There are two things that are for certain in this world, taxes and Bell County’s ability to run the football. The Bobcats started their season off on a good note with a 54-0 rout over in-county rival Middlesboro last week. During that game, Bell put up 342 yards on the ground with Colby Frazier leading the way with 126 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries.

This week, the Bobcats hit the road in hopes of improving their record to 2-0 against Letcher County Central.

Last year was the first time the two teams met since Hilton and the Bobcat defeated the Cougars 57-7 in 2006. While it was over 10 years since the teams met, the outcome was similar as Bell County marched to a 28-7 victory over Letcher last season.

A year ago, Will Dean had a breakout game against the Cougars running for 106 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Issac Collett went 6-f0r-9 through the air for 100 yards with Jason Jones accounting for 57 of those. Trevor Kidd ended the night with a team-high seven tackles.

Those statistic will likely change this season with Frazier being the clear cut workhorse at running back and Collett shifting to tight end with the arrival of London Stephney at quarterback.

Letcher County Central (0-1)

The Cougars return a veteran presence to the team with the main one being quarterback Nick Sergent. The senior returns after having a good season last year. He posted 1,967 yards and 16 touchdowns while completing over 50 percent of his passes.

Sergent’s main weapon, Hunter Campbell, also returns for his junior year after hauling in 681 yards and six touchdowns on 38 catches.

While the passing game was instrumental in Letcher’s season last year, the Cougars slightly shifted their offensive strategy to the rushing attack thus far this season. This year, Jonathan Sergent has been the focus in the backfield. Against Knox Central, he ran for 116 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.

Campbell, who led the team in rushing yards and touchdowns last year, is also a weapon in the running game after posting a team-high 314 yards and four touchdowns last season. Against Knox, he tallied 42 yards on 10 attempts.

Defensively, Jonathan Sergent paced the team a year ago with 113 tackles. Hunter Brashear and Campbell both finished with 40 and 41, respectively.

Against Knox Central, it was Zach Hensley and Jason Buttrey who led the way with seven and six tackles, respectively.