Staff report

BARBOURVILLE — The Bell County Bobcats held Knox Central to 173 total yards, recovered two Panther fumbles and rode a power running game to a 21-0 win.

Senior running back Spencer Greer carried the ball 28 times for 223 yards. He broke into the secoandary for a 54-yard gain in the first quarter that helped set up Shanta Zachery's 7-yard touchdown run. Monte Merrick’s extra point gave Bell a 7-0 lead with 4:36 to play in the quarter.

Central’s Cory Smith completed his first five passes of the game for 52 yards as the Panthers used the short passing game to control the clock for much of the first half. But the Bell defense held when they needed to.

Mike Howard’s fumble recovery stopped the Panthers late in the half. Greer again busted loose for gains of 14 and 21 yards. Three plays later he scored from four yards out with just 16 seconds left in the half to put the Bobcats up 14-0 at halftime.

Greer ran for 44 yards on five carries on Bell’s first drive of the second half. He capped it with a one-yard TD plunge for a 21-0 lead that proved to be the final score.

Sophomore Dominic Carton made his first appearance of the season after missing the first two games with a hand injury. He ran the ball three times for 12 yards. Fullback Justin Goodin added 20 yards on five carries.

Zachery was 2-of-7 passing for 29 yards. Chase Ely had a catch for 17 yards and Greer had one catch for 12 yards.

For Knox Central Smith finished 7-of-10 passing for 60 yards. Chad Merida led the Panthers with 40 rushing yards on 12 carries. Dexter Carnes gained 15 yards on seven carries and caught four passes for 19 yards. Smith added 24 rushing yards.

Bell County (3-0, 1-0) stays in the district next Friday with a trip to Rockcastle County (3-0, 1-0). Knox Central (1-2, 0-1) plays at McCreary Central (2-1, 0-0).

Photo: The Bell County defense made thing tough for Knox Central Friday night. They held the Panthers to 86 rushing yards in a 21-0 shutout. Bobcat lineman Cody Marcum takes down a Panther runner as teammates (from left) Keith Lowe, Matt Simpson and John Dudley Hilton converge on the play. (WAYNE MASON/Daily News)