2019 Season Week 10 Update: vs Hazard - Senior Night!

October 31, 2019

Greetings Colonel nation on a rainy Halloween!

It seems like only a few days ago when we put our game cloth on for the first time to kickoff the season at Corbin.  However, we have reached the last week of the 2019 regular season and Senior Week.  Congrats to our Senior Class on a job well done (so far).

Our 2019 Senior Players (WCHS Class of 2020):

LB/WR Barrett Hollis

DE/TE Ben Hollis

DB/WR Bobby Trent Downs

OT/DE Brandon Hinkle

WR/LB Caleb Irwin

WR/DB Cameron Gibbs

WR/QB Cole Brown

WR/DB Colt Asher

G/DT Colten Bargo

PK/DB Jayden Watson

TE/LB/LS Ethan Ingram

LB/TE/DE Jacob Prewitt

RT Kyle McKiney

I want to say personally how much I have enjoyed coaching this group of 13 senior players and working with our two senior student trainers as well, Mirna Hernandez and Kaleigh Roberts.  I know that the rest of the staff feels the same.  It has been a pleasure to come to work everyday and get to coach these young men and women.  I could not have hoped for a smoother transition as a new head coach. Coaching changes can be difficult, particularly for rising seniors, but this group welcomed me and my family and embraced the changes a new coaching staff brought.

This group is especially memorable for me because my son Caleb (#85) is a part of this class and has become very close with them and thoroughly enjoyed his senior season so far.  This class has led the program to a winning record and regular season co-district champs with a 3-1 record.  We are excited to see how far they can lead the team in the playoffs.  It is very rare to have a senior class in which every single player is able to play a vital role for the team and stay (relatively) health for the season.  It certainly makes my job easier.  But we aren't done - the best is yet to come!

On Tuesday evening the seniors and their families enjoyed a dinner out together at JonEvan Jack's to celebrate a successful regular season:

2019 Senior Players and Trainers (w/ hats)

w/o hats

The weather is atrocious today but the rain will be gone for the game Friday vs Hazard.  Luckily our grounds crew planned ahead and once again did a fantastic job on the field and honored the seniors with their numbers painted in the end zones.  This video shows the field decorations and the senior banners on the perimeter fence:

Thank you to our student filmer Barrean Llewellyn for capturing this footage.  Barrean has been unable to play on the team this season due to a medical condition but has been vital for us as a filmer/drone pilot.

SOUTH LAUREL GAME NOTES

Last week we were able to overcome a slow start and an 18-3 deficit to win on the road at South Laurel.  Once again we answered the challenge of falling behind on the road as we did at Bourbon County earlier in the season.  Very proud of how our defense pitched a shutout and our offense was able to dominate the line of scrimmage in the second half as we pulled away for a 32-18 victory. Here are some links from the South Laurel game:

• Sentinel-Echo story
• Hudl Stats
• Team Recap/Players of the Week
• Updated KHSAA Class 5A Stat Leaders (including Class 5A sack leader Colten Bargo)

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:  HAZARD BULLDOGS

Our opponent to finish of the regular season slate is a very good one in the Hazard Bulldogs.  Hazard is a perennial Class A power in the state and is again a quality team this season.  Hazard is a similar team to our first round opponent North Laurel and ourselves quite a bit.  They can throw and run the ball well and play sound defense.  They have played a tough schedule with non-district opponents like Harlan County, Paintsville, and Somerset.  Even though the game does not have playoff implications immediately, a win will help our RPI ranking should we advance to the third round of the Class 5A playoffs.  But forgetting all that, it's a football game and senior night so of course we want to #EARNTHEW!

• Hazard Scouting Report
• 2019 Hazard Roster
• 2019 Hazard Stats

Have a safe and dry Halloween and we will see you at Colonel Stadium tomorrow night - be sure to bundle up as it will be cool (but dry) tomorrow evening!

GO COLONELS!!!

