[Stardust]

Bell County had its eyes on Central running back Anthony Wales and bottled up the explosive running back the entire game.

Until his final touch, that is.

On fourth-and-one at Central’s 29-yard line, Wales went up the middle, ripped through Bell County’s defense and sprinted 71 yards for a touchdown with 1:50 left in the game.

That put the finishing touches on Central’s 26-0 win over the visiting Bobcats (11-2) Friday night in the Class 3-A regional final.

Central (10-3) next will visit Fort Campbell (9-4) in the semfinals. The Falcons advanced with a 20-17 win over Paducah Tilghman.

Before his final carry, Wales had run for just 59 yards against Bell County’s stingy defense.

Wales, who went into the game with 2,350 yards this season, said he wasn’t concerned about his rushing total.

“We knew they would put a lot of players in the box,” he said. “We’re not a one-dimensional team.”

Wales said he went to Central coach Ty Scroggins and asked for the ball before his final run.

“He came over and said, ‘Believe in me,’ ” Scoggins said as a smile. “I believe in him. But it’s really good to have a player with that kind of confidence.”

Central got early offense from its defense.

Bell County had the ball at its own 41 when Cory Davenport fumbled in traffic and Central sophomore Royshawn Beason picked up the ball and raced 45 yards for a touchdown with 59.9 seconds left in the first quarter.

“We teach that,” Scroggins said. “Scoop and score.”

After forcing Bell County to punt, Central’s Tae Shawn Gibbs returned it to the Bobcats’ 38 and the Yellow Jackets went 38 yards in six plays. On the final play of the drive, Wales went right, got bottled up and then cut across the field for a 13-yard touchdown run with 7:34 left in the first half.

Central took control of the game with an 11-play drive that took 6:44 off the clock in the third quarter. Wales gave Central a 20-0 lead with a 5-yard scoring run.

Late in the game the Bobcats drove inside the Central 10-yard line before Gibbs intercepted a pass by Bell County quarterback Osolonian Corey.