SOMERSET — The Corbin Redhounds suffered their first setback of the season Friday night, falling 35-28 on the road against Pulaski County in a matchup that lived up to its billing.
Corbin (3-1) totaled 382 yards of offense (unofficially) with 111 coming on the ground and 271 through the air behind quarterback Mason Salmons, who turned in a standout performance by completing 15-of-19 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns.
The Maroons (4-0) countered with a punishing ground game, finishing with 273 rushing yards to go along with 116 passing yards for 389 total.
Pulaski County struck first, taking a 7-0 lead on a 30-yard run with 9:36 left in the first quarter. Corbin answered quickly when Salmons found Cam Estep on a 69-yard scoring strike less than a minute later to even things at 7-7.
The Maroons regained the lead on a 24-yard touchdown pass before Salmons answered again in the second quarter with a 44-yard touchdown to Zach Thomas.
The Redhounds briefly grabbed their first lead of the game late in the first half when Salmons connected with Cole Stevens on a 34-yard touchdown with one minute remaining. But Pulaski County delivered a momentum swing just before halftime, tying the contest at 21-21 with a 20-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds of the half.
The Maroons carried that spark into the second half, taking control with a 16-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter and extending their advantage to 35-21 on a 9-yard touchdown run with just over seven minutes left in the game.
Corbin kept fighting, and Salmons tossed his fourth touchdown pass of the night — an 11-yarder to Clay Akins with 2:02 left — to cut the deficit to 35-28.
But Pulaski County’s offense ran out the clock and sealed the Redhounds’ first loss of the year.
