TomLandry

Hard to really tell, but both defenses played pretty well for this early in year. With neither team scoring in regular exchange of series in either half. JC seemed to contain Bell's running game, but looked a little vulnerable to the pass.

Great night for football on Log Mountain. Scrimmage had unusual format...don't really know if any score was kept. Both teams ran series of 10 offensive plays and then went on defense for 10 plays from other offense. Halftime found neither team scoring a touchdown. Both teams seemed fairly evenly matched. Bell's young players in new roles stepped up. Neither team scored as I saw it in the regular format. Then goal line series were ran by both teams. JC scored on their first series, matched by Bell. Each team with one touchdown. Then a series featuring the kicking game was ran. JC's kicker tried three field goals from approximately extra point distance or maybe a little longer. He made one of three. Bell County's kicker, Monte Merrick, hit a forty+ FG and then one just inside 50, and only missed on his final attempt from 57 yards as the ball hit the crossbar and bounced back! Then JV seemingly ran out the last series. If you add up the scores it would have been Bell with the edge by a FG! But I don't think they were keeping any kind of score. Both teams and fans seemed to have a great time. Lots of smashmouth football with a little flair once in a while. Enjoyed by all. BC boosters appreciate the support of all I am sure.

Bobcats return ALL of their skill player starters. Sr. QB Nelson is starting for his fourth varsity season, a rarity in HS football; RB Christopher (Sr), third year as starter; FB Simpson his third (Jr); Merrick, All-State K/P last year his third (Jr.) ;RB and Return specialist Spencer Greer (Jr.) his third year varsity; Zachary WR (Jr) third year varsity play. Mature team will do well on road. Add to the mix some real talented Freshman and Sophomore with size and poise. Bobcats will have to prove it on the field, but I believe that Coach Hilton will have them ready for the road.

Bell will surely miss Slusher, but will return ALL starting skill players. Heavy on the Sophomores last year. Look for solid team with some young players with size to join them.

Welcome, trailblazer. Can use some extra Bobcat support when going up against these guys on here! LOL! You will enjoy the dialogue with the Rockcastle faithful. Welcome back, 3 Wishes. Rockcastleraiders, we look forward to another exciting year of Bobcat vs. Rocket football. Y'all have to come to our house this year. Hope we can make you welcome and be as nice to you in victory as you were to us last year! LOL! Rock fans are great and were nice to Bell folks up there. Those were two great games, both teams played with a lot of heart. Unfortunately, the Rock played with a lot more "pounds" ha! Hopefully, the "scales" will be a little more balanced. Should be a lot of fun for hopefully 2 games on Log Mountain this year.

Prayers for his family and the John Hardin community from Bell Co.

The Bobcats were Sophomore heavy last year. They have ALL their skill position starters back. They return a four-year starting Sr. QB Kyle Nelson; TR Christopher (SR) and Spencer Greer (JR) running backs. Shawnta Zachary at WR (JR); Matt Simpson FB (JR); K/P Monte Merrick (JR), 2007 All-State Hon. Mention leads special teams; coming off two losses to Rockcastle last year. Bell was in both games and had chance to win the first game to set home field advantage for later playoff when a last minute INT ended their game-winning drive in the red zone. This year Bell will be tough having only three home games. Road games will make them ready for playoffs. Rockcastle will have to come to Log Mountain this year. Rock will always give Bell a tough game, but Bell does not have to go up against the huge line that Rock has had the past two years. Add to the Bobcat mix some sophomores and freshman with size, strength, and speed in the line. Dominique Parton, (FR) RB, could also be a factor down the road. I like the Bobcats chances in the new 4-A. Rock, Boyle, Lex Catholic and Bell are all in same region this year...only one moves on. Winner of this region will be favored most likely to win it all on the carpet.

Come December, I believe that Bell County will love the new 4-A!

In this link there is reference to Macon's offer by UK during his sophomore year. I thought NCAA rules did not allow offers of this nature with a player until July 1 prior to his JUNIOR year. Can someone clarify this?

The Ray Guy Camps (which are the ones being compared here) are in for three of these kickers for this summer already. Go to Prokicker.com and check out the rankings by state. Bell's kicker, Merrick, leads in all catagories, and two others Jared Kaufman and Highland's kicker Bathiany are also ranked. Bell's kicker will only be a junior this season.

