Bell County continued their early season dominance on Friday when they welcomed Pike County Central to Log Mountain for their home-opener. With a combined effort from the offense and defense, the Bobcats were able to hand the Hawks a 36-0 defeat.

The victory puts Bell in a similar position as last year as they start the season 3-0.

“We just got to keep improving. I’m satisfied and then again I’m not,” said Bell County coach Dudley Hilton. “I think we got a few kids that need to step up more for us. We got a few kids that could be a lot better for us if they were in a little bit better condition. That’s the things we’ve got to do. We’ve got to get them in condition, and of course that’s the coaches fault.

“We’re talking about a lot of experience here. We didn’t have any experience last year. This year, they’ve all got one game under their belt. Our kicking game is looking a lot better. I think we’re better in a lot of stages of the game. We’re a lot better 3-0 team this year than we were last year.”

Despite the lopsided score, it was no easy night for the Bobcat defense. Pike County Central converted six third downs throughout the game.

“They’ve got a good offensive plan. They didn’t throw but two or three times. They kept the ball, and to me that’s the way you beat us. But, you got to stop us too,” said Hilton. “They had a good game plan keeping the ball away from us. They went three and four yards all night long, and that’s hard to stop.

“I watched (Pike Central) play last week, and they scored about 40 points and should’ve won. (Tyler Hunt) ran the ball hard. I knew they would be a hard team to stop. They did about the same thing last year. They moved the ball well on us last year. When you don’t see much of that offense, it’s hard to make adjustments.”

While the Hawks controlled possession most of the game, it didn’t take the Bobcats long to score when they had the ball. Three of Bell’s touchdowns came on drives of three plays or less.

Bell County’s London Stephney was named the MVP of the Pride of the Mountains Bowl. The junior quarterback ended the game with 121 yards and two touchdowns on two carries. He also went 3-for-6 for 67 yards and a touchdown through the air.

Colby Frazier was named Bell’s Offensive Player of the Game after tallying 105 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.

Adam Partin was named Bell’s Defensive Player of the Game.

For the Hawks, it was Tyler Hunt and Jacob Young that paced the team. Hunt finished with 49 yards on 19 carries, while Young tallied 58 yards on seven carries.

The Bobcats put their first points on the scoreboard after forcing Pike Central to punt after the Hawks went on an 11-play drive. Stephney capped a short three-play drive with an 86-yard touchdown run with 3:59 remaining in the game. The Jason Jones’ extra point was good as Bell took a 7-0 lead.

After the Bobcats stopped another long drive by the Hawks, the Bobcats went 60 yards in three plays. It was Stephney again who was the catalyst behind the score when he connected with Jones on a 45-yard touchdown pass with 10:55 remaining in the half. After the extra point, Bell increased their lead to 14-0.

Pike Central put themselves in scoring position on the ensuing drive. Behind the legs of Hunt, the Hawks marched down to the Bell County 4. A false start wedged between two incomplete passes halted the drive. Bell took over at their own 9-yard line.

Frazier capped a six-play drive with a 65-yard touchdown run with 1:13 remaining in the second. The missed extra point extended Bell’s lead to 20-0.

On their first drive of the second half, it took the Bobcats only two plays to find the end zone. After a short run by Tanner Asher, Stephney broke free on a 35-yard touchdown run with 8:11 remaining in the quarter. The junior quarterback then connected with Issac Collett for the two-point conversion to balloon the Bobcat lead to 28-0.

Bell County scored their last touchdown of the game on a 1-yard plunge by Frazier with 1:58 remaining in the third. Stephney hit Collett for the two-point conversion to secure the 36-point victory.

Up Next

Bell County (3-0) will be off this week. They will square off against Whitley County (1-2) on Sept. 14.

Pike County Central (0-2) will host Hurley, Virginia on Friday.