The Bobcats have posted back-to-back 14-0 seasons.
“I think we all started out slow tonight. I feel like the kids felt the pressure on us being the champions for three years in a row (and to) finish off another 14-0 season, and these eighth-graders were looking forward to that 28-0 record the past two years,” Bell County coach Scott Chaney said.
The game was scoreless for nearly 17 minutes.
Dylon Smith opened the scoring for the Patriots with a 36-yard touchdown run with 1:01 to play in the second quarter.
Bell County came back with a 35-yard pass from Ben Madon to Dominic Carton to the New Harlan 9-yard line. On the next play, Carton took a sweep and dashed into the end zone. Madon's pass to Taylor Mills for the two-point conversion made it 8-6 at halftime.
“New Harlan put it to us in the first half and smacked us around a little bit,” Bell County coach Scott Chaney said. “I think they pushed us so far and we broke out of our little shell and played like we were capable of playing.”
In the second half, it was a different story as Bell County dominated by scoring four touchdowns and holding the Patriots to 30 total yards.
The Bobcats capped a six-play, 51-yard drive as Carton raced 9 yards for a touchdown at the 6:08 mark in the third quarter. Madon found Cory Davenport for the two-point conversion.
Davenport recovered a Patriots fumble at the New Harlan 27. Four plays later, he caught a 20-yard pass from Madon. Davenport added the conversion run to make it 24-6 with 2:51 to play in the third quarter.
“We came out and gave up the score at the beginning of the third quarter and had the turnover that put us in a hole. We never recuperated from that,” New Harlan coach Chad Wood said.
Turnovers continued to hamper New Harlan as Bell County's Steven Hewitt recovered a fumble at the 38-yard line of the Patriots. Three players later, Taylor Mills scored on a 23-yard TD run with 6:48 left in the game.
The Bobcats closed the scoring at the 1:01 mark as Carton went in from the 20.
New Harlan (10-2) was held to 103 total yards.
“Our defense was spectacular,” said Chaney. “We let down on one play and let them score. We challenged the kids all week long on defense, and they met my challenge. I'm very proud of them.”
Madon completed three of six passes for 100 yards. Carton led the rushing attack with 79 yards on 14 carries. John Dudley Hilton gained 30 yards on five rushes.
Smith led New Harlan with 53 yards on eight carries. Mikey Hamlin added 32 yards on seven carries.
Tucker Lewis and Smith each had five tackles for New Harlan. Marcus McMillian followed with four tackles.
“I'm very proud of the boys. The two games we lost were to the team that won the championship,” said Wood. “We played them tooth-and-nail until halftime and had a couple of bad breaks there that hurt us.
“The team did everything we asked them to do, and I couldn't ask for a better bunch of young men to be around.”
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Knox County knocked off Middlesboro 14-0 on a sloppy field in the consolation game earlier Saturday.
Knox County (7-5) took an 8-0 advantage in the first quarter as Tyler Bailey raced 59 yards for a touchdown. Cody Smith added the two-point conversion.
Travis Canady connected with Jamie Smith for a 36-yard touchdown pass with 2:31 remaining in the second quarter.
Middlesboro closed the season with an 8-6 mark.
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The Bell County Bobcats recovered three onside kicks to break open a scoreless game and claim the CVC fifth- and sixth-grade championship with a commanding 32-6 win over New Harlan at the old Bell County High School on Saturday.
“We've been onside kicking all year, and it seemed to work out for us,” Bell County coach Bert Marcum said.
Bell County (16-0) scored the game's first four touchdowns.
Ryan Collett powered the Bobcats with 177 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns. Jonathon Polly also added a pair of touchdowns.
“Collett is just an outstanding runner. He's so quick and is just a football-minded person. I'm just glad to see him producing,” said Marcum.
The game was scoreless after one quarter.
Geoffrey Newton recovered a fumble for the Bobcats to set up the first touchdown.
Bell County took over on its own 15, but Collett needed just one play to find the end zone as he raced 85 yards with 5:27 left in the first half.
Tyler Green recovered an onside kick as the Bobcats took over on the 50.
Bell County used a six-play drive as Polly scored on a 13-yard touchdown run at the 1:58 mark. Jared Philpot's pass to Jeffrey Saylor added the two-point conversion as Bell led 14-0 going into halftime.
The Bobcats scored twice in the third quarter. Philpot connected with Polly for an 81-yard touchdown pass with 2:48 remaining.
After Corey Oslonian recovered the onside kick, Collett went 47 yards for a touchdown on the second play as Bell County led 26-0.
“We try to play a lot of kids on special teams, and that just happens,” New Harlan coach Scott Caldwell said. “I was really proud of the kids. The score wasn't an indicator of how close the game really was. We really hit them hard and moved the ball when we had the ball.”
New Harlan capped an 11-play, 61-yard drive when Austin Maggard found Alex Sergent for a 33-yard touchdown pass with 3:39 to play in the game.
Bell County closed the scoring with 1:13 remaining as Shane Lawson took a pitch to the left side of the field and went 45 yards for the TD.
Austin Lewis, a fifth-grader, led New Harlan (6-3) with 61 yards on nine rushes. Jordan Turner added 37 yards on 10 carries. Maggard completed his only pass for 33 yards.
“Coach Caldwell is just an outstanding coach, and he's got an outstanding team year in and year out. To beat them is accomplishing something,” said Marcum.
Andrew Dozier led the New Harlan defense with five tackles. Turner, Tyler Boggs and Lewis each had four tackles. Maggard, Zach Chitwood and Mark Saylor added three each.
On a roster of 37 players, the Patriots will lose 25 players from the sixth grade.
“I'm going to miss this bunch of sixth-graders. It's a special group of sixth-graders to me,” added Caldwell.
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