Jacob Saylor begins year two of his tenure as the Harlan County football coach with a lot more experience on the team than he had in year one. The Black Bears started strong a year ago with a win at Middlesboro but couldn’t maintain that momentum on the way to a 1-8 season.
The Bears bring back most of their key players but suffered two big losses with the graduation of running back/receiver/defensive back Luke Kelly and running back/linebacker James Ryan Howard, who each ranked in the top three in rushing, receiving and scoring stats and ranked in the top seven in tackles.
Brayden Morris is back for his second season as the Bears’ starting quarterback after ranking second on the team in rushing yardage with 434 yards and five touchdowns. Junior receiver Kayden Adams was second on the squad in receiving yardage.
The HCHS defense will feature several players who ranked among the team leaders in tackles, led by senior linebacker Hunter Napier with his team-high 100 tackles. Junior linebacker Brady Freeman was third with 69 tackles, while senior corner Gage Bailey added 64. Cooper Blevins, Jayce Brown, Blake Short, Sam Carr and Zack Musick are also back after ranking in the top 10 a year ago.

HCHS 2025 schedule

Aug. 23 vs Clay County (at Corbin)
Aug. 29 Eminence
Sept. 5 East Ridge
Sept. 12 at Bell County
Sept. 19 McCreary Central
Sept. 26 at South Laurel
Oct. 3 Open
Oct. 10 Corbin
Oct. 17 Perry Central
Oct. 24 at Whitley County
Oct. 31 at Shelby Valley