2019 Season Update: Week 9 vs South Laurel

Thursday October 24, 2019

Greetings Colonel Nation,

What a tremendous ending to our game vs North Laurel last Thursday night - thank you to all the supporters who stayed with us until end as we took advantage of one more chance to pull out a victory.  We did not play our best most of the game (i.e. 4 turnovers) but we did show fight and grit until the end to EARN the winning score.  Here are some links from the North Laurel game to get your fired up all over again:

• Times Tribune Story
• Hudl Stats
• Hudl Recap
• Team Recap/Players of the Week
• Game Highlights courtesy of Brandon Lee Hensley
• Game Photos from Dylan Wilson

This week we complete regular season district play with a road game at South Laurel.  A win tomorrow night would ensure us the #2 seed in district standings and we would play a Round 1 playoff game at home on November 8th, probably against North Laurel (rematch!). Here are some links to get you ready for the game tomorrow night:

• South Laurel Roster & Stats thru 8 games
• Hudl Matchup Preview Video
• London area weather report for tomorrow
• Directions to South Laurel HS

Next week is Senior Week for the football program.  We will recognize our senior players and student trainers before the game at 7:00 p.m. in Colonel Stadium.

We will also have a senior player/trainer and parent dinner at JonEvan Jack's on Tuesday the 29th at 6:30 p.m.  The booster club will purchase dinner for the player/trainer and one parent. Dress is casual and there is nothing anyone has to bring except and appetite.

Speaking of meals, thank you to the families of our players for feeding the team on Thursday nights after practice the past few weeks.  We are undefeated since we started the football family pregame meals this season, so hopefully we can keep it up!

That is all for now - see you tomorrow night at South Laurel!

Go Colonels!!!!!!

2019 Season Week 8 Update: vs North Laurel

Monday, October 14th, 2019

Greetings Colonel Nation!

We are back and better than ever after a one-week hiatus with the blog.  Last week was an emotional one for our community as we mourned the loss of WCHS student Fisher Barton who died tragically so we gave the blog a break. 

Our team however, did not get a break and we #EARNED two hard-fought road victories the last two weeks at Bourbon County 35-13 on October 4th and at SW Pulaski last Friday 14-0.  I cannot express how proud we are of the team and how they handled a very difficult and stressful week with Colonel P.R.I.D.E, toughness, and commitment to one another on the road last Friday at SW Pulaski.  We were all emotionally spent, had several players sick or injured, and we were not able to get as much practice in last week (for good reason).  The team overcame all of that and won a district contest on the road when we were clearly not at our best.  The sweetest victories always involve overcoming difficult circumstances.

Huge shout out to our defensive players and coaches!  We #EARNED our first shutout of the season, forced 2 turnovers, blocked a punt, and allowed less than 200 total yards.

The growth of our team as mentally tough competitors this season has been tremendous.  Adversity reveals character and once again our young men rose to the challenge.  We certainly need to play better in some areas, but toughness and determination can take a person/team a long way.

Bourbon County Game Links:

• Times Tribune Article
• WKYT Highlights
• Hudl Recap
• Hudl Highlights
• Stats
• Players of the Week vs Bourbon County

SW Pulaski Game Links:

• Somerset Commonwealth Journal Article
• Times Tribune Article
• Hudl Highlights
• Stats
• Players of the Week vs SW Pulaski

This week's game: North Laurel

We are back at home this week vs a very good North Laurel team that is 5-3 on the season and has a 2-1 district record as well with wins over S. Laurel and SW Pulaski.  We expect a tough, physical game from the Jaguars as they pride themselves on running the football between the tackles.  Last week North suffered their first district loss vs Pulaski County.

Both teams need a win to improve their chances of a home playoff game in Round 1.  Please note that our game is this THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17th due to Fall Break on Thursday and Friday of this week for both school districts.

