LOG MOUNTAIN — Not all 3-0 teams are the same, as the Bell County Bobcats demonstrated Friday in a battle of unbeatens at Dudley Hilton Field.
While Harlan County is off to its best start this decade, the Black Bears were unable to build on that momentum against a senior-dominated group of Bobcats with aspirations of a 3A state title. Bell took control early by scoring 22 unanswered points in the first quarter on the way to a 37-6 victory.
“Harlan County came in here 3-0, and it’s not hard to get your team up for a team like that,” Bell County coach Dudley Hilton said. “(Harlan County coach) Jacob (Saylor) has done a great job and had them pumped, but our kids are playing well. We have a bunch of seniors who have been on this football field for a long time.”
Quarterback Blake Burnett and tailback Kaleb Miller showed why they are among the state’s best at their positions as Burnett completed all five of his passes in the first quarter for 110 yards on the way to a 133-yard passing night in a half of action. He also added two more interceptions at safety for five in only four games this season. Miller added 103 yards rushing and two touchdowns on only six carries as he scored the Bobcats’ first points and their last in starting a running clock early in the second half.
“Blake threw that sideline pass (to Joseph Brigmon) and you couldn’t drop it in a bucket any prettier,” said Hilton of a 42-yard scoring strike to Brigmon in the first quarter. “Brigmon missed a couple last week but really got out here and worked on his game this week.”
“That is one of the best offenses I’ve seen. Dudley does such a good job and has been doing the same thing for 50 years,” Saylor said. “They are so strong and what they do they do well. We hoped to stay close, but it just didn’t go the way we hoped.
“Our main goal was to stop the run. They just whipped us up front. There are no excuses. We’ll go back to work Monday.”
The Bobcats needed only five plays to cover 51 yards in the game’s opening drive, capped by Miller’s 13-yard run. Burnett’s two-point conversion gave Bell an 8-0 lead with 9:58 left in the first quarter.
The Bears picked up a first down on their first drive thanks to a seven-yard run by Jayce Brown, but the drive ended on a fourth-and-one play against an aggressive and hard-hitting Bell defense determined to stop the run. Burnett found Brigmon, Bell’s 6-foot-7 senior receiver, with a perfectly thrown 42-yard scoring strike for a 14-0 lead with 6:11 left in the first half.
Burnett found Cayden Huff for 20 yards and Brigmon for 24 yards on Bell’s third drive, then zigzagged through the HC defense for a 6-yard TD run with 3:18 to play in the first quarter. Burnett and Huff teamed for the two-point conversion and a 22-0 lead.
After a Burnettt interception, the Bobcats marched 48 yards in six plays, highlighted by a 23-yard shovel pass from Burnett to Nathaniel Saylor. Hunter Everage went in from the 1 with 8:33 left in the half and Burnett threw to Saylor for the two-point conversion and a 30-0 lead.
Morris ran 14 yards for one first down and found Kayden Adams for another as the Bears drove into Bell territory before the Bobcats made another stop on fourth down.
With Bell’s front eight shutting down the HCHS running game, the Bears found more success through the air with short passes to the sideline. Adams had six of the team’s nine catches.
“We went deeper into our offense, taking a tight end out and bringing in a receiver and doing RPOs,” Saylor said. “I knew they were so good up front and we’d struggle in the box running. We had some success moving the ball, but got in our own way sometimes. We caught the ball well. This was not even close to being a moral victory, but that is a top-tier team. They have been in the program for four years and our guys have been in mine for two. We’re on our way, and these kids aren’t going to quit on me.”
Burnett’s second interception of the night, this one deflected by HC running back Jonah Sharp, set up the Bell offense near midfield. Miller raced 54 yards on the next play, around and through several defenders. Senior linebacker Hunter Napier made a stop on the two-point attempt but Bell had a 36-0 lead and a running clock with 10:24 left in the third quarter.
Bell freshman quarterback Luke Thomas was picked off by Brown on the second play of the fourth quarter to set up a seven-play, 43-yard scoring drive by the Bears. Morris and Sharp each picked up first downs before Morris went around the left side for a 7-yard touchdown run with 6:05 to play. Austin Tye hit the extra point.
Harlan County (3-1) will play host to McCreary Central on Friday. Bell County (4-0) travels to Whitley County on Friday.