Bracken County’s football program has been up and down since its inception in 2003. Twenty-two years later, the Polar Bears are trying to advance to the third round of the state playoffs for the first time in school history.

As a two-seed in their region last season, they handily defeated Leslie County 51-27 in Brooksville. Their season ended in the second round of the playoffs down in Somerset, where the Briar Jumpers defeated them 28-14.

They enter a new alignment in Class 2A, District 5. It will be their third year as one of the smallest schools in Class 2A.  Their district includes the familiar members of Gallatin County, Owen County, Walton-Verona, and powerhouse Beechwood.  The newly established program, St. Henry of Erlanger, replaces Carroll County.

They would match up with sister District 6 in the first two rounds of the playoffs.  Breathitt County (6-6) is the only remaining team in the sister district.  They ended Bracken County’s season two years ago in the first round of the playoffs, 46-26.

Morgan County (4-6) drops down to 2A after withdrawing from district play in 3A the last two seasons.  Jackson County (5-5) rejoins district play as well.  West Carter (5-6) drops down from 3A to round out the new district. 

If the Polar Bears want to make a postseason run, they will need to finish as a one or two seed.  A two-seed would allow them to host the three-seed in the previously mentioned District 6.  With a win, they would face the District 6 one-seed, and try to make it to the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history.

The Polar Bears lose some key players, but return several seniors who are looking for the school’s fourth straight winning season–which has never happened before.

Head coach Steven Tarter says, “This is a special group of kids we’ve had together since second grade. So it was very exciting as a coach to have 25 kids in January practicing and seniors getting ready for their last year of football.”

IN THE TRENCHES AND A NEW QUARTERBACK

Caleb Emery, who graduated, was a key player on both sides of the ball last season. He led the team in tackles for loss (37), was second in total tackles (101), and was second in sacks (8.5).

“He is our biggest loss. Anyone who ran the ball up the middle didn’t go far. Losing him is key, but seeing how we worked over the offseason made me feel so much better about this team because everyone else has stepped up.”

Jackson Whitten, who has been the quarterback for the last two seasons, is moving to the line as he literally ‘grew out’ of the position.

“He’s always played quarterback since he was a kid, but we never had anyone step up. So, I talked to Greg (Benedict) last year and said we want to try something a little different.”

Senior Jackson Whitten is now 6’4” and 270 pounds. He holds Division I offers from Butler, Colgate, Dayton, Morehead State, and Pennsylvania.  But playing quarterback your entire career and then switching positions just before your senior season was a hard adjustment at first.

“It was hard for him at first to understand that his future in football was not going to be at quarterback.  I told him you’re too big of an animal for that. You need to be on the o-line… But it’s also great having a quarterback on the o-line because he knows all the plays and is there to help out.”

The new quarterback is senior Greg Benedict.  The Polar Bears tested Benedict as QB last year in a few games. Benedict had never played quarterback in his career. Coach Tarter said the key point for Benedict, and with any quarterback in general, is mental toughness.

“We’re just hoping in the big games that if he throws an interception or makes a mistake, that he doesn’t get down on himself. You just got to let things like that go.”

Even with the change of quarterback, the Polar Bears’ strength is still running the ball.

“We’re a short game team. We just want the ten yards or the five yards. We don’t always need the 50-yard plays.  Those are highlight reels I understand, but those will come.”

Benedict is also moving to the middle linebacker spot on defense.  He led the team with 107 total tackles last season. 

Another key returner is senior Kyler Burton.  He’s a 6’7” and 285-pound left tackle and defensive end with offers at the NAIA level. 

Other linemen are Landon Gray, Landynn Combs, and Harvey Napier. 

THE BEST PLAYER IN SCHOOL HISTORY?

Bracken County football has historically been a ground team with several talented running backs.  Daulton Tarter may be the school’s best.

Now playing in his final season, Tarter is second in the school’s all-time rushing leaderboard with 3,966 career rushing yards.  That’s ahead of Nick Parker (3,053) and behind Tad Fisher (4,018).  In 2024, Tarter also broke the record for most rushing yards in a season with 2,083 — breaking the previous record by over 400 yards. 

Another record Tarter holds is for the most rushing touchdowns in a season, with 32 last year.  He has already blown past the record for career rushing touchdowns of 66, which is 20 more than the previous record. 

