Evarts vs. Harlan Predictions

[outlawcoach]

Rojas4, you are absolutely right about Evarts being 2A at one point and then obviously not in the same district. When I said "always" I was refering to both teams being in the same district since before the creation of the "Battle for the Bucket" concept. Evarts had some great battles with 2A rivals Mboro and Corbin in the 60's and early 70's and they more than held their own. There was a lot of great football played in Harlan County in those days. Harlan and Evarts had some great teams and lets not forget Cumberland and the great teams that Lynch had in the day. I agree with Pappy. Its very sad that this is the end of some great rivalries.

[EHS #5]

An interesting story I heard from a reliable source was that several years ago, when Harlan didn't agree to play the Alumni Bowl on Labor Day weekend, Evarts refused to relinquish the Bucket after a Harlan win. Harlan won on labor day the next year, and got the bucket back. If this is the case, should the bucket pass to Evarts should the Wildcats prevail as it was Evarts this year, who refused to play the Alumni Bowl on Labor Day weekend? Perhaps HDE or other Gurus of Harlan County Football history could verify the story. I'm sure there are opinions out there! Should what goes around come around? Having asked that I agree that this game will be close. The Dragons need a win badly for a number of reasons and Evarts is looking for a last chance at Harlan. Let r fly!

 

 

No, actually I didn't know that. It is pretty interesting though.

[freshstart]

Lynch dominated everybody in the mountains in the 50's and 60's. Ed Miracle was the coach. He was hard to beat. Pineville was also very good form year to year.

[rojas4]

Evarts was 2A from 1959 to ?

Did they switch in 1975 when the state realigned or wait a couple of years? It seems I remember coach Hunter resisted the change and Evarts held out a year or two before moving to Class A.

 

Evarts was AA in 1975 and for a few years after. I don't know what year EHS went down to class A. In 1975 a great Corbin team beat us 12-7 on a touchdown with no time remaining on the clock. We had held Corbin at the 1 yard line for 4 plays. On 4th down there was a pass interference penalty on EHS on 4th down that gave Corbin an extra play to win the game. Corbin and Middlesboro were both state powerhouses in those years.

[rojas4]

Lynch dominated everybody in the mountains in the 50's and 60's. Ed Miracle was the coach. He was hard to beat. Pineville was also very good form year to year.

If I am not mistaken, Lynch won the state title in 1969 with star running back Joe Washington. Lynch had only one defeat on the year, to Evarts 31-19. Lynch's last great team was in 1972. Evarts again upset Lynch in a pouring rain 7-0 on a blocked punt by Thomas Fields.

[outlawcoach]

Rojas, I have heard Coach Hunter talk about that Corbin game on more than one occasion. It seems like there was another contraversial play that went against Evarts other the the ones mentioned but I cant remember what happened. Also, I didnt realize Evarts beat Lynch during a state title season. Great info. Can you remember any of the details of the loss to Belfry in the playoffs when the electricity went out at Evarts and they had to finish the second half at Harlan? I believe Evarts was ahead at halftime.

[Waggle_12]

Can you remember any of the details of the loss to Belfry in the playoffs when the electricity went out at Evarts and they had to finish the second half at Harlan? I believe Evarts was ahead at halftime.

 

Haha that sounds like some other story. Please inform us all...

[Tru B 33]

Low scoring first half IMO.

 

Evarts 14

Harlan 6

[outlawcoach]

Waggle, I dont know the details of the story but Im sure there are members out there that do. Come to think of it, Im not even sure it was Belfry. I might have dreamed that game....I was thinking it was in the early 70's.

[rojas4]

It was indeed Belfry. Evarts had the game well in hand and had all the momentum when the electricity went out late in the 3rd quarter due to a house fire at Verda. After what seemed like a two hour wait. Everyone traveled to Huff Park to finish the game. At Harlan the momentum turned and it was all Belfry. I think the final score was something like 26-21.

[rojas4]

Rojas, I have heard Coach Hunter talk about that Corbin game on more than one occasion. It seems like there was another contraversial play that went against Evarts other the the ones mentioned but I cant remember what happened. Also, I didnt realize Evarts beat Lynch during a state title season. Great info. Can you remember any of the details of the loss to Belfry in the playoffs when the electricity went out at Evarts and they had to finish the second half at Harlan? I believe Evarts was ahead at halftime.

The other controversial ending with Corbin came the year before in 1974. We (EHS) had a 14-7 lead with 2:00 to go in the 4th. A Corbin running back went around left end slipped and fell to both knees. Both teams stopped. The whistle never sounded and the kid got up and ran an 80 yard touchdown. The 2 point conversion made it 15-14 Corbin. We had time to move the ball to the 10 where we were held on 4th and inches with about a minute to play.

[outlawcoach]

Unbelievable! Thanks for the info. I had heard that one before also now that you explained it. That was 74 and I believe that Corbin won 2A in 76. It was a good series with Corbin during that period. It just seems like there werent many weak sisters back then. Mboro, Corbin, Pineville, Lynch, Harlan, Evarts, Cumberland....all of them had solid programs during that time period.

[OLD GOLD]

Evarts was tough in the 70's. Unless I am mistaken, 2 different years M'boro lost to Evarts but won the district by virtue of the Dickenson rating system. In other words, we beat Corbin but lost to Evarts.

[rojas4]

Evarts was tough in the 70's. Unless I am mistaken, 2 different years M'boro lost to Evarts but won the district by virtue of the Dickenson rating system. In other words, we beat Corbin but lost to Evarts.

 

Actually, I think it was three years. I know 71 and 72 and maybe 70. In one of those years Evarts scored on a 50 yard touchdown pass to win the game on the last play of the game. The game was played at Middlesboro. After the game Ken Parsons, an EHS assistant coach was stabbed by a Middlesboro fan. Parsons spent a few days in the Middlesboro hospital.

 

In 72 we beat Middlesboro 8-7 and held Middlesboro star running back Bimbo Fuson to 30 yards rushing, 25 of which was on one touchdown run.

 

The 75 Middlesboro team may have been their best. They were beaten by Scott Co in the AA title game after leading in the 4th quarter by 2 or 3 touchdowns.

[HDE]

Unbelievable! Thanks for the info. I had heard that one before also now that you explained it. That was 74 and I believe that Corbin won 2A in 76. It was a good series with Corbin during that period. It just seems like there werent many weak sisters back then. Mboro, Corbin, Pineville, Lynch, Harlan, Evarts, Cumberland....all of them had solid programs during that time period.

 

 

Cawood was pretty good in the mid 70s, too. They made it to the state final four in 3A in 1975.