A couple of other notes for the game:

• Our team will be sporting some pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  We hope you will support the initiative and wear some pink as well.  I think most of us know a friend or relative that has been impacted by this disease.
• Thank you to Main Street Baptist Church in Williamsburg for volunteering to feed the team a breakfast on Thursday at 10 a.m. so we can have our pregame walk through.  We are honored and excited that Coach Stephen Wells of University of the Cumberlands Football has agreed to speak to the team.

We sure hope to see a big crowd in Colonel Stadium Thursday night at 7:30 to cheer the boys on.

Go Colonels!!

2019 Season Update Week 6: at Bourbon County

Greetings Colonel Nation,

Happy Wednesday on a very hot October 2nd.  I hope you have recovered from our marathon game Friday night.  We didn't finish until about 1 a.m. (as far as I can recollect) with the two weather delays we encountered.  We truly appreciate the fans who hung in there with us until the end as we came very close to winning the game in the 4th quarter.  We were very proud of our team's effort, toughness, and the improvement we showed against a very good Pulaski County team.  Congrats to Chloe Gibbs on being named 2019 Football Homecoming Queen (thanks to Scott Powell Photography for the photo):

WCHS Sophomore Katherine Brynat was our honorary captain Friday night:

Health Sciences Teacher Dee Dee Bishop was nominated by Sophomore QB Seth Mills to be our Teacher of the Week:

Here are some links and other info from the PC Homecoming game -  

• John Crisologo's Photos Gallery from the game
• Hudl Stats
• Times Tribune story by Les Dixon
• Somerset Commonwealth-Journal Story
• Hudl Recap Video
• Dylan Wilson Photography on Smugmug

The coaching staff selected the players below as Players of the Week for Pulaski County:

This week the varsity will be back on the road at Bourbon County in a non-district contest against another Colonels team.  The weather finally looks to be turning to fall-kike conditions for the game:

We hope to have a good number of Whitley Colonels in the stands to cheer the players on.

• Directions to Bourbon County HS
• Bourbon County Stats and Roster 

The JV team traveled to Pulaski COunty on monday and came up short. The next JV game on Monday October 7th wil be their last road game vs Clay County at 6 p.m.

That's all for this week, GO COLONELS!!

2019 Season Week 5 Update vs. Pulaski County (Homecoming)

2019 Season Week 5 Update vs. Pulaski County (Homecoming)

September 24, 2019

Greetings Colonel Nation!

Happy homecoming week Colonel fans and thank you to the many people who came out to support our team last Friday vs Bell County.  We didn't play our best, especially in the first half, but I was proud of the effort and toughness we showed in the second half.  The staff challenged the team to play tougher in the 3rd and 4th quarters and we did that.  The players have always responded when challenged and that is a trait that we will build upon to continue to improve as the season goes on.

Players of the Week vs Bell County:

Here are some links of interest for the Bell County game:

• Pictures by Dylan Wilson
• Game Stats from Hudl

We have another tremendous challenge this week as we take on Pulaski County, the defending region champions who have a record of 4-1 this season.  Our one common opponent is Corbin, which Pulaski beat in a very close game three weeks ago by a score of 23-22.

Pulaski County Stats
Pulaski County Roster - starters highlighted

Our JV team improved to 3-1 on the season with a 14-0 shutout of Bell County on the road last night.  Trevor Downs had a forced fumble and 2 TDs receiving from Mason Croley, while Bryson Potter caught a 2-pt conversion and David McFadden had several tackles and a forced fumble.  The defense played great in the red zone and our offensive line played the best they have all JV season.  We have 4 of the last 5 JV games at home - here is the updated JV schedule - games start at 6 p.m.:

THURSDAY 9/26 UPDATE:  MONDAY'S JV GAME IS NOW AWAY vs PULASKI CO.

On Saturday night the 2019 Whitley County High School Athletics Hall of Fame Induction ceremony and banquet  was held.  Among the new indutees were two former Colonel Football players Darin Shelley and Rick McKiddy, both all-state offensive linemen from the mid to late 1990s.  Congrats and thank you to them for helping to set the standard for outstanding achievement in the sport of football at our school.