:banana: Don't forget Bell County's Placekicker/Punter, Monte Merrick. He was named to the Courier-Journal All-State Team Hon. Mention as a sophomore last year. Was highest ranked class of 2009 kicker/punter in nation for Prokicker.com (Ray Guy's camp) 33 cities competing. He will be in his third year as starter for the varsity. Nearly all kickoffs are touchbacks with long hangtimes. Hit game winning FG against Corbin last year with no time remaining following three consecutive "icing" timeouts. Bell has not kicked many FG's. Should attempt more this year. Merrick recently hit 4-5 from 55 yards in spring practice. He has hit from 60 yds. in practice.:banana:

Due to the realignment several schools that Bell always played are in a different class or district. Clay County, Letcher Central, Perry Central moved up and out of district. Corbin would not reschedule Bell. In order to fill the schedule, the Bobcats are on the road for all but 3 games as well. The key district game with Rockcastle is one of the home games. Winner of that game has the home field for the playoff rematch if it materializes. Bell has Lincoln County, Sheldon Clark, Whitley County, and Tates Creek as tough away opponents. Schedule should make the Bobcats hungry for the home playoffs and then back on the road for three more! Should prepare them well for an invitation to the pizza party this year!

Coaches Larkey and Hilton are like two old chess players. They sure are fun to watch, especially head-to-head. After the 21-0 defeat at Bell, Dudley was hard at work to insure that it did not happen again. Even though extremely outsized, Bell fought their hearts out at both games. Had Bobcats scored and the INT not have happened on the 10 yard line, Bell probably would have won District and home field advantage. That would have brought the playoff back to Log Mountain. Maybe same results...BUT...?? Who knows. This year, as you said, should be great matchups. Rockcastle and Bell fans love the rivalry and good football. We will try to be good hosts for BOTH games this year! LOL! Come on Down!

Was that a down year for Bell? This year Rockcastle will meet one of the best Bell teams in years, and the next year it will be even better. Strong sophomore and junior team from last year returns. Bell only lost three or four starters. Should present some interesting matchups.

Well that's half the fun of it isn't it? Thanks for the good words. I really enjoyed going up to Rock last year for both contests. (Didn't enjoy the ride home as well, Ha!) LOL! The fans at Rock and Bell truly appreciate good football. I had to sit on Rockcastle side the first game. I heard nothing but good comments from the fans. It was fall football at its best. Bell was truly outmanned last year, but played both games with heart. Bell put themselves in a position to win that first game. Had we scored on that last drive....the playoff would have come to Log Mountain. Who knows what that would hve meant for second matchup. Shane Popham (CCHS and son of Gpopham of BGP fame) had a disadvantage following two D-1 kickers his sophomore and junior year. He only got one year of varsity starting. Bell's kicker got to start all the games his freshman and sophomore year. He enters this year as junior with two years experience. I think that letting a freshman get a shot and develop will certainly give the young man a better chance at having a long and productive hs career. Certainly will be an area that will help Rock compete with teams like Bell in the kicking game. Didn't Miller return kicks last year? If so what about the other special team players?

Bell County football would not be the same without the Rockcastle rivalry. High School football at its best. Two legendary coaches with storied programs. We look forward to the battle/s. How are the Rock's special teams this year after graduation? Durham was making great improvement with his kicking by end of season. Who is stepping up to replace him?

Ray Guy is the greatest punter of all time. Period. He is only punter nominated to Hall of Fame...STILL not elected! WRONG! The NCAA punter of year award is the "Ray Guy Award!" Bell County's All-State kicker attended Ray Guy's camp last year. Bell's punter had graduated and he was assigned punting duties as well. Prokicker.com is their website. They rank players. Popham was one of highest ranked kickers in nation. Merrick was in top fifty , I believe, in nation for kicker/punter combination and #1 sophomore in nation. Ray Guy's camp was in 33 cities last year. It sure must have helped Bell's kicker. He had great sophomore year. Rick Sang's (Former Greenwood H.S. coach I believe) American Football Academy's camp of many years linked with Ray Guy a few years back. Their national headquarters is in Bowling Green, KY! The Merrick kid said he was going back again this year. He said that Ray Guy was there himself for part of the instruction with the kids! :banana:

