After falling to Belfry during the past two Class 3A, Region 4 title games, Dudley Hilton’s Bell County Bobcats are now ready to give visiting Ashland Blazer a try when the Tomcats visit Log Mountain today.
Bell County (10-2) is ready to defend home turf with its only loss this season on Log Mountain, coming against Pulaski County (35-29).
The Bobcats enter the game with a .62663 RPI compared the Ashland’s .61782.
If you’re going by strictly the RPI, this game is a toss-up.
The Tomcats have reeled off six straight wins since starting the season, 2-4.
Their losses have come against Raceland (34-7), West Virginia’s George Washington High School (21-14), Ohio’s Wheelersburg High School (49-7), and Hazard (14-7).
The key to Bell County’s success on defense will be stopping Ashland quarterback LaBryant Strader (1,976 passing yards, 18 touchdowns passes; 576 rushing yards, and five touchdowns), tail back Braxton Jennings (1,005 rushing yards, 17 TDs) and receivers Brandon Houston (31 receptions, 814 yards, nine touchdowns), Terrell Jordan (35, 479, 3), and Asher Adkins (36, 446, 5).
Defensively, the Bobcats’ are led by Blake Evans’ 89 tackles. Hayden Dameron has 87 tackles, and nine sacks while Daniel Thomas has 86 tackles and five sacks. Ethan Raby has 85 tackles and three sacks while Woolum has 83 tackles and two sacks.
But the biggest question surrounding the game is if the Tomcats can slow the Bobcats’ ground attack of Thomas, Woolum, and Raby.
Winning the battle upfront will be huge this week.
Thomas has been unstoppable carrying the ball.
His 2,188 rushing yards leads the state. He also has 29 rushing touchdowns, 12 receptions, a team-best 360 receiving yards, and five touchdowns.
Woolum has ran for 1,062 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also has 10 receptions for 135 yards and one touchdown.
Receiver George Pace leads Bell County with 15 receptions while garnering 252 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Quarterback Blake Burnett has completed 44-of-72 pass attempts for 876 yards, and nine touchdowns.
The Bobcats possess a 70-32 playoff record while owning a 3-4 mark against Ashland. The Tomcats won in 1982, ‘90, 00, and 20.
