Honorable Mention All State - Channing Fugate

The associated press named Kentucky High School Footballs All State Team. As expected, Lexington Christian’s Dominique Hayden garnered the top Running back spot in the State along with Miles Simpson, of  Simon Kenton. Breathitt Running back Channing Fugate was named to the honorable mention All- State running back. Fugate was a pre-season favorite for Mr. Kentucky Football, and has already signed to play for Tennessee. Unfortunately for Fugate, for what most would consider a good year, was down considerably by the standard he set the previous year.

Those making AP All State were:

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB – Antonio Andrews, Fort Campbell
RB – Domonique Hayden, Lexington Christian
RB – Miles Simpson, Simon Kenton
Rec. – Xavier Shelton, Mayfield
Rec. – DeVante Parker, Ballard
Rec. – Dusty Brown, Williamsburg

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB – Lucas Witt, Lexington Christian
RB – Austin Collinsworth, Ft. Thomas-Highlands
RB – Rees MacShara, Boyle County
Rec. – Sam Howard, Bowling Green
Rec. – Stephan Robinson, Central
Rec. – Storm Wilson, Somerset

HONORABLE MENTION:
QB: Michael Burchett, Prestonsburg; Ryan Moses, Williamsburg; Jacob Russell, Anderson County; Alex Dingle, John Hardin; Cory Cooper, Allen County-Scottsville; Nick West, Conner; Will Bardo, Ft. Thomas-Highlands; Zach Eastham, Pulaski.
RB: Caleb Watkins, Corbin; Channing Fugate, Breathitt Co.; Cory Davenport, Bell Co.; Thomas Varney, Belfry; LaVance Anderson, Bowling Green; Adrian Wardrup, North Laurel; B.J. Roberts, Shelby Valley; Josh Harris, Mason Co.; Landon Savoy, John Hardin; Tavion Parrish, Glasgow; Tyler Vaughn, South Laurel; VaShun Banks, Christian Co.
Receiver: Matt Powers, Middlesboro; Tre Powell, Fort Campbell; Tristan Long, Central Hardin; Aaron Nance, Seneca; Bryan Bickett, Union Co.; Cole Sturgeon, Owensboro Catholic; Mitchell Henry, Elizabethtown; Raymond Shears, North Laurel; Tyler Ray, Garrard Co.; Neil Wilson, Monroe County; Xavier Shelton, Mayfield; Chaz Mitchell, Lex.-Bryan Station; Justin Tobias, Warren East; Tate Nichols, Ryle.

East KY Media tried to pick the eventual Champions. Here are our picks and who actually won.

Here are East KY Media’s picks before the tournament started:

Class 1A Tournament Notes:  East KY Media pick for the finals: Lexington Christian vs. Mayfield.  Winner: Lexington Christian.   – Lexington Christian defeated Mayfield 55-19

Class 2A Tournament Notes: East KY Media’s pick for the finals: Fort Campbell vs. Prestonsburg. Winner: Fort Campbell.  – Fort Campbell defeated DeSales 29-9

Class 3A Tournament Notes:  East KY Media pick for the finals, Somerset vs Central. Winner: Central  – Paducah Tilghman defeated Somerset 21-0

Class 4A Tournament Notes: East KY Media pick for the Finals, Allen County vs Bell County. Winner Allen County  – Boyle defeated Lone Oak 42-39

Class 5A Tournament Notes: East KY Media picks for finals, John Hardin vs Highlands. Winner: Highlands. - Highlands defeated John Hardin 35-7

STATS FOR STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES:

2009 1A Championship 1

2009 2A Championship 1

2009 3A Championship 1

2009 4A Championship 1

2009 5A Championship 1

Lexington Christian remains a favorite to win the 1A title.

