By John Henson

Contributing Sports Writer

Whenever the Bell County Bobcats needed a big play in 2023, they didn’t have to look far with Daniel Thomas in the backfield.

Thomas ran for 3,817 yards and 54 touchdowns on the way to winning the state’s Mr. Football award while leading Bell to a 13-2 record and a state runner-up finish. Thomas accounted for a whopping 400 of the team’s 561 carries last year.

“Only time will tell how bad we really miss him,” Bell County coach Dudley Hilton said during the team’s media day in early August.. “Maybe after two or three games we’ll be saying Daniel who,” Hilton said with a laugh. “Or we might be saying where’s Daniel? You don’t know you’ll handle it. We’ve had a lot of good football players at Bell County who have been replaced. I hope this is another one that we can replace.”

Even with Thomas graduating, the Bobcats have plenty of experience returning, and Hilton is counting on a team effort to replace their star, who is now playing at the University of Virginia-Wise.

“We’ve got a lot of people back. We have a really good junior class and just have four seniors on this football team,” Hilton said. “We lost a young man that was special. There’s no question Daniel Thomas was a very special player. If anyone ever deserved Mr. Football in the state of Kentucky, he did.”

Junior quarterback Blake Burnett will have to play an even bigger role with Daniel Thomas moving on after last year’s Mr. Football campaign. Burnett, the preseason district player of the year in the Cats Pause, was second on the team in rushing yardage with 491 yards and six touchdowns. He completed 46 of 77 passes for 931 yards, with 12 touchdowns and only one interception.

“Blake Burnett is one of the best quarterbacks in the area. I don’t care what anyone says,” Hilton said. “He reads good and he throws it good.”

Blake Evans is back at fullback where he collected 215 yards rushing last year. Kaleb Miller, who added 171 yards, will play running back, along with Hunter Everage and Hagan Neal.

“We have some great running backs with Hunter Everage and Kaleb Miller and Hagan Neal,” Hilton said. “That’s three who didn’t get to carry it as much and would have carried it more if we didn’t have Mr. Football on the team. We have some guys who know what to do. We just had an easy way out last year with Daniel.”

Caden Huff and Joseph Brigmon are the probable starters as the receivers, with Hayden Dameron back at tight end after ranking second in receptions last year with nine catches for 208 yards and four touchdowns.

Junior tackle Jaxson Pratt is the only starter back on the offensive front, but Hilton will have several options to fill out the unit. Chase Widener, a senior, is the probable starter at center with Aiden Warren or Jeremiah Saylor at the other tackle. There are several candidates at guard, including Keaton Jackson, Alex Goodin,

Senior linebacker Blake Evans, with 138 tackles, and senior end Hayden Dameron, with 104, led the Bell defense last season and are back this year to give the Bobcats two of the best defenders in the mountains.

“Blake Evans is a three- or four-year starter at linebacker and has had an unbelievable summer,” Hilton said. “Hayden is something else also. They are both very good players.”

Josh Owens, who had 70 tackles last year, and Hunter Fuson will also play linebacker.

Burnett had just as much of an impact on defense last fall as offense with nine interceptions, along with 42 tackles.

“Blake led the state last year in interceptions, and we have him back,” Hilton said.

Joseph Brigmon returns at strong safety. Everage and Huff are the starting corners. Huff was tied for sixth on the team last year with 42 tackles.

The Bell defensive front will feature Saylor at nose guard with Isaac Jones and Goodin at tackles. Saylor had 28 tackles last season, while Jones added 25.

Rockcastle County handed Bell one of its two losses last year and won the district title even though Bell came back to win the region on the way to the state finals. Bell enters this season as the district favorite, even though Rockcastle remains a strong contender, along with Knox Central and Clay County.

“They are all capable,” Hilton said. “Clay had a good team last year, and Knox has (coach) Wayne Mills back, and he should bring them back. Sam Marple went down to McCreary with an administration thinking about football, so I think you’ll see a different McCreary Central in the next few years. Us and Rock have been up there a while as far as hard-nosed teams. I’d put up our district against any around. I don’t think we have a cakewalk now with the situation we’re around.”

With well over 300 wins in three stints at Bell County, Hilton knows believing in yourself is always vital to success.

“Time will tell how it all comes together, but Bell County feels they can win,” he said. “I’m not going to tell them any different. That’s the way we’ve been for years.”