©2005 by Ron Harrison
Bell County (0-1) vs. Henry Clay (2-0) September 2, 2005
*Henry Clay is playing their home games at Tates Creek High School until construction is completed on their new stadium.
Coach Dudley Hilton's Bell County Bobcats finished 13-1 last season and must replace RB Shawn Robbins who rushed for 2,625 yard and 34 TDs last season. Bell County opened their season with a loss to a good Knoxville Central team. The Bobcats had an open date last week.
Coach Sam Simpson's Henry Clay Blue Devils were expected to be good this season and so far they have lived up to their fans' expectations. They opened their season with a 43-14 victory over Belfry and followed up with a 45-13 victory over Boyle County.
Bell County opened the game with an impressive 80 yard drive to take a 7-0 lead. However, Henry Clay, taking advantage of their experience, team speed, and the aerial accuracy of QB Salin Simpson, roared back to earn a 42-16 victory.
Henry Clay held a 347-319 advantage in total offense including a 215-91 edge in passing yardage. Bell County held a 31:19-16:41 advantage in possession time but Henry Clay's average number of plays per scoring drive was five plays per drive. Henry Clay was penalized 11 times for 97 yards while Bell County was flagged seven times for 57 yards. Henry Clay averaged 7.7 yards per offensive play while Bell County averaged 4.8 yards per play.
Donte Gay led Henry Clay's ground game with 74 yards on eight carries while Rod Johnson added 43 yards and a TD on eight rushing attempts. Salin Simpson completed 15 of 17 passes for 191 yards and four touchdowns. Chase Minnifield had a productive night as he caught four passes for 42 yards and a TD. He also returned two kickoffs for 97 yards with a long return of 66 yards and an interception return of 12 yards. Minnifield also recorded three solo and one assisted tackles. Sam Gardner also added four receptions for 34 yards and two touchdowns. Stephon Burton paced the defense with five solo tackles while Marcus Bentley added four solo and two assisted tackles.
5-10 195 pound freshman FB Matt Simpson led the Bell County ground game with 94 yards on nine carries. Jeff Howard added 70 yards with a TD run of 11 yards on 13 carries. 6-2 173 pound So. QB Kyle Nelson entered the game in relief and completed three of six passes for 63 yards with one touchdown. 5-11 160 pound Fr. Shawnta Zachery caught three passes for 63 yards with a 33 yard scoring reception. Charlie Fox and Justin Reed led the Bobcat defense with four solo and one assisted tackles each.
Scoring Summary
| Henry Clay | 42 | Bell County | 16 |
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Bell County | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
| Henry Clay | 14 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 42 |
| BC | - Jeff Howard 11 yard run (Monty Merrick kick) |
| HC | - Sam Gardner 3 yard pass from Salin Simpson (Jacob Barney kick) |
| HC | - DiQuann Mack 3 yard run (Barney kick) |
| BC | - Monty Merrick 30 yard field goal |
| HC | - Clark Jeter 44 yard pass from Simpson (Barney kick) |
| HC | - Chase Minnifield 8 yard pass from Simpson (Barney kick) |
| HC | - Gardner 5 yard pass from Simpson (Barney kick) |
| HC | - Rod Johnson 10 yard run (Barney kick) |
| BC | - Shawnta Zachery 33 yard pass from Kyle Nelson (Nelson pass fails) |
Selected Statistics
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long | Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long | |
| Matt Simpson | 9 | 94 | 10.4 | 37 | Donte Gay | 8 | 74 | 9.2 | 30 | |
| Jeff Howard | 13 | 70 | 5.4 | 19 | Rod Johnson | 8 | 43 | 5.4 | 10 | |
| T. R. Christopher | 13 | 35 | 2.7 | 13 | Salin Simpson | 4 | 19 | 4.8 | 8 | |
| Spencer Greer | 4 | 22 | 5.5 | 11 | DiQuann Mack | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | |
| Kyle Nelson | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 6 | Patrick Rouse | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | 0 | |
| Tyler Harbin | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | Ryan Phillippi | 2 | -4 | -2.0 | 4 | |
| Team | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | ||||||
| Justin Dozier | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | ||||||
| Ryan Whitaker | 4 | -5 | -1.2 | 10 | ||||||
| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Ryan Whitaker | 12-3-1 | 28 | 0 | 28 | Salin Simpson | 17-15-0 | 191 | 4 | 44 | |
| Kyle Nelson | 6-3-0 | 61 | 1 | 33 | Ryan Phillippi | 4-1-0 | 24 | 0 | 24 | |
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long | Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long | |
| Shawnta Zachery | 3 | 63 | 1 | 33 | Chase Minnifield | 4 | 42 | 1 | 22 | |
| Jeff Howard | 1 | 28 | 0 | 28 | Sam Gardner | 4 | 34 | 2 | 14 | |
| Steven Hunter | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | Aaron Boyd | 3 | 31 | 0 | 29 | |
| T. R. Christopher | 1 | -6 | 0 | 0 | Clark Jeter | 2 | 52 | 1 | 44 | |
| Bill French | 2 | 41 | 0 | 24 | ||||||
| Rod Johnson | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 | ||||||
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to WL Stats for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's game.
Other Games of Interest
Please refer to Week Three in Review.
Please send your comments and questions to Ron Harrison at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.
