Bears maul Letcher in Coal Bowl
by JOHN MIDDLETON The Harlan Daily Enterprise
WHITESBURG — It’s tough to get dirty on the turf at Letcher Central High School, but the Harlan County defense was completely filthy Friday as it led the Bears to a 39-8 victory over the host Cougars in the inaugural Friends of Coal Bowl.
The Bears and their “Filthy Animals” defense held the Cougars’ offense scoreless, while limiting Letcher Central to negative 16 yards of total offense.
“It’s unbelievable. Coach (Ovie) Canady had these guys keyed on their people. I was stunned myself,” said Harlan County coach Tom Larkey. “I thought Logan (Johnson) would at least get through on two or three himself and make a fight out of it, but our kids were focused in practice this week and did a great job tonight.
“I think this ball game will be big from here on out. It’s not only a district game and a bowl game, but it has become a thing of pride. Now you add the trophy for the team that wins it, and I feel like we need to keep this trophy in Harlan County for a lot of years.”
Harlan County’s defensive line was especially impressive, as they contained Johnson, the top rated player in the district in the preseason, and tallied eight sacks on the night.
“There was no comparison between the lines tonight. The Harlan County defensive line and our blitzes worked well. It seemed like there was no resistance at all for our defensive line getting to the quarterback,” Larkey said.
After forcing the Cougars to a three and out on their opening possession, Harlan County wasted little time scoring.
Dylon Smith capped a six-play Black Bears’ drive with a 4-yard touchdown plunge up the middle with 7:11 left in the first quarter.
Marcus McMillian ran in the two-point conversion to put Harlan County up 8-0.
The Cougars went three and out on their next possession and Smith capitalized once again.
The senior raced 44 yards to the end zone on the first play from scrimmage to stretch the lead to 14-0 with 4:45 left in the first quarter. Smith ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 16-0.
Smith led Harlan County with 185 yards rushing on 19 carries, following up a 285-yard performance against Whitley County last week.
“He has a lot of speed. We’re sure glad to get him back this year and knew he would have an outstanding year,” Larkey said. “Dylon has added some energy to the offense. “
A fumble by McMillian set the Cougars up with good field position at midfield, but freshman Treyvon Long intercepted Johnson’s pass at the Bears’ 35 to regain possession.
This time Harlan County methodically drove the ball down the field on a 13-play, 67-yard drive that was capped by a 17-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jordy Brewer. Josh Jenkins tacked on the extra point to make the score 23-0 with 8:43 remaining in the first half.
The Bears’ defense got into the scoring after they forced a holding penalty in the end zone that resulted in a safety and pushed the lead to 25-0.
After a scoreless third quarter, Harlan County struck again with 8:08 remaining in the fourth.
Smith served as the workhorse on the drive, carrying the ball five times for 34 yards before scoring on a 10-yard run. Jenkins added the extra point to put the Bears on top 32-0.
Letcher Central got on the scoreboard with 4:02 remaining in the fourth quarter as Ryan Hall scooped up a fumble and went 35 yards for the score. Johnson found Matt Boggs in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion to make the score 32-8.
Harlan County turned to Smith once again on the following possession. Smith carried the ball twice before breaking a 49-yard touchdown run around the left side. Jenkins added the extra point.
Harlan County (5-1 overall, 2-0 district) will travel to North Laurel on Thursday. Letcher Central (1-5 overall, 0-2 district) will play host to Whitley County on Friday.
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Harlan Co. 16 9 0 14 — 39
Letcher Cen. 0 0 0 8 — 8
HC — Smith 4 run (McMillian run)
HC — Smith 44 run (Smith run)
HC — Brewer 17 run (Jenkins kick)
HC — Safety
HC —Smith 10 run (Jenkins kick)
LC — Hall 39 fumble return (Boggs pass from Johnson)
HC — Smith 49 run
HCHS LCHS
First downs 14 5
Rushes-yards 42-261 18-(-27)
Passing 6 9
Comp-Att-Int 1-3-0 2-5-1
Punts-Avg 3-48 6-32
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-0
Penalties-Yards 7-55 5-41
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Harlan County, Smith 19-185, McMillian 13-42, Brewer 6-25, Maggard 3-8, Chorak 1-1. Letcher Central, R. Hall 4-11, Rose 6-10, Tyree 3-7, Sizemore 2-0, Taylor 2-(-2), Dollarhide 2-(-4), Johnson 14-(-7), Cornett 1-(-15), Fields 1-(-27).
PASSING—Harlan County, Brewer 1-3-0-6. Letcher Central, Johnson 2-5-1-9.
RECEIVING—Harlan County, Caldwell 1-6. Letcher Central, K. Hall 1-11, Baker 1-(-2).