Sunbright set to host Jellico on Friday night

After a 70-8 home loss at Hampton last Friday night, Sunbright is looking ahead to hosting Jellico this Friday night. "They're going to be very tough," Sunbright head coach Bradley Stephens said. "It was a great game last year that Jellico ended up coming out on top of. I think it was a 6-point game last year, so we're expecting another great game this year, but they're a tough group. They're athletic. They're fast, but I feel like there are some things that we can hopefully take advantage of and keep it competitive and just give ourselves a chance to be successful." Jellico (3-0) has only given up 8 points all season on defense, while scoring 120 combined points through the first three weeks on offense. Sunbright (2-1) started the season with a 43-20 win at Lookout Valley and a 61-32 win at home against Pickett County. "We are very young," Stephens said. "We have maybe 27, 28 kids on roster, and 18 of them are freshmen and sophomores. So we're playing a lot of youth, both sides of the ball. Starting, the majority, both sides of the ball, are freshmen, sophomores. So we're tickled to death that our kids have put themselves in the position to be successful and win two ballgames so far. And hopefully, there'll be some more wins to come." Stephens is in the midst of his second season as head coach. "Honestly, our kids tried to compete," Stephens said about the Week 3 loss at Hampton. "It's a growing process, and we played a really good talented football team that should not be in single-A football. They petitioned the TSSAA a couple of years ago, due to flooding, and said that it dispersed their families. Their numbers don't support that. They definitely should not be playing single-A football, but I just feel like we battled. We competed, and we used it as an opportunity to move forward and hopefully grow and get better." Sunbright's score at Hampton was a Tyler Jackson touchdown and 2-point conversion, Stephens said. "He brings a lot of energy, a lot of toughness," Stephens said about Jackson. "Him and Kenny Jones in the backfield, they do a great job of playing off each other's energy, and they're two of our go-to running backs. They just do a great job of blocking for the other and running hard when they get the ball." Jackson, the previous week against Pickett County, had broken a school record with a 7 TD night. "He was responsible for, like, 49 of 61 points, altogether," Stephens said. "He had six offensive rushing touchdowns, a defensive touchdown. He converted three 2-point conversions, and he is also our extra-point field-goal kicker."