on the offensive and 1 on the defensive side, and Wayne Co. is big, strong and physical, so the key to the game will be if they can hold their own on the line of scrimmage with Wayne Co. They also need to eliminate the long pass plays that hurt them badly last year when they lost to the Cardinals 26-23.