The game-winning drive was set up by a big defensive stand. Bell's Christian Mason sacked Corbin quarterback Clint Cashen at the twelve-yard line.
After the Redhounds punted from the shadow of their own goal post, the Bobcats took over on the Corbin 40.
Bell drove down the field as the clock was winding down. Kyle Nelson passed to Shawnta Zachery for a 17-yard gain down to the four-yard line. With no timeouts, the Bobcats lined up and spiked the ball to stop the clock with three seconds to play in the game.
Corbin called all three of the their time outs back-to-back in an attempt to ice Merrick before the sophomore came out to attempt the game-winner.
“He stayed loose on the sideline and kept his leg warm by kicking it into the net,” coach Dudley Hilton said. “He came out there and knocked it right down the middle.”
The win was the 287th of Hilton's career. Good for third place all-time in the state of Kentucky. He said he couldn't remember any of the others coming down to a last-second field goal.
“I know we've won some running the ball - I remember we beat Covington Catholic with no time left,” he said. “It sure was dramatic.
“Anytime you go to Corbin and come out with a win it's good. It doesn't matter what number it is or what the score was.”
The Bobcats led 14-0 at halftime. They got one-yard touchdowns runs from T.R. Christopher and Matt Simpson.
A pair of turnovers inside the ten yard line kept Bell from putting the game away early.
In the second half, Cashen got hot. Using the short passing game to move the ball down the field, he Rob Madon for a 15-yard touchdown to cut the Bell lead to 14-7 near the end of the third quarter.
Bell was balanced on offense, the gained 151 yards on the ground and 149 through the air, but they weren't able to find the end zone in the second half.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Cashen drew the Bell secondary in on a play fake and hit Corey Sewell for a 56-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14.
“That was the only big one they completed, the rest was all underneath,” Hilton said. “It was exciting. We just let them keep it close and they played hard and kept coming at us.”
Christopher led Bell with 72 rushing yards on 11 carries. Spencer Greer added 52 yards on nine rushes.
Nelson finished 10-of-16 for 149 yards with one interception.
Shawnta Zachery led the Bobcats with 81 yards on five receptions.
Cashen was 18-of-28 for 172 yards for the Redhounds with two touchdowns and one interception.
Rob Madon caught seven passes for 86 yards.
“Madon played a very good game for them, both on offense and defense,” Hilton said. “We had some kids that played pretty good too.”
Linebacker Brent Slusher made plays all over the field for the Bobcat defense. He set up Bell's first score by jumping high in the air to come down with an interception that he almost ran back for a score.
“Brent ran for 27 yards and gained another 25 catching the ball,” said Hilton. “On defense he had quite a few tackles and the prettiest interception - I swear it looked like he jumped five feet in the air to catch that one.”
The Bobcats held Corbin to only 29 rushing yards and outgained them in total yards 300 to 201.
It was Bell's third straight win over Corbin. There was some talk at the game that the series might be coming to an end.
“I hope that's not the case. This community and the people of the area deserve games like these,” Hilton said. “These rivalries keep people excited and make for a great atmosphere for the players.”
Bell County (3-1) travels to Leslie County next week while Corbin (1-4) hosts Pulaski County.
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