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Christian Academy too much for Bell County, wins Kentucky 3A title

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Christian Academy too much for Bell County, wins Kentucky 3A title


LEXINGTON, Ky. – The underdog Bell County High School football team did everything it could to keep the explosive Christian Academy offense off the field during Saturday’s Class 3A championship game.

It didn’t matter.

CAL scored touchdowns on five of its six offensive possessions and got three rushing scores from quarterback Cole Hodge to beat the Bobcats 41-16 at the University of Kentucky’s Kroger Field.

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The No. 1-ranked Centurions (14-1) won their second straight state title and fourth since 2016, the first two coming in Class 2A.  

Hodge, an East Carolina University commit, completed 18 of 20 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 37 yards on six carries.

No. 6 Bell County (13-2) won the opening toss and used its patented rushing attack to control possession for the entire first quarter. On the second play of the second quarter, Blake Evans carried 2 yards for a touchdown. Evans then converted the 2-point conversion to give the Bobcats an 8-0 lead before CAL ran a play.

Bell County finished with a whopping 35:48-12:12 advantage in time of possession, but the Centurions made the most of their chances.

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Averaging 41.8 points per game, CAL needed just four plays to pull within 8-7 on Hodge’s first touchdown run, a 1-yarder.

After the Bobcats turned the ball over on downs, Hodge rushed for a 7-yard score to make it 14-8 at the 1:47 mark of the first half.

Down 28-16, Bell County marched into CAL territory late in the third quarter. But on the first play of the fourth quarter, CAL’s John Cobaugh stripped the ball from Evans and returned it 79 yards for a touchdown and a 34-16 lead.

Bell County’s Daniel Thomas, who set a single-season state record for rushing yards this year, finished with 132 yards and a touchdown on 39 carries. He finished his season with 3,814 rushing yards and 54 rushing touchdowns.

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BELL COUNTY                 0         8         8         0 – 16

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY    0         14       14       13 – 41

Second quarter

BC – Blake Evans 1 run (Evans run)

CAL – Cole Hodge 1 run (Madden Miller kick)

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CAL – Hodge 7 run (Miller kick)

Third quarter

CAL – Justin Ruffin 31 pass from Hodge (Miller kick)

BC – Justin Thomas 37 run (Evans run)

CAL – Hodge 5 run (Miller kick)

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Fourth quarter

CAL – John Cobaugh 79 fumble return (kick failed)

CAL – Connor Hodge 5 pass from Cole Hodge (Miller kick)

More high school football: Boyle County, Pikeville repeat as KHSAA champions; Mayfield wins Class 2A shootout



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Kentucky

Mark Pope says Kentucky will fight to get better after loss to Ohio State

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Mark Pope says Kentucky will fight to get better after loss to Ohio State


Kentucky suffered an upset loss to Ohio State on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic in Madison Square Garden, losing 85-65. Nothing went their way in the game, as shooting struggles and physicality were major factors. The Buckeyes attacked the basket at will, and Kentucky couldn’t find any answers. Kentucky shot 30% overall and 18% from three-point range.

Mark Pope knows his team is going to work hard to try and respond well to the loss, and after the holiday break, the Wildcats will get back in the gym and strive to get better. The Wildcats seemed to lose focus on making plays for each other, and Pope talked about that after the loss.

“I know exactly how these guys will respond. They’re gonna really, really try as hard as they can to not let this destroy their couple of days off. Their job is to get really fresh right now, and then we get back together on the 26th. I know these guys. They’ll come in and it’s not gonna be just empty emotion, it’s gonna be we’re gonna get better, and these guys will get better. We just gotta keep trusting what we do. We had some defensive struggles tonight, and we just fell to pieces offensively. We just went to our default, and our default is not right yet. Our default is still bad habits. It’s not habits coming from a bad place in the guys’ hearts, it’s coming from a great place. It’s coming from a desperation to help their team, but we don’t do that by ourselves. We do it disciplined, and we do it the way we do it, and we do it by making plays for each other.”

– Pope on Kentucky responding.

With a 10-day break between games, Kentucky has some time to regroup and work to improve in those areas, especially before they begin SEC play on January 4 against Florida. Physicality should be a focal point of improvement with how physical the SEC always is.

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Sunday Headlines: Cats suffer brutal defeat vs. Ohio State

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Sunday Headlines: Cats suffer brutal defeat vs. Ohio State


Good morning BBN!

This is the first time we have had to write a headline post following a very disappointing loss, but here we are.

The Kentucky Wildcats tossed their first dud of the Mark Pope Era in Madison Square Garden, as the Cats got blitzed by the Ohio State Buckeyes.

It was not the prettiest performance from the Cats this season on either end of the floor. The Buckeyes cruised on offense shooting close to 60% from the field.

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On the flip side, Kentucky really struggled to get rolling on offense as they shot 29.8% from the field.

Despite an impressive resume, there is no way around this loss stinging some, especially after Auburn crushed this same Buckeyes team by 40+ points.

One non-conference game remains as the Cats return to Rupp Arena on New Year’s Eve when they host Brown.

This team clearly has a lot of work to do until then to

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Some more good news on the way for the Cats?

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No. 4 Kentucky Falls to Ohio State – UK Athletics

Otega Oweh scored 21 points, but No. 4. Kentucky lost to Ohio State 85-65 on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Kentucky’s slow starts must be addressed as SEC play approaches – Cats Pause

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Kentucky survived poor first halves vs. Duke and Gonzaga but not Saturday vs. Ohio State.

Minnesota Gophers land Kahlee Tafai and Dylan Ray – Minnesota Tribune

Dylan Ray finds his new home.

Kentucky is winless against Ohio State and carries a losing record in the CBS Sports Classic- KSR

That’s not good.

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Kevis Thomas commits to Kentucky- KSR

The Cats another player to the defense.

Strong second half powers Kentucky past Belmont- Cats Pause

Kenny Brooks squad adds another win.

Rickey Henderson dies at 65- ESPN

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The Oakland A’s legend passes away.

Kentucky football transfer tracker- Cats Pause

Catch up on the latest for the football Cats.

Tiger and Charlie Woods lead at PNC Championship- ESPN

COME ON TIGER!

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Kiffin rips College Football Playoff Committee- CBS

Who could have saw this coming?





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Aaron Bradshaw got the last laugh against his former team

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Aaron Bradshaw got the last laugh against his former team


For the first time since November 19, Aaron Bradshaw jogged over to the scorers table for Ohio State, checking in at the 17:46 mark of the first half. As his name was announced over the loudspeakers, though, a roar of boos echoed inside Madison Square Garden. Splitting up with Kentucky seemingly on good terms this offseason during the coaching change, the reaction was a bit of a surprise, but you never know the true emotions of a fanbase until they experience it in real time.

The former Wildcat’s response? Two quick buckets in two minutes, followed by the sixth 3-pointer of his career in the final segment of the first half. Bradshaw would close out with 11 points good for third on the team, shooting 5-6 overall and 1-2 from three with two rebounds, one assist and two steals in 18 minutes.

Given the circumstances and opponent, it was one of the best performances of his career — and undoubtedly a special one for him personally.

What was it like getting Bradshaw back in the lineup for the Buckeyes?

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“Missing a 7-footer is always going to hurt,” Bruce Thornton, who finished with a game-high 30 points, said of Bradshaw. “Not a lot of people who are 7-foot are able to make tough shots in the mid-range. His energy and his passion, it’s very contagious. It rubs off on us. We’re just very thankful that he’s back.”

Bradshaw is now averaging 8.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 22.3 minutes per contest for the Buckeyes. He returned alongside Ques Glover, who had been previously dealing with an ankle injury and had been out since Nov. 15.

Those two were different-makers in Ohio State’s win with the Buckeyes’ bench outscoring the Wildcats 26-11 on Saturday.

“I thought it was a significant boost,” Jake Diebler said. “We felt like going into this year depth was going to be a real strength for us, and we haven’t had an opportunity to play with that depth much of this year. It’s also impacted practice and building because there’s still a lot of newness in this program, new staff, new players, new system, and it’s impacted our growth a little.”

You can see just how much that one meant to Bradshaw by watching OSU’s postgame celebration from the floor at MSG.

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He wanted this one bad, and to his credit, he was a big reason for the win.



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