Bell County enters Friday’s Class 3A Second Round matchup against Fleming County as heavy favorites.
The Bobcats will enter with a 9-2 mark along with a .62663 RPI while the Panthers posses a 7-4 record, and a .51352 RPI rating.
Bell County has reeled off three straight wins while Fleming County has won four in a row with its four losses coming against Greenup County (34-33), Rowan County (21-20), East Carter (39-14), and Mason County (40-28).
The Panthers are led by tailback Austin Trent’s 1,733 rushing yards. He also has 19 rushing touchdowns, and has two catches for 21 yards. Jordan Harn has also done damage in the backfield, rushing for 179 yards on only 25 Carrie’s while finding the end zone seven times.
Quarterback Nate Ruark has completed 79-of-158 pass attempts for 1,385 yards and 16 touchdowns while his main targets are Landon Johnson (34 receptions, 711 yards, eight TDs) and Caleb Igo (20, 299, and four TDs).
Defensively, Fleming County has caused 35 turnovers as Aiden Johnson leads the way with 104 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Isaac Frye has 85 tackles and a team-beat six sacks.
For Bell County, it’s all about it’s one-two punch in the backfield when it comes to offense.
Daniel Thomas leads the state with 2,057 rushing yards on only 177 carries while finding paydirt 28 times. He also has 11 receptions for 355 yards, and five touchdowns. Teammate Dawson Woolum has 150 carries for 919 yards, and 12 touchdowns. Woolum has caught nine passes for 120 yards, and two scores. George Page leads Bell County with 14 receptions. He also had 231 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Thomas also leads Bell County with 220 points scored (33 combined touchdowns and 11 two-point conversions). His 85 tackles lead the Bobcats while he has also recorded five sacks. Hayden Dameron has 79 tackles while accumulating a team-best 14 tackles for a loss, and seven sacks.
The Bobcats, who are 69-32 all-time in post-season play, beat Fleming County, 48-12, in the two teams’ only meeting in the 2019 playoffs.the Panthers are 15-27 all-time in postseason play.
