Topic: Football
2023FBPBELCAL
Bell County vs. Christian Academy of Louisville
Class 3A 2023 UK Health Care Sports Medicine State Football Finals (Championship)
Kroger Field
Lexington, KY
December 2, 2023
© 2023 by Ron Harrison
Christian Academy of Louisville pulled away in the final quarter to defeat Bell County by the score of 41-16. Bell County took an 8-0 lead early in the second quarter and only trailed 21-16 late in the third quarter before CAL scored 21 points to secure the victory. Christian Academy of Louisville recorded 13 first downs and 283 yards of total offense. The Centurions were penalized six times for 60 yards and lost a fumble. Bell County recorded 17 first downs and 248 yards of total offense. The Bobcats were penalized twice for five yards and lost a fumble.
Cole Hodge led CAL’s ground game with 37 yards and three touchdowns on six carries. Cole Hodge completed 18 of 20 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns and was named Game MVP. Connor Hodge caught eight passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. Darwin Cotton added four receptions for 82 yards. Justin Ruffin recorded three catches for 59 yards and a touchdown. Connor Hodge returned one kickoff for 30 yards. Garyon Hobbs led the defense with eight solo and seven assisted tackles with 1.5 of his tackles resulting in losses totaling two yards. Connor Hodge added five solo and five assisted tackles. Alex Ullom recorded six solo and two assisted tackles with 1.5 of his tackles resulting in losses totaling three yards. Darwin Cotton chipped in with four solo and five assisted tackles. David Holloway added four solo and four assisted tackles. John Cobaugh recorded two solo and three assisted tackles with 1.5 of his tackles resulting in losses totaling two yards and recovered a fumble he returned 77 yards for a touchdown.
Daniel Thomas led Bell County’s ground game with 133 yards and a touchdown on 40 carries. Blake Burnett carried the ball five times for 31 yards. Blake Evans recorded 14 yards and a carry on seven carries. Kaleb Miller chipped in with 13 yards on six carries. Blake Burnett completed four of six passes for 57 yards. Hayden Dameron and Blake Evans each caught one pass for 28 and 18 yards respectively. Kaleb Miller returned five kickoffs for 115 yards with a long return of 40 yards. Daniel Thomas led the defense with five solo tackles. Hayden Dameron added three solo and three assisted tackles with one of his tackles resulting in a two yard loss. Blake Burnett recovered a fumble he returned 17 yards.
Scoring Summary
School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
Bell County | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 16 |
Christian Academy of Louisville | 0 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 41 |
BELLCO | - | Blake Evans 1 yard run (Blake Evans run) |
CAL | - | Cole Hodge 1 yard run (Madden Miller kick) |
CAL | - | Cole Hodge 7 yard run (Madden Miller kick) |
CAL | - | Justin Ruffin 31 yard pass from Cole Hodge (Madden Miller kick) |
BELLCO | - | Daniel Thomas 36 yard run (Blake Evans run) |
CAL | - | Cole Hodge 5 yard run (Madden Miller kick) |
CAL | - | John Cobaugh 77 yard fumble recovery return (Madden Miller kick fails) |
CAL | - | Connor Hodge 5 yard pass from Cole Hodge (Madden Miller kick) |
Selected Statistics
Bell County | ||||
| ||||
Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
Daniel Thomas | 40 | 133 | 3.3 | 36 |
Blake Burnett | 5 | 31 | 6.2 | 11 |
Blake Evans | 7 | 14 | 2.0 | 6 |
Kaleb Miller | 6 | 13 | 2.2 | 4 |
| ||||
Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
Blake Burnett | 6-4-0 | 57 | 0 | 28 |
Daniel thomas | 1-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ||||
Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
Hayden Dameron | 1 | 28 | 0 | 28 |
Blake Evans | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
Kaleb Miller | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
Elijah Hampton | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| ||||
Christian Academy of Louisville | ||||
| ||||
Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
Cole Hodge | 6 | 37 | 6.2 | 12 |
Jeffrey Vazzana | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 10 |
Darwin Cotton | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 |
| ||||
Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
Cole Hodge | 20-18-0 | 225 | 2 | 41 |
| ||||
Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
Connor Hodge | 8 | 75 | 1 | 17 |
Darwin Cotton | 4 | 82 | 0 | 41 |
Justin Ruffin | 3 | 59 | 1 | 31 |
Jeffrey Vazzana | 3 | 9 | 0 | 8 |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to WL Stats for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's games.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the event, teams, or players to me at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.