I certainly did not intend to offend and get personal nor did I mean to put the "student" clockkeeper in a bad light. I felt like that it was too much pressure to put a student in that situation and not proper. I had been misinformed as to his status. It was never his fault....I was again discussing the inconsistency with the officials and their clock calculations. Looks like Cumberland may have come out on the short in of the clock, not Bell. My apologies to the timekeeper for putting him unintentionally in a bad light. I just made my observations based on the game. I believe that many times Bell fouled and was not called as well. My point was that the style of play that a "no-call" let'em play attitude by one official on one end and the tight calling of the third official on the other end can cause a lot of irritation with fans from both teams. The "team" of officials was not in sync. That is all that I am saying, and they let it escalate to the point that players on both teams were guilty of rough play, including at least three "punches" by players out of view of officials....or that were ignored. This is not good for high school basketball. I like to see tough play underneath, etc. but it has to be consistent throughout for the sake of both teams. I did not address the play in that post. Bell slowed down the game and should have kept up the pressure on offense. Cumberland played a hard game, and in no way was I trying to put down their players or effort. I wish them well in the regionals. This was my first and last post on this basketball forum. I will stick to football, where I ususally post. Less intense.

That is truly an understatement. The balance of free throws (most of Cumberland points were on fts) was way lopsided. Several players should have fouled out early on. The amount of no-calls on Cumberland allowed them to stay in this game. Don't even ask about the clock. I did not think that a student could run the clock....especially in District final. They put time back on the clock several times with no good reason. They buzzed and stopped play giving Cumberland an extra "time-out." and stopped a Bell momentum, etc. Later at end Allowed Whittaker to inbound a pass and get fouled with no time coming off the clock. They then took one second off. Reminded me of the Great Russian-USA Olympic game. Finally a desparation three from beyond the midstripe....nearly went down for Cumberland....and would have given them the victory. There should have never been time for that last-second shot....good thing it missed or there would have really been a controversy. Officials did not work as a team. Many times the official near the home bench would make a call clear across the court and overrule an official standing three feet from the players. I used to referee a lot...you do not do that to each other. Let him make his call...if you don't agree....better you let it go than make a questionable judgement call from across the court. Bell was lucky to survive. The game started out with Bell pulling away...then interesting things began to happen!

Where is the Death Valley Bowl? I believe that this game is part of that? Any history of the event?

I believe that Bell was in negotiations for this game for some time. I don't believe that it was ever confirmed or worked out. Bell had two open dates to fill with one of them the last week of the season. I do not think Coach Hilton wanted an open date going into the playoffs. May be good for pros, but not high school to have a week off then. Recently, Tates Creek was added to the Bell schedule for that final week of the season. That fills their schedule, I believe. I don't know where the Moeller game fits in all this, but I do know at one time Bell was pursuing an Ohio power and looking forward to playing them on a Saturday at Bell.

We have heard from Popham. In fairness to the two kickers chosen, can anyone share their season stats? Especially if Tydlacka is the kicker and not the punter, etc. How were their seasons?

Not sour grapes, but a valid argument. Everyone seems to fail to understand the kicking recruiting process. Guaranteed Walk-on, red-shirt, etc. is about as good as it gets for most great kickers. They do not recruit kickers the same as other positions, unfortunately. Few are given D-1 scholarships outright. I would like to know how many offers these BG guys turned down from D-1 schools except their hometown university....that WAS NOT D-1 but will become D-1 next year, am I right? Shane Popham was truly the best kicker in the state this year. Tinius has had a great career, and is deserving as well, but look at the stats for this year. Let's compare!

Looks like Tinius' coach is one of the coaches and Bowling Green has how many players? Popham was by far the best kicker in the state this year and deserves to be on this team. Tinius gets this nod because he has kicked for several years...and Popham had to wait until this year behind two other D-1 kickers the past two years. Should have been based on this season. Popham's 18-27 FG season is the all-time record! Tinius is a good kicker, but will be staying home for WKU and Popham will be at Wake Forest.

For most of his career, I believe, it has been his friend Kyle Nelson (Bell Co.) In their Senior year, no head-to-head battle. Tragic. A real loss for Southeastern Kentucky high school football fans.