By Bill Templeton
Sports Writer

Bell County’s Blake Burnett played nearly flawless football Friday night at Dudley Hilton Field, leading the Bobcats to a lopsided 44-12 Class 3A playoff victory over Lawrence County.
The junior quarterback amassed 242 all-purpose yards, and the Bobcats’ defense contained heralded Lawrence quarterback Luke Fetherholf to produce the 11th consecutive win.
Burnett scored two rushing touchdowns and collected 97 overland yards on 11 carries, completed all five of his pass attempts for 98 yards, plus a TD strike, and returned a fourth-quarter interception 47 yards to cap his standout performance.
Junior Kaleb Miller had another monster game for Bell, rushing for a game-high 143 yards on 22 carries, including a pair of touchdowns and a two-point conversion run. Miller has now rushed for just over 1,900 yards this season, ranking him among the state’s top five 3A rushers.
Bell (11-1) advances to Friday’s regional championship game and will reportedly play host to 6-6 Lexington Catholic, a 42-7 winner Friday night over East Carter.
It took the Bobcats precious little time to seize control against Lawrence. Miller opened the game with a 25-yard run on the first play from scrimmage and then sprinted, untouched, up the middle three plays later en route to a 35-yard scoring run.
After the Bell defense forced the lone punt of the game on the ensuing possession by Lawrence, Burnett converted a 4th-and-6 play by eluding multiple Bulldog defenders on his way to a dazzling 28-yard scoring sprint into the end zone to make it 12-0 just shy of the halfway mark of the quarter.
An incomplete, fourth-down pass by Fetherholf turned the ball over on downs to Bell. Burnett then engineered a 10-play drive on the Bobcats’ next possession, capping the march on a 21-yard scoring pass to 6-foot-5 junior Joseph Brigmon just six plays into the second quarter. Senior Hayden Dameron’s conversion run made it 20-0.
Fetherholf drove the Bulldogs inside the Bell 25-yard line on the ensuing possession, but the stout Bell defense thwarted the drive with another pivotal stop on fourth down.
Lawrence answered by stopping the Bobcats for the first time and got the ball back with just over a minute remaining until halftime. Fetherholf drove his team to the Bell 3-yard line, but the Bobcats refused to bend and recorded a tackle for lost yardage on the final play of the half.
Fetherholf finally solved the Bell defense on the second play of the third quarter with a 49-yard scoring pass to sophomore Kaden Johnson.
Back came Burnett. The elusive Burnett took off on a 39-yard run on the Bobcats’ first play following the Lawrence touchdown and scored on a 2-yard run five plays later to make it 28-6.
Bell registered its third fourth-down stymie on the Bulldogs’ next possession, giving way to another scoring drive by the Bobcats.
A 29-yard pass from Burnett to junior Hunter Everage and a 13-yard run by Miller were key plays during a drive that was capped on a 2-yard TD run by senior Blake Evans.
With time running out in the third quarter, Fetherholf’s 14-yard scoring pass to junior Braxton Davis made it 36-12, and the Bulldogs forced Bell into its lone punt formation on the Bobcats’ next possession.
On the play, however, Bell freshman James-Nathaniel Saylor took the direct snap and picked up a first down at the end of his 18-yard run, and Miller’s 7-yard scoring run four plays later capped the scoring.
Burnett recorded his sixth interception of the season on the Bulldogs’ final possession of the game, returning the football from the end zone to just short of the 50-yard line. Junior James Neal collected 21 yards on four carries during the game’s final possession to seal the victory.
Bell rushed for 323 yards and amassed 421 yards of total offense.
Fetherholf, who entered the game ranked among the state’s top three Class 3A passers, completed 17 of his 22 pass attempts for 183 yards, and eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark for the season.

Bell County 44, Lawrence County 12

Lawrence County 0 0 12 0 — 12
Bell County 12 8 16 8 — 44

B — Miller 35 run (run failed)
B — Burnett 28 run (run failed)
B — Brigmon 21 pass from Burnett (Dameron run)
L — Johnson 49 pass from Fetherholf (pass failed)
B — Burnett 2 run (Burnett run)
B — Evans 2 run (Everage pass from Burnett)
L — Davis 14 pass from Fetherholf (run failed)
B — Miller 7 run (Miller run)