That's all for this week - hope to see you at Colonel Stadium Friday night for our homecoming festivities and game.

GO COLONELS!!

2019 Season Week 4 Update: vs Bell County

Week 4 Update: vs Bell County

Happy Thursday Colonel Nation!

We are chomping at the bit to get back out on the field tomorrow night for our Alumni/Hall of Fame game vs Bell County!  Our district administration has declared Friday as a black out day for Colonel Nation.  Wear black to work tomorrow and the game so we can #blackoutbell in support of the team tomorrow night.

Our JV team was on the road (long road) at Harlan County Monday night and came out with a hard-fought 12-8 victory, improving their record to 2-1.  PLEASE NOTE THE JV PLAYS AT BELL COUNTY ON MONDAY THE 23RD, NOT SOUTH LAUREL.  Here is the link to our updated JV game schedule.  Expect more changes as the JV season continues.

The coaching staff recognizes these standouts as JV players of the week:

Bryson Potter - Receiving TD

Jesse Davis - fumble recovery

Sam Haynes was a leading tackler coming back from an injury

Payton Lawson played center on short notice due to an injury

Caleb Canada - interception

Brad Biscchop had in interception

Game Notes vs Bell County:

• Bell County is undefeated and ranked #1 in the Class 3A AP Poll this week
• Our Teacher of the Week is ROTC instructor Master Sargeant Donald Gross
• Our Honorary Captain is WCHS Alum Class of 2008 Benji Campbell - who has just been promoted to Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy
• The 2019 WCHS Athletics Hall of Fame Class will be introduced at halftime tomorrow night

That's all for today - see you tomorrow night!

Go Colonels!!

2019 Season Update: Week 3 vs Perry Central (Appalachian Bowl)

September 10, 2019

Greetings Colonel Nation!

Thank you to all who traveled to Clay County HS last Friday and cheered for our boys as we won the Appalachian Bowl vs Perry Central HS by a score of 33-6.  Even with the early kickoff time of 6 p.m. we could see and hear our crowd and the team definitely appreciated it.





Perry Central Game Recap/Notes:
Here are the stats for the game from Hudl
Times-Tribune Story by Less Dixon, Photos by Dylan Wilson
Video Highlights from Hudl (thank you Coach Jody Mouser)
Game Photos - thank you Dylan Wilson

Our defense was very strong all night and only allowed two plays over 15 yards and just 201 total yards.  We also had 3 takeaways, with two interceptions by Cam Gibbs and Bobby Downs and one fumble forced and recovered by Barrett Hollis. 

Offensively we were limited to 59 plays but still had over 350 yards of offense and scored 5 TDs.  Three areas of improvement offensively are limiting penalties, sacks, and turnovers.

Special teams were not as sharp as we struggled to cover kicks and make extra points, two things we will work hard on this week. 

Players of the Week for Week 3 vs Perry Central:

JV Update and Schedule:

Last night the JV played at SW Pulaski and came up short 24-0.  Next week we have another away JV game - PLEASE NOTE that our opponent has changed from Middlesboro (who had to cancel) to Harlan County.  So, the JV team will play at Harlan County High School on Monday the 16th at about 6 p.m.

Media Guide / Program:
Scott Powell is submitting the media guide for printing later this week.  If you would like to purchase an AD for your player you will need to complete this form and submit payment by the end of the day tomorrow (Wednesday the 11th).

Our next home varsity game is September 20th vs Bell County.  This will be our annual Alumni/Hall of Fame game in addition to being a top flight match-up against Bell County, who is undefeated on the season and ranked highly in Class 3A.

The WCHS Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony will be Saturday, September 21st at 5 p.m. in WCHS cafetria. Two former Colonel football players will be inducted:  Darin Shelley and Rick McKiddy.  We plan to have several of our players and coaches attend and the public is also welcome to purchase a ticket and attend.  Email me at jepirwin@gmail.com if interested.


That's all for this week - Go Colonels!

Coach Irwin