Bell’s defense shut down Shane Pack and Lawrence County for their third straight shutout and the Bobcat offensive line wore down the Bulldogs in the second half as Bell pulled away for a 41-0 win Friday night.
“It’s just so sweet to win another regional title,” said Bobcat coach Dudley Hilton after the game. “I thought our kids really played well and did a great job.”
Bell beat Lawrence at their own game, running 43 times for 343 yards while holding the Bulldogs to just 65 yards on the ground.
Sophomore Cody Davenport carried much of the load as he ran for 145 yards on 23 carries, including touchdowns of 24, 1 and 1 yards. Junior fullback Taylor Mills had 99 yards on six carries, John Dudley Hilton ran six times for 41 yards and a TD and Dominic Carton added 55 yards and a score on three carries.
Senior cornerback Matt Raines had an interception and returned a fumble 67-yard for a touchdown that put the game out of reach.
The Bulldogs made Bell work for the win, especially in the first half.
After the teams traded three and outs to start the game Lawrence was driving. Hayden Kiser completed a short pass to Josh Mills for one first down and Larry West got around the corner on a sweep for a 16-yard gain down to the Bell 30.
But a holding penalty pushed the Bulldogs back and they were ultimately forced to punt.
After a false start, Bell had it first and 15 at their own 11. Davenport took over from there with runs of 14, 19 and 27 yards during a five play drive that he capped with a 24 yard touchdown run. Hilton’s extra point put Bell on top 7-0 with 1:43 to play in the first quarter.
Lawrence again was able to move the ball with a short passing game as Kiser hooked up with Lucas Frasher and Mills for first downs. But on second and nine from around the Bell 26 Caleb Bentley fumbled on a reverse. The Bulldogs recovered but lost 12 yards on the play and had to punt after an incomplete pass on 3rd and long.
“We bent a little bit, but I really thought we took the fullback away from them as well as the tailback,” Hilton said. “They threw the ball maybe a little better than we thought they would. They made a couple big third down plays where they went to the sticks and just barely made enough to get the first down. That’s the sign of a good team, I can see why they were 12-0.”
Bell drove from their own three all the way down inside the Lawrence 30 with a 21-yard run by Mills the big play. But the drive ended on a Davenport fumble.
The Bulldogs got a big play in the passing game when Mills hauled in a 30-yard pass that was just out of the reach of Cody Davenport.
On 3rd and ten Matt Raines intercepted a Kiser pass at the Bobcat 29 with about 1:30 remaining in the half.
Ben Madon passed to Cody Davenport for 18 yards, then Mills got loose up the middle again for a 34-yard run down the Lawrence eight yard line.
On third and goal Madon was forced out of bounds at the three yard line with 13.7 seconds remaining. LC’s West was called for his second unsportsmanlike conduct call on the play and ejected from the game.
On 4th and goal from the 1Davenport scored on a quick-hitter behind Billy Lawson with 4.7 seconds to go in the half Bell led 14-0.
“Getting the ball and scoring before halftime to go up 14-0 was a big play for us,” coach Hilton said. “Matt Raines made a big play over there — he stayed in the hospital two days this week, but the rest did him good I guess.”
The teams again traded three and outs to start the second half, but Bell got a big boost in field position.
Madon’s punt pinned Lawrence back at their own 12 while Pack kicked it away under heavy pressure from Keith Lowe and Justin Patterson. They either got a piece of it or forced him to hit it off the wrong part of his foot as the ball travelled just nine yards past the line of scrimmage.
The Bobcats needed just five plays to cover 22 yards and Davenport again crashed into the end zone from a yard out following Lawson. The extra point was wide so Bell’s lead was 20-0 at the 6:59 mark of the third quarter.
Davenport finished with a game-high 145 yards but other than the four big plays on the first touchdown drive he had to fight hard for just about all of them. He showed that he can be a punishing runner when he has to as well as having the speed to break away on any play.
“Some running backs have speed, some have quickness, he’s got that combination of both of them,” coach Hilton said of his outstanding sophomore. “I’ll tell you what, he’s very fortunate to have a good offensive line in front of him. Taylor Mills and John Dudley block their hearts out, and when they key too much on him we’re able to throw it.
“Cory’s special, there’s no question about that, and I hope the best is yet to come.”
Lawrence County got a 31-yard kick return from Hunter James and Pack broke free for a 13-yard gain on 3rd down.
James headed around the right end on the next play, but Dominic Carton ran him down and stripped the ball. Raines picked it up and took it 67 yards for a Bell touchdown.
Madon passed to Cory Davenport for the two-point conversion and Bell’s lead was 28-0 at the 4:40 mark of the third quarter.
Bell’s defense took over from there. Lawson chopped Pack down in the backfield for a two-yard loss, Cody Davenport broke up a pass and Josh Brown and Carton threw Bentley for a loss as the Bobcats took over on downs at their own 45.
“You win championships by defense and I think that’s what we did out there tonight. We shut out a very good team and right now we’ve got a shut out all through the playoffs. That’s a good sign,” Hilton said. “Our defense got a couple kids hurt early in the season and they’re back at full strength and just playing good. I give a lot of credit to coach (Tom) Greer and coach (Fred) Hoskins, they’re doing a great job getting our defense ready.”
Carton took his turn in the Bell backfield on the next possession and rumbled 45 yards on his first carry to the LC 10. He ran for one and then a 9-yard TD to make it 34-0.
Hilton added a one-yard TD early in the fourth to set the final at 41-0.
Things got ugly as time wound down around the five minute mark. Lawrence County was again called for an unsportsmanlike conduct call and senior linebacker Chris Kazee was thrown out of the game after making obscene gestures toward the Bell County bench and crowd.
He didn’t take it well, throwing his helmet across the field and taking out every water cooler he could find along the Lawrence sideline and throwing a couple of those onto the field.
During the melee West, who had been ejected late in the first half, came back out onto the field and state police had to come on and escort him out of the stadium.
After a lengthy delay with officials talking to both coaches the rest of the players settled down and finished out the game.
Bell County (12-1) advances to the state semifinals where they’ll play at Boyle County (13-0). Boyle knocked of Lexington Catholic 34-20 Friday night.
Lawrence County ends the season with a record of 12-1.
“We had a big crowd to support our kids tonight and I appreciate that,” Hilton said. “We’ve got Boyle County next and that’s who we’ve got to get ready for now.”
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