Boyle County Outlasts Corbin 21-14 in an Instant Classic
Friday night featured one of the greatest Kentucky high school football games we have seen in a non-Kroger field playoff environment. The #2 Corbin Redhounds traveled to #1 Boyle County to battle for Class 4A supremacy in the state quarterfinals as part of the Kroger KSR Game of the Week.
Rebel Stadium was packed to the brim with over 8,000 fans eager to see the rematch of last year’s 4A championship matchup that saw Boyle County come away with a 32-26 win.
The energy was electric, standing room only, and both sides had gold on their mind. Before the game, KSR’s Freddie Maggard dubbed the matchup “potentially the game of the decade,” and that message got to Danville. Each way you looked, it was a sea of red and black; both fans looked to outdo each other with cheers and cowbells.
Kentucky commits Jerod and Jacob Smith anchored the Corbin defense, and their stature alone sent shudders throughout the stadium. For Boyle County, Sage Dawson and Montavin Quisenberry stood eye to eye with the giants pregame, setting the tone for the night.
When kickoff finally came, it felt like a balloon under pressure, just waiting to pop.
First quarter frenzy
Boyle County started with the ball, as a cascade of cheers filled the Boyle offense into drive number one. However, the Smith’s presence was felt as Boyle was forced into an early fourth-down decision at midfield. Corbin packed the box and got a stop, sending a message that Boyle was going to have to work hard for any yards.
Boyle County’s defense then answered with their own stop, forcing Corbin into a punt. However, the Redhounds’ first punt attempt was called back due to an illegal formation.
On the next attempt, Boyle’s defense got through as junior Brock Driver blocked the punt sending Corbin into a frenzy. Instead of falling on the ball, Corbin’s punter kicked the ball out of bounds, causing another flag to fly, giving the ball to Boyle on the six-yard line. From there, senior Avery Bodner powered through the strong defense to open the scoring for the Rebels.
On the following drive, Corbin used their strong offensive line to push the ball downfield with junior quarterback Kade Elam controlling the offense under center. Then, senior running back Zander Curry broke off a 30-yard run seemingly out of nowhere, knotting the game at 7-7.
Welcome to Quisenberry’s World
On the following possession, it seemed like Montavin Quisenberry was ready to introduce himself to Corbin. The running back/wide receiver entered the game with 425 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns, along with 700+ receiving yards on the year. However, as anyone would tell you, he just needs one rush to change a game.
This was evident on a Quisenberry juke that left the crowd speechless, and every reporter clicking cameras.
The Kentucky offered junior then followed the finesse run with a power carry through the Corbin defense. He carried multiple Redhounds into the end zone to give Boyle County a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. Plays like this make it easy to see why Vince Marrow and company would love to see Montavin in blue and white.
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Boyle County head coach Justin Haddix spoke on Quisenberry afterward, “He’s just a player; he likes to have the ball in his hands. We have got a lot of those guys. It was Tavis’ night tonight, and other nights it’s Sage or Avery or others, that’s what we have here.”
Then following a few stalled drives, Corbin touchdown scorer Zander Curry picked off Sage Dawson in Boyle’s half of the field. This led to a beautiful touchdown throw from Elam to wideout Carter Stewart to tie the game again, this time at 14-14.
Second Half drama
Montavin Quisenberry then unleashed a spectacular 59-yard touchdown run in the second half’s opening drive, propelling the Rebels to a 21-14 lead with 10:13 left in the third quarter.
“I was just playing football,” Quisenberry said. “When I bounced out and got around the linebackers, I used my speed to get around them.”
Obviously, Quisenberry understands that he’s gone once he hits the numbers. That is a unique ability that few have in the game of football. He followed this up with a beautiful diving stop on the goal line for Boyle County.
Later in the fourth quarter, Boyle County drove the ball down to the goal line but faced a fourth down. Coach Haddix decided to go for it, but Corbin’s defense again came up big. The Redhounds then had an opportunity to tie the game with five minutes left in the fourth.
Corbin then drove into Boyle County territory but was also faced with a fourth down. Corbin decided to go with a trick play that was sniffed out by the Rebels, effectively ending the game. Boyle got one first down from a Sage Dawson rush and that was all they needed to knock off the #2 team in the state 21-14.
Boyle County ended Corbin’s season for a second year in a row. The Rebels advance in the Class 4A tournament and will play Franklin County next week with an appearance at Kroger Field on the line.
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