Despite being one of the best players in school history and the best running back in Class 2A, Tarter is still waiting for his first college offer. 

Coach Tarter, Daulton’s father, said, “It doesn’t matter if he has 30 offers or zero. He’s going to go out there and compete, and his biggest thing is to win ball games. He’s going to do everything he can to make his team better and be a great team player.”

THE REST OF THE TEAM

Other options in the backfield are seniors Jordan Bravard and Lucas McKinney. QB Greg Benedict is also a run threat. 

A big loss is wide receiver, cornerback, and kicker Ashton Buchanan.  When Bracken County did pass downfield, Buchanan was the primary target with 298 total yards.  He is also the only true kicker the Polar Bears have ever had.  He made 44 of 50 PATs last season.  With 69 career PATs, Buchanan had more made than all other Bracken County kickers in program history combined. 

The Polar Bears were lucky to pick up Witten Daughtery, an exceptional kicker who moved back to Bracken County from Boone County.  In their scrimmage vs. Newport, he made two field goals and two extra points, along with a couple of touchbacks on kickoffs.

Juniors Andrew Kirk, Ryland Tucker, and Ezra Halloran will be the primary receiving targets. They play important roles on the defensive side as well.

RECENT SUCCESS DESPITE PAST

Bracken County started their football program in 2003, and it was a rough start to say the least.  From 2003 to 2015, they had 23 wins and 113 loses.  However, from 2016 to 2024, they have 51 wins and 43 loses. They are 27-16 since the pandemic.

Steven Tarter enters his third season as head coach, and with four more wins, can be the winningest coach in school history. He currently has a record of 15-8. 

Bracken County is still looking to advance to the third round of the KHSAA playoffs and win their first-ever district championship — they have been runners-up three times in 2016, 2017, and 2024. 

They got off to a slow start in their scrimmage at Newport, who was 9-3 last season. The Polar Bears scored first on a 22-yard field goal. They then had a touchdown called back for holding. Newport scored on a 20-yard pass with 1:46 until the half, making it 7-3.

Greg Benedict got an interception on the goal line and returned it 40 yards.  Andrew Kirk would eventually have a 23-yard touchdown run to put Bracken County up 10-7 with 1:39 in the 3Q.

Daulton Tarter would score a touchdown with a 22-yard run with 7:49 in the 4Q. A later field goal would make the final score 20-7, Polar Bears.

A TOUGH SCHEDULE

If Bracken County wants to win their first district title, they will have to defeat 18-time state champion Beechwood.

“If we’re going to knock them off, this is our best chance to do it. I told our guys if we want to beat Beechwood, everyone has to be bought in in January,” said Coach Tarter.

The Polar Bears started strong in last year’s game, scoring on an 80-yard drive the first possession to go up 7-0. However, the eventual 2A state champions would answer right away by returning the kickoff for a touchdown. The Tigers led 17-7 at halftime and won 38-7.

Tarter also says they need to stay fresh with a roster down in the 20s and kids playing both sides of the ball. The better teams they face have rosters of nearly 50 players.

The Sayre Spartans won their first state championship in school history last season. They defeated the Polar Bears 26-14 behind quarterback Luke Pennington. Pennington signed to play at Dayton and is the son of former NFL quarterback and head coach Chad Pennington. Bracken County led that one 14-13 after three quarters. They will have a rematch in Week 5.

The Polar Bears end the regular season in the mountains of eastern Kentucky vs. eight-time state champion Pikeville, who is celebrating their 100th season of football.

To start the season, they host 39th District rival and neighbor Mason County for the first time in school history.  The Royals are in 4A and have twice the enrollment of Bracken County.

“We played them back in middle school and all the kids know each other. I reached out and asked to play. I just want to find games that are going to make these kids better. These kids want to play college football, and coaches want to see what they can do against better teams.”

Every regular-season game matters as it calculates into the team’s RPI. RPI is used to re-seed the playoff bracket and determine the home team in the later rounds of the playoffs. Teams are rewarded for playing tougher teams with winning schedules, but those games don’t do much for RPI if you lose them.

Can the Polar Bears break the ice on a deep post-season run? It all starts this Friday in Brooksville.

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