Beating Belfry in football, on any level, is never easy, which is why Harlan County coach Scott Caldwell called Saturday’s sweep of the visiting Pirates in middle school action “two of the best games in program history.”
The Black Bears won 6-0 in a seventh-grade game and 12-8 in eighth-grade action with standout running back Brayden Morris scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 15-yard run with 35 seconds left.
Morris’ touchdown had some historical significance since his father, Steve, was a senior running back/defensive back at Cawood on what is believed to be the last Harlan County team to defeat Belfry in football as the Trojans claimed a 35-13 first-round playoff victory over the Pirates on Nov. 5, 1993, before going on to fall to Tim Couch and Leslie County in the regional semifinals.
Belfry took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter before Brady Smith tied the game with a 15-yard TD run in the second quarter.
Isiah Baker. Sam Carr. Caleb Mitchell and Thyler Coots led the Harlan County defense in the win over the defending state champs.
After three scoreless quarters in the seventh-grade game, Harlan County’s Hudson Faulkner broke free on a 40-yard touchdown run with one minute left for the only score of the evening.
Blaise Shepherd, Bryson Robbins, Eli Joseph and Win Cooper led the Harlan County defense.
Harlan County will return to action with a tripleheader starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday against visiting McCreary Central in the Bill Ellis Bowl at Coal Miners Memorial Stadium.