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By Bill Templeton
Sports Writer

Seniors Bradley Brock and Ray Splawn have been part of three consecutive district championship soccer teams at Harlan County, and will be looking to make it a four-peat when District 50 plays opens Oct. 7 on the Black Bears home turf at the James A. Cawood field.
And if the Black Bears are able to four-peat, Brock and Splawn will likely have an offensive hand in another positive outcome.
Brock (11 goals) and Splawn (nine goals) have combined for more than half of the Black Bears’ scoring this season. Another district championship would be the icing on the cake in their final prep season.
“A lot of the times, with the different champions, previously, it meant a lot to us, but it always feels like it means more to the seniors, because it’s their last day out,” Brock said. “It just kind of feels like it’s our turn. We are the ones leading the team and it would be big this year.”
“It would be big for us to do this four years in a row,” Splawn added. “Every year when we’ve come into districts, we’re just unstoppable and we like to show it out on the field.”
Assistant coach Tracey Tye smiled when asked about the growth and development she’s seen from Brock and Splawn, and she had high praise for both players.
“In general, we’ve watched these gentlemen grow from the little ‘puzzle pieces’ they were, to the great big puzzle pieces they are today,” Tye said. “They were a jigsaw puzzle when they started four years ago when they started, and now this bunch is the puzzle that’s put together.
“They’ve molded themselves into who they are, not just on the field, but off the field, as well.”
Both players agreed with their coach, adding that the friendships that have been forged with, and among, their teammates has been a key to the Black Bears success on the field.
“It’s all about being friends, both on and off the field and always playing together,” Brock said. “I feel like that’s a big part of it.”
Added Splawn, “As far as summer training, we’ve come a long way. Even though we played last year with each other, we’ve gotten closer as a team.”
In order to accomplish their list of team goals, Brock and Splawn were specific when mentioning what the Black Bears still need to do to reach higher levels among the state’s elite teams.
“I feel like to truly make it to the next level, the main thing we need to focus on is vision,” Brock said. “It’s almost like we get sucked in a little bit, but it’s something we’ve been stepping away from a lot more recently.
“It feels like there’s starting to be a change, and it’s for the better.”
“It’s vision and it’s our passing,” Splawn added. “We could get better passes for accuracy.”
Having dynamic, productive offensive players like Brock and Splawn in front of him on the field has made life much easier for senior goalkeeper, Travis Burkhart, who offered high praise of his classmates, as well as the rest of his teammates.
“We all have a job, and I just have so much faith and confidence in the other 10 guys out there on the field,” Burkhart said. “I have a lot of faith that they’ll keep the ball away from me, and they have the same faith in me that if the ball gets back there that I’ll stop it.
“Having a good offense that puts points up on the board really helps a lot. It just provides that little bit of cushion, and takes so much stress off.”
Just a handful of regular season games remain for the 5-3 Black Bears. Brock, Splawn and their teammates are scheduled to play their final four regular season games, including a pivotal game against district foe, Middlesboro, at the James A. Cawood field. With rainy conditions in Harlan County forecasted into the middle of next week, each of those scheduled will likely become gameday decisions.
The winner of the game against Middlesboro is set to determine the No. 1 seed for the district tournament.