For most of the season, Prestonsburg, Bell & Sheldon Clark have been ranked in East KY Media’s top 10. Hazard re- joined the polls last week  after dropping out in Week 6 due to a blowout loss to Corbin. Prestonsburg has been at the top of the rankings since week 2 and has not shown signs of giving their # 1 spot up. Two other teams, Lexington Christian and Bell County are absolutely on fire.

Is there anyone better than Bell County right now? Since losing their first game to Alcoa, TN, Bell has run off 12 straight. After Bell County’s 2nd game, they have gone 11-0 and outscored their opponents 501 – 52 including outscoring their three playoff opponents 133 – 0. That’s right , they have not been scored on since the playoffs started. What is their reward? 13-0 Boyle County who has outscored their opponents 587-91.

Here are East KY Media’s picks before the tournament started:

Class 1A Tournament Notes:  East KY Media pick for the finals: Lexington Christian vs. Mayfield.  Winner: Lexington Christian.  (Both teams are in final 4)

Class 2A Tournament Notes: East KY Media’s pick for the finals: Fort Campbell vs. Prestonsburg. Winner: Fort Campbell. (Both teams are in final 4)

Class 3A Tournament Notes:  East KY Media pick for the finals, Somerset vs Central. Winner: Central (Both teams are in final 4)

Class 4A Tournament Notes: East KY Media pick for the Finals, Allen County vs Bell County. Winner Allen County (Missed this one as Bell is only team left)

Class 5A Tournament Notes: East KY Media picks for finals, John Hardin vs Highlands. Winner: Highlands. (Both teams in final 4)

Class 6A Tournament Notes:  East KY Media pick for finals, St. Xavier vs. Male. Winner St. Xavier (St. Xavier only team left)

Out of the 12 teams East KY media picked to play for a championship, 10 are still remaining in the tournament. That could all change this weekend as the level of play continues to pick up.

BREATHITT COUNTY vs SOMERSET recap:

Anyone want to play some defense?

That is the question fans from Breathitt and Someset both were asking midway through the 4th quarter Friday night. The game yielded 84 points, 560 combined total yards rushing, a combined 897 yards total offense. There was one punt in the game by Somerset. 3 total turnovers and 43 combined first downs. It was a track meet from beginning to end.

Somerset jumped on the board in the 1st quarter on a 60 yard Quarterback keeper by Eric Manning for a 6-0 Somerset lead. That was quickly followed up by a Channing Fugate 1 yard run to tie the score at 6 apiece. Somerset regained the lead by the end of the 1st quarter on a 26 yard, josh Troxtle run for a 13-6 Somerset lead.

Breathit opened the 2nd quarter with another Channing Fugate run of 2 yards making the score 13-12 Somerset. Somerset’s Eric Manning then hit Josh Troxtle for a 16 yard touchdown pass making the score 20-12 Somerset. Breathitt County bounced right back when Jade Haddix carried the ball for a 60 yard score, tying the game at 20. Somerset retuned the favor when QB Eric Manning hit Storm Wilson for a 49 yard bomb giving Somerset the lead once more 27-20, but Breathitt would strike one more time before halftime. Channing Fugate fell on teammate Zach Epperson’s fumble in the endzone cutting the Somerset lead for the half to 27-26.

Somerset scored first in the quarter with a rare field goal of 28 yards by Corey Mounce giving Somerset a 30-26 lead. Breathitt was not to be denied however as Breathitt took their first lead of the game on a 35 yard touchdown pass from Jade Haddix to Zach Epperson giving Breathitt a 33-30 lead. Somerset would not let that score last long though. Josh Troxtle took the handoff and scampered 41 yards to give Somerset a 37-33 lead after three quarters. It would be a lead they would not let go of.

The 4th quarter was all Somerset as they scored two more times while shutting the Bobcats out in the 4th. Josh Troxtle rambled 18 yards for a score giving Somerset a 44-33 lead. Thomas Boyle capped off the scoring with a 2 yarder for a 51-33 Somerset win.

The Bobcats rushed for 281 yards andpassed for 135 more with 2 interceptions. Somerset ran for 279 yards and passed for 202 more with 1 interception. Breathitt was led in rushing by Channing Fugate with 180 yards followed by Haddix with 90. For Somerset, Eric Manning had 118 yards, Troxtle 100 and Otie Manning had 62.

Congratulations go out to the Breathitt Bobcats on a great finish to a tough season.

CLASS 2A Tournament Brackets

CLASS 3A Tournament Brackets

CLASS 4A Tournament Brackets

CLASS 5A Tournament Brackets

CLASS 6A Tournament Brackets

All Tournament Brackets courtesy of www.khsaa.org

HAZARD BULLDOGS advance

Several Bobcats sit on the sideline after dismantling Garrard County.

The Breathitt Bobcats have several things going for them in their quest for another State Title run. First is they have one of the best running backs in the State in Channing Fugate, who now appears to be completely healthy. Second, they are in Class 3A, arguably the weakest class in the State. Third, no Belfry to go to.  Belfry was beaten this weekend by Sheldon Clark. Finally, they are playing a Somerset team whose schedule, has had 8 of 11 opponents with losing records including 8 of their last 9 opponents. Is it that Somerset may not be as good as their 12-0 record? The Bobcats conversly had 7 of their first 8 opponents with winning records., and 5 of those are still alive in the playoffs. The one drawback to the scheduling, Breathitt has been getting healthy and winning against much weaker teams. The Bobcats last 4 games have been against 4 teams with losing records, included in that is also a forfeit. Someset defeated Wayne County 9-0 and Garrard 34-20 while the Bobcats beat Wayne 26-0 and Garrard 62-12. Breathitt County’s tough schedule early on should give them the advantage against Somerset. Anyway you spin the numbers, it should be a great game with the winner very possibly having the easier road to the State title game.

Breathitt County 62  Garrard County 12

If you needed any proof why the Bobcats are back, look no further than Channing Fugate. Fugate gained 257 yards on 13 carries against Garrard County. Fugate also scored on Touchdown runs of 17, 2, 50 yards and caught a touchdown pass for 29 yards. Fugate now has 1280 yards rushing to go along with his 17 touchdowns. Also hitting paydirt for the Bobcats were: Zach Epperson, 31 yard interception return for a touchdown, Jade Haddix 16 yard touchdown run, Josh Fletcher 69 yard touchdown pass from Haddix, Richard Trent 1 yard touchdown run and Ryan Cox 28 yard touchdown run.

The Bobcats out rushed Garrard 378 – 119. The Bobcats also held a slight advantage in the air 90-76. If Somerset cannot find a way to slow down Fugate next week, they will be in for a long night and an end to their undefeated season.

Bobcats vs Garrard Stats 11-13-09

Bobcat Season Stats 11-13-09

Tournament Time is about to begin.

It’s that time of the year again. A time when all the hard work of a season culminates into a chance to play in the State Championship. Every team starts the season out with the hope that this is “their year”. Unfortunately at the end of the season, only 12 teams will vie for 6 Championship titles. This season has has it’s surprises as well as the common story lines. Bell, Belfry, and Prestonsburg all played as expected and are at the tops of their Divisions. Johnson Central, Breathitt and Central all had rough starts to their respective seasons, but have each came on strong to finish their schedules.

East KY Media has ranked teams for the past couple years and have been close with our predictions.

Here is our Week 1 Ranks and how each team finished the season compared to our current rankings.

# 1     Rockcastle   4-6  Unranked (Lost 3 games by total of 14 pts)

# 2     Breathitt Co.   5-5 Unranked (Lost 5 in a row)

# 3     Prestonsburg     10-0  # 1 Ranked team

# 4     Letcher Central  8-2  #6 Ranked team

# 5     Belfry    7-3  #7 Ranked Team

# 6     Hazard  6-4 Unranked (Includes two upset loses to Breathitt & Clay)

# 7     Ashland Blazer  9-1 #4 Ranked Team

# 8     Sheldon Clark     6-4 Unranked (Beat Breathitt & Johnson Cent.)

# 9     Perry Central    7-3 #9 Ranked Team

#10    Pikeville  5-5 Unranked (Won 4 out of last 5 games)

Class 1A Tournament Notes: Mayfield, Allen Central & Lexington Christian all sport 9-1 records with Lexington Christian’sonly loss coming to 4A power Lexington Catholic. Allen Central and Lexington Christian are both on the same side of the bracket. Hazard who finished 6-4 is also on the same side of the bracket as Lexington Christian and Allen Central.  East KY Media pick for the finals: Lexington Christian vs. Mayfield.  Winner: Lexington Christian.

Class 2A Tournament Notes: Prestonsburg, Corbin and Shleby Valley will all fight out of the bottom bracket to see who will face Murray or Fort Campbell who both finished 10-0. Fort Campbell allowed only 67 points while posting 4 shutouts.  East KY Media pick for the finals: Fort Campbell vs. Prestonsburg. Winner: Fort Campbell.

Class 3A Tournament Notes: Probably the hardest division to gauge. The obvious picks are Central, Belfry or maybe Somerset & Mason County. There were only 12 3A teams to finish over .500 for the season. 24 teams finished at or below the .500 mark. Two of my favorites are in the latter class with Breathitt & Central both finishing 5-5. Somerset, Breathitt, Mason, Belfry, Sheldon Clark & Russell are all in the bottom bracket meaning some tough teams are not going to make it. I think after all the beating and banging, I think Central and Somerset may be left standing. East KY Media pick for the finals, Somerset vs Central. Winner: Central

Class 4A Tournament Notes: Allen County, Lawrence County, Boyle and Lone Oak all finished with a perfect regular season. Boyle finished the year giving up only 64 points and had 4 shutouts. The sleeper in this group appears to be Bell County. Bell finished 9-0 after an opening season loss to a Tennessee team. East KY Media pick for the Finals, Allen County vs Bell County. Winner Allen County

Class 5A Tournament Notes: Ashland Blazer, Johnson Central, Perry Central, Letcher Central & Harlan County are all in the lower breacket. Unfortunately for them, so is undefeated Highlands. John Hardin leads several tough teams in the upper bracket. John Hardin finished the year 10-0. East KY Media picks for finals, John Hardin vs Highlands. Winner: Highlands.

Class 6A Tournament Notes: St. Xavier and Simon Kenton lead the field of Class 6A schools. Both teams finished with 9-1 records. Both however are in the same bracket meaning one of the best will not make the championship game. Henry Clay, Male and Bryan Station head the lower bracket with some smashmouth football. East KY Media pick for finals, St. Xavier vs. Male. Winner St. Xavier.

Channing Fugate scores 5 touchdowns against Powell County

Channing Fugate, looking to keep his momentum going forward, broke off a 20 yard run for the Bobcats first score in the 1st quarter. Fugate soon followed that run up with a 48 yard touchdown scamper making the score 14-0. Fugate wasn’t done there as he took another handoff for 11 yards and a score. Breathitt missed the extra point but held a 20-0 lead after the 1st quarter. Powell County started the 2nd quarter scoring when QB Elliott Hale scored from 1 yard out on a QB keeper. The Extra Point was blocked making the score early in the 2nd, 20-6. Channing Fugate scored his 4th touchdown on a 5 yard run and Jade Haddix ran in the 2 point conversion for a 28-6 lead. Jade Haddix found Channing open for a 49 yard scoring strike to continue the Bobcat stampede. Jade then hit Tyler Little on an 8 yard strike making the halftime score 42-6.  The 2nd half was played pretty even as Breathitt outscored Powell County 21-20 to make the final score Breathitt County 63 and the Powell Pirates 26. Breathitt passed for 255 yards and ran for 219 for a balanced attack.

Derek Taulbee led the Pirate rushing attack with 117 yards, while Austin Watkins carried for 61 yards, Elliot Hale had 27, Dylan Charles 21, Kienan Tiller 18, DJ Jones 9, & Timmy Hardy 9. Elliot Halle had 1 completition for 20 yards.

For the Bobcats, Channing Fugate rushed for 155 yards giving him 901 for the season. Jade Haddix rushed for 29 yards giving him 678 for the season. Also gaining yards for Breathitt were Tyler Smith 24 yards and Richard Trent with 11. Jade Haddix passed for 172 yards while Kyle Huff hit 5 of 6 passes for 83 yards.

Breathitt will close out their season at Magoffin County. Breathitt has already secured the District title, but continues to look toward the playoffs and improving their offense.

Game Photos Click here: Breathitt vs Powell County

Game Stats: PCHS_vs_BCHS

Season Stats: Overall_Combined_Stats_Game_9

Breathitt defeated Estill County and is two games away from Tournament play.

This is what Bobcat fans expected and had planned for the entire season. Breathitt traveled to Estill County, who is having a bad down year, and thumped the Engineers 35-6. It took Breathitt until the 2nd quarter to get things going, but when they did, it was all over for the Estill County Engineers. Channing scored on a 1 yard plunge after a 91 yard scoring drive. Breathitt scored again in the 2nd quarter when Channing ran for a 32 yard score giving Breathitt a 13-0 lead. Breathitt again hit paydirt in the 3rd quarter when Jade Haddix bust through the Engineer defense for a 26 yard score. Richard Trent got into the scoring column when he ran for a 16 yard score giving Breathitt a 28-0 lead. Estill finally broke through in the 4th quarter when QB Tyler Williams hit Tyler Cole for a 17 yard scoring strike. Making the score 28-6. Breathitt did not wait long however to get that score back as Billy Davis bounced in from 2 yards out making the score of 35-6.

Jade Haddix led the Bobcats with 143 yards rushing while Channing Fugate had 111 yards. Richard Trent had 79 yards. On the passing end Breathitt could only muster 49 yards but were able to hold Estill to only 17 yards in the air. Breathitt will face Powell County at home this Friday before traveling to Magoffin to finish the regular season. Magoffin was stunned this weekend at Powell County 49-48 in OT, all but handing Breathitt the District title.

Bobcats put the bite on Hazard's offense. (Click to enlarge photo)

The Bobcats hosted arch rivals Hazard Bulldog at the Mike Holcomb Athletic Complex Friday night and had one thing on their mind. Ending a 5 game losing streak after winning their opening game. The win did not come without controversy though, as Hazard fans went home deep in thought that the game was taken from them.

Breathitt put forth, statistically, their best defensive effort of the  year holding Hazard to 174 yards in total offense. The Bulldogs could only muster 53 yards rushing against a prepared Bobcat defense.

Jade Haddix filled the offensive production loss left by an injured Channing Fugate by rushing for 121 yards and passing for 88 yards and a touchdown. Haddix accounted for 209 of Breathitt’s 212 total yards. Turnovers continue to to be an issue for the Bobcats as they committed 2 more. Breathitt refused to let Hazard into the endzone until late in the game when Hazard scored what appeared to be the go ahead and possibly the winning touchdown. The play was called back however on a holding penalty behind the play. According to Coach Dixon, it was a judgement call, but a good call. He stated he thought his team had several other chances to win the game.

Alex Hall led the Bulldogs with 36 yards rushing while QB Jon Combs threw for 121 yards. The Bobcats are going into the softer part of their schedule and should be able to build momentum heading towards the playoffs. The Bobcats next play at Estill County who is 3-3. They then come home to play Powell County who has a record of  1-5. The real test may be when Breathitt travels to Magoffin for the last game of the season. Magoffin is currently 5-1 and the final game could be for the District title and the chance to advance on to the playoffs. Magoffin has won 4 in a row and 3 in a row on the road.