Win number 700 for the Middlesboro football program goes into the history books as a blowout as the Jackets raced to a 44-0 halftime lead on the way to a 58-0 victory Friday at Harlan. Middlesboro capitalized on seven Harlan turnovers and featured a balanced offense with seven players scoring touchdowns.
The Jackets began playing football in 1921 and have had a long and proud tradition of success with a Class A state title in 1998 and three 2A state runner-up finishes in the 1960s and 1970s. After falling to 4-6 last season, the Jackets are 5-0 now and ranked third in the state in Class A after the 700th win in program history.
“This says a lot about the school history. They’ve had some good teams in the past and won a lot of football games,” Middlesboro coach Larry French said. “We’re happy we’re part of it. We hope they get 700 more one of these days.”
The Middlesboro offense took a while to get started as Jacob Tinnell fumbled after a 17-yard run on the Jackets’ first offensive play. Harlan Marietta recovered and set up the Dragons on their own 30. Elijah Caudill teamed with Dyson Freeman for a 46-yard pass to the Middlesboro 24, but it turned out to be the last big play and last first down of the night for Harlan.
A 10-yard Colby Lawson run was followed by a 17-yard pass from Deakon Partin to Mekhi Young. Caden Lawson went 38 yards for a touchdown two plays later. Partin teamed with Joseph Killion for a two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead with 5:08 left in the first quarter.
The next two Middlesboro scores came on defense as Amari Houston returned an interception for a score with 3:49 left in the first quarter followed by a 25-yard interception return by Colby Lawson with 2:40 to play in the period. Malachi Coots’ two-point conversion run pushed the Jackets’ advantage to 22-0.
Partin found Young wide open for a 32-yard touchdown pass with 10:46 left in the second quarter. Partin and Young teamed up again for the two-point conversion and a 30-0 lead.
After a Harlan fumble, the Jackets scored against when Partin found Houston for a 19-yard TD pass on the next play and a 36-0 lead, starting a running clock with 8:10 left in the half.
Another Harlan fumble set up the last Middlesboro touchdown of the half. Cayden Burchett ran 19 yards on a play that led to a personal foul against the Dragons and the ejection of Elijah Caudill. Deakon Partin teamed with Kordell Parton for a 3-yard touchdown pass on the next play. Colby Lawson went in for the two-point conversion .
Partin threw his fourth touchdown pass of the night as he found Joseph Killion for a 69-yard score on the second play of the second half. Lineman Billy Charon lined up in the backfield for the two-point conversion and powered his way into the end zone to make the score 52-0.
John Derryberry set up the final Middlesboro touchdown when he recovered a fumble on the Harlan 8. Jarelle Lawrence went in for the score two plays later.
“The kids understand Harlan is going through a youth movement now and not as good what they will be in the future. Our kids realized that and didn’t come out ready to play and it was showing. We turned the ball over on the first offensive play and defensively let a receiver get behind us,” French said. “We handled the lines of scrimmage pretty good defensively and got the ball back and the defense intercepted a couple of passes and got us moving in the right direction. Our offensive line has to get better. We’ve moved some people around, and there are some things we have to work on.”
Harlan (1-5) will return to action Friday at home against Thomas Walker, Va. Middlesboro (5-0) will play at Pineville on Friday.