Despite a 27-12 home loss to Southwestern on Friday night, Harlan County football coach Jacob Saylor was full of praise for his Black Bears following the game at Coal Miners Memorial Stadium against the five-time defending district champs.
“I have nothing but positive things to say,” Saylor said. “I asked our kids before the ballgame to leave everything on the field and they did that.
“That was nothing but pure grit from our kids. Nobody thought we should even be on the same field with that team.”
Trailing 7-6 at halftime, youth-laden Harlan County was unable to contain the Southwestern senior duo of quarterback Ryan Anderson and wide receiver Antajuan Dumphord for a majority of the game.
Anderson completed seven straight passes to open the second half, and finished with 291 aerial yards on a 16-for-28 performance that included a fourth quarter interception by Harlan County senior Luke Kelly. Dumphord was on the receiving end of 11 Anderson strikes, amassing 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Through his four previous starts this season, Anderson had thrown for a total of 266 yards.
“They knew they had us,” Saylor said about the Southwestern air attack. “They’ve got a couple of receivers who are 6-6, and our (defensive backs) are a little smaller, and they tried to pick on them, but our kids fought.”
After forcing Harlan County (1-4) to punt on the game’s opening possession, Anderson connected with Dumphord on a 64-yard pass play down the near sideline to open the scoring.
The Black Bears’ ensuing drive was thwarted just short of midfield, before Anderson connected with junior Zachary Hutchinson on a 26-yard scoring pass that was nullified by a Southwestern penalty.
A missed field goal later in the drive, set up the Black Bears at their own 20-yard line in the waning stages of the first quarter. Two plays into the second quarter, Kelly broke free of two Warriors and ran untouched for the final 55 yards of his 89-yard scoring run.
Harlan County took a brief, 12-7 lead at the 8:34 mark of the second quarter when freshman quarterback Brayden Morris hit Kelly with a pass over the middle. Kelly juked two Warriors, before breaking free and danced into the end zone on a 37-yard scoring play.
Southwestern had a second touchdown nullified due to a penalty on an 81-yard return on the ensuing kick, but the Warriors regrouped and Anderson connected with Dumphord on a 5-yard scoring pass, staking the visitors to a lead they would not relinquish.
Anderson threw a 17-yard, fourth-quarter TD pass to sophomore Parker Burton and the Warriors capped the scoring on a 4-yard run by sophomore Koleson Eichmann with 6:57 remaining on the scoreboard clock.
Kelly rushed for a game-high 107 yards on nine carries, while junior Gage Bailey added 53 rushing yards on 13 carries. The Black Bears rushed for 189 yards as a team. Morris completed four of his 13 pass attempts for 92 yards.
“Our whole backfield works hard each and every day,” Saylor said. “Gage ran the ball extremely hard tonight, and Brayden threw the ball extremely well when he had time. We had several pass plays called and he just didn’t have much time to throw.”
Although his team surrendered 430 yards of total offense, Saylor also lauded his team’s defensive effort against the Warriors.
“Our defense stood up, series after series, and just really stepped up tonight,” Saylor said. “I’m so proud of our defense, how they fought. We’re young, and we’re very inexperienced, but we’re getting better.
“I’m kind of lost for words, because what we asked them to do, they did it. I’m not into moral victories, but I am so proud of this football team. I love this bunch.”
Harlan County will host South Laurel on Friday, while Southwestern (3-3) travels to Franklin County.