PREVIEW OF THE WEEK

 It’s billed the Game of the Week around the mountains. All eyes will be on Gilliam Field when the Bell County Bobcats invade Friday night. According to Whitley County Coach Jim Black the names have changed but “it’s the same old Bell County”.

Black predicts the usual physical game from the Bobcats. “They always are very physical and I don’t think you will see anything different.”

“We can’t make the same mistakes we made last year,” said Black. The Colonels lost that game, 38-8.

“We have to play a good solid football game against them,” said Black. “We have to take care of the football and not let them have long sustained drives,” said Black. “We’ve got to keep the ball out of their hands,” added the Whitley County coach.

Relatively speaking the Bobcats are young. Sophomore Cory Davenport led the Bobcats to a 36-6 win over Johnson Central last week. He had 110 yards and 17 carries. Known for its running attack, the Bobcats surprised the Eagles with two long pass plays to take an early lead in the game. Junior Cody Davenport scored on a 49-yard play from junior quarterback Ben Madon while Cory Davenport scored on a 51-yard connection.

Madon kept Johnson Central off guard with his passing attack and the ground game of the Davenports and John Dudley Hilton, the son of Bell County coach Dudley Hilton, who had nine carries for 55 yards.

The lone senior in the line-up, Matt Raines, scored two second half touchdowns as Bell County pulled away in the second half.

“They are not missing anything,” said Black, who is 0-3 against the Bobcats. “They are as good offensively as they were last year.”

This week the Bobcats will face an offense that can put the points on the scoreboard with the likes of Alex Patrick, Josh Wynn, Cody Bramlett and quarterback Jamie Lebanion. Add juniors Justin Goins and Cody Bowlin and the Colonels have plenty of weapons.

This year’s game could be a defensive battle, but fans are more likely to see a high-scoring contest if both teams take care of the football.

In two games, the Colonels have scored 88 points, but have given up 56 while Bell County has scored put up 76 points in three games and allowed 69 points.

The Bobcats have a winning tradition, but the last three years have seen the Bobcats win 36 games with only four losses. They were undefeated last year, winning all 15 games on the way to a 4A state championship.

Bell County opened the season with a loss to Tennessee’s Alcoa High School, 42-14, but the last time they lost to a Kentucky team was in the 2007 playoffs to Lexington Catholic. The Knights went on to win the state title.

You have to go back to the 2006 season to find Bell County’s last regular season loss to an in-state team, Rockcastle County (Oct. 6, 2006).

The series between the two dates back to 1967 when Whitley County won that meeting. The Bobcats own the series record 25-11 and have won three games in a row. The teams did not play from 2001 through 2005.

Black said the Colonels headed into this week injury free. “We’ve had a little sickness but we are ready to go,” he said.

“This will be a big game for our program,” said Black. “We’re looking for a big crowd to turn out Friday night.”

The teams are ranked among the top in their classes and are in most top 25 polls. The Colonels are anywhere from fifth in Class 5A to eighth while Bell County is first or second in Class 4A.