By Bill Templeton
Sports Writer

High school football fans are in for a treat Friday night on Log Mountain, when Bell County hosts Lawrence County in a second-round Class 3A game at Dudley Hilton Field.
Bell County junior Kaleb Miller enters the game with 1,790 rushing yards, ranking him fifth among the state’s top Class 3A performers in that category.
Meanwhile, Lawrence County features Class 3A’s third-leading passer in junior quarterback Luke Fetherholf, who has thrown for 1,861 yards and 22 touchdowns. Fetherholf has completed an eye-popping 66.2 percent of his attempts (135-for-204), with just six interceptions.
Miller has answered the challenge of stepping into big shoes this season for Bell, replacing 2023 Kentucky Mr. Football, Daniel Thomas, as the Bobcats’ featured running back.
Miller has rushed for at least 100 yards in nine of the Bobcats’ 11 games this season, en route to 26 touchdowns entering the matchup against Lawrence County.
Miller carried the football nine times for 223 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s 46-14 first-round playoff victory over Powell County, and eclipsed the 200-yard mark on two other occasions during the regular season.
“He’s had a great year, and that surprised me a little because he missed a lot of time as an eighth grader and freshman due to injuries,” veteran Bell head coach Dudley Hilton said. “He didn’t run much last year because of Daniel. We’ve turned him loose this year, and he’s been unbelievable. He runs low to the ground.”
Fetherholf’s top performance of the season came in his team’s eighth game, a 48-13 win over Powell County. In that game, Fetherholf completed 11 of his 12 pass attempts for 323 yards and three touchdowns.
Last week, Fetherholf tossed three scoring passes and completed 16-of-20 attempts for 255 yards in a 48-7 first-round playoff game against Clay County.
When his 615 rushing yards are added, Fetherholf enters Friday’s game against Bell County with an astounding 2,476 yards of total offense, including 29 touchdowns.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday.