Bulldogs Welcome Harlan County to Daniel Field on Friday
HAZARD – August 29, 2019 – JJ Baker – Bluegrass Sports Nation Hazard Football Columnist
Hazard will
begin its 17th campaign under head coach Mark Dixon this Friday
night when the Bulldogs will host the Harlan County Black Bears. Coach Dixon
has amassed an incredible 160 and 49 record through 16 seasons for a .766 win
percentage and a 10 win per season average. So when faced with heavy losses due
to last years graduation class, how did he handle it? Get back to work and
create an atmosphere of competition. Having all the open positions around the
field has enabled the Bulldog staff to tap into the competitive drive of their
players. For the first time in his career, Coach Dixon and staff posted a daily
depth chart to reward players for outworking their competition for a position.
This competitive drive has created some of the best early season practices in
recent memory. The first real test for the young Dogs will come in the form of
a hungry Harlan County team that is looking to avenge two consecutive losses in
the school’s only meetings.
The Black
Bears are coming off a 4-7 season that saw them fall to Southwestern in the
second round of the 5A District 8 playoffs. Harlan County lost 13 seniors off
last years team but replace them with 13 this year. The Black Bears are a run
heavy offense. During the 2018 season Black Bear QBs accounted for a combined
353 yards passing through 11 games. There is no secret to what they are going
to try to do to opponents. This Harlan County squad is going to line up and see
if you can stop them. They return 2 of their top 3 rushers from last year in
Ben Landis (642 yards) and Tyler Casolari (562 yards) and will be running
behind the pads of a huge offensive line. They also return their leading
receiver in Matthew Brown (143 yards). While the offense put up some great
numbers at times last year, Coach Eddie Creech’s team will need to stop some
offenses this year and improve on their 29 points given up per game average of
a season ago.
The Bulldogs
will have some new faces in some key spots this season. Gone is 3 year QB
Bailey Blair. His replacement that has emerged from the QB battle through the
preseason is Garrett Miller. Miller had just 11 attempts last year and gained
94 yards with his arm with an 8.5 yards per completion average. The Bulldogs
also lost a 1,000 yard rusher in Skylar Pelfrey. Reece Fletcher and Trajon
Campbell, both seniors, combined for 860 yards last year with only 93 attempts,
so the Bulldogs should have some horses in the stable that are ready to take
over the reigns. Making holes for those guys will be a mix of new and old
faces. Returners on the line include seniors Matthew Couch and Dalton Strong,
and sophomore Kenton Beverly. They will be flanked on either side at the tackle
position by a rotation of 3 new comers to the position in sophomores Cameron
Caudill and Ryan Dean and junior Thomas Massey. The Bulldogs lost their three
top receivers from last year in Isaiah Stupart, Andy Baker, and Kyle Johnson,
but will return one of the best receiving tight ends in the mountains in Mason
Collins. Andrew Ford, Campbell Davis, Tyson Turner, Hank Pelfrey, Nick Miller,
Riley Davidson, Elijah Gayheart and Keeton Napier will all be ready to step up
and catch some passes for the Dogs.
Defensively
the Bulldogs should be made for teams like Harlan County. They are big,
physical, fast, and experienced from the down lineman in Jacob Fields, Timmy
Owsley, Nate Smith, David Cornett, Ian Brashear, and Raine Cornett. The end
positions are also a group of big guys with motors in Caudill, Dean, Massey,
and Hootie Thomas. The linebacking corp should be as solid as it has been in a
while. Fletcher and Mason Collins will be the two in the middle with a
continual rotation of Zane Deaton, Nick Miller, Kaleb Eversole, Keeton Napier,
and Ryan Davidson. The Secondary will have mixture of old and new with faces
like Trajon Campbell and Tyson Turner at corner and Max Johnson at the safety.
Filling in at the DB position will also be a mix of some good up and coming
athletes in Pelfrey and Ford.
With the Black Bear’s power run game and with the Bulldogs running what can best be described as a power-spread offense, Friday’s game should be fun and physical. Coach Dixon isn’t putting any expectations on his team this year other than one thing, “get better everyday you are on the field.” Kickoff time will be at 7:30 at Hazard’s Daniel Field. Gates will open at 5:00 for tailgaters. Tune in Saturday morning for a recap of the game.
Bluegrass Sports Nation coverage of the Bulldogs brought to you this week by Mountain Storage, Inc., and the Hazard Village Flea Market along with Peoples’ Bank